Saturday

New House Rules!

check this out 2 Submissions for Bad Nanny Sightings are way down and I am told by many that part of the problem is because the OP's get bashed about every detail. I have always been against Censorship but have decided that in order to keep the integrity of this Blog intact, negative comments directed towards those that post Sightings will be deleted from now on. Questions and comments are more than welcome though. As for the other Articles, you may post freely.

Also, Monday will be the Deadline for sending in your DITL stories. I have almost a dozen left that still need to be Published but it will probably take a couple of weeks to get all of them posted. I do not want to clog the Blog or Publish them back-to-back so please send in your Submissions for CL-WTF, P&O and of course, Bad Nanny Sightings!


34 comments:

You Gotta Laugh! said...

I think ISYN should run a "Kids Say the Darndest Things" feature! Even just things that you overhear other kids say in public...hilarious!

I think it would inject some humour to balance out the criticism!

:)

world's best nanny said...

Yay! MPP!

nycmom2 said...

Yay, it's finally time for the attacking trolls to stop!

arandomperson said...

I would make this blog so much better than you...no offense

Nanny Sarah said...

While I do admit that calling out a "bad" nanny is very important for us bystanders to do, some of the posts are not legitimate bad nanny sightings and I think we just do not want to see the space wasted by false or assumed views. Only legitimate and obvious bad nanny sightings should be posted. This is a very subjective manner MPP and since this is your blog, we will respect your new rule! :P

A while back, someone stated that there was a bad nanny from a San Diego Nanny Agency named "Goodnight Nannies" and they posted some pretty bad stuff about her. Well I live in San Diego and no such agency exists by that name. Since the OP of this post invented a false name for an agency, it was really hard for me to believe everything else she wrote.

Just sayin'.....

Ms. Vivienne LePeaux said...

Goodnight Nannies of San Diego:

http://www.manta.com/c/mtcppv6/goodnight-nannies

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

Nanny Sarah,

I hear you... all I can say is that Readers weigh each Sighting on it's own merit. I am sure some will be disturbing while others will be very trivial.

If any Parents contact the Blog about a Sighting concerning their own Nanny I will gently suggest to them that obviously this was one person's account and hopefully the Parent will either question the Nanny or just keep a closer eye on their child. That's all ISYN ever wanted... we are not out to burn Nannies at the stake. Remember, Jane and I were Nannies once ourselves.

And to arandomperson, no offense taken. So... where's your Blog at? I am sure you must have something up and running that gets over 3,000 Readers a day, right? I will compare my traffic report with your traffic report, ok?

Until then, kindly fuck off.

Nanny Nanny Bo Banny said...

@ Marypoppin' Pills' last sentence.::clap clap clap!:::

TC said...

MPP, here's my unsolicited advice.

As someone who used to run a pretty active online forum I understand your need to sensor some of the the comments on the bad nanny submissions, but you have to be careful and pretty liberal with what is still allowed otherwise you run the risk of running off people very similarly to the problem you're having with nanny sightings.

Good luck, you're doing a great job and I wouldn't do your job for the world. Been there done that, don't want the stress anymore :)

BTW I'd give you nanny sightings but where I live there really isn't that many nannies. I am surrounded by stay at home moms not nannies

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

Thanks, TC... don't worry though, I don't plan on being trigger happy! :P

pgh nanny said...

MPP-i love this blog and always look forward to reading it!! Thanks for having it available :)

too bad. said...

I'm disappointed. I enjoy the controversy. I feel that some of the "bad nanny sitings" are not legitimate, and it is (was) nice to be able to comment freely. I am not a "troll" or an "attacker."

but at the end of the day, it is your blog.

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

too bad,

While I appreciate your honesty... if Sightings aren't coming in because the OP's don't want to be attacked, it's really kind of pointless anyway.

There will be plenty of other Posts to comment freely on. I want you to give your opinions... good, bad or indifferent.

I'm not a troll either but hell, I kind of enjoy a bit of controversy myself! ;-)

And to everyone else: Thank you for your support!

