Why are some threads about stories in the news ok and others not?

[Lochroy]

What is the criteria for what can be discussed and what can't?

I'm slightly reluctant to name them in case this gets pulled as a TAAT, but I can't see how else I can ask my question.

Mn has always been a great place for discussing current news. But today two threads about the Wimbledon car crash have been pulled, but one about Wynne Evans still stands.

What's the rationale?

You're not allowed to discuss stuff that might jeopardise a trial.

One is about a criminal investigation, the other about a sleazoid who - as far as we know - isn't involved in a criminal investigation. One can be speculated on (Wynne) without crossing a legal line, the other has potential to cause legal problems.

The police have asked that people refrain from speculating about the case you are thinking of, and if the thread has been pulled, well so it should have been. Such an emotive and tragic issue isn't something that should be discussed and picked apart on here.

Mumsnet have always been very proactive in pulling threads about criminal cases & trials. Especially when Police ask people not to speculate

As far as Wynne Evans is concerned, he's a horrible sleezy bastard but not involved in a criminal case/trial. So fair game for discussing

Thanks for the replies. I'd missed the glaringly obvious about criminal vs non-criminal.

(I only mentioned today's two, but there were plenty of other examples I had in mind). It still feels a bit muddy to me, but helpful to know.

Hi thre Lochroy. Yes, as others have already explained, we will sometimes remove threads if there's a chance of a trial being jeopardised or if there's just lots of speculation when the facts haven't yet been established. And, of course, threads about news stories can easily break our generic Talk Guidelines in the usual ways and be taken down if they've gone badly off piste in some way.

We know that with stories that are in the public eye, people will want to discuss them and that's absolutely fine, of course. So generally, we try to let conversation flow, so if a thread has been removed there will be a good reason for it. We try to let people know the reason for deletion when we take a thread down but if you're ever not sure you can always drop us a line and we'll tell you as much as we can.