Don't think a lot of people on MN are very welcoming to posters who've joined recently.................

I second gess's post.

It's a site.

There are millions of them.

If one doesn't suit, look around for another or start one yourself.

if you think it is cliquey, start your own clique ! i did!!!

(however, if you ask nicely and remember to wipe your feet, I may thaw)

As Rubyslippers has said: I don't yet feel like handing round the fairycakes to a bunch of loons who barged in expressly to call us selfish bastards...
Call me a selfish bastard, but I'd rather keep me buns for the real Mumsnetters

this isnt confined to the shrek/madeline thing i have kept away from that as much as poss, its all through MN, I know its not nice to hear negative stuff but it does seem a bit like gang warfare against newbies, completely agree each OP is as valid as the last, and as for the toddler roup analogy, its seemed a bit cliquy at this one recently

i'm welcoming. Welcome !

ah, so thats where im going wrong...

netiquette is not confined to musment, it is all over the net, and every forum

there are basic rules

same as going to a new mums and tots group...you wouldn;t rush over to the nearest group, interrupt, change the subject, tell everyone else they were wrong, and you are right....

that is just manners, no?

why should people be welcoming to someone who starts off by calling us "selfish, thoughtless bastards" and who explicitly states they have joined MN to tell us this?

LOL at MB's comment, especially as it comes from a bishop.

Second what Lulu said. And I HATE being addressed as 'ladies'. Highly patronising. This isn't a suburban golf club, you know.

tmtd completley agree with, you a fairly innocent thread can go absolutely up in flames cos a "cool few" seem to gang up and attempt to outdo each other with insults or chav/ponce spotting, and as for netiquette, how ridiculous, isnt mumsnet a huge mixture of different attitudes and experiences, and not the playground of a select few?

I think each of us has a right to say what we want to/need to. We all have very different lives and it can be really enlightening to hear different views. I would hate to think that new or old has anything to do with it. This would seem a bit mad to me
I have to say though that I don't particularly like the threads that start with "who's your favourite newbie?" or ""who do you love on mn?". I always get quite miffed when I'm not mentioned!!!!!!
Stressteddy goes off to get glass of medicinal vino

some posters are not very literate, and txtspk is so not a good look

seriously, as has been pointed out, if you lurk you get the feel for the place, you cannot expect to barge in , guns blazing and get a standing ovation

why do I want to shove cotton balls in my cheeks and start muttering indistinct comments about 'da family'

Like the catholic church MN welcomes converts. They shouldn't be disapointed, though, if they are not elected Pope over night.

if anyone can link to or copy and paste any where that people have been made unwelcome, except for the ongoing Madelaine McCann debates...and possibly the single chap who joined, seemingly to look for a date, then please do.

people do join to stir up trouble, they are trolls

Proper netiquette rules are to lurk for a while in any new forum before posting - it's a way of getting to know what is/isn't acceptable, what the general tone of the place is and whether you'd enjoy being part of that group.

Friction comes, in my experience, when people don't bother with that initial lurking period, dive in regardless and then act all hurt when they get flamed to buggery.

Mumsnet isn't a fluffy pink bunny sort of place - a simple lurk of a few days or even up to a week would show that instantly to any newcomer. There are lots of forums with different atmospheres and ethoses if you just care to look.

It's not about newcomers/oldies - it's about basic etiquette.

I think it is worth worrying about.
Surely the point of MN is to be supportive to other women,not to make them feel uncomfortable and or not good enough.

oooh i'd like one of Troy off of High School Musical