Has mumsnet changed over the years

[YouFoundMe]

I have seen a thread on which a lot of people have said mumsnet has changed from what it used to be 15/20 years ago. I've only been on here for 3/4 months so I'd love to know what has changed .. is it better or worse?(my guess from what people say is that it's now not as good as it was before).. why? What was it like before ..

Change is inevitable.

It's less cliquey, which is good.

It's less funny. In fact it's rare I laugh at a thread.

And it's nasty too. I'm only here because I'm an addict.

Very London-centric, middle-class, high income
Also it seemed more intelligent back then, I don't mean that in a snotty way, just that posters appeared well informed and well educated.

It was all fields around 'here! I've been here twelfty million years.

It was different, years ago, you would know people and remember things about them. It was smaller though so that's understandable. I sometimes search for something from way back and there's a lot of kindness and friendship.

But I still like it now (obviously since I'm here!)

I also agree that it was more intelligent, there used to be some really interesting debate. There still is, you just have to look harder for it.

I agree. I have been here for 22 years. When I first joined it was intelligent and supportive. Then it became cliquey ( moldies anyone?) Now it has many many more topics and many many more trolls and nastiness too. But I am definitely addicted

First post nailed it.

I think it got meaner when AIBU became a topic in its own right, I think it attracts people who just want to be as nasty as possible with no consequences

Lots more posts about elderly parents as many longtime members now are in 50s and 60s

I've been using MN for about 13 years and people have been moaning about it 'changing' the whole time.

I do miss the old cliquey days though! Not because I was a part of them, but i loved the dynamic. Some posters were self-designated leaders and extremely possessive of certain topics or of how the site should be run etc.

People were also a lot more naive about the internet then. So most posters were presumed to be telling the truth about their lives, so the trolls and con-artists ran riot.

Posters also shared a lot of real life details about themselves, which you don't really get nowadays. But it made the site feel small and like you 'knew' people.

It's got really nasty.

It really has changed, it used to be so much fun. No one would have known my name back then and I definitely wouldn't have been in a clique/quiche.
However, the threads went on for day's and they were funny.
People really seemed to care about each other, there were meet ups, long standing threads and the bun fights were amazing.
It's just bitch plops and head girls now.

It's much bigger so there's a lot less 'community' stuff happens, like for example some MNers went round and cleaned the home of someone who was hoarding and struggling. That sort of thing.

It's less fun and less funny.

There's 100000% more boring pointless bitchy 'aha gotcha on this one tiny detail' posts, where someone will hone in one one small thing and totally derail the thread, just for their own sense of superiority or something.

It's a shame as it kills what would have been many interesting discussions ten years ago.

It used to be smaller and posters seemed more intelligent (except me)

We used to have meet ups and send each other Christmas cards.

And there was zero tolerance for huns

The really big thing is that there are fewer funny threads.

There was always nastiness (it was the nest of vipers after all).

This. I've only been here about 13 years, but I've noticed the same changes.

Justine used to come and chat to us. All cosy like. Now she just chats about us.

There used to be some really hilarious threads and posters. I haven’t had a good laugh on here in years.

It used to be funny. You could start a thread about something inane and funny and it would go on for pages without anyone being snooty and accusing of you of trolling or trying to get into classics.

You used to know each other. But now o very rarely recognise anyone on here. It was supportive and you made friends with other posters. It’s not like that now. It’s almost not worth starting a thread anymore because of how mean people are, or you just get accused of being a troll. There’s literally a whole Reddit page dedicated to people on here hunting trolls. It’s pathetic.

I think people used to type on computers which usually meant their posts were longer and more thought out.

Typing on phones is harder

I feel it's become a lot more toxic and people are too quick to accuse others of being racist or judgmental just for having a different point of view to them. I feel people read a thread and immediately think it's bad rather than reading it in a more neutral way in their own head ( if that makes any sense at all!)
It did used to be funnier , now any kind of lighthearted thread has to be flagged up as being ' lighthearted' 😆

It was funnier and people didn’t care if a post was made up as long as it was funny! It was mostly British Mums. Now I would say it is 50:50 Mums to non-parents (of both sexes) and with a big mix of countries. It was always a bit harsh but it used to be people being harsh for your own good. Now it is just people being, rude and hurtful for no reason.

Plus there were real life meet ups! There is no way I would even admit to reading Mumsnet now, let alone go to a meet up.

Long time member/reader. I’d point to the following changes:
Posters seem significantly less mature - my friend was mean to me on holiday; my boyfriend said something nasty to me etc etc. FFS grow up
Significantly more weird Tory wind up threads - Keir super injunction; why haven’t Labour fixed everything in 3 months; why can’t I have a free house and can I hide my savings so I can carry on claiming UC (or perhaps people really do have no shame) etc etc
Dim questions and complete wet lettuces (sorry)
Very little nuance in posts - most things in life are not black and white

What has stayed the same:
Jealousy and put downs of women with high salaries
Multiple people that don’t answer the door or phone. I know no one in real life like this
Propensity to recommend keeping the baby if you want it regardless of circumstances, practicalities, or suitability of father (and then frothing when said fathers are shit)
Ridiculously complex suggestions to avoid difficult situations/confrontation. Just tell the truth - it’s so much simpler

i have to say that I laugh more at, than with, posters these days.

Agree with some of the above. I've been here about 13 years and I used to regularly laugh out loud at threads, the humour has pretty much disappeared.
It used to be more left leaning too - that's definitely still there on some boards but it's moved more to the right.
The main thing I've found though is how offended everyone is - no one can speak about their experiences without posters being triggered or offended that they're worse off. People used to clash of course, but posters are shit down pretty quickly now if they dare to post about a 'first world problem'. There's no silliness any more. I remember brilliant threads about really daft stuff like putting shopping seperaters length ways on the belt, and bad cakes, or mad neighbours. If someone posted that now they'd be asking that was all they had to worry about 😁
Not sure why I'm still here tbh, habit I guess.

I've been here about 15 years, I think.

For me the main difference is you don't get purely silly threads that are just good natured fun.
You didn't need to put "(lighthearted)" in the title for people to know that it wasn't serious. There were times I was reading threads out for dh's amusement. Haven't done that for years.

yeah, posters are really mean and unkind.
I hate the sneering at spelling mistakes or typos, or everyone piling on to say the same thing (often after an apology) but not leaving it alone and moving on

or people writing
popcorn
grabs chair
or whatever - its just so childish