to expect some old timers of MN to be twirling & scuttling around still

My eldest is all grown up now, I joined when they were a toddler.

I agree there's less fun, and less of a community feel, but I still pop in white often although I tend to lurk more than I post! And I name change very frequently.

When MN was shiny and new we kept our usernames for eons, perhaps adding a seasonal slant to it now and then.

The community could be cliquey but it could also be amazingly kind. Mners meeting up in cities all over the UK to walk a mile for Maude, or physically helping each other in person locally in tough times, etc. I had a mner bring me round a sofa to my new house when I'd fled abuse with my child. I've holidayed with someone I met on MN, had park meet ups, etc. Kept in touch for years with people I met on here and still do.

Now it's much more anonymous. Which is good in some ways, not so good in others.

Edited to add. My main draw that brings me back to MN is the feminist and GC threads. Breath of fresh air.

I've been here 20years with a few name changes.

It was truly awful at times, back in the day. Like a bitchy girls boarding school. It was small enough that if you disagreed with someone, their cronies would jump on everything you said for months afterwards.
There was very little diversity, lots of middle class white women and very London centric.

Ive been here 20 plus years, yes it’s huge now there’s loads more threads and I don’t “know” as many people. Still wastes an hour or two.

I've been here around 20 years now - name changed several times but rarely use my original MN name. I used to like recognising the regular posters - it was far easier to keep up with all the threads and read it all in a couple of hours. I remember Ghosty from NZ, Slug,Cod, Wicked WaterWitch, Twinkie, Soupdragon, WhyMummy and ScottishMummy. There are many other posters too I used to love to read and were so witty - but I can't remember their names! There were regular London meetups too.

I do find it harder to find threads that are really funny.

However, I still find MN great for advice for whatever parenting or work or family challenge I am facing in valuable.

I must have missed those! I remember people always asking, “Are you on glue?”

I've been here for a while too. I remember staying at a hotel in Blackpool that was run by a mumsnetter (probably 2008/09) She offered a discount for mumsnetters. I can't remember her username. I often think about her and her family, they had come to Blackpool from the south.

I still dip in and out from time to time.

I've been here for about 16 years but have had multiple name changes. I also agree its not as fun anymore but, as someone else pointed out, it's so much bigger now and people don't present as themselves like they used to. It's more bitches behind a screen ready to pile on anyone no mattet how much an OP is clearly asking for help these days unfortunately

I wonder where Hully went. I liked her calling benefit bashers 'frothing beserkers'.

I’ve been here about 15 years. I prefer it now, less cliques.

@protestanttraybake technically called a wnaky basket. Heuristic play. Often referred to as wanky baskets

I've been here 21 years, no name change ever. MN still makes me guffaw frequently

Yes Justine (& Carrie before she left Mumsnet - paid off??) used to regularly post but never seen these days ...

One of the funniest threads is one that doesn't exist any more - it must have been in Chat. MNHQ have searched for it as well, but they can't find it. It was about sending horses to the Olympics (which would have been the Beijing Olympics). I can't even remember why it was so funny now, but it really was, genuinely, tears of mirth and laughing out loud.

A wanky basket? The mind boggles!

I have been here 20 years ish? , I came from babycentre. Lots of name changes , so many.
The problems are the same but the solutions are different. For some years it felt like most things could be solved with cloth nappies or a wanky basket. The cloth nappy threads used to be insane , there were millions of types and people were genuinely obsessed with them.
It evolved to spa days, a spa day was the answer to most things for a long time. That still pops up.

And contrary to what it says here, it was vicious back in the day. But just done in a very withering, cold, WASP way.

Spot on.

But MN could be very, very funny back then. Not any more.

Why am I still here?!

Yes the free trials were brilliant and even a focus group once with other mumsnetters and a car trial

Moldies. Christened mouldies by the ones not invited.

They didn't call themselves Moldies! That was the name those 'left behind' gave them!

sorry have I got this right, a group of people who frequently posted on mumsnet announced they were going to leave mumsnet to start their own invitation only forum and called it mouldy of all things? 😂

You could have a drink and a laugh on a Friday night without some sanctimonious twat berating you for having a drink problem.

Everyone didn't love her - just her fangirls.

Didn't she get banned for being a troll?

I’m not particularly nostalgic about it as nobody ever bothered to respond to my posts, but it was funnier in those days.

Been here for 20+ years

I now name change regularly, but i think i was the first ever poster in AIBU!!!!

(because someone liked or commented on or thanked me, or something for the post quite recently, and i had a notififcation about it!!!)

I was def here before AIBU was!

I had about an 5ish year period where i was rarely on here though..

Been around 20 years. I even went all the way to a London meet up once from up north. Name changed lots. I didn't in the early years.
It's definitely not the same. But I've stayed around. There's some good amongst the crap.