Talk instructions
Welcome to the Mumsnet discussion board! This document gives you the basic knowledge that you need to use this board effectively. If you experience any difficulties with the board, contact the Mumsnet technical team
When you have finished reading click here to return to the board
- Reading Discussions
- Contributing to Discussions
- Searching the Board
- Signing up for talk
- Rules and "Netiquette"
- Links and "Smileys"
- Abbreviations
How the board is organised
The discussion on this board is divided into topics, each of which are divided into conversations. Users can add messages to existing conversations and create new conversations.
Reading Discussions
Anyone with web access can read discussions on this board. To read discussions, navigate to the discussion you're interested in by single clicking on the links from the list of topics and subtopics.
Contributing to Discussions
To post a message to an existing discussion, fill in the "Add a Message" box at the bottom of the page. You will need to fill in your Mumsnet nickname and password the first time you post a message. If you want to see how your message will look before it goes on the board, click the "preview message" button. To post your message right away, or after you have read the preview, click the "post message" button.
You can also click on the "Add a new thread" link to start a new discussion. This will add a thread with the subject you specify and start a conversation with the initial message that you specify. After filling in the subject line, post a message as described above. Searching the Board
You can search the talk board by time of post (New Messages) or by matching text (Search). Each of these searching mechanisms provide convenient methods to locate discussions of interest.
To search for new messages, click the New Messages link from the Main Menu. If you have an account with a valid username and password, fill in your username and password in the appropriate boxes to search for messages since your last check. If you do not have an account, you can still search for new messages posted since a given date. The Last Day and Last Week options on the Main Menu are equivalent to searching for messages posted within the last day and messages posted within the last seven days, respectively.
To search the board by keywords, click the Keyword Search link from the Main Menu. You can then specify the words that will be used in the search. Additional instructions for using the Keyword Search option are displayed on the search screen itself.
When you have performed the search, click on any of the links to the pages to view the page, or click on a link in the result to go to the post where that text occurs.
Signing up for talk
Any mumsnet member can use the talk board. You need to choose a nickname, which is the name that your messages will appear to come from. We use a nickname system rather than your real name to protect your privacy. If you are a member of mumsnet, click here to choose or change your nickname. If you haven't joined mumsnet yet, what are you waiting for. Go ahead and join now.
When writing your messages, please use the same courtesy that you would show when speaking face-to-face with someone. Flames, insults, and personal attacks will not be tolerated. It's fine to disagree strongly with opinions and ideas, but always with respect for the other person. Great minds do not always think alike, and that's where the fun is! If you see a post which you think breaches these rules, you can contact mumsnet about it by clicking the 
icon in the header.
Links and "Smileys"
Some of our chatters like to insert smiley faces and links to other sites in their messages. Here is how to do so:
To insert a smiley face, 
, type :)
For a sad face, 
type :(
For a wink, 
type ;)
For a big grin, 
type :o
The simplest way to insert a link is to enter the link itself, surrounded by [[ and ]]. So if you type [[www.mumsnet.com]], the link will display as http://www.mumsnet.com. If you want your link to display text other than the web address itself, leave a space after the address then add the text before the ]]. So "Look at [[www.mumsnet.com this page]]", would display "Look at this page".
Abbreviations
So who are these dh and ds? Some abbreviations have come into common use on the Mumsnet talk boards. You can find a list of commonly used acronyms here.
As with all areas of the site, if you have any problems with the talk board, or need help using it, feel free to send us a note asking for help to contactus@mumsnet.com