REGISTRATION FEE - WOULD YOU OBJECT?

[HRHSaintMamazon]

just seen that yet another troll has gotten in and caused one of the more prolific and well loved members of the site to leave.

This is getting to be more than just an occasional annoyance.
we seem to have become victims of our own sucess. we are all so fabulouse we are attracted a much wider audience, thoguh sadly as we become more popular we appear on teh radar of a few nutballs too.

How would we feel about the possibility of a 50p joining fee.
obviously this would have to be paid either via card or paypal so there would be some kind of verification of the persons ID.
it would mean that if trollery was supsected MN would find it easier to investigate, if the poster seemed to be in trouble MN qould be in a position to help organise real help.

but mostly it would deter the 14 year olds joing to post about pube's or incest or whatever.

The fee would be minimal so that its not too restrictive.

What do you think? woudl it work? would it be workable from MNHQ perspective or would it cause other red tape type problems?

I just really think we need to do something before the site implodes.

"One of the things that I really like about mumsnet is the anonymity of it, that there is no obligation to post under, or sign off in your real name."

ermm you mean like lots of other forums out there in the big WWW

best way to treat trolls.ignore righteous indignation and posts just fuel their bile

but if no one posts
it goes off board and not in active convo

I think a lot of other forums encourage real Life info with their use of tickers and signatures and photos of your children though.

I have already paid a fee though.

I think MN has been a bit of a cult thing, and this has lulled the regs into a false sense of security.

I am saddened by the kerfuffle that has led to the departure of some old timers, but at the same time we're getting our knickers in a terrible twist about protecting ourselves from trolls by banning namechanges, charging a fee and having mods. None of which I would object to, but none of which (excepting the mods idea, maybe) would make any difference in the case of recent events.

Surely the best way to protect ourselves from trolls is to avoid posting so many personal details that we become identifiable. We should all take responsiblity for our own safety online - how many of you lot drum that into your kids? I don't condone malicious posting but I also think it's avoidable.

If you MUST charge a fee, then at least make some topics free for urgent access, or make the first ten posts free or something. We shouldn't make this place hard to access - its strengths lie in its ability tom provide instant support.

FAQ

Yes, you are right. I was just thinking about some of the other mums forums where people seem to go out of their way to reveal thier own and kids names.

you don't have to have a ticker -and MN has member profiles where some of us put lots of photos of our children

i post because it is anonymous innocuous chat.i do serious all damn day.don't want it on MN

Can't be 50p - the processing fee would be about 35p - it wouldn't be worth the programming time/transax hassle.

I dont think you should be asking for personal rl details in order to join up.

Some people like myself joined in order to get help with something very sensitive and personal.

If I had to supply such details I would have thought twice and then probs would have changed my mind and i would have missed out on a whole load of support and help

how many more people like me would lose out. on a site like this you just have to remember that anyone anywhere in the world can read your updates and take precautions to protect yourself

No, but they're kind of actively encouraged because everyone has them. the photos on MN are only there if you go and look for them, not tacked onto every post.

how about anyone caught namechanging by MN in order ot be vile could have a 1 week suspension.

if someone is our of order on a thread they get a 24 hour lock out.

would give everyone involved time to calm down and for things to get back to normal before they are able to post again.
plus if it mean i couldn't Mn for a day/week i would be careful not to call someone a $(()^*&&(%

That still doesn't stop multiple registration though. Suspend one name/email they will just use another.

coul;d be linked to the IP.

not if they have to use a bank card to pay surely?

I agree with I atedavina.

Tbh I am one of the more vulnerable posters on here, it was a mumsnet related incident that lead me to me ending up in hospital a complete basketcase.

That taught me that I was taking things far too personally and needed to take a step back. While that is not the case here I think there is a general reposnsibilty to protect ourselves.

maybe some people have allowed MN to have too much impact upon them self?get a pasting - so what

i would be bitty concerned if one took an anonymous board full of women (we hope) so much too heart it impeded or impacted real life.

the medium is seductive, and maybe posters do let guard down or allow it too much leverage

But for all the unpleasantness that happens on mumsnet there is ten times as much kindness and support. I was really touched by how much people helped me.

when i found mn (2004) i was in a terrible state and in the throughs of family courts and really really needed to speak anon and to a wide enough audience in the hope that someone might have some experience to help me. Had i needed to pay a fee and lose my aono my paranioa of the family courts finding out that i had talked about the case would have stopped me posting here. n fact the support i got was amazing and the outcome was fantastic and mumsent is like an old friend, always there even if you ignore her for a few months whilst dealing with RL. So please, think of mums like me before decided to charge for mumsnet.

sounds awful lapin.

Don't you think the support (which most of us have found to be there when we needed it most, and weren't getting it in RL) would be significantly compromised by any measures to make posting difficult for trolls?

And given that the sort of trolls who surf-on-in are 14 year old boys who just post "You all smell of crusty flaps" or similar, we can surely live with that.

The sort of trolls who maliciously disrupt a poster's personal life will not be hindered by a registration fee. As regs they will have paid it already. As nutters they won't mind coughing up.

The only way to stop it is to be anonymous. Internet fact of life.

I don;t know what has happened to Cod but I suspect it is an extreme example and we should not change the way we operate because of it. That does not change the fact I am sad she has gone however and hope she finds a way to return.

i dont know what went on.how would i?