all those who would like MN [or part] to become register only sign here

[ruty]

I for one feel there is a lesson to be learned from the Moldies debacle. I have been posting much less as have become increasingly concerned about info on here about my dcs, in particular, and so post less. There are those who say well you should be careful what you post, etc. But i think the quality of advice i can give is diminished because i always have to think twice about how much to reveal - the same goes for asking for advice. Yes, you can namechange, but then you lose your posting identity and it is harder to build up posting relationships. I really feel that as it is not that hard to register, and as so m any here have had problems with trolls, that at least part of the site should become register only. MNHQ could you consider please?

dont you have to register to become a troll anyway? Or have I misunderstood?

you do yes. But trolls presumably come a lot of the time after being able to google threads to glean info.

I see your point but TBH I doubt it. Trolls know the websites they like to lurk/post on without google. And MN gets a lot of press.

no I don't think it should - I think that one of the great things about MN is that the threads are easily found on google, someone that doesn't already know of a parenting board and is looking for advice may well find what they're looking for here on MN, via Google.

If people want to post on a forum that isn't googleable then there are plenty of others out there..........

I have seen many trolls on parenting (and other topic) forums where threads and totally non googleable

i think the onus is on posters to not give away information that could compromise them or make them too identifiable

I feel similarly Ruty.

I am limiting what I say and sometimes will post only to request deletion soon afterwards.

Something could do with being adjusted.

but Moldies [or should i say MWMNBN] have often said they needed the site for privacy reasons. I think it is a pertinent point. And a privilege that perhaps MNers should benefit from too, in the form of a part of MN being register only.

I have very little trust for MN and net forums now anyway. I was a regular for a long time and changed my name recently - I now use MN for 2 things - advice for problems my DS is having but nothing that could identify us or that I would not want everyone I know to read. And totally trivial stuff like children's books. TBH I got sick of being emotionally invested in a website. There are thousands of posters here and inevitably loads of them are going to disagree or not like you. If you are sensitive (as I am) then you need to not even give them the chance. No more would I tell my lifestory on international TV and expect everyone to adore me afterwards. Add to that the possibility of net stalkers, whatever and it just isnt worth it.

And for the record there are some lovely people here One of my best friends I met through MN and I have had some wonderful caring advice on the SN board. But there are limits to what I can reasonably expect from a website.

not only that but presumably MN would lose a load of money from advertisers if threads weren't googlable

well I can assure that even forums where posts are totally non-readable until you've registered, or where none of the posts are googleable still have huge problems with trolls. So I do think it would be rather naieve to think that making MN readable only by registering would be kind of defeating the point of what makes MN so different from many others - that is that advice posted on here can be found via google.

Have you asked Mumsnet HQ

Do you think some people from mumsnet posting here will make it happen?

I would say it's up to them (Mumsnet HQ) how they change their site, certainly not up to us lot.

afaik it has been mooted before by mnhq

Oh bloody hell this is rideculous!

I am very anti- anything more stringent in terms of registering

MN is what it is because it is open

Registering inevitably puts off as many good people as the trolls it might deter - probably a lot more.

I would always think carefully about how much I wanted to reveal, even with much stricter registering.

Moldies is a private group. It's a completely different animal. It will never have the "community" or the power - and I doubt - the longevity - that MN has. Its privacy will limit it.

The potential loss of privacy is a concern. I don't post about terribly private things on here, but am on the conception boards so would not really like to be recognised IRL. But then I change my name a fair amount which may help...

The only solution I can come up with would be to have a section on which you could post only if you had been a member for a certain period of time or were particularly prolific poster. So in other words, similar to Moldies, but without any high-school popularity contest selection method.

It doesn't really work though - for example what topics etc would there be on the "private" section that were not on the public one? It's a pretty difficult one to think through.

Alternatively it would be possible to make parts of the site un-googlable (like the ectopic pregnancy trust does) and you have to be logged in to post there but having to log in is not much of a deterrant to those who wish to troll or stalk.

I think we all just have to accept this as a hazard of the internet. When I first came on MN it was clear to me that I wanted to remain anonymous, just as it was clear that some posters wanted to be noticed. The problem with being noticable is that if you give enough away you might have problems IRL. People just need to exercise caution for themselves I think.

some sites have a little number that pings up saying how many times someone has posted, or member since 1872 or something. that would help with troll detection and being kind to newbies simultaneously.

None of the things any of you are proposing, i.e. requiring registration, post counts, member since etc do anything to stop trolls. I have been using internet boards for over 10 years, of all sorts, both reg and non reg. And there will always be trolls.

If you don't want yourself out there, don't post. Otherwise accept that privacy is dead and move on already.

Go ahead, flame away. I don't plan on reading the thread any further any way.

mazzy that doesn't really work on a forum where someone can name change as it kind of makes the anonimity of being able to name change a bit of a farce as you can easily find out who the person is by looking at the number of posts.

what a very strange tone to that post tc

i agree though that my suggestion would only help to people to decide whether they thought posts were genuine, so they might moderate their own responses. and might well be more faff than they are worth.

I would never have found MN if it had not been google-able - I found useful threads here when I was searching for a topic.
I would not have registered if I had not been able to look round and lurk for a while first.
I would not have registered if I had been required to give much more information than the bare minimum.

For me, changing these things would be a very negative step - another person out tere now like me would never find and join it, and would lose out on all that's good about it.

I'm often astounded by the amount of information about themselves and their DC that people post on here - sorry, but you can give useful advice and develop reasonable levels of posting relationship without that.

I was initially for it but now I'm not so sure.

true faq, a new name would have to be a new "poster".

and then a new poster could be regarded as a troll..........

I mentioned it on another thread....maybe making it impossible to namechange all the time would be better....although not sure how doable that is....think originally it was like that with Babycentre....but not sure...