Let's talk about sex toys (well, ads for them on Mumsnet), please

ristretto did you mean to come across as so aggressive ?

what are you all arguing about?

Not reading the bloody thread so ner

well I wasn't going to sAY that

i find it hard to reconcile 'right wing' and 'nice' tbh. awfully prejudiced of me maybe but there you go.

Wow I've GOT some mustard cords from about 6 years ago and yes they do actually rock. I didn't realise I had established an entire trend though

Rispretto (sorry can't remember name properly from right down here at bottom of page, that's my best guess) I was going on the tone of your writings. Sorry if I've upset you. But your post about AF and Hully was really Enid Blyton, kind of looking down your nose and I didn't like it.

Come on then, prove how nice you can be

theur ??

wtf..

mustard cords are the dog's this season I am told

< not happening here >

I do have a pair of black skinny cords though. They are ok.

I was made to wear brown cords as a child. That is why theye will never be in season to me as an adult.

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Good point uppity that MN's USP is probably theur engagement with theur membership.

Cords are in this season

Look I'm not particularly fond of the sweary names either, it kind of jolts a bit but I ignore it as I feel people are more than their user name.

I just don't think it's entirely relevant to this thread so I shan't comment further.

Ristretto - astonishingly arrogant posts from you. I'd rather listen to AF in any context whatever she's called. She's just nicer.

Then we are wilfully misunderstanding each other BJ < shrug >

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So didn't you notice all those bucket-headed threads about scrounging unemployed/ disabled/ workshy/ insert scapegoat group here people who are bleeding the country dry and are probably promiscuous/ fat/ insert other socially unacceptable characteristic here, then Jingo?

I think there's plenty of balance, really.

I think you are wilfully misunderstanding me, ACF. But you have prompted me to start a new thread here, so I will stop hijacking this one now.

BJ don't try and put words in my mouth

I don't care where your politics lie. I don't care that you don't like swearing, I don't care that you don't BF, I don't care that you don't use the private school system

only one of that list is where we differ, as a matter of fact

but why the chip on your shoulder ? There is room for all sorts here (as evidenced by the funny threads to which you refer...and the legion nuggets of useful information

what does piss me off is people complaining for the sake of complaining

what is the point ??

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ACF why am I here? Because there are also many conversations on here that make me laugh. Sometimes I even find a nugget of useful advice. That's why.

The very fact that you ask that, though, rather proves my point. So if I'm not a sweary left-wing state-school-using breast-feeder, I should go elsewhere?

I completely disagree that MN advocates democracy. I think that lip service is paid to democracy, but that a truly democratic parenting site (or any site, come to that) is a complete impossibility. MNHQ could probably do with a dissenting voice, though, to even out the tone of the site. As it stands, it's a bit like the BBC: nominally impartial but in practice decidedly not.

I think politicians are playing a risky and unintelligent game if they believe the minority of parents who use MN (let's face it, it's a minority of parents across the country, however important some of us think it is) are representative of all parents. Think how popular the Lib Dems were on MN before the election. That was decidedly not representative of the general public.

I'd like to protest about the use of the word forums.

I don't really care but I just feel a protest coming on and this seems to be as good a cause as any.

Viz the fact that MN consults its users so heavily, without wishing to be incredibly ungracious, because I really do think that's a marvellous thing and am not dissing it in any way - I think we need to remember that that is one of the things which makes mumsnet a different sort of parenting site than any other. It's one of the reasons politicians in the run up to elections come here - because this place is different from any other place on the internet, it has a different flavour. One of the reasons MN consult us, is because that consultation is part and parcel of its core brand values IMO - it would be a different place if it didn't do that, we would have aptamil ads (anyone remember the huge hoo ha that went on about that), there would be much more ordinary, bog standard views as the norm and it wouldn't have such a defined USP. Justine et al would probably be much richer, but I bet they wouldn't be as proud of their product.

FWIW, MNHQ will listen to complaints if you post them on a seperate thread re. swearing on MN there is no need at all to hijack this thread with your complaints

MNHQ always answer...just because you don't like what they say doesn't mean they aren't hearing you

The swearing thing has been done to death, and every time it is raised there is massive consensus that that this is an adult site and the majority want to keep the swearing. So, if you can't stomach it...you need to find somewhere else to hang out. It really is as simple as that.

MN doesn't advocate heterodoxy, they advocate democracy (and don't get cats bum faces about swearing...)

ByJingoes far be it from me to tell you which forums to use, but if you fundamentally disagree with so much of what is the ethos and fabric of MN, I am not sure why you are even here

Yes, I probably have missed your point, MollyintheMoon. I don't think I've made my own point very well either. The whole 'mafia' thing (which is the word I used) smacks of conspiracy theories, and certainly don't think there's any conspiracy theory at work.

It seems to me, though, that MN demands a degree of heterodoxy which I personally find distasteful. I've tried to discuss the swearing thing, but just get told to eff off to Nethuns - yet I dislike moderation/censorship and the Nethuns' huggy-kissy-mama-to-two-angels stuff just as much as I dislike swearing. It also seems that MN demands agreement on feeding (breast only), schools (state only), politics (left only), newspapers (anything but the DM). And so on. If you bring up any of these ishoos, you get shot down by the same old names. And while I don't for a second think that Justine et al are all matey with said same old names, I think their views are often shared ones - which makes it very hard to make any other views heard.

FWIW, I'm against the sex toy adverts - but am also against astonishingly offensive (to my mind) usernames. There are so many that don't involve crudity; why choose one that does? It shows a real 'stuff you' attitude towards other people, which I ultimately find depressing.

You miss my point ByJingoes.

On this particular topic there are 400+ posts against sex toy adverts. There may well be 10,000 members of the site who want sex toy adverts but they should've spoken up about it. You're right, the 'less vocal' majority will never be heard unless they actually post their opinions. I'm presuming MNHQ are not mind-readers.

If you feel your opinions are being maligned on other areas of the site, then it is down to you to vocalise your thoughts or ignore the threads. Yes, there are posters who are more prolific than others; to assume that their views count for more is ridiculous. There is no conspiracy, no mafia and no 'favourite' posters.

I think Ristretto does make a valid point. Generally, I do think there's a militant group of MNers, and that their views are somehow felt to count for more than the less vocal members/the regular namechangers (of whom I am one) who don't want to be part of some MN mafia and who don't feel that their views are ever taken into account.

I, for instance, detest swearing in usernames and in posts. I also disagree with some of the MN campaigns (or parts of them), and I disagree generally with the left-of-centre stance that MN (MNHQ and 'favourite posters' alike) generally endorses.

If you feel that your thoughts and feelings are belittled by one post, MollyintheMoon, try being a right-wing non-swearer on MN.