To think Mumsnet is more than "just a forum"?

[MrsTawdry]

I have had a love-hate relationship with this place...sometimes I've thought it a waste of time, considered the chatter mundane and become frustrated with the seemingly narrow mindsets of some members.

BUT it's undeniably an amazing source of inspiration and education.

Before I joined I used to say "I don't identify with Feminists...I'm not one."

Now I am proud to call myself a Feminist.

AND....thanks to very recent advice from some wise users I am doing better in my career too. I was told that I wasn't charging enough as a freelancer...and to have the confidence to ask for more.

Well twice now I have done just that and been stunned to find that clients agree immediately and pay more! And it's really changed my life! I have more money!

So thank you Mumsnet. I think I love you.

[Beadsbeadsbeads]

I think you can also make the argument that MN is a political force in some respects. I think some politicians pay attention to what is said here and take the temperature of the crowd, if you know what I mean.

A bit more then 'just' a forum.

[ChickenMe]

I like it. In the main the posters are intelligent, often amusing and a good debate is always to be had here.
I'm kind of proud of it and of being female because often women's things get sneered at as either bitchy or banal. AIBU can be a bit..unreasonable sometimes but at least the place isn't full of inane huns x x xing left right and centre.

Also, Ive learned so much about pregnancy and becoming a mother from the site and that makes you feel empowered.

[GlitzAndGigglesx]

And never before Mumsnet had I heard the term 'undercarriage fur'

[BiscuitsAreMyDownfall]

It is a lot more than just a forum. It is whatever you want it to be though.

You are bored and fancy a chat then yes it is a forum, but thinking of times when MNers have come together for each other (thinking of woolley hugs and the like) it can be so much more.

Also the campaigns that go on here. plus the product tests and viewpoints about pretty much everything. MN can help shape our lives too.

[Bettybodybooboo]

Yanbu. undercarriage fur

[anothernumberone]

I also have a love hate relationship not specifically with Mumsnet but with social media/forums in general.

They are capable of being real forces for good and not good at the same time. As humans we seem to be programmed to look for outside reassurance and when you see a poster on AIBU who after 10 supportive posts hones in on the one unsupportive post in their response you start to see how vulnerable people can be to even 'virtual' criticism. I think if you are in any way vulnerable which happens even to strong people at times real life support is so much more important.

That said I have a d+v today and Mumsnet gave me something to do between toilet visits.

[Jackieharris]

I've been in and out of mn a few times.

Sometimes it's made me cry.

But it has been a huge part of my life for the last few years.

I've made friends and those friendships have shaped who I am now.

[Honeydragon]

A forum is just a forum, like a town is just a town. It's the community wot makes all special.

[usualsuspect333]

MN is just a forum to me.

It's not a special place on the internet.

[Mintyy]

I'm not particularly loving Mumsnet at the moment and haven't been since all me mates fucked off!

But it is useful for certain things. I love it for dinner ideas!

[usualsuspect333]

TBH I think MN is becoming impossible to use for any serious advice because it's trolled so much.

[LikeIcan]

YANBU - MN is more than just a forum for lots of users.

[CornChips]

I say to DH often that MN forms the main part of my social life and that is very true. I have very few RL friends, and very few people I feel able to lean on, and MN has provided me with friendship, and support in times of both great stress and also in times of frivolity. I often preface a discussion with DH with 'one of my mumsnet buddies says...'

and I Mean it. I have no family nearby and DH works away a lot. I come onto MN and ppour out my heart and soul/ Ask for advice (including 'what's for dinner'... more recently about my DS who the school want to get assessed for autism). If I communicated with RL friends as much as this they would be ON MN complaining about their needy demanding friend.

MN nourishes me.

[Honeydragon]

SOME of us are still here and generally despairing at the trollery and media stuff

[AWholeLottaNosy]

I think it is the source of a quiet feminist revolution and I love it for that! No longer do women have to be subjected to fuckwits or abusive men. Women don't have to feel so isolated with what they are going through and the general feminist approach here is fantastic, let alone the Feminism threads. I also love how rape myths are challenged and petitions have been advertised and supported ( like the Ched Evans one ). Love it! It's a true force for change ( for the better ) IMO. And I'm not even a mum!

[Annbag]

It was great when I had my preemie or I wouldn't have had as clue about any of that stuff!

The bad side, the trolls and some aggressive weirdness that goes on, like the time I was told I was bring racist about myself

[skylark2]

It's more than just a forum in the sense that it has information pages, campaigns, charity groups and so on

The bits where people ask questions/chat in threads? Just a forum.

And yes, there's an awful lot of implausible, and the constant namechanging culture doesn't help.

[MeggleVache]

Seven years ago I was at my wits end when my DS was unexpectedly Ill I had no family or friends nearby and in a new area. I will never forget the wonderful women who supported me in my hour of need, I remember all their nicknames and wish I knew if they were still around with different identities

[TheSkinnyProject]

I like it here.

I think reading MN has helped me hone my thoughts and feelings on a range of things, feel more informed and have always felt supported when I ask for help.

Its not just a forum, its community and the people on it make it a force for good.

[CornChips]

Yes, I think so too, what Skinny says. I am also much more able to look at things from a range of different viewpoints now. I feel I can weigh up issues and differing viewpoints more easily. I also think Mn has made me more tolerant in lots of ways.

[engeika]

I have mixed feelings like most on here. I found it when googling something despairing like "why doesn't my son love me?" at three in the morning - not for an answer but just because I had googled everything I could and was tired and low. Suddenly it popped up - and I realised how much there was on here. So, so helpful! and I wasn't alone.

It has helped me with so much from how to get stains out to objecting to planning permission to how to Home Educate. I enjoy some of the political debates and the funny stuff is like nothing else anywhere!!!

I stayed away for a bit after I was really savaged by several people, (who had misunderstood something I wrote and claimed I was a ***ist).

Use it with a bit more care now but still find there are people who want to pick a fight. There are also so many trolls - but I am getting better at spotting them now.

My life would have been very much the poorer without it.

[YoniversityOfTheFurredAge]

MN has been invaluable to me, especially reading about red flags and what to reasonably expect from a DH or DP. It can be intimidating sometimes, but what I really like is that fuckwittery is always challenged.