LAK said...

I really enjoy the DITL posts but I understand that not everyone feels that way. Maybe you could do one day a week (like Tuesday you post a DITL, Thursday Craigslist WTF, etc)

Also I think the "Kids Say the Darndest Things" feature is a great idea!

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

LAK,

I have enough DITL posts to keep us going for a little while! lol... and doing that or CL-WTF once a week is ideal and ultimately what I want to do but the Blog is so busy that promising to Publish something on a specific day isn't possible. I would hate to have readers look forward to a certain Feature and then not be able to produce.

As far as "Kid's Say the Darndest Things"... I think that is a great idea, too. I have a few hilarious one's to add from my own kid, lol.

So for those who want to Contribute to that Feature, send them in! When I have enough "sayings" compiled, I will Publish them. ;-)

Mrs. Billy Lamar said...

I agree with too bad that the controversy that bad nanny sightings elicit keeps this site fresh and entertaining. I personally think that the truly horrific bad nanny sightings get the respectful feedback they deserve. It's just the trivial ones that get the negative feedback. This is just my opinion though. It's interesting how the good nanny sightings hardly get any feedback. Why? Because they are boring to read. Us ISYN fans come on here for the debates, differences of opinions as well as the support, advice and sounding board. I personally think the only comments that should be deleted are those that post links and those from MONKEY SHINES (!)

Just kidding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MONKEYSHINES said...

this blog was so boring until me and my apple bottom wiggled in! I have been very good lately

kj said...

MPP - totally agree that some of the bashing can get out of hand. However, please listen to your own rules. Because another poster had something negative to say, you told her to fuck off. If we are not supposed to write in these types of comments, than please, don't write them yourself

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

KJ,

Re-read the post. I was talking about Sightings ONLY... but Readers are allowed to comment freely on the other threads. Next time pay attention, please.

OhioNanny said...

Personally I'm glad to not have the bashing anymore because the one time I sent a sighting in it was nitpicked like crazy! But knowing that won't happen anymore I will be more apt to sending in sightings again. And kj, that was pretty rude. This is MPP's blog and she can set the rules and do and say whatever she wants. Get a clue!

AMom said...

So, are the only things we are allowed to say anymore when a bad nanny sighting is posted are things like, "good job", or "yay, thanks for telling us". I understand about not calling the OP an idiot or anything like that, but, is anything other than "good job" going to be considered an attack?

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

Good question, Amom...

For the most part, say what you like, all I am asking is for Readers to not rip the OP's of SIGHTINGS to shreds.

Trust me, I hate having to put ANY restrictions on what a Reader says.

Basically, just don't call them names.

I do not plan to be a hard ass, promise! ;-)

chick said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
talesfromthe(nanny)hood said...

Amom, I think the posts that make constant excuses for the actions the nanny is reportedly taking are worthless.

I also think the "How do you KNOW it was the nanny blah de blah" posts are irrelevant.

And the posts that assume the person reporting the sighting is lying/exaggerating/ignoring their own kids are fairly useless as well.

What would be good posts? How about asking for clarification on the sighting details if you're confused? Or asking if the submitter spoke to the person they are reporting and if there are other details that might help id the child(ren)? Or asking for a more specific locale or time for the sighting?

I believe MPP wants the harassing and belittling of sighting submitters to end, and for people to ask more intelligent questions about the sighting.

Arizona said...

What about posting about bad moms?! I am pretty sure there are a few. Not only nannies. Not all the moms are perfect and for sure you can find some sightings.
Just to keep things interesting.

Unknown said...

i am glad there will be some scrutiny and balance with consequences. I posted a "good" nanny sighting and the negative elements falsely accused myself and the nanny of many scurilous caumnies - just for posting a good sighting (sheesh!)

some debate proved that there definitely are nannies on this sight who have rage towards the exact premise of the blog and purposely frontally attack nanny sighting posters for the purpose of reducing nanny sightings while promoting nanny advice/money issue postings

all MPP needs now red cape with the word "super" in front of her name

anonymous3 said...

