Has Mumsnet dumbed down over the past couple of years IYO? Or, if you're new, what's your impression?

Carmenere you made me smile ...."Mumsnet was definitely best when it was just emails going between Justine and Carrie, it's just been downhill since then" ...quite

PethMSL

pmsl at custy
custy you are a fucking LEGEND you know that don't you

remember the days when it was "thou" this and "thou" that.

"thou hast maketh an unwarrented slight on my post madam"

"I HAVETH a pink handbag"

"and i haveth a red hangbag!"

"dawn awaits us fair mumsnetter, there you shall find my other glove. your gauntlett of fate"

"aftereth i haveth breastfeedeth...say around 6.30eth?"

I have not been on MN for THAT long, so as a relative newcomer-ish, here are my impressions;

there are a number of obviously established posters who are VERY confident people who do present their opinions and views very strongly indeed and somtimes the impression has been of this being quite intimidating and off-putting;

MN is absolutely a brilliant resource, it's been wonderful for support on particular things that I just don't know enough people to sort out in RL! Speedy responses and compassionate responses - wonderful. Like going to a huge huge mother and toddler group!

The opinions on MN are very definitely different to those I've come accross in RL; I have had no BF/FF debates in RL! In RL the mums I know have been supportive of what the others are doing; no RL mums I know have waited till 6 months to wean, this was MN news to me; 4 months seems to be the accepted norm in my RL world and tbh no-one I know thinks extended BFing, 'late' weaning or BF v FF is worth ranting about and losing friends over! It all seems heightened on here.

But generally my impression has been of a very very useful supportive place. But that's got alot to do with where I go I guess, I avoid BF threads and don't really go on 'chat', just on specific issue type threads.

Overall I think MN is great.

Mumsnet was definitely best when it was just emails going between Justine and Carrie, it's just been downhill since then

Ah but it has been going longer than that Ledology!!! It had already changed significantly by 2002!!!

I only started lurking 18 months ago, so don't know what it was like in the good ol' days .

But some posters definitely seem to 'hype up' their posts now to get noticed - inevitable when the site is so big I guess.

I think that the active conversations has speeded up a lot recently and more threads get lost..and ironically this means more threads being starte on the same topic because they move off so fast and that leads to thread clutter itself

I think that is right pruni..by which I mean true rather than right

Message withdrawn

as far as i can see it wasn't so intellectual years ago either!

Issymum you made me laugh with all lawyers are overpaid comment

"It's not, for me, the subject matter, it's the way people write about their subjects."

Exactly MI. I think the recent history of MNet is rather similar to that of TV. I don't think that the percentage of poor programming to good programming has changed much, there is just more of everything and you can get dispirited wading through the dross to get to the good stuff. Also, just like TV, our perception of the past is distorted because we tend to remember the fabulous threads and forget the 701st baby pasta one.

There is one subtle shift that has changed the way I post. I self-censor much more than I used to as I no longer feel that I can say anything that may highlight the fact that we are....can't think of right word and am being constrained by the very restriction I'm trying to describe....um...well-off? Years ago there was a great thread trying to advise Lambchops about whether she should return to work after maternity leave as a City lawyer whilst her husband was striving for partnership in a law firm. Today that thread might still happen, but not without a couple of posters popping up to tell her she was ungrateful and spoilt because she at least had the opportunity not to return to work and a few more saying that all lawyers were over-paid. And it's true, she was lucky to have choices, but making them was no less agonising and that was the point of the thread.

More people has meant more diversity and that's good. But somehow we have lost the 'it's not where you're from it's the fact that you're a parent' unity. But as Ledogy says, you either embrace the change or leave the club!

I am as old as the hills on here & it has changed a very great deal since if first started. We used to just have very polite, courteous discussions about aspects of parenting & dispense nuggets of wisdom.
Now it is a huge site with all sorts of subjects covered. I don't think it is necessarily worse for that, but it is very different.
I don't believe it has dumbed down either. The debates or discussions are only as dumb as the contributers & I think there are lots of great contributers here.

no apology necessary hunker, notin the slightest. the tone of all my posts that eveing were twattish - more than usual

Custy, I've been meaning to apologise to you for posting what I did the other night - I won't repeat it here, but I think you'll know what I mean (on the bfeeding in front of boss thread).

Sorry. I posted without thinking. Sorry again.

As to the OP - yeah, it's like, ruhlly dumb, whatever

I posted on the "Is borat offensive" thread, not everyone diagrees with my point of view but it was interesting to hear opposing views. On the other hand, it wasn't at all interesting to hear from many people - "he's really hilarious ffs you need to get a life". It reminded me of those people you see on TV trying to stick their heads in front of the camera.

I've only been on here for about 6 months but in the last couple of months I've noticed this more.

mumsnet doesnt do debates anymore. mumsnet does arguments. apologies are rare - not surprising really considering when they do happen they are still ignored in favour of thewitch hunt

witch hunts are frequent. weekends are giddy and stupid.

I'm new too, I KNOW I've dumbed it down, but I thought we were all sporting post-natal lobotomies? They're this season's black.

am i being over sensetive by being a bit miffed at this thread?

Im relativly new so i assume i am one of those who have dumbed it all down.

Jeez that sex thread is rubbish.

But really, why did it get so many responses? All of them saying piss orf.

Answering the OP - yes it has, see:

pretty damn dumb