The MN Mail Column - what we think, and what we plan to do next... part 2

[whataboutthisone]

Firstly, I am a regular but have created a new name for this.

My thoughts about what I know so far:

1. In a much earlier post there was a discussion about a change in T&Cs and whether they are valid or not. Several years ago I took a company to court for a breach of their T&Cs. Their argument was that they had changed T&Cs and my complaint was therefore no longer valid. However, the judge said that because I had not specifically been asked to accept the new T&Cs, I was entitled to rely on the ones I had accepted and therefore I won my case.

1. I choose to post on MN in the knowledge that the details I give are probably just obscure enough to anyone I may know in RL who also posts, so that what I say still effectively remains private. However, that doesn't mean that the same could be said of, for instance, my mother, who reads the DM (!) There is probably just enough about my circumstances that would enable her to put 2+2 together. I would like the option to choose whether or not I let my Mum ( or anyone else in RL) in on certain areas of my life, and there is a real possibility that this hack, has taken that choice away from me.

1. I have never ( and now will never) post asking for advice, but I will also be very careful about offering advice in the future. I, along with many others, occasionally use examples from my life to explain where I am coming from. If I continue to do that, as I said earlier, it is possible that some people would be able to work out who I am. Now, I am not so big-headed as to believe that any advice I offer is worth taking, however, there are many fantastic posters on here who do give amazing and insightful advice based on their own experiences. It would be a real shame if that was to stop because they, like me, do not want to share some of those experiences with the folk they are close to in RL. It would also be a real tragedy if others were prevented from asking for help for the same reasons.

I am very disappointed that any MNer would feel it is acceptable to violate the trust we place in each other on this forum. I do not know who she is. I do not want to know who she is. But I hope she is hanging her head in shame for breaching the trust that has been placed in her by everyone whose words she has stolen to make a few bucks!

I suppose I should just be grateful that they didn't sell the video to Argos for their television display wall

Was it letterbox, MP?

I'm not sure why that amuses me.

But it does.

Glad all was well, Carrie

I thought you were off to brood in bed, but I'm glad to see you're not. Must learn to read one day.

They did, MP. They just don't play it at your local Argos out of terror respect.

carrie, i'm really glad all was well with the scan. xxx

good news Carrie.

This is what my last gynae appointment revealed.

I have visions of a letterbox, and Lloyd Grossman saying "Whoooo would live in a place like this?"

"Let's find out as we go throooooooooooooooough the keyhole"

a keyhole would be lovely

Carrie,I'm glad all is well and I hope your kids went to be as easily as mine this eve

But I would like to ask what measures do you have in place to stop any other journalist/paper doing wht Dm have just done?

Thanks Oopsagainandagain, and no sadly my brood didn't go down well at all, I blame their lousy mother.

The answer to your question is that we have no measures in place and we're not sure we'll ever be able to have any measures in place (which is kind of where this conversation all started), but we'll certainly be talking about it all when we're all back.

Still reeling at mental image of MP's widescreen (thankfully only had a small portable-size screen for mine).

Night all

It's a shame we've all been so caught out by this....

It will certainyl change the way i use MN, if I decide to stay.

I do think that all posters should be told that this has happened and there is no way at this moment that MN can protect them if somebody wants to tkae their OP/thread and reprdocue it in any publication. I feel the terms and conditions are so wolly as to make them unintelligible

I'm not exactly sure how you do it-- but you do have everyone's email... but as i say- this isn't my business and I've little experience in how the net works.

It would be sad to let people fall into the same trap again and again.

I'm acutely aware that it is business as normal on alot of the boards- people slagging off their MILS and quoting very very speific situations, and people talking about thier affairs and how depressed they feel.

I'm not sure how many of them know at this point that there is nothing that mN can do if their stories just go straight into ANY publication with no come back.

And I'm not aware of any papers discussiong what gas happened here, but I can't imaagine no other journalists have noticed.

A padlock would be better

I agree totally oops.

I honestly think this HAs to change they way MN works for all posters.

Unless they make an active decision to post, knowing the risks.

i'm aware they've always been there- people keep coming on to say so.

But to be raided so obviously and without any come back- something has shifted and changed and I think people ned protecting.

And, as I've said previsouly, and as aitch has said- there ought to be a line in the sand where people cna make decisions about their post on here and if they want it ot remain.

It's a tough one and I've sympathy for MN as a business, but it is also an ethical business a sper its mission statement.

And for me, ethical means all sorts of stuf flike recylcing etc, but also means to have some degree of responsibilty to its clients.

I knwo there will be a,lot of talking, and I hope it resolves in a more happy place.

The DM thing- i doubt you can back track now- and I can see that you wouldn't want to..

but I'm just very sad that this is how it ends for me, with a wimper and an "oh, ws that it"

If this has to be, which it seems it does...

Why can't the Daily Mail just take stuff from 'In the News'?

A warning could be put at the top of all those threads, like there is at the top of the legal/money ones making posters aware that their words might appear in the paper.

After all, isn't the whole idea that they are gatherine the opinions of parents about something topical?

gathering

and that para re money/legal could be better worded but I'm sure you get my drift.

Hmmmm KingCnutBoredOfDMButWontLetGo and nellie verry strange posting from that person I agree.

good Idea suew, they could even give DM a free reign to post singular posts (i.e the op) in this section so people realise it may be a journo they are answering to.

I for one have made the crappy choice to withdraw from the active convos. I'll be sticking to my regular threads where I am known and there isn't much juicy meat for a newspaper to pick.

I was in the deadly dull dm article, and feel really about it. I sound like a judgey thick loon, as the post is pretty much out of context and viewed in isolation - instead as read alongside others and seen as the 'nods head in agreement' it was. I'd be mortified if friends who know my nm identity saw it. They will see it. It's awful.

I cannot risk the same happening with some advice I may give in relation to my job. Thats a shame as my job is relevant to many mners, and I like to think I might have been a bit usefull in the last 10 months.

I can see it now....

'This week in mn, midwife bemoans lack of staff and dangerous conditions'

because I post on a thread that a water birth may be an issue if there is no one trained - or some such thing. I could get in a great deal of trouble with my regulatory body for something like that - if I were traced. Thats not too dificult.

I don't want to be dramatic but this background possibility of being used to sell papers could cause a real shrink in what people are prepared to contribute. If mn looses some of the really valuable professionals and experts who contribute it would be a big shame. I cannot trust to the ethics and goodwill of the DM. I do not trust them to not create articles that suit their style of 'reporting' from our threads. With all the twisting of words and context that entails.

Well, not in/with my [posting]name. I am sticking with my reg threads though, as to loose them would be like loosing friends!

Sigh.

And this is an example of how that person was posting in AIBU... pretty extreme speed posting IMO, and weird considering their answers were often just one word... I love a good conspiracy me

11:41:58
11:42:23
11:42:56
11:43:25
11:43:56
11:44:33
11:45:09
11:45:49
11:46:43
11:47:20
11:47:58
11:54:28

12:12:45
12:13:52
12:15:36
12:16:35
12:17:09
12:17:43
12:1 8:58
12:19:58
12:20:27
12:21:21
12:22:30
12:25:29
12:26:35
12:28:10
12:29:06
12:29:47
12:3 0:47
12:31:46

Roughly every thirty seconds..i.e just enough time to read the OP, whether that be to be able to answer sensibly or just to answer the OP originally who knows.

yeah right 30 seconds to post one on thread find another read the entire op often quite long and then post again

curious eh?

A very very old thread was also bumped (by someone else) about taking a baby to the cinema. I wonder if there was a more sinister reason? hmmmmm.... curious indeed

Or maybe I'm being paranoid