The MNHQ Moderation Team: Thread 2

[BarrackerBarmer]

Follow on thread regarding the data breach situation:
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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.

Or if she really felt the need to somehow prove she worked at MN she could have blurred out the IP addresses.

You're not seriously telling me she didn't know the IP addresses were there or what they were.

I like how you're not saying she's not someone's daughter/niece/etc in MNHQ. Nice non-answer to the 'What is her relationship with hq that you are protecting her to the extent you are Justine?' question

Just for the record, I still think you're a fucking legend, Justine, and I'll be a loyal mumsnetter until my last breath.

But I personally don't believe for a minute she meant to "out" anyone. She obviously meant to use the screen shots she took

What on earth makes you so certain that she did not screenshot any of the user data that you have previously confirmed she had access to?

You simply cannot assume that she has posted all of the data she took on that twitter thread. You need to assume she took everything unless you can verify (not just by asking her ) that she didn't!

I just hand a warning pop up on my phone when trying to navigate off this thread and back to the main feminsm chat page.

It said “This website may be attempting to impersonate www.mumsnet.com to try to steal your personal data.”

Translations:

"I am so sorry - I do still really admire Mumsnet as a women’s organisation and a community despite what has happened. I wish you the best of luck with continuing your campaigns around Better Postnatal Care and maternity wards - change needs to happen in this area and Mumsnet are the best positioned to lead the charge.

• Women, know your place. Its round motherhood and maternity. Keep your stupid mumsy beaks out of everything else.

I was just mistakenly trying to do what I thought was the right thing as someone with very strong feelings on LGBTQ+ rights - and in doing so, I did something very misguided and frankly awful.

• I'm such a bloody heroine you know. "Misguided" is the strongest word I can stomach writing.

I have definitely learnt my lesson: not only about not tweeting in anger, but about the language I use, being careful what I say, the power of social media, and thinking about all the potential outcomes of my actions (not just the outcomes I intend). As such, I am taking some time away from social media and will return with a hopefully more mature attitude.

• Lesson being "don't get caught". Couldn't really give a flying fuck about what I actually did or who it impacted. I have left Twitter because you mumsy cows are all so mean.

I’d like to also apologise to any users who have felt hurt, attacked, or vulnerable due to my actions. I recognise that we do not agree on this issue, but I know the impact that my actions may have had on them and their mental health.

• yeah, I'm really [air quotes] "sorrrr-eeeee" [air quotes]. When I say we don't agree, what I mean is you are all still evil transphobic bigots and did I mention I'm a heroine?

Once again I’d like to apologise."

• But not really. DIAF TERFS

See, I've always understood 'mistake' to mean that you genuinely didn't mean to do something when what EH did was absolutely deliberate. She was sat in MNHQ offices (presumably) being nice and friendly to her co-workers whilst secretly planning to sabotage the site once she had left.

Who are Emma's 'friends' at HQ?

@Waspnest

See, I've always understood 'mistake' to mean that you genuinely didn't mean to do something when what EH did was absolutely deliberate. She was sat in MNHQ offices (presumably) being nice and friendly to her co-workers whilst secretly planning to sabotage the site once she had left.

She deliberately took screen grabs and deliberately posted those on Twitter with the intention of damaging Mumsnet. I agree with that. I don't believe she clocked that they had IP addresses at the bottom and meant to deliberately post those.

I don't believe she clocked that they had IP addresses at the bottom

Right

@Invalid

I like how you're not saying she's not someone's daughter/niece/etc in MNHQ. Nice non-answer to the 'What is her relationship with hq that you are protecting her to the extent you are Justine?' question

Just for the record, I still think you're a fucking legend, Justine, and I'll be a loyal mumsnetter until my last breath.

None other than an employee! No relation, friend of a friend, third cousin once removed. Nada. Niente. Nothing. Cross my heart and hope to die!

She deliberately took screen grabs and deliberately posted those on Twitter with the intention of damaging Mumsnet. I agree with that. I don't believe she clocked that they had IP addresses at the bottom and meant to deliberately post those

Again. What makes you so certain she did not screen shot user details. You sound like you saying she has publicly posted every screenshot she took - that seems like a very risky assumption unless you have concrete evidence.

Jeez, turn your back for a day and can barely keep up!

I also object to the infantilising of Emma Healy. She is an adult and entirely responsible for her own foolish actions. Her age is not part of this discussion and not relevant, it is seen here by me to be a tool in minimizing what she has done which is betray her employer's trust through incredibly unprofessional conduct.

I feel so sorry for Justine!

Emma is the same as lots of people who instead of listening/reading what is being said they just jump to transphobia or terfy insults. She obviously is calculated to have taken the screenshots in the first place, as others have already said.

@MrsUnderwood

I just hand a warning pop up on my phone when trying to navigate off this thread and back to the main feminsm chat page.

It said “This website may be attempting to impersonate www.mumsnet.com to try to steal your personal data.”

Erm that's a worry - thanks for pointing out. A screen grab (dare I say it) would be useful.

Even if she didn't see the IP addresses on the screenshot (or on the admin screen from which she was taking them , which I find particulary hard to believe), she certainly meant to show that she had access to the Admin module of the MNHQ software.

When you look at that software, it's very easy to have an understanding of the datasets that MN stores and the processes by which it operates.

She knew questions would be asked on 'what she knew'.

By showing these screens, she was boasting about being an 'insider' and she didn't give a shit how insecure it made mumsnet users who would might wonder what she might do with this information. She was publicly goading them with these screens. And calling them 'scum'. To me, that's was a clear threat.

And she was sticking two fingers up to you @JustineMumsnet

She's not sorry. She might not have realised the FULL implications of her treachery but she was entirely complicit in it.

Oh crossed post! Took too long typing.

@ItsAllGoingToBeFine

She deliberately took screen grabs and deliberately posted those on Twitter with the intention of damaging Mumsnet. I agree with that. I don't believe she clocked that they had IP addresses at the bottom and meant to deliberately post those

Again. What makes you so certain she did not screen shot user details. You sound like you saying she has publicly posted every screenshot she took - that seems like a very risky assumption unless you have concrete evidence.

I can't be 100% certain - hence contacting the posters affected and the police - I'm just stating what I believe.

Emma is also apparently friends with the students who created the NUS presentation on "dealing with TERFs".

Even if she's repented now, I'd be extremely concerned about what she might have shared with them.

So people who only half read what they are doing are employed at MN? The ISP addresses were there for all to see, how can anyone defend this?

Justine, I fully appreciate you must feel hellishly betrayed by this but really, she didn't mean what she did re ISP addresses. Sorry, the naivety here is staggering.

So Justine is saying is that this woman wanted to do damage to mumsnet, and target individual posters, but didn't intend to break the law whilst doing so?

She wanted to do as much legal damage as she could, and is now bricking it because she's inadvertently committed a crime.

Hence that transparent apology.

It's a mess.

Personally, I would like to see this woman face some official consequences, not just fall out, (like her reputation being compromised).

Because going out of your way to damage women for their opinion is unacceptable. And should be seen to be unacceptable.

Has she been asked whether she stole any other data?