Vipers' nest? Come counter our hissy rep with your stories of Mumsnet Niceness

Sorry HelenMN but need to post this as I've wondered where to put it, no links I can particularly think off.

I alway think of MN being a bit like a large family (cheesy I know sorry )

Some of them upset you.

Most of them are fab with you.

Always some you can't stand or get on with at all.

Some you really "click" with & wish you could spend an evening with (or three) & several bottles of or cups of

Sometimes you are in tears of laughter or tears of sadness & awe at the bravery of posters & the support their predicament generates

When my son was found dead by his brother I posted on MN in the early hours of the next morning because I needed to not feel alone.

People were lovely and supportive,' held' my hand, let me cry, rant, rage and vent. They talked me through his funeral and the scattering of his ashes. They ask me how we are.

They made us a beautiful woolly hug and sent me cards.

MN has been my lifeline and my solace over the last 9 months.

There is nowhere quite like this, I have always been a lurker but everyone reached out to me and gave me strength to keep going.

Maryz's support thread for difficult teens has been amazing. When I felt so low , they picked me up. When I was slagged off in RL they made me feel better, not once was I judged. All from total strangers .

The laughs that MN has given me when I'm spending another lonely night on my own.

I had a MMC last year at 3 months, and previous to that I hadn't even been on mumsnet. Trawling the internet for answers, hope, someone who had been through the same, I stumbled on a mumsnet thread...I hadn't realised how low I actually was, and getting the advice, support and care of literally hundreds of mners helped me to come to terms with what had happened. No one made me feel daft for having a rant or a cry, and no one told me it 'was probably for the best'!

Best of all, a few months later I could 'pay back' the support, and help other mners who were going through the same and had questions about what would happen next. Without Mumsnet I don't think I would be feeling as strong as I do now. I recommend it to the people I care about as a place where you can find answers, support and sometimes, when you need it, a kick up the arse!

For me, one of the most fabulous things about Mumsnet is the real sense of community. People who go out of their way to help other people, no matter that they are total strangers.

Yes, there are the big things, like Secret Santa and the lovely Woolly Hugs crew, but it goes on all the time, often behind the scenes.

Just one small example - we're having to take undertake litigation at present, which is scary to say the least. And I have been given much advice by another MNetter, who is a solicitor, absolutely free.

When you're in a situation where you are panicking, sad, ill, lonely, frightened - or just need a quick answer to a question that is concerning you - there is always somebody here to help and to give you their time and hold your hand.

SN have made my DS and our lives immeasurably better in almost every single way. He's high functioning - too 'normal' for any official help. The SN board is my official help. Every technique, trick, battle I've won has come from the SN board. Complete lifeline.

Also thanks to the bravery and honesty of posters like MrsDeVere, countless parents now know that despite our own parents' attitudes to chicken pox, it is a very dangerous disease and children should be kept at home to protect others with low immunity. I genuinely didn't know this (thanks to my 70s mother and her love of chicken pox parties) and I know I'm not alone. I think this knowledge on a MNscale has probably saved countless lives over the years.

MN is my safety blanket. I come and go, am recently back under a new name after a few months away but have been here on and off since 2004.

It's my safety blanket in a way that I know whatever life chucks at me, there will always be someone in cyberspace to hold my hand (and very probably make me snort tea through my nose) and make it better.

The threads that I often think of are Expats, and MrsDeVere's, Edgar's, CupOfTeas, Rindercellas, etc.

Threads that should never have to have been started, threads about children and partners that we all feel we know, by women who we should all feel proud to.

Oh Harriet I remember devouring that thread and bawling when the baby got adopted.

Utterly haunting when she described the baby's cries when she was withdrawing from heroin.

I hope EMIN is OK - she was diagnosed with cancer wasn't she. What a wonderful woman she is.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/707200-My-Dad-died-12-days-ago-and-now-Mum-39

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/707200-My-Dad-died-12-days-ago-and-now-Mum-39

This thread and the love, support and offers of help! I had various thread around this time and there was always someone there, regardless of the time. It got me through many a dark time. Thank you all!

sparkling same here with the snow I was worried ds1 wouldn't be a blue to get home on the bus, he did manage but a lovely mnetter who lives near his school offered to put him up for the night if need be :)

I will also say I have learn a lot from the sn's boards and those posters who have children with son's, its made me much more aware and understanding.

I mentioned in a totally unrelated thread, that my daughter was unable to get any NHS funding for her hearing aid and that we are fundraising - as a by the by type coment. A lovely lovely lady PM'd me and offered some money to put towards it. Just kindess itself.

No not bu

Also not forgetting the hilarious Typos

I wish mumsnet had been around when DD was born. If it had been I am sure I would not have agree to a pointless induction and DD wouldn't have spent the first two weeks of her life in intensive car.

Just recently there was a lady who had to leave her home really quickly, as she was concerned her EX and EXMIL were coming to take her child/ren away from her.

She was sitting in a cafe, and really panicking.

People suggested she contact the police.

She was so panicked, she just hadn't considered that, and was able to post a couple of hours later about how helpful the police had been.

Oh, and a while ago, when someone posted about did we think it was selfish of someone without a partner to have a baby. Everyone turned on her, and said "Of course not, don't be so judgy". Turned out, she wanted to have a baby, but had no partner and was worried that it was a selfish thing to do! So, even though she was apparently "flamed", in fact, she got the support she was looking for.

Mn has done wonders for me whether it is when I feel like utter rubbish I can always rely on Mn for a good laugh or even when my head is a mess & I just need a friendly ear to listen .
We may come across as a bunch if 'Vipers that where Ugg Boots' but we are a huge supportive network from all around the world just ready to help & listen to each other .
I was having trouble before Christmas & had bu way of getting a Tree for my Ds & a lovely lady baught a tree round for me & I will never forget the kindness

I was discussing MN with my DH quite recently. We also, (like Custardo say 'mumsnet it'). He is occasionally scathing of MN, but i pointed out that i have been quite isolated in the past few years. I am not from here (aka a forriner) and we moved to a small community because of his work and his family. Nearly everything we have is his- HIS friend. HIS family. HIS circle of contacts. Nothing is mine or just for me. For a time I had no friends or support, and even now i am quite shy and do not have many friends in real life.... but am slowly gathering a circle.

Factor in PND, a shockingly bad working life, and various other things, and essentially, MN for me is the circle of support/friends/family that I do not have in reality. I come on here for laughs, for advice, to wind down. MN is an 'added value' to my life. I do not have a community around me, but I know there are people out there that respond to me, talk with me, and make me feel a part of something larger.

Can I ask who has been being horrible about MN this week? Why has this been such a bad week? This place is fairly used to getting a pasting from the ignorant,the humourless and the misogynist after all

Tiktok and her wonderful BF support and sense helped me immensely.
Then there was the lovely mumsnetter who put me in touch with a midwife who I could talk to about my concerns after DS was born.
Then there was the lovely viper who sent me nappy covers she did not need anymore on the understanding I pass them on.
And then there was the lovely viper who gave me a lot of advice about schools in Luxembourg.
Loads of lovely vipers with the odd atrocious cunt thrown in.

Oh yes, dh and dd always ask me to ask MN if we're having trouble with something. It's my first port of call! Often I don't have to ask as there'll be an answer in the archives somewhere.

The sheer number of people who prayed, hoped and wept for Ailidh will stay with me always.

The discovery of like minded nutters enthusiasts on the now long-running party planning thread has distracted me when stressed and given me the best excuse for vicarious shopping (online searching and RL shopping too ).