Hello all (warning ludicrously long post to follow... get out the popcorn/ gin/sausage rolls and don't start reading unless you have time to spare).
Just back from holidays and have been catching up with everything that's been going on and wanted to give some feedback both on the Daily Mail column and on the topic of deletions.
First off the DM: What I can't do is wade in and start conversations about legal-type stuff with them while key people are still away, but we have finally spoken with them and started negotiations. They were very apologetic for any offence and anxiety they have caused and apologised for not letting us know in advance that the piece was being run in the first place.
They are really keen to continue with the column and we've managed to clarify some key issues for this week's column (and any subsequent ones) :
a) As the title suggests (This week on Mumsnet), it's current/topical discussions from recent weeks they are looking for. They have assured us that they are NOT going to be raking through the archives looking for personal stories. They have also assured us that there will be no threads taken from the Special Needs section or threads about Domestic violence. A quote from an email from their commissioning editor received today:
"It is never our intention to dredge up old stories or to ostracise any of your members. Our aim is to empathise with them and support them by highlighting the debate and issues facing mums today."
b) They have also agreed to change all the names of the folks quoted which will obviously make it significantly more difficult for anyone to then use search to find other posts on Mumsnet.
c) They've also agreed to give us a heads up on what topic they will be covering in advance. Obviously as it's a topical column we're not going to get a heap of advance warning but we should at least be able to check what they're writing about. We're still in discussion about what we could do if we don't approve/ if the topic they are covering is likely to be contentious. But given what they have said about not wanting to ostracise anyone, we're pretty confident we could sort this out. This week's topic, apparently is lunch boxes in the light of the news story about ham sandwiches.
We hope this info will calm some of your anxieties. There does still remain the discussion about whether or not Mumsnet should be associated with the Daily Mail at all/ what we can do if we are still unhappy, but that's a discussion that will have to wait until everyone's back from hols.
In the meantime, given the latest information on what the column will be about and how it will be presented in the future, is it something we could live with? Do let us know (we know you will )
Which leads us not neatly at all into mass deletions.
Hopefully the news that the backroom boys at the DM are not, as we speak, trawling the archives for your most embarrassing posts will allay folks' fears, but for those who have been asking for some policy on deletions, here's a stab at explaining our thoughts:
We are always happy to delete one-off posts when you've realised you've put in an email address or phone number or something else that might identify you in real life. If you report a whole thread to us for the same reason, we're usually happy to delete too - although we may ask you to post on it one more time to let everyone else on the thread know what's happening.
Sometimes, there is a delay between you reporting a post to us and us deleting it (especially if it is late at night/a weekend) but we do try very hard to answer every request we get. If you don't get a reply, do please contact us again at [email protected] - with the best will in the world, things do occasionally slip through the net - and we'll do our best to sort you out.
As far as mass deletions go, we have done mass deletions off our own bat when a persistent poster is revealed to be a troll (eg JudgeFlounce).
But we are reluctant to do mass deletions on request because it does make a nonsense of the boards - even old threads can be a really useful repository of wise Mumnsetters' advice and it's very frustrating to search for something and find a string of posts saying, 'Message withdrawn by poster'.
We have also found, in the past, that when we ask the poster who has requested the mass deletion to report the threads and posts they are truly troubled by, there are often only a handful of posts that really need deleting. It's amazing how many of us have a posting history that contains far more about weaning spoons and zombie plans than we could ever have imagined!
That said, there has been the odd occasion when a poster has felt their own safety was seriously compromised by their past posts - and we have, for that reason, agreed to delete their posting history. There have been others who genuinely feel their mental health is being compromised by posts remaining on the site and in those instances we have also done mass deletions. Again, we don't do this lightly and usually need to consult carefully with each other before starting the deletion process.
We have no wish at all to make anyone's life more difficult, that's absolutely not what we are here for, but equally I think we all want a site full of coherent, useful advice, not threads full of deleted posts. So please be careful and try not to post stuff that's going to compromise you or your identity or that you're going to regret posting later.
If you've read this far, congratulations
Thanks again for your patience,
MNHQ