AIBU to think that the baby naming forum is for naming babies?

[bridgetreilly]

Not your pets.
Not the characters in the novel you're writing.
Not for making snarky posts about the name of someone you've just met.

Grrrrr.

[iBiscuit]

Which baby name forum?

[KurriKurri]

I thought it was for people to post 'I can't choose between Tarquin and Beelzebub' and others to reply 'Have you thought about Ian ?'

[ownedbySWD]

Here or elsewhere?

[Sparklingbrook]

The one on here? I have always wondered what it's for TBH.

[Lozmatoz]

Here obvs.

[ChipShopGherkin]

It seems to me to be a competition to come up with the most bizarre names that no-one could realistically use.

[bridgetreilly]

Yup, the mumsnet one.

[FlaviaAlbia]

No, it's a starting ground for trolls to get their post count up and some background to their username before they start doing their thing.

[AuntieStella]

I disagree.

I think it's fine to post for pets and character names (though I do think the OO should be clear that's what it's about, so the uninterested can just close the thread).

It's been ok to post about those for as long as I've been on MN, and wouldn't like to see it become more limited.

But I do think that giving frank opinions on names is its true value. Because in RL, people will use their manners and won't say what they really think.

[BriechonCheese]

Meh, if mumsnet isn't just for mums by can't the baby names forum be for naming things other than babies occasionally?

[ownedbySWD]

I occasionally enjoy a good conversation about names, and it is interesting to have a hand in naming a book character or something, too.

[Scribblegirl]

But then we would never have had Balonz

[Lancelottie]

I think I'll join NaNoWriMo and include a book character called Balonz.

[BarbaraofSevillle]

I thought the purpose of the baby names forum was to provide a space for people to be snobby and nasty.

There's a thread about my great nephew's name running right now (not him personally, but his name) and in just a few posts, there is the suggestion that it rhymes with one of the most unpleasant swear words, it's a dog's name, not a person's name, not pleasant, hideous and sounds terrible. There are some nice comments thankfully, but I'm constantly shocked about the vitreol spouted about perfectly innocuous names on there.