Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk

Back to thread
Original poster

Mumsnet encouraging brigading by Twitter TRAs

6 replies

TerfinUSA · 02/05/2018 18:34

Apparently Mumsnet now takes 'reports' by Twitter.

twitter.com/MumsnetTowers/status/991593570955153408

May I ask why? It seems normal that threads should be flagged on site, and that Twitter isn't an appropriate mechanism for this.

Moreover a purpose-built Twitter TRA account, one of hundreds on Twitter set up specifically to harass and silence gender-critical feminists is being actively engaged with, even as it publicly defames Mumsnet on Twitter

twitter.com/MumsnetTowers/status/991683672356028417

The TRA modus operandi on Twitter is to mass-report feminist accounts until they are blocked and banned, and dozens have been silences in this fashion, now it seems Mumsnet, is voluntarily submitting to TRA oversight.

A thread from November about an article from 'Shon Faye' on transgender access to women's refuges has been deleted based on this Tweet:

twitter.com/youngvulgarian/status/991328378178473985

The basis for deletion appears to have been 'misgendering'. It seems to me that it is rendered impossible to have a discussion on protecting single sex spaces if you are forced to use 'preferred pronouns' instead of ones that reflect biological reality. It is rather hard to understand the worldview whereby the feelings of the likes of Shon Faye asserting the right to enter a single sex space is prioritised over actual domestic abuse and rape victims. Especially on a which from its name 'Mumsnet' clearly has some basis in female biology!

Moreover, it seems reports are being received on the basis of 'Shon's feelings might be hurt', but it doesn't seem these same standards are applied to people who are not TRAs.

Any given thread about anyone, be they Jamie Oliver, Chris Evans, whoever, is likely to have people being slightly rude, but it seems that Mumsnet is inviting TRAs to brigade the site to enforce trans ideology ('misgendering', etc.) and render women voiceless the same way they have done on Twitter.

Already TRAs are circling demanding bans of posters for not being 100% on-board with trans ideology, they will not rest until this place is indistinguishable from a NUS conference.

twitter.com/MumsnetTowers/status/991707542752583681

Go to post
MNHQ

KateMumsnet · 02/05/2018 20:16

Hi there

We're happy to have posts which might break our TGs pointed out over on Twitter or here - we'll take a look at them and use the same judgement in considering whether they break TGs wherever they're reported and whoever they're reported by.

It's important to note that, if someone has joined Mumsnet to report, it does not follow that the posts they are reporting do not deserve our attention, and deletion if they break TGs. The same is true when Twitter users discuss reporting Mumsnet posts - those posts may or may not break TGs, and we'll make our decision to delete or not based on TGs alone.

As we've said previously, free speech is not a free-for-all - and it can only be a debate if alternative voices can make themselves heard.

MNHQ

KateMumsnet · 02/05/2018 20:38

Reappearing, I'm saying that reporting isn't necessarily harrassment because it comes from someone who doesn't share your views. And that even if it were, the posts that are reported might still break our TGs.

MNHQ

KateMumsnet · 02/05/2018 20:52

@AngryAttackKittens

As a result of the new "please tweet us your complaints about Mumsnet users" policy one Mumsnet user just got a message from one of Shon Faye's followers saying that they hoped her baby would be stillborn.

That policy is working out great so far, huh?

That's awful, and if it has happened via Mumsnet PMs please ask the MNer concerned to report it immediately. But I don't agree that it is as a result of us looking at posts that are drawn to our attention on Twitter, or that we've done a general callout to Twitter asking for complaints about Mumsnet users.

MNHQ

KateMumsnet · 02/05/2018 21:00

I'm not officially on so I'm going to duck out now - but we're giving all this a lot of careful thought, and we'll continue to discuss here how to make things as straightforward and clear as possible for everyone so that these issues can be discussed within the bounds of civil debate.

Cheers all

MNHQ

MNHQ

KateMumsnet · 03/05/2018 11:24

Hi all - just coming back to clarify a few things.

We definitely have not issued a general invitation to Twitter to report transphobic posts. In this case, posts which clearly broke our TGs were brought to our attention (and the attention of the world at large) on that platform - it would have been absolutely nuts of us, as a company, to ignore those tweets without indicating that we were looking into them.

As I said above, we use exactly the same judgment in considering whether posts break TGs wherever they're reported and whoever they're reported by.

While we're on the subject of Twitter: we do understand that it must be frustrating to be deleted on Mumsnet for a post which, from the poster's point of view, is simply a response in kind to inflammatory provocation from Twitter. We wish that civil debate was the norm on all platforms - but the bottom line is that we have no control elsewhere. What we can is to ensure that standards of civil debate are maintained on Mumsnet, and we think that's the right thing to do, because this approach will give the conversation the best hope of moving forward. We know that MNers are capable of conducting a spirited and meaningful debate within TGs - we see it all the time - so we're confident that this will not limit anyone's ability to discuss these things.

We're continuing to think about further clarification of what the TGs mean in practice when applied to this issue, and we'll come back to you when we've finished that process.

Thanks all

MNHQ

MNHQ

SophieLMumsnet · 03/05/2018 18:23

@MarvelleGazelle,

Sorry that we didn't get back to you on that - we've reinstated your post as we were overzealous. Flowers

Watch this thread for updates

Tap "Watch" to get all the latest updates

End of posts

There are no more MNHQ posts on this thread

Back to thread