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Watch: Secret Confessions of an Internet Troll
I asked Mumsnet for their official policies on dealing with transphobia, and to clarify if I'd been banned for asking users about the way they discussed trans women. I was sent this statement: "Mumsnet Talk is not a pre-moderated forum; our policy is to keep intervention to a minimum and let the conversation flow. That said, we will always delete reported posts that break our Talk Guidelines which (among other things) say that transphobic posts are against our rules."Our team consider each report carefully and take decisions on a case-by-case basis. Issues relating to transgender are a relatively new area for many members of the public, and the use of language is hotly contested in some quarters. We aim to encourage civility and respect on all sides while allowing space for thoughtful debate; on the whole we believe this is a better route to mutual understanding and compassion than censorship."That's an admirable mission statement, but it doesn't quite tally with me being booted off the site. There's a gulf between misunderstanding what it means to be trans, and declaring that a trans woman's "mangina is made from a colon." Terminology like this sits in between posts about disobedient five-year-olds and maternity wear, and seems at odds with the community ethos of the site. But hey, I did warn you about the site's funny old world.Follow Thea on Twitter.