Anyone still here who joined in 2006 or earlier?

[A580Hojas]

Just ... hello really.

I consider myself a bit of an oldie but there might be people still here who were posting from the very start (circa 2000/01 ish?).

I sometimes wonder what it would be like to go back 10-12 years on Mumsnet. Would it look significantly different? I remember lots of scandals about the changing of the appearance of the site. I guess there would be fewer adverts, sliders and pop-ups?

Woud we still have lots of threads headed like this
MamaGwhereareyou**

Hot topics of conversation might be baby modelling and the MMR. I can't honestly remember.

What do you recall about the early days of MN if you were here then?

Old era posters who haven’t yet been mentioned... Rhubarb & her mate Custardo

Oi- I mentioned them!!

I joined in 2001 I think (via someone mentioning it on Babycentre.co.uk) (ds was born in 2000) but think I only became active in 2002. Have only name changed once (except for the Christmas/Halloween name changes) after about a year as my original name was too close to my name and I linked to db's business, I thought supportively, but he didn't think so

I thought I was a prolific poster but obviously not as no one has mentioned me

I've been to two London Christmas meetups (last one 4 years ago). We used to have regular Scottish Christmas (and other times of year) meet ups, but not recently. I have however made lots of real life friends via Mumsnet - in fact, met some of them on Monday Mumsnet also indirectly got me back into knitting (and making friends via the Woolly Hugs projects) and has helped me lose 3.5 stone on the MN Boot Camp

A lovely MNer also hosted my family and me for 3 nights so that we could watch the Olympic Road Cycling Races go past not far from her house. Watching the Olympic Opening Ceremony with our 2 families all squashed into her living room is a special memory.

Iirc I sent a batch of tablet one year as part of the Christmas parcels.

The MN community was also very supportive when my mum had a serious accidents and head injury, which ultimately led her to develop a head-injury related dementia and die 5 years later

Nowadays I'm mostly found in the Brexit boards (the Westministenders threads) and in Scotsnet.

My name change had a theme tune...

I met RTKanga at the Harry Potter studios.

I joined in 2006ish, but mainly lurked.

My favourite poster was called something like sjlovescomfypyjamas - she would change the end bit often used to love reading about her little boy.

Gah! Sorry steppemum [facepalm]

I joined in 2003, the same evening I signed up to eBay (brave new techno world!) Many name changes since then: I got an email saying I'd been mentioned on a thread the other day and discovered it was one of my old names (guess the poster who uses it now must have had to add numbers or something on the end.)

In the old days there was much more of a sense of community across the whole site, though that wasn't necessarily a good thing. It did feel like there were 'prefects' like the 'populars' my kids described at school. Now the individual boards have their own sense of community, which I really like. I remember cod (of course) and Enid and Marthamoo and Motherinferior. There was also a poster called Harpsichordcarrier whose posts I always really admired.

MN has enriched my life and my parenting in too many ways to list.

Has anyone mentioned Aloha? She left after a row didn't she?

Think I joined when I was pregnant with my only child in 2004, and have been here ever since but with a couple of different user names. I read more than I post though, so no one would remember me

And I go for long periods where I don't use Mumsnet at all because I get sick of various posting behaviours that seem to afflict 'social meeja' - there's currently a thread somewhere about all the things people hate on MN, which is quite amusing reading.
I do remember a few usernames : NeverGoogleDragonButter, FanjoForTheMammaries, ScottishWitch( I think)
AnyFucker, Riven ... Oh, and one person whose name escapes me but was renowned on MN for saying "it's just words on a screen..." in answer to any arguments/conflict/disagreements etc 🤣

Aloha is a journalist and was a long term mnetter before using it for material in her newspaper articles. which eventually led to a falling out with MNHQ. Remember her as she went through SEN diagnosis just after ds.

Oh yeah COD's potty training threads. She advised the use of shrimp sweets - everyone said this worked!

I joined in 2006 when pg with my first. It’s not much different really although there is definitely a lot more ‘shooting down’ of the OP nowadays. I also think that the more recent trend for FB groups has definitely affected the antenatal threads.

Oh, just remembered StealthPolarBear.
Always wondered where that username came from.
Can remember the 'mouldies' being mentioned but I still have no idea what they are/were.

Is Moldies still even active? I can't see how it would have worked as well as MN because the format on mn is so easy to use for posting.

ThingInTheAttic - moldies was a private forum where posters from MN were invited to join if they were 'popular' enough. And iirc they had to be voted in by existing members. Which kind of shows how much smaller it was in those days because usernames were so identifiable.

I remember being a bit that I wasn't even invited to join the Moldies.

I know there were a few MNers who were invited but chose not to join as they felt it was too cliquey.

What happened between Carrie and Justine?

I've been here since about 2004/2005 when I lived abroad with small ds who is now 15. I was very lonely and although I didn't post it was so good to read.

I remember morning paper, cod, Enid, twiglet, twinsetandpearls, rhubarb and custardo, aitch, riven and loads others.

It isn't as funny as before but I do occasionally snort with laughter at something someone has posted.

...name escapes me but was renowned on MN for saying "it's just words on a screen..." in answer to arguments/conflict/disagreements etc

Scottish mummy, I think.

Electrascoffee- thanks for reminding what Moldies were - sounds very cliquey to me!
I was very scared to post when I first found MN, everyone seemed to be very assertive and well educated and middle-class, certainly in certain boards. I do remember a time when it was mumsnet suicide to admit that you gave your child Greggs sausage rolls or FruitShoots

My ds had fruit shoots - and I even used to re-fill the bottles but he never had Greggs

I was also a baaaaad parent who left him in his own when I went to the loo or hung the washing out - and even, when he was 3 months old, left the house for 5 minutes to post Christmas cards at the post box round the corner .

everyone seemed to be very assertive and well educated and middle-class, certainly in certain boards.

Totally agree with this. I'm really glad the atmosphere changed (I guess after the Moldie exodus?) I think MN can still be quite judgemental but it feels much broader and more democratic now

Anyone mentioned Twiglett yet? WMF & his wife? PrincessPeaHead? Lou33

I agree, there were lots of wealthier MC, Guardianista, Head Girl, Jolly Hockeysticks types on here in those days. There is much more cultural, class & economic diversity on here now. No bad thing.

I'm a (not quite mouldy) oldy too. And also realised just how much personal info I'd posted in the early years and asked MN to delete all the old threads I'd started, which they very kindly did. Now I'm much more careful and mostly sorry lurk.

I remember Riven, etc, and all the shortcut phrases that people would use to prove they were regulars.

Moldies

It’s funny that Dittany was hounded off Feminism for being too hardcore. She was way ahead of her time in terms of the zeitgeist, the board is awash with Dittany-esque posts these days.

I think Twiglett was one of the key Moldies, actually