Poll: Would you like the facility to change your own username?

I'm in favour of one area which is confidential. It seems by far the easier option to me.

I looked to Mumsnet, just out of interest, and they have tweeted 2 threads in the last week- neither of which were of a personal nature. Gransnet have tweeted 6 threads in the last day.
Maybe it is because Mumsnet has more bloggers- perhaps we need some bloggers to fill the space.

If there is an area that is confidential it should be one that you need to log in to read.

Given the huge huge number of threads on MN that information is truly astonishing. I don’t think blogging is the answer and I’m sure there will not be a confidential area. GN is a business

Very easy BlueBelle . You wouldn't need name changes, you wouldn't have to log into read and it would be off-limits to journalists.

I think we forget that GN is a business - which is why they do it of course. They lift the interesting threads- you can quite safely do the word games knowing they stay on this site!

I would like to change my name.
When I registered with gransnet I had no idea how it worked and I would have chosen a name that wasn’t so b. obvious to anyone who knows me and knows that I am on GN.
I wouldn’t need to change a second time I don’t think because I would have chosen an anonymous moniker.

I suspect that GN has had "sock puppets" around for some time.

Sorry - at 07:22 I meant that you would have to log in to read.

You could stop sock puppets (if there are any) by limiting a name change to only once a month.

To those who wonder Why?

"Mumsnet has this and I have seen some people say that they change their username regularly to avoid possibly being ID'd by someone who knows them putting together clues from their posts.

I have also seen MN users say they have name-changed for one post only, when the post is of a very personal nature."

I like the idea of an area that cannot be lifted by the media but I like the idea of having two names, which I know isn't allowed at the moment as I have asked, mainly because I have given a fair bit about myself away and I think people hold back replies to me knowing this. I don't want to hold back my feelings but I don't want sympathy either, sorry prob not making sense but I know what I mean!

People can change their names now, but with those that run Gransnet authorising it and being aware of it.

If people can just come in and change their name themselves an unlimited number of times without others being aware of their previous name, I think there is a danger it would allow people who are employees of a particular organisation or political party to use the site to push their message without others being aware of what is happening.

I wonder if it is possible, as BlueBelle suggests, to have a forum which can be accessed only by members of Gransnet, so that people can discuss personal issues without the whole world having access to it.

A members only section is a great idea but sadly not good business if all the ‘juicy’ stuff goes on behind closed doors . Also, what’s to stop an unsavoury journalist just registering and lifting content anyway?

I like GN but it’s too easy to forget this is just a business and as there is a steady top up of people posting it doesn’t matter to the powers to be too much if people stop posting because they don’t like the total lack of privacy .

MN seems to manage the possibility of name changes or even just going anonymous for specific postings so I don’t see why we couldn’t use the same model here .

I think the simplest is for GN to stop just lifting threads and putting them on social media. There are 3 more on today. Whilst 2 are fairly general e.g 'private wealth and public squalor' does the person complaining that her grandson doesn't acknowledge her birthday really want her post opened up on Twitter? Luckily she has not got a GN profile or someone just has to log on to GN to find out about her.

GN works far better in my opinion if you can be sure that even though anyone can read it they will have to join GN to access it.

But Leticia GN is a business - it makes money through advertising so it wants to make GN as well known as possible - hence Twitter and FB. That’s just a fact of life - I think some people over invest in GN and forget this basic fact.

I know that it is true but it will kill GN. I was very careful anyway, never put a profile and made sure I changed details in any posts with personal experience but now I shall not put anything personal in replies that might have been helpful.
If I wanted advice about an argument with a grandson about birthdays it might have been useful to ask advice on GN but I wouldn't expect to find it on other social media sites- if I wanted advice from them I would have put it direct.

I suspect that GN has had "sock puppets" around for some time.
I'd never heard the term before
I had never thought that posters could change their name on the same thread


I did change my name due to a technical difficulty but it is nearly the same as before anyway.

Anyone can have any number of email addresses, and can set up a GN username from each email.
I have no idea if anyone does that, though.

I do not want to change my name but would like a safe place to post , I long for advice on things I am struggling with but cannot ask for fear it landing else where. And certaintly not a case of over investing in GN, can one over invest in giving and receiving friendship

Well said Letitia I feel exactly the same There is a vast difference between posting on a public forum to having your words lifted and put somewhere without your permission When I saw adverts for fb and Twitter
I presumed ( obviously wrongly) that GN had a twitter account and a fb page entirely separate to this main forum which wouldn’t impinge on their advertising or membership or business as if they had three separate GN sites they would still have their numbers (or even more members)

I might be quite wrong and will be happily put right but is there anywhere where it warns you your posts may end up in a daily paper.as I knew nothing about that which may be entirely down to my lack of observation

I enjoy reading threads and posts on GN I have made a couple of lovely net friends and don’t feel at all that I over invest as we get older and perhaps lose friends, family move away etc it s better to chat on here than watch cxxx programmes on tv or talk to yourself

By 'over invest' I meant expect too much from GN ( the company). It will only do what is in its own commercial best interest. I really can't believe they will provide a safe privacy space or stop using Twitter and FB - as things stand at the moment, what would be the commercial argument for that unless a huge number of us stopped posting? In terms of the role that GN( the community) plays in members lives, then obviously that will vary enormously. I do think though that if it means a lot to you, it might be harder to accept that GN (the company) will not care about that unless it hits numbers. If they think that allowing us to name change that it will increase the number of posts (and perhaps provide even more interesting threads) then they will do it I expect.

How about an 'anonymous' button, of some sort? I'm sure I would post a lot more juicy stuff than I do now, in terms of the kind of stuff that's being posted on Twitter etc.

I think that GN could have an interesting Twitter account without linking whole threads- all the Gransnet local ones manage it.
Instead of linking the thread they could put the problem and ask for solutions on Twitter. They would probably get more interest then. As it is no one ever comments and they are lucky if they get a couple of 'likes' or retweets.
I really like Twitter- you meet some very interesting and nice people that you wouldn't come across normally. I have now met some in RL.

I think that I will give up on GN and stick to Twitter- anything they think interesting ends up there!
They are not listening. FGMadge's hairdressing experience ended up there only 2 hours ago. Nothing wrong except does FGMadge know? Does she mind? Or was she even asked/informed?