to wonder what Mumsnet is actually for?

[Mintyy]

I find it impossible to use these days.

There is a fight on every thread. And I don't just mean in a yanbu/yabu sort of way. I mean that people are happy to round on others because they have different reasons for being here.

I have even seen a row between two different support threads this week.

If you want to make friends you are told off for being royalty or cliquey.

If you want to indulge in a little mild gossiping you are shouted down for being judgemental or shallow.

If you want to have a lighthearted chat you have to make that clear in the thread title nowadays.

I find the general mood of the place to be aggressive, angry, confrontational, defensive, impossible, predictable.

I keep hoping that things will improve, but how ?

I stick to mostly mindless jokey threads now too.

There's to many trolls and posters charging around on their high horse now.

I rather like my own little home corner. Lots of support and knowledge to be shared, there.

I also rather like all the free stuff I get.

Oh sorry. I thought Wasps was being humorous. I didn't think it was goady.

That's a key thing that annoys me -- perfectly harmless and legit posts getting called goady!

I think if people would stick to the not bearing grudges (at least visibly) over threads it would be good. That was always a roole and I think it kept bunfights on one thread. It seems to spill over now, with threads being derailed by posters having a go at another poster for something they said on another thread, and making even a jolly thread a bit of a bore.

And for once I am not referring to myself!

And the use of irony being called personal attacks!

What happened to badinage and repartee? Eh?

Not allowed rapartee any more.

It's bullying and cliquey.

@ "Where is LeGavrorf" . Closer than you'd think, I'll wager...

Mintyy, I do know what you mean, but it can still come up trumps when it counts. Did you see my thread about the kidnapped baby in Malaysia? MNers were brilliant that night in contributing to a social media storm which the police say they think was responsible for the little boy's safe return. And the friend of mine who was comforting his mum and asked me to help was someone I met via mumsnet!

It was such a heartening counterpoint to all those hideously ghoulish Madeleine threads last week.

and that fucking royalty shit. Really gets my goady goat. And regulars being cunts just because they are regulars.

And people actually acknowledging they have had pleasant interactions with each other in the past being a 'clique'. So that anyone with a posting history of over two minutes can't be seen on the same thread with another in case they become royalty regular fuckity cliquers.

Fucking pisses me off. Fuck .

Did I mention it pisses me off?

I cba to write long posts.

oh, and this notion that people own a thread. and can tell other posters to fuck off if they don't like it.

I do think MN has got a much bigger DM quotient now. All pursed lips and refusal to see the funny side of anything, sticking to some middle england notion of morality and ethics.

And feeling virtuous in their viciousness here.

Well you know perfectly well I got ripped to shreds last week in the most UnMN way possible. I never imagined that could happen here.

Being told MN should ban me for having a different opinion on something.

Not the MN I joined six years ago.

No don't head tilt Mary, I am still incredibly upset about it.

Yes, where is GetOrf.
I like GetOrf.

Yes there does seem to be more santimonious middle england posters around

I'm with Bof.

The thread about my friend Carol who was missing in the French Alps was amazing - so many people offering to keep the search going etc.

There was a very funny thread about something disgusting falling out of someones fanjo - a true story that ended fine, but the humor shown by people & the OP was just fantastic.

There are a lot of threads I look at & think FFS so I just leave them.

I'm fairly new here but I think it's great - on the whole.

I posted a very long and slightly hysterical thread this morning in Relationships and I got a load of useful, considered replies that people took time to write out just for me. Like having 20 wise aunts in one place listening to me ramble on and still taking me seriously- that's rare! Or not just for me- for lurkers who might have the same experience but can't face writing it all out on a public forum. So that's two good things that I think are almost unique to MN.

I wish Gerorf was still Gerorf

I don't know who she is

I started using MN during fertility treatment. It's been brilliant for that and pregnancy support and I'm sure it'll be equally brilliant when I've got a newborn who won't feed/I'm changing my tenth nappy explosion of the day/my boobs are bleeding/I haven't slept in weeks/etc.

Have also had good cat advice from the lovely souls in the Litter Tray and good DIY advice from the amazing PigletJohn. Often I think the lesser-frequented areas of the site are actually its most useful parts.

I'm another one who doesn't find most of the supposedly funny threads funny and I try to steer clear from the serious, debate-y type threads because (a) there are always people who do not understand logic, which drives me nuts and (b) it's hard to have a serious debate online when everyone's x-posting and misinterpreting each other's words.

Sigh. Some of you can't see what's right in front of you...

Do I need to start throwing cake again?