Well personally, I think some of the sightings need to be screened. Posting a "bad nanny sighting" because a nanny was spotted taking a phone call at the park is ridiculous!

I think people should be allowed to question the sighting or defend the position of the nanny. Often the person is posting a picture and name online and as Nanny Sarah pointed out, many times the information is completely false.

Is anyone verifying the information in any way? It would be very easy for a disgruntled employer or acquaintance to fabricate a story and post a photo online potentially ruining a nanny's career! I think it would be irresponsible to cut posts which offer a second perspective to the original bad nanny sighting.

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

Anonymous3,

Of course it's possible that any Sighting could be the result of a vendetta... but since there is no way of possibly knowing that for sure, I am certainly not going to keep from posting them. It's a chance we have to take, especially when it involves the welfare of a child. Since the beginning of ISYN there has only been one instance of that happening and the post was removed after speaking with all parties involved.

As for "screening"... if someone sends in a sighting of a Nanny "just" talking on the phone for 15-20min, of course it won't get posted. There has to be other determining factors such as: the child was ignored repeatedly when asking for help, the child was left alone and the Nanny was nowhere to be seen, etc...

We have to remember that we weren't there and try to give the OP the benefit of the doubt.

Shayla said...

Even on Yelp, it is not very easy to post negative things about other people. Yelp makes sure that you are not just some competition out there trying to make an extra buck.

I personally think it would be very easy for a nanny to write something bad and post a picture of another nanny just because she is jealous that that nanny got hired instead of her or she was fired for the new nanny, etc.

I think there should be certain checks and balances involved so that no one on here, esp. those with photos posted...have their lives ruined.

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

Shayla,

I'm all ears... what ideas do you have to offer in the way of checks and balances?

I appreciate the suggestions but if anyone has any solutions I would be more than happy to hear them.

Anonymous3 said...

I think the solution is to allow people to post respectful arguments toward the OP's. As long as the replies are not abusive I don't see the problem with posting differences of opinions.

I have seen several posts where I felt the need to comment on the nanny's behalf. One that comes to mind is when the nanny was keeping the children near her at the park while taking a phone call. It simply wasn't neglect or cause for a "bad nanny" sighting in my opinion. I think if people aren't allowed to "call out" these trivial posts in any way they could really get out of hand. If it is an issue of safety it's one thing, but sometimes it seems like it's just an issue of a person bashing a nanny.

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

Re-post for anonymous:
I think the whole "raison d'etre" of this blog needs to be rediscovered and redefined. I used to come here to make sure my nanny was not posted about and give myself peace of mind. Now it reads like an advice column and Vent Central for nannies. If that's what you want, fine, but re-title it and go from there.
___________________________

That's the whole thing... we don't want to change what ISYN is about.

Reese said...

While I enjoy reading the Nanny sightings on here (Good & Bad alike), I also like to read the rants and the advice requests. I think this blog would be boring if it only had Nanny sightings. I haven't found a Nanny blog thus far where I could get this much advice, insight and support. As a Nanny, reading other's advice and hearing what other Nannies do in similar situations such as mine really is a true Godsend since none of my friends work as Nannies.

Please continue the Rants, Opinions and of course, the Day in the Life and Guest Nanny columns. Sure this website is called, ISYN, however in order to maintain interest I believe it needs to include many other elements besides sightings.

This is just one visitor's opinion however. Anyone else care to jump in?

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

Reese,

We have no intention of changing ISYN. The only request I had was to not beat up the OP of Sightings. As for the other Features, they will continue, and we have a few ideas of adding others. One being about things kids say and I would love to have some contributors so we can get that going.

If anyone else would like to offer up an idea of something they'd like to see ISYN do, just let us know and we'll give it a shot.

We appreciate having a large network of Nannies on board... we would just like to entice more Parents. The good news is that traffic should be increasing exponentially very soon due to some media involvement.