Thread 14 - TalkLair: “What The Hell Are We Supposed To Use, Man? Harsh Language?”

[Kucinghitam]

(Previous thread 13).

Summer should be well under way, but the chilly wind, grey clouds and pouring rain beg to differ. Looks like 2024 continues to be a washout - on the bright side, the Tories got washed out too! In the TalkLair, we remain hunkered down keeping cosy and warm. The hearth is glowing, the walls covered in dubious artwork, books by non-approved authors line the shelves, rugs are down on the floors (and assorted pets curled up on them).

We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey over there in the corner of the cave…

What is MN's problem with so-called 'zombie ' threads? I just find it pointless and irritating. What's wrong with digging up an old thread to post relevant recent updates? Seems much more preferable than starting a new thread every time. It's already an issue that (arguably) there's way too many similar threads on the same subject in some areas. This policy only exacerbates the problem, surely?

I don't know - on the whole MN is a pleasant place to be, but some of the customs (and customers) are hard to understand.

Can I boast?

Don't care, am going to anyway.

Today, for the first time in my life, all on my own, I changed a loo seat! I feel so capable.

I think part of the problem with zombie threads is linked to the vast proportion of MNers who don't read the date, replies, or even most of the opening post. On a zombie thread it's Cancel The Checque writ large.

Not too bad if it's the OP posting an update (although the posters who then respond to the original post and ignore the update are irritating), or someone with a similar issue wanting to know how the OP resolved it, but massively annoying when it's a randomer reviving a 5 year old thread about a time-limited problem.

Well done on the seat changing, Elderberry. One of those jobs that's usually not as simple as it ought to be.

The Zombie thread problem is caused by

• People answering the first post on page 24 of an ancient thread where a lot of shit has gone down.
• The 'similar threads' thing where people don't look at the date, and again, spout an opinion that's a dollar short and more than a day late

People don't mind the OP coming back with an update, (especially if they use the same username)

I get that both those things are a nuisance, but I don't see why they should preclude anyone updating an old thread. Anyway, never mind...

There's also low-effort trolling, where periodically someone goes through loads of decade-old threads and revives them all in a batch - so everything on the first page of a board and the whole of active/trending is dead threads. That makes tolerance of zombie threads much lower.

Oh and the spammers who bump a million threads trying to sell the services of their psychic detective or similar.

Relish your power, Elderberry!

I have only changed loo seats twice, in 1986 and 2013, both times on moving into a new (to me) flat or house. It's oddly satisfying, a bit like marking your territory!

I always think loo seats are a fundamentally poor design, which surely could be much improved on.

The seat (in my en suite so only I used it) had been increasingly swivelly and unreliable for a while and I'd been trying to pretend it was fine because I felt a bit intimidated by the thought of removing the old one, never mind fitting a replacement. But it removed itself earlier in the week and I had to get real. Waited until today because Thursday is the day you get a 10% discount for being an old person (saved 5 euro!) in Woodie's. And feel very positive and empowered about the whole thing.

Which is good because there is going to be a horrible funeral at the weekend, and since I won't be able to get to the church I went to the house this evening to sympathise, and feel very wobbly after talking to parents, siblings, partners, neighbours, friends. Road traffic accident, and even the best efforts of the undertaker couldn't prevent the open coffin from telling its story. Very impressive local organisation though, literally dozens of men spread out to every road junction for miles around directing traffic to a farmhouse, the women running a marquee with hot drinks and plates of sandwiches and cakes. Nothing is going to comfort that poor family, but at least they won't feel alone.

That is very sad @DeanElderberry, the poor family.

Well done on the loo seat!

Have we had a thread donkey yet? I was followed by this chonk today. I let him rub his head on me but instantly regretted it as I spent the rest of the day covered in donkey dust and white hair.

Sympathies @DeanElderberry , very sad.

We had a shocking incident a hundred metres from our front door a couple of days ago too. Hit and run on two pedestrians, now someone has been arrested for attempted murder.

That was awful, @Winterborne74 - but it's reassuring to know that my assumption about your username was probably right. I spent the happiest year of my school life at Blandford Grammar, and have never really forgiven the army for moving us on so quickly!

I know Blandford well, grew up up in a village not far away Were you on the camp? I’m glad you remember it fondly - I always thought the army kids would resent ending up in the back end of beyond instead of somewhere more interesting.

Yes, we were on the camp - and Blandford was fine ... in fact it was quite exciting as we arrived in time for the winter of 1962/3! It was the school I loved, though. Right at the start of Day 1, our form teacher (a geographer) asked whether Bryanston was north, south, east or west of us and pointed at me. I said I had no idea.

"Good heavens, child, how long have you lived in Blandford?"
"Three days."
"Well, where did you live before?"
"Singapore."

I wasn't the only army brat in the school, but to his credit he apologised and asked (painfully shy) me questions about where it was, neighbouring countries, the climate, life there, places I'd visited etc. That school was very good at building children's confidence.

That’s nice to hear!

The QI talk forums are closing down as of the end of this month, so a bunch of us (much as we did from JTT) have set up a talk forum called Qexiles. I am a moderator there, and the site owner and I made the decision to ban a poster who has irritated more people and been the cause of many deciding to leave the site so that he couldn't fuck up the new forums too. We had to put the knife in today and tell him, which was not pleasant, but it will be so nice not to have to sort out his squabbles in future.

"Good heavens, child, how long have you lived in Blandford?"
"Three days."
"Well, where did you live before?"
"Singapore."

Nice one, that mus have been satisfying!

@Britinme was the poster also an irritant on JTT?

This is a nice thread:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5122607-she-has-eaten-him

That really is a nice thread!

Great excitement locally, not in a good way, with an ambulance and police cars (currently two, but there have been three) outside a house round the side of ours. There have also been police searching the green opposite the front of the house, with cars tearing around and general siren drama. Oh, and as I was writing, the Kent air ambulance has just flown noisily over and landed on the green, and there's a police helicopter zig-zagging over the town and beach.

I just assumed the demented old lady who lives there had died, but it looks as though there's a lot more to it. At the outset I was going to tell the police that I have her son's phone number if they needed to contact him, but best not, eh? When I saw him yesterday and asked how things were, he just said "Not great" and I gave him a hug. He's a lovely man who (speculation alert) may just have attempted to kill his mother.

Bloody hell, that's a bit too much drama! In line with this morning's need for self-sufficiency, another 5 min baguette. Gotta road-test the new oven! That's a small bowl, 190 mm diameter at top, it's ideal for one baguette.

@Vegemiteandhoneyontoast no he's not known to JTT.

How did it turn out?