GNHQ please make it clear that these forums are public!

Given that these forums are presented as being somewhere where people can find friendship and confidential support, help and advice for personal problems, it seems counter-productive to then put people in a situation where their outpourings are made even more public.

Even "Agony Aunts" will leave chunks out of letters that are published.

GN should review their policy.

Yes, an answer I gave on a thread .....luckily a banal thread about a tv programme....ended up in an article in The Times once.....nearly fell of my chair when I saw it. So yes, be careful what you say.....Big Brother IS watching.

As I am on Facebook, I am well aware of the Gransnet threads being shown on there, but I am not sure if it is my imagination or not, but the number seems to have increased significantly recently. Gransnet now far outnumbers anyone else in my Facebook notifications!

Yes I have said stuff that after I think was something at second thoughts I wouldn't have done, but sometimes make the mistake and chat as if I'm in the sitting room with a friend.

I think they already know, whitewave.

whitewave they know (it was a new poster), it was seen by the family member the person asked advice about, and the thread has been withdrawn.

I used to be a forum moderator on a work related forum, and we had great big warnings in bold text on every page related to the forums that read something like: "These forums are public!!" "Don't write anything on here that you wouldn't say to your Manager!" (and so on).

Who is it? As it is in the public forum it wouldn't hurt. To let the person concerned know!!!

Grannynot I understand your concern.

I think the vast majority of posters understand this is a public site and that anyone in the world can view it, but I expect that many assume there would be a limited audience for a bunch of grans in the UK so feel free to post about personal matters.

Posting on Facebook is a different matter just as say, appearing on the front page of the Daily Mail.

Some scenarios could be quite identifiable, if out there in the main media, particularly where members regularly post updates and even photos of their grandchildren.

For the life of me I can never understand why members give so much information about very personal matters on a regular basis.

News to me too!

Hang on.. I dont know anything about Facebook. You mean that threads here are put onto Facebook?!

Thank you.

True monica If you are aware that the forums are Facebook fodder ...

ann60 it wasn't you.

I quite often slightly change things I write if I think it could cause problems if anyone was able to identify who I was writing about.

It is not difficult to change the trivia or background details to a personal story to keep it anonymous without changing the essential story you wish to tell.

I am now worrying it is me as my thread was on the newsletter today !!!

Yes I just read that thread Grannyknot and have to admit I didn't realise the posts on here went onto FB and I m not new or unused to forums
I knew there was a gransnet of fb but had never bothered looking and wrongly presumed it had entirely separate posts
I think this is completely wrong people should be asked if they mind or not I certainly will think twice before I ask for any help in the future as I don't want my problems aired on FB I could do that myself if I wanted to

I think it is so easy to forget this. I suspect that GNHQ do not necessarily have our interests primarily in mind so I suspect it it something we should remind ourselves frequently.