Are we being watched on GN by the press?

This thread is a timely reminder to us all

Indeed.

This is why I never post pictures of the DGC!

Me neither dragonfly.

Fennel

Are our pms open to the public?
If not, how can they be kept private?
eg if someone from the press registers as a member here he/she can then pm any other member .
This happened to me once, but I found out the other person was a genuine member.

Fennel Your PMs are private from the public and from other members. I don't know whether GN as site owner can read them, but I don't imagine they can be bothered. You could ask GNHQ directly about this.

If a person from the press registers as a member and PMs you, they don't get to know your own personal email address, their message is sent to wait in your Gransnet inbox until you log in to look at it, so you are still private from the sender. You can block anyone if you don't want any more messages from them, and if you choose to reply to them, that is up to you. If I had any suspicion that the message was from a media person, I wouldn't answer it.

There are often stories discussed on here which would make the poster very recognisable, and if they are accompanied by photos there is no doubt.

The problem arises when enough information is given involving others who have no idea a certain scenario is being relayed on here.

This is especially worrying when, as others have said, photos of grandchildren accompany the saga.

It doesn't take a photograph, and it's not just the grandchildren - anyone who is a 'player' in the story can be identified with enough information. There have been numerous stories that have gone viral after someone has posted on a public forum, and others involved in the situation can be easily recognised.

I'm thinking of those situations where a bride asks for all presents to cost at least £X so that she can cover the cost of the wedding, or stories about incidents in schools. All it takes is for the identity of one person in the thread to be spotted by a colleague or neighbour who has heard some gossip, and suddenly everyone is identifiable, even if they had no idea that their lives or whether or not they were at fault were being discussed online.

People with user names that identify them as X'sGran are even more at risk from this if they post about actual situations rather than abstract principles.

There was one of those on GN a few months ago Doodledog where a lot of posters expressed concern about the amount of detail posted, including photos which meant that another person in the story could have been identified.

Oof! I missed that.

It’s very inconsiderate to post identifiable details about others in a public place. Even if they are true (and there is always another side to a story) it is very unkind, I think.

Elegran - thanks for your post. I reported my concern to GNHQ at the time,. They checked out the member who had pm'd me and said they were genuine.
I still "hae me doots!"

When my daughter's wedding was cancelled due to lockdown, I was approached by a BBC researcher, asking if I would be willing to be interviewed on the BBC news to talk about our our feelings.

So the answer to the OP's question is a resounding, YES!

I forgot to say, she was a registered user of GN. A bit sneaky I thought!

I always chuckle when a genuine researcher is introduced by HQ and we are invited to comment or take part in whatever it is they are after.

The replies are usually a firm but polite, 'You must be kidding!'

Stories frequently appear in the press that have been lifted from Mumsnet. Websites such as Mumsnet/Gransnet/any other you care to name are not private clubs. Neither are they ‘safe spaces’ as I’ve seen it said on MN in which to get advice or discuss problems. They are open to the world for all to read and anyone thinking otherwise is naive in the extreme. If you read the small print you will see that anything you post becomes the property of Mumsnet/Gransnet for them to use however they choose. It is in their interest for posts to be lifted by the press as it increases the clicks they receive. Posters should remember that these websites don’t exist as a public service. They exist for one reason - to make money for their owner.

I'm sure many of you will remember when we had "profiles" They would be highlighted in Blue, many of us put info on and some photos. Seems a bit scary now looking back!

FoghornLeghorn I’ve just read an online article from the Daily Mirror quoting Mumsnet posters saying putting up Christmas trees this early is ‘vulgar and tacky’.