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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder why some forums sort of ... grind to a halt?

214 replies

mytartanscarf · 30/12/2014 20:47

I used to be a member of a very busy forum. It was pretty nice as although it was busy there was a sense of community as well.

It isn't dead Grin but dying.

Then about 10 years ago when I did a PGCE I was a member of the TES forums and they used to be so busy; I've had a look for the first time in ages and ages and it's really quiet.

Will Mumsnet ever die? And what causes a forum death?

OP posts:
Original poster
mytartanscarf · 30/12/2014 22:05

Cubee that's awful Sad

OP posts:
DoubleValiumLattePlease · 30/12/2014 22:06

I pop over there sometimes too screen but rarely post - I also hate the format and I hate the extensive list of banned words that just come up as !!!!!!!! in your post. Imagine if MN had that ffs - it'd just be nowt but !!!!!!! with a few 'and' 'but' 'he' 'me' and 'MIL' inbetween!

therockinghorseroll · 30/12/2014 22:07

cubee did that happen over here on MN as well? Someone who got found out because they'd used a stock internet photo or something? Really rings a bell..

cococandyfloss · 30/12/2014 22:08

I used to use Babygreenhouse -it was a great help when conceiving and when DS was a baby. They always used to have a pop about how mean and scary mumsnet was. It died a death and then I came over to Mumsnet to see for myself and got sucked in!
I think I would miss it if it was gone.

flumpysocks · 30/12/2014 22:11

MrsDiesel, i think i know that forum if you still want to know the name.

PinkOboe · 30/12/2014 22:11

Handbag was amazing fun. Then just petered out and died. The interface changed but it was remarkable that something so vibrant and busy just rolled over and expired

IsabeauMichelle · 30/12/2014 22:16

I was a member of Bad Mothers Club for a long time. By the time it went, though, it was already dead. It was a shame, but I think some of us had already kind of defected to here anyway.

2kidsintow · 30/12/2014 22:17

I used TES a lot. For advice, for ideas and occasionally for totally random stuff.

Then they upgraded the site and it became really difficult to find your way around, had to log in and 'join' discussions instead of just posting a reply and it became so quiet it was hardly worth going on there. So I didn't anymore.

Also, I found mnet which is far better for all the randomness I enjoyed occasionally. :) :)

x2boys · 30/12/2014 22:18

im on a few facebook groups my son has a rare chromosome disorder its been great or that, plus his chromosome disorder has caused his autism so facebook has also a few autism groups.

Hushabyelullaby · 30/12/2014 22:18

Coolaschmoola I was a CL on 2 iVillage boards too. I met some lovely girls there, a few of us have stayed friends and it has been 10 years now.

katrina81 · 30/12/2014 22:25

I used to use babygreenhouse as well, it was a great deal of support when TTC.

Loved AOL chat!, I met my dp 15 years ago in a yahoo chat room.

AllMimsyWereTheBorogoves · 30/12/2014 22:25

The BBC set up dozens and dozens of messageboards in the late 90s, then spent most of the next decade shutting them down and upsetting a lot of people in the process. One of the last to go was The Archers MB, which was still attracting a lot of people, but the powers that be claimed it was losing ground to Facebook and Twitter. In its day it was a lot of fun. Most people latterly posted about anything but The Archers. A lot of them had never listened to TA Xmas Confused.

In a good many cases, groups of displaced BBC posters set up replacement MBs. I know that the two replacement TA MBs are still going. Don't know for how long, though, as they won't be attracting many new members now.

hiddenhome · 30/12/2014 22:25

Was anybody ever on the Family Centre forum? It was run by the Govt. It closed down eventually. God, we used to have some fights Grin one of the members there used to troll the TES forums apparently.

ClashCityRocker · 30/12/2014 22:28

I used to use ukbride as well....in fact, it is probably the total opposite to mumsnet...I wish some of the posters in AIBU would head over there to sort them out!

Also use MSE but more for lurking and info.

badRoly · 30/12/2014 22:30

Waves at the other Ex-BMCers

I used to frequent a forum that died, I made some good friends there and miss the 'cosiness' sometimes but then I rather like the relative anonymity here...

ClashCityRocker · 30/12/2014 22:30

Also used to love the aol chat rooms.

Many happy hours spent as a thirteen year old on their, in the heyday before anyone worried about who kids were talking to.

MegMogandOwlToo · 30/12/2014 22:33

I used Thesite forums a lot when a was mid/late teens, but they are aimed at that age group.

Also the lush forum until Lush was exposed for the disgusting, hypocritical company that it is (Google the smell of bullshit / mitherings from morningside for the full details).

Vaguely remember aol forums, but not sure which ones I used.

LumpySpacedPrincess · 30/12/2014 22:35

Ebay forums used to be wild man, seriously. Grin

Then they updated and threw a load of rules down and it just died.

furrymuff · 30/12/2014 22:36

Another ex-BMCer here, I loved that place. I remember when DS1 was tiny (he's 16 now) I used to spend hours on UKParents too - I remember we had dial up and it used to take ages to connect Grin but it was so comforting to know that others were in the same boat as me. Now I feel all nostalgic and a bit sad...

RedTinsel · 30/12/2014 22:37

I was a member of a wedding one when I was getting married. But once Id done the deed I didn't have much else to talk about.
I was also on Tamba for a while, but its very baby-focused so when my DTs got a bit older my interest waned.
MN is great because its not all bout babies and dCs. I quite like Digital Spy for TV stuff but there's a lot of loons on there.

SaucyJack · 30/12/2014 22:38

I used to go on Babyworld back in the day. It's deader than a dead thing now Pictures

We killed it by moving it onto an unmodded FB group.

workingtitle · 30/12/2014 22:41

I was on handbag, was great but then the site changed. There was a private forum afterwards but I dropped out shortly after it began. Handbag was great, the only thing that came close was TMT. I doubt MN will die unless they change the interface dramatically.

FatJerseyPostXmasSpud · 30/12/2014 22:41

I used to be part of a very very active magazine mums forum many years ago

Then the admins went batshit, banned loads of regulars so everyone stuck two fingers up to them and went to proboards.

They removed the forum part of that website about a year ago. Now we are all on facebook.

RedTinsel · 30/12/2014 22:41

I'd forgotten about eBay forums. They were good fun in the old days. I don't even know how to find them now.

therockinghorseroll · 30/12/2014 22:42

Is babycentre still going?