Did something actually happen on Sunday night?

[woodenbatandball]

I was reading a post that said the site was infiltrated with child abuse images on Sunday under some kind of attack.
Lots of people hadn't been online to see this but some said they did. The thread was then deleted and there has been no explanation. And the media is silent about it. Can anyone confirm if this actually happened and if it did, why aren't Mumsnet commenting? All seems badly handled for Mumsnet not to comment either way.

They keep deleting threads because they hate being criticised for their shocking overnight moderation policies and ever-increasing trolling issues.

Don’t be ridiculous. There is no need for multiple threads when there is one you can criticise them on to your hearts content.

@wythamwoods haha,
I'm banging on as I'm responding to people's responses. If you read the thread you'll see I've found MN response.

Why do you think your are owed more than those who experienced this?

Just be grateful you didn't see. Be confident action is being taken. Don't make it about you.

@barstar seriously! Mumsnet is for us all. Not just one person. Sometimes I feel
That people's full time hobby is
Going on posts they don't agree with and commenting about it. If you don't care for my original post just scroll on.

Thanks to everyone who offered helpful
Perspectives. I'm off to work now and go back on commenting about Silent Witness.

Yes, the title of the one thread concerning the CSA images, which MN chose to keep on Site Stuff yesterday (it stopped posts on all the other threads which were started on this matter), does not in any way indicate what it might actually be about. Only those who know, would know. Crafty move, MN…

Yes it's for us all, I wasn't saying otherwise. The post of yours I quoted was a bit 'sorry you saw that, but those who didn't deserve a formal statement' - it's one of those, don't make it all about you. You didn't see anything, you haven't experienced anything because it happened, it's not really about you. It could have been and while I do agree that MNHQ need to be acting and reassuring I do think they also need a bit of time and are doing what they can I also understand that as someone who did not see it I am very lucky.

You basically minimised that poster who had seen it and that was disgraceful

But the thread in question is in Site Stuff and hidden from Active threads, is it not? So people aren’t necessarily going to see it.

Playing Devil's Advocate here but does those who don't know need to know?

Some MNetters may have trauma in their past which could be triggered by these posts.

Is it really fair to have the entire site filled with discussions on CSA? The only people who are "owed" anything are those who were directly affected, and we have no idea what support MN/the police have offered behind the scenes.

One thread is enough.

Also ironic that on the one thread they allowed to continue, the title of which specifically concerns the role of the NW, and its inadequacies, there hasn’t been any comment from MN, afaik, about the NW team and how it was badly caught on the back foot, through no fault of its own.

My thread hasn't been deleted on Gransnet I can now get on the site. They were probably just checking the security over there too.

Online communities often inspire the kind of love/hate relationships we have with partners. I've been a member of a few over the years where every tiny change or perceived error was greeted with 100 times the grief or derision that would have been applied to actually important issues like a 5p rise in income tax or Waitrose running out of organic orange juice.

MNHQ doesn't owe us anything here. They could choose to write a huge long post about how sorry they are, but it wouldn't actually convey any more sincerity than what they have done in this case. It seems that moderation in the UK/European night time is a problem, and that's a business decision for them to sort out. But any website that allows the posting of images without pre-moderation will have to accept that sometimes, stuff will slip through. It's part of the price we pay for living in a free society and/or using a reasonably convenient means of communication.

As PP have noted, nobody absolutely needs to be here. There's a Flouncer's Corner forum for a reason. I'm sure MN would be happy to reimburse any of us every penny that we have given them to use the site. (I say that as someone who is neither a huge fan of MN, nor a daily critic. It's a business and I try to remain reasonably morally neutral about businesses.)

I have much higher standards for what is acceptable.

We are the product MN makes its money from and there are requirements for keeping us safe.

Temporarily suspending photo posting is a quick fix to the illegal activity - but what happens when it is reactivated?

There are technological and human-led solutions that can and should be implemented.

At the very least, either limit posting to hours when laid, trained mods are online or extend those hours. Stop using volunteers to moderate the site and ensure the system for reporting is seamless, not convoluted and opaque like it is currently.

We can leave, you’re right - but losing users isn’t in MN’s interests - so why not try to make things better?

Not to mention the fact that the NW are VOLUNTEERS. They are not paid enough anything at all to deal with this shit, nor I imagine do they have any training.

If you didn't see it why do you need a statement or apology? A statement about something you didn't even see? I've heard it all now.

You sound like someone with an axe to grind...

Just sayin'.

You’re absolutely right. A website of this size relying on volunteers to moderate at night is genuinely ridiculous. Feel awful for the poor unpaid people who had to try to hide the images after they’d been posted.

Was there a discussion about this on Radio 2 or 4 the other day. I caught the tail end of something about mumsnet but they seemed to be talking about AI...or maybe it was something altogether different. ?

Op it's very easy to contact mnhq if you really feel you aren't satisfied by what's been said or done note sure this is helpful

Exactly this. You have an awful lot of opinions and strong emotions for someone who wasn't involved.

I doubt you will receive an official statement.
This site primarily exists to make a lot of ad money, with links to the tabloids and so on.

The more people fight and tear each other's arseholes apart on MN, the richer they get, lol. They likely delete what might legally compromise them.

@pinkfondu I didn't post this to be helpful to you or anyone else that likes to open threads they don't agree with and comment on them.

I posted as I was in a discussion thread about what happened and Mumsnet then deleted the thread with zero explanation. So I was actually confused as to if the actual events even happened and the thread I had been part of was a hoax.

I am well within my rights to ask the question I did and post the topic. If those of you that are THAT offended by this post just move on.
For those of you who have offered helpful opinions and information. Thank you very much. I don't have an axe to grind, I was merely saying I think it is bad form not to make a formal statement (given all the posts and hear say). As others have kindly suggested, Mumsnet will probably be working hard behind the scenes on next steps.

For those of you that constantly feel the need to criticise me, please realise this is a forum made up of lots of different people who won't just post topics you love and agree with. I am sincerely sorry if this offended anyone. I stand by my original question. I hope you all have good days, good coffee - sending love to you all!

@Tsukiko this made me laugh! It's so true! Everyone's bad day/lack of caffeine/PMS/menopause is reflected in a Mumsnet post or comment somewhere xx

People keep bringing it up because two days later there still isn't an easily accessible statement on the subject from MN. People keep pointing to some comments buried in another thread with a completely unrelated title - which is absolutely useless to anyone who hasn't clicked on it or been pointed to it.

I'm a former community manager for a very large media firm - there's no detailed statement because MN are almost certainly in crisis management mode over this, as it's the kind of thing that will send advertisers running for the hills.

Still, a pinned, locked thread with a statement along the lines of...

"MumsNet is aware of an incident regarding illegal images being posted that occured on Sunday and are currently investigating the matter. In the meantime, images have been disabled and we will be removing all other threads on the topic to avoid speculation"

...should be the bare minimum almost two days on.

It's been dealt with and that's the end

No, it hasn't and no, it isn't.

This website exists based on the ad revenue generated by its users. There's no such thing as being 100% safe online, but users should have a reasonable expectation that there are adequate systems and protocols in place to mitigate.

I was stunned to find out that MN apparently doesn't employ 24 hours moderation coverage. It's inexcusable. User/volunteer moderators are extremely common, but there must be a specially trained resource available around the clock to deal with things like this.

Disabling images is fine, if that's going to be permanent. But that doesn't stop links being posted.

This issue won't be dealt with until MN puts things in place to prevent it happening again, and tells its users and advertisers what they are, so that an informed decision can be made about future usage.

@Frequency @Porcuporpoise Both well said! Beggars belief!