The MNHQ Moderation team

[BarrackerBarmer]

Dear MNHQ

I'm very grateful for the commitment to free speech you've publicly taken, and for Justine's courage this week.

A former disgruntled employee of MN is writing on Twitter about the 'transphobia' of MN staff, and calling you TERFs. She is showing a great deal of bias and intolerance towards women with feminist views, this may well be her honest opinion, which is no big deal I suppose, since she is no longer an employee.

At least, it isn't an issue until she calls a shout out to her
'friends who still work at MN' to report and take down posts by 'transphobic scum', by which she appears to be referring to any poster objecting to being called TERF by her friend.

Regardless of the personal views of the MNHQ staff, who should be as free to hold their own views as I am mine, I am disturbed that there may be a small contingent of employees who are invested in unfair moderation and will not be applying fair-handed principles, at least if the claims of this ex-employee are credible.

Can you please give posters some reassurance that the difficult job of fair-handed moderation isn't being abused by the 'friends' of ex-employees who are 'reporting it all' and taking down posts because any gender criticism means the poster is 'transphobic scum'?

Thank you.

What pisses me off is that there's genuine examples of transphobia elsewhere on chat forums and yet mumsnet gets the 'expose attacks' cos we're mostly women and how very dare we have opinions.

Exactly Ekphrasis
Mumsnet users are a target because we are women. Women are not allowed to say no. Women must always say yes or suffer consequences.

ah but we make stuff happen ehprasis, so we are a threat

For those who want to take action to protect their IP addresses, I stopped using Chrome and Internet Explorer browsers and now use a browser called "Opera" which has a built in VPN which you can toggle on and off to mask your IP and make it look like you are in another country if you wish. It is free and I've been pretty happy with it.

Good point.

That's the point of feminism. Making stuff happen.

Creating turmoil and trying to get mners to flounce is exactly the desired result for those who wish to shut women up for good, don't get sucked in.

Agree (while also respecting personal decisions)

Well Emma, I hope it was worth it. I hope this earned you lots of cookies from the most oppressed people ever who happen to be mostly straight, white men.

Bluntly, it doesn't matter whether or not Emma is sorry. "Sorry" is not a defense to have breached data security and stolen information from one's employer

And then published it on the internet.

I'm sorry Justine, Im normally one of your biggest cheerleaders, but that response is totally inadequate.

Well she self identifies as 'queer' which might mean she's a lesbian but doesn't like that word or just that she's straight but far more interesting that us breeding bleeding breastfeeding sort of sad fucks who are not popular with the men who make the roolz

Brave New World

Justine - many posters here are mothers of young children. They have statutory obligations regarding those children. A member of staff on a parenting website has stolen and published identifying details of site members - and may hold or have passed on more such details - to get the attention of a group of activists known for doxxing and harassing women who disagree with them politically. Not only are jobs at risk, but this breach may well have created child protection risks.

A private apology to a third party is not sufficient.

Truscum

This is starting to feel like because we are women, as some kind of solidarity to the perpetrator for saying sorry and thus being a good girl we should all shut up and be good girls too.

This isn’t Sarah Lockman stealing Alison Henderson’s copy of Smash Hits from her gym bag in 1997, this is serious shit. It can’t really be fixed with being good girls and accepting her apology. She has put people in danger, she has stolen data and she could potentially have stored much more. She sat on the data she had for months before publishing it, this seems deliberate.

Like I mentioned earlier, I was expressly threatened for being “a TERF”, now thanks to this information I believe it could be linked to this site. How do feel safe now?

Get a grip Terry.

We haven't broken the law. She has. Piss off with your finger wagging.

Ahh, there's that civilised debate you're so fond of I see. Thanks for clarifying!

Given this data breach has only just come to light, perhaps Justine and MNHQ should not be commenting about this without further legal advice.

I was recently contacted by an organisation giving a ridiculously detailed and apologetic explanation that my data had been breached. The apparent breach seemed extremely insignificant, very unlike the malicious breach which has occurred here.

Can MNHQ give assurances that personal data will not be visible to moderators?

Given the adverse publicity of the FWR board, surely only experienced members of MNHQ should moderate these threads?

Secrets, I know!

I think of Truscum now as our own Mumsnet barometer for Transphobia.

'Truscum!! Did we literally kill you ?

'Nah. Not even melty'

@terryfolds

Grow up. We have no control over youtube posts. And why are you reposting something that has obviously been taken down from this thread? I didn't see it, I've read the whole thread, and now you're re-posting it. Why? So you can screenshot it?

She called us scum, so she can hardly be surprised that there will be people losing it right back at her.

As for her 'sorry', I'm guessing it's this kind of sorry

'Truscum!! Did we literally kill you ?

**

'Nah. Not even melty'

😂😂😂

I may not be the best judge. Apparently I am transphobic and homophobic myself (shhh don’t tell my husband )

I really think you need to report this breach to the ICO at the earliest opportunity. Let THEM be the judge of whether IP addresses (and whatever else was syolen) constitutes personal data. If not, they'll tell you. If so, you are only making things worse for Mumsnet by delaying.

She makes as much sense as believing 'Assigned Male at Birth' Juells

Quelle surprise

Zero hope

Well, my real name is Abigail Roscoe and I couldn't give a shit if some sad-arsed activist tries to shut me the fuck up.

I do think the anonymity if the internet can be useful and productive. But there are limits and whilst I and many others may have done or said questionable things under its cloak I sincerely do not care that my past sins may find me.

I'm 44 next week. I have absolutely no fear that some sad fuck might find some questionable material and decide to publish, or indeed that they may turn up at my door.

These fuckers thrive on your fear.

But they're not men, obvs. You literally violent cunt.

I don't give a flying fuck if she's sorry.

She has broken the law. It's a serious crime to deliberately leak personal data and she knows that.

Her extremist views were all over the internet and given transactivists record on ethics, I wonder if the reason she applied for the internship in the first place, was because she thought she might have a chance to undermine a site which allows free speech about transideology?

Well, if I had any idea who Annie O'Neill was perhaps I might have a word with her? I don't, though.