Should "Mumsnet" be renamed?

Viperpit!

I've found some really great posters on here. But some absolutely insane witches also. Mum's can be the cattiest of them all. It's fitting - some good, some bad.

It's weird some days how one post seems to attract the worst of the worst all to that thread and you start thinking you've gone into the Twilight zone. Especially when someone is on their knees and incredibly vulnerable!

I thought so too.

Agreed. She didn't. If @MaltipooMama is going to have a go at someone, she should at least read posts properly.

No

@MaltipooMama

That's an assumption. No, I'm like it in RL too. What on earth makes you think I don't have balls in RL?

And thanks to @DinaofCloud9 who confirmed that your response was ruder than mine.

This response is ruder than Oblomov's comment.

Alludes, not eludes.

Oblomov didn't say she was speaking for everyone, or that nobody else's opinions matter though?

@Oblomov24 yawn, people like you are so boring, delusional mumsnet representatives that believe they're entitled to speak for the majority and dictate who is worthy of commenting. Had the poster been asked that question in real life is that the wording they would have chosen to reply with? Probably not. It's a classic example of people who probably don't have any balls in real life who get to have a voice through anonymity.

You don't actually know what advice that poster has taken though. It could be advice that's from a poster that's not part of a pile on.

Also things can be complex posting on MN does not always fix things. But it gives the poster a place to post about their worry people to share their ups abd downs they are not always looking for advice.

@MaltipooMama

Yawn. We see these threads, 1000's of times. The above poster you quoted wasn't rude at all. It's just a fact, if you don't like it, join another website.

There are 100's of websites, for just about every parenting question you have you don't need to come to MumsNet. You can go to various other sites - Netmums and hundreds of other sites.

nothing and no one is making you stay here so stop complaining and go somewhere else if you don't like it. and that is true of everything in life, and there's nothing rude about that.

This person is a perfect example of what you're talking about, OP!

Agreed. Some people on here are so unnecessarily vile, I only joined this website when I became pregnant for the first time last year and continue to be surprised at the level of awfulness that people can exhibit to absolute strangers. The AIBU forum is by far the worst, I now only tend to venture on the parenting or chat forums.

What name would you suggest OP?

I wouldn't mind if they changed the name. I find it annoying when people declare that what people are like on Mumsnet proves that "Women are bitches."
a) A lot of people on mumsnet are not women so it proves nothing.
b) Have they not been on any other websites or social media and seen how vicious men can be!
It's just dated misogyny. If men are bitchy it doesn't get labelled as such.

It is a safe space. Many of us have been here happily for over 20 years. If you don't like it, leave. Loads of other sites you can go to.

I'm not a parent and never will be, and I've been kicking around here for about 15 years. It's not as witty as it used to be, as the proportion of stultifyingly literal people and / or posters who aren't very bright has grown, but it's still excellent. Plus, importantly, it's one of the few spaces where women's voices are heard and women are seen, as one of the PPs said, as more than emotional support humans. And generally I think when people are in real need, most posters are supportive. Where people get their arses handed to them, there's usually a clear reason.

I've always thought Parentsnet.

That's clunky. Plus, Dadsnet on here is a ghost town. Why change everything for a very few people? If men wanted a parenting website, they'd have one. There are about eleventy-billion porn sites, men aren't lacking in tech ability when they're motivated.

I'm baffled. In what way do you think any of that could be prevented by changing the name of Mumsnet to a different name?

I've always thought Parentsnet.

When it's particularly rough on here, it's nicknamed cuntsnet in my house 😂

I think it’s two separate issues. There is a lot of parenting/pregnancy/conception advice here - for specifics it’s best to go to the relevant board and not post on Chat or AIBU. There are a lot of dickish posts on here but that’s the internet, people say shit they would never say face to face. I don’t think it’s advisable to post anywhere without keeping that awareness front and centre. You’re posting to the entire world and some of your readers are bound to be arseholles.

I have been around here for years, since I first got pregnant actually (13 years ago) under various names....

And clearly I like it, or at least it meets a certain need in me, as here I still am....

I like the fact that it's mostly women. I like the fact that it's honest. I like the fact that it's anonymous. I like the fact that you can drop in, at any time, and access a variety of chats, depending on your mood, be they about politics, books, sex, what Christmas presents you are buying.... It's soothing, and also, I'm ashamed to admit, I get a lot of my news from here these days!

I dislike the fact that it's largely (though by no means entirely) right wing; that it's borderline racist at times; it's pretty heteronormative; and that there is a sort of herd mentality, whereby you see an initial response to a situation and you can pretty much predict that the next 50 will echo it - but once somebody else has the courage to come along and present a different outlook, only then does an actual debate ensue. So I can only assume that a lot of posters are a little bit scared to share their own take on things..... And what I dislike most, is that I feel anybody obviously working class gets bullied, unless she is pretty fucking clever and makes that clear from the outset.....

And there are some other prejudices on here I dislike. Alcoholics are akin to mass murderers, from the sounds of it. Adulterers even more so.

Nontheless. It's the website I turn to when I just can't sleep, or just can't speak with pain because of the hand life has dealt me. Massive amounts of comfort to be found in the sharing of wisdom and strength, by women. So yes I do love it, and I don't think the name needs to be changed. But also, OP, I see your point.

I don't see a lot of the helpful male posters demanding it changes. Because they came here liking it. There are so few female spaces online it's precious.