...to find Mumsnet quite depressing

[Blueskyrain]

I used to be an active member of a forum which was a lot about relationships etc, similar to here but younger, less about kids etc.

That ended up being shut down rather suddenly and I've eventually signed up for here because I miss forum debates, chat etc. But I'm finding it a bit depressing.

Is there a positive section that I'm missing or something? Obviously I understand that a lot of people come here for advice and are in awful situations, but it all seems to be about genuinely useless men, thinking other men are useless and breaking up, with very little in the way of really happy threads.

Mumsnet is vast and anonymous, likely much bigger than the forum you were using so people don't get to know each other in the same way you are used to. So if you posted (I guess Chat would be the most appropriate place) - "Guess what, I just got engaged!' I expect you would get a fair number of posters posting to wish you their genuine good wishes (cause people are nice like that), but it would all be pretty meaningless unless they were posters you 'knew'. Facebook is more the place for engagement news.

As previously mentioned, you can join one of the long-running threads ('seventeenth thread' etc) where you will get to 'know' the same posters, and news of an engagement would be celebrated.

But there are certainly upbeat, lighthearted and funny threads on Mumsnet, if you hunt around.

ah, shit., I think it is a bit like that old proverb that kids are told in assembly. if only I was listening

if you think it is shit you will find evidence to support your hypothesis, if you think it is great, likewise.

I think you are hanging around in the wrong threads.

The old forum had maybe 40 or 50 regulars, with a lot of randomness, so yeah we got to know each other personally. We've kept it going on Facebook and whilst I've now become very close friends with those girls (we even holiday together sometimes), I'd missed the dynamic of chatting with more, and having new people,if that makes sense.

But I'm probably comparing something that is completely different, and there are pros and cons to both.

I am enjoying chat though