The AMA topic (Sorry)

[duckfuckduck]

It needs a warning on threads that says similar to that in legal - that people shouldn’t take the advice as truth and MN can’t vouch for anyone etc.

(Unless there is a fact checking process to go through before you’re allowed to post there? Is there?)

I agree. Like the warnings in Health and Relationships.

Yes Sparkling. Exactly like that.

I’m really,concerned that there’s not tbh.

Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have concerns, please seek real life attention; if you think your problem could be acute, do so immediately.

Something like that?

If people are going to take what they read on a random website at face value, I don't think a warning about exercising common sense is going to do them any good.

Should there be warnings on recipe threads too? 'No one at MNHQ has cooked this, so..you know'

Well, if that was the case MN wouldn’t have any warnings anywhere

I assume the warnings in Health and Relationships are because vulnerable people may be looking for reassurance and advice and not really think about who might be replying. Same as AMA topic.

We need a MN equivalent to the Darwin Awards, really, if we have to put warnings like that on here.

I think there are a lot of trusting people on MN unfortunately. Believing every word of what is written. Some vulnerable, some just gullible.

As duck says, should the warning is other topics be removed then?

What we need is some kind of duplicate warning system to prevent 25 wanky influencer threads

It's just pandering to stupidity having warnings all over the place.

Nobody with any sense would believe even a fraction of the stuff written on relationships/health/legal/MH.

The sort of people you think would be helped by warnings are the very ones who love to fall for the more dramatic/unlikely/ridiculous threads.

Warnings won't make any difference to them if they choose to believe 'poster xyz' is s qualified doctor/solicitor/psychologist on the back of no evidence at all.

It’s a bit daft to have a warning on health, if someone can post “I’m a doctor ask me anything” with no warning. Or legal. Or whatever.

Someone vulnerable won’t neessaeily see the distinction.

Do you think the existing warnings need to be removed then Phosphorus?

I imagine that the warnings are to protect mn not to protect individual users.

So if someone takes advice from the legal advice boards to heart and ends up losing their kids/job/life savings and sues mn on the basis that that’s where the advice came from and as it was a legal board it had some credibility in their eyes MN can say that the warning was there and that the person suing has no comeback.

It’s a liability thing for them not a protection of individuals thing.

The internet is full of misinformation. People are responsible for their own stupidity/gullibility. Anyone who takes the advice of someone known only as a username on a screen who claims to be a lawyer/doctor has only themselves to blame if things turn out not to be as they read on some internet forum.

I don't blame MN for wanting to protect themselves TBH.

Me either sparkling.

I don't think they need to be removed.

I just think warnings all over the place pointing out the obvious, do nothing but suggest that users are a bit thick.

I don't think removing them would make any difference to the kind of people who believe everything they read.

Well, MN havw obviously thought they need them in relationships, health and legal - so why not AMA where those same topics could sit?

No me either given the culture we now live in.

But we need to move past this belief that mn has those warnings there for the protection of vulnerable posters and then it’s easy to see why AMA doesn’t need a warning.

Much easier for a poster to claim that mn was responsible if they take advice on a board which is all about legal issues and where their thread is e.g. between one talking about discrimination and one talking about access issues, whereas a potential case is easily dismissed if a poster is claiming they were taken in on a board where their query was between threads stating that “I like to be spanked in the morning,” and “I eat kittens for breakfast,” “ask me anything.” It just doesn’t have that serious air to it.. which legal/health/relationships does, even though some of the posts are about more serious topics and have been fascinating to read, the overall tone of that board is different and should remain as such.

Summergems I can see what you’re saying, but I disagree. I just think if they need a warning for whatever reason on the other boards, they should have some kind of one on AMA.

There should definitely be one on the 'I'm a psychic, AMA' one!

I would hope that if it was a doctor or other professional that they would say that they couldn't give medical advice, and only answer general questions about their job, worst days at work, are receptionists really as bad as MN thinks, how do they cope with XYZ type questions.

Morning duckfuckduck, we're interested to hear your feedback so thanks for this.

As far as we're aware there aren't any plans to add a warning to the AMA topic but we'll happily pass on your ideas to the big cheeses at HQ.

We're inclined to agree with SummerGems that the tone of the AMA boards is pretty tongue in cheek so we'd hope that not too many of our users would take it as established fact.....

There should definitely be one on the 'I'm a psychic, AMA' one! only one which states that “if you take this bollocks to heart then you’re a gullible fool.”

Thanks fliss appreciate it.

Unfortunately, those who are taken in by psychics aren't just gullible fools, they are desperate, vulnerable and often grieving people who are more likely to get sucked into the woo than average. Meanwhile there are people suggesting they can read their 'aura' (WTF that is) and contact their deceased relatives for them.

But you simply cannot expect everyone to have their hand held through every experience or encounter simply because they’re thick/gullible/vulnerable/easily led. People have to be responsible for their own decisions in life. We are not children and mn is not the parent.

Legal and health need to carry those warnings for MN’s protection because if someone e.g. were to take certain decisions based on the advice on a health board then they could come back and state that there were no warnings that the people posting there weren’t legitimate doctors or that mn wasn’t accountable for the advice they gave.

AMA is very much about individual things. “I’m a lapdancer, ask me anything” implies that people will ask the poster about their life as a lapdancer/police officer/brain surgeon/bdsm addict. AMA is not touting itself as an advice board any more than chat or aibu are. Should we have warnings on every board just in case the gullible are taken in?

Frankly, anyone who needs warning of the dangers of the internet has no business being online.