GNHQ please make it clear that these forums are public!

It is the simplest thing to Tweet this thread - I merely click on the Twitter symbol at the top of this thread.
I would do it just to show you but it would 'out' me- although even on Twitter I don't have my full name.
Just assume that anything on the Internet can be read by anyone and won't come off.

Thanks for raising this Grannyknot. I was not aware the posts appeared elsewhere. Is nothing sacred?

Do you not have the little symbols coming up all the time BlueBelle? Top and bottom of every page.
Just as well you started it Grannyknot.
I am very careful e.g. I hide my list of friends on FB and then if I were hacked the hacker wouldn't have access to them.
I don't know why you are all fixated on FB. Do you not realise that if you Google something like 'frustrated with my husband' the present thread on GN will be top of the list?
I am on Twitter so could tweet any thread on here- if I wished.

seacliff I don't think it's reasonable to say what you do and don't want shared on FB, now you know the situation.

Many members seemed to have been lulled into a false sense of security - also some still seem to think that you have to be a member to view, you don't anyone can, but you do have to be a member to post.

I agree that newcomers should be made aware of the potential to end up on FB and Twitter, not just hidden in the terms and conditions.

So Lara... Will you agree to this? In future, if I start a thread, or want to respond to someone else's thread, on a personal nature and I don't want it on social media.
Can I message you just as I post, saying I don't want it shared?
If you don't agree, and insist it goes on FB etc, can I ask you, before it's shared, to remove all my contributions to it? If I started thread, presumably I can ask you to delete the whole thing?

One forum which isn't shared isn't too much to ask, surely?? I joked at the beginning of the thread about my 'incontinence' post, but really that would be the least of my problems if someone recognised me. Its not that kind of issue that bothers me. A private forum would keep me happy, when I would like to ask advice, or I wish to talk about family issues.

No storm in a teacup grumppa a thread could be posted on facebook the content of which is recognised by family member and could cause real problems . I think we should stop posting anything new until Gransnet gives us the option to keep it within the group . I always wondered if the thread on Facebook were there because the OP allowed it now I know they had no choice in the matter.

Is it worth posting on FB about the unhappiness shown in this thread? Potential GNers coming from FB would already know about the link but they might not know how much discussion it has caused unless they are pointed in this direction. Then at least new members are making an informed decision. I know, in theory, we all had that opportunity when we signed up but how many people actually read all the small print until they are actively searching for something?

Advertisers, researchers, journalists, etc. who want to know what grandparents think go to GN already. Likely viewers of the GN Facebook page will be those same people, plus grandparents who are not yet familiar with Gransnet. The risk of being identified is statistically greater, but as I have already said it is significant anyway unless we are careful.

Isn't this a bit of a storm in a teacup?

There is no ownership of threads. Once we have posted our comments they're Gransnet property.

We can ask for posts to be deleted or maybe a whole thread but it's up to them.

If that's the case could GNHQ then not ask all OP of any threads they want to link if they are happy for that to happen?

Just to say I belong to another online forum and I have never seen them put any posts on FB. It is a free site, although you can make donations, and they have advertising.

All credit to GNHQ in this context; I wanted to remove a thread and emailed yesterday to ask them to remove it as I didn't want it linked to social media; initially they assured me that it would not be linked, and that being the case, did I still want it removed? I replied that in that case it was fine to stay, and added

"You'll be aware that there is a long thread at present on this subject. How
does the linking of threads to social media work? Is the default that threads
are linked unless we contact you to request otherwise?"

The reply was

"Not everything that is on Gransnet is posted on Facebook. It's only if we see a thread that we think will resonate with our Facebook followers we will sometimes post a link to it. Of course, we completely respect your wishes and in this instance will not put it on our social media channels at all".

If I understand correctly, membership of GN runs into thousands ,so what we want is members who take a full part and post regularly, not the same few of us at present.
We are not going to attract such members with the gripes and disputes going on presently.

Whilst I understand the need for GNHQ to attract as many new members as possible in order to gain advertising there is a danger than GN is going to become a place to exchange knitting patterns and cooking recipes (nothing wrong with that!) and lose its help and support side. Would it not be possible for us to select an option in our profile that we would not want any thread we START to be shared with FB. That way we could ask for help on personal matters knowing it will not be shared.

Gransnet is a business and we're just the ingredients that make up the product.

The good old days have well and truly gone. We're governed now to please the advertisers and 'grow' the membership to the effect that life bans are dished out to anybody kicking over the traces.

The political peeps will be OK because any delicate new flowers won't go there anyway. It's the everyday bish-bash-bosh threads that will be hammered.

How boring.

Back to black for me too.
This thread shows a degree of unhappiness among posters that I have never seen since day one.
Link that up to the threads where dozens of us are complaining about being ignored re site changes.
Note that many valued regular posters have stepped back or opted out.
The end of Gransnet as we knew it??

My profile was mostly rubbish anyway. Although knocking four years off my age it gave me a number of DGCs to rival Queen Victoria.

I briefly had a "blue" profile in the beginning, but then I thought "What's the point of posting anonymously, but having a public profile?" It doesn't make sense. So I've been in the black since then...

ann I totally agree, I have also changed my profile to black. In a few days time there will be very few if any "blues".

Just checking I am now black (not blue).
How I regret this whole sorry state of affairs.

me also

ok thanks all...it was just something that crossed my mind.

Thanks a lot Blinko I m now in the black ?

BlueBelle go back to Gransnet Forums start page and click on 'My Gransnet'. Click 'Edit GN profile'; make it 'private'