Only on MN ...

[cathf]

Not a TAAT as such, but inspired by a response on a thread running at the moment.
It got me thinking of the differences between MN and my RL friends and acquaintances, and things that are accepted wisdom on MN that no-one I know in real life cares about at all.
I will start off:

1. Little girls who wear pink clothing, and gendered clothing in general;
2. Scented sanitary towels;
3. Fruit Shoots
4. People cuddling/touching/talking to your child;

The amount of threads and angst over these topics is staggering, yet no-one I know would even think any of the above were worth discussing, never mind getting worked up about. Anymore?

Another birthday one that comes up on MN a lot: threatening to cancel a birthday party because DC was rude or badly behaved, with the replies (which I do agree with, but which come up every time):
"You're punishing the guests as well as your child."
"If you cancel it, they will remember this for ever, and resent you for ever."
"How do you punish them if it isn't their birthday coming up?"

There will be the usual mixture of replies which say "you made the threat, so you have to follow through or they won't respect you," and those which say "it can be a good thing to admit you were wrong and you said it in anger, or they won't respect you".

Also, if any OP starts their post with "I'm so annoyed with my DP's ex, because..." then you may as well type no more as the response is always "YABU!! Were you the OW?" 🙄 even if it's "I'm so annoyed with my DP's ex as she has just dropped my 2yo stepdaughter off who was literally vomiting as she left the car, she has severe norovirus and we have a newborn, and his ex said she's going dogging tonight so can't look after her". MN will always side with the ex.

There's one now about one who has sent the kids round with nits, despite three other children being in the house and the OP is being torn a new one. Yet the same posters no doubt get the rage when Scally Annie sends her kids to school nit ridden

gunpowder lol yes! Or when a stepmother posts for advice because her 15 year old step daughter calls her a cunt and punches her 2 year old half brother and destroys the house and steals money from her purse, posters will pile on to say "no wonder she hates you you spiteful bitch you talk about her so nastily she obviously senses how much you hate her. You should buy her an iphone and take you and your children to live in a seperate houseto your husband so step daughter gets all the time with her dad without you and your sprogs."

Unpaid loan threads are hilarious and completely at odds with rl.

Op says "A good friend borrowed £1000 from me 6 months ago. They were supposed to pay it back 2 months ago but haven't. Meantime they're all over fb having cocktails and going on expensive nights outs and weekends away. AIBU to insist they pay me back immediately?"

Irl "that's awful, they're taking the piss op"

MN "YABU, you shouldn't lend money with conditions/maybe someone else is paying for their social life/it's none of your business how they choose to spend money"

Total nonsense.

I'd forgotten about them paul.

Same for money to children.

I had saved some money for DC to go to university as we are a lower income family and i dont want them to struggle. They've now decided they don't want to go to university and want to use the pot of money to go travelling. I feel this is an easy way to fritter away money I've struggled to save so if they aren't going university then I'd rather keep it safe an invest it until they need a bit to help to a house deposit.
AIBU to think that I shouldn't fund DC's travel plans because they think I'm being unreasonable.

Reply 1 - Why are you giving gifts with strings attached? If you've said the money is for your DC then it's up to them what they want to do with it. You can't promise them a pot of money and then take it away.

Reply 2 - They're 18 and legally an adult. You need to cut the apron strings and let them make their own mistake. They'll resent you forever. When they're 75 and thinking back on life, nobody's going to say I remember the house deposit but they will remember you stopping them go to Thailand.

Reply 3 - You do realise university isn't essential. You're sending the wrong message if you're going to tell your child life is about grades.

Reply 4 - What is it with the obsession with buying property on MN? You know not everyone will buy so why are you so obsessed with it?

Real life - I get what you mean. They'll complain in the short term but ultimately it is your money and they aren't entitled to a year travelling funded by the bank of mum. In 5 -10 years when friends can't get on the housing ladder they'll thank you. If you can afford it, could you give them a small contribution to the trip?

Lol Martha but at the same they have to spend the exact same amount of money, to the penny (if not more) on said stepchild than they do their own children, but they must NEVER discipline them. Not so much as a "please don't do that".

Honestly, step kids never had it so good. If MN was around when I was a stepchild I'd have been rolling in it and getting away with murder 😂

I hear the word entitled used all the time, maybe because I’m a teacher? Some children do display very entitled behaviour, as do some adults I know.

I hate scented sanitary pads, they do stink and it is quite obvious.

I have a toilet brush. I’ve never know it was not the done thing-really? Let’s do a survey, shall we?

One thing on here that really pisses me off is the constant cries of ‘Burn down the house’ when a spider has been seen. I’m glad to see posters now turning the tide and saying ‘Just shove it behind the fridge, spiders are harmless’.

Not allowing workmen to use the toilet... always winds me up too

I hate scented sanitary pads, they do stink and it is quite obvious.

In no universe are you able to smell them on someone who is using one, through their clothes, over and above the menstrual blood, to the point where it would impact on you in any way whatsoever.

Love this thread OP! Some of the nonsense MN hit out with is ridiculous. I've stopped asking questions as the responses you get are utter nonsense x

Let out a room to a friend" (because someone living in poverty would naturally be renting a two bedroom place while living alone).

This sort of ignorance does happen in real life. When I was on benefits in a council flat a better off friend said it would be easier to keep the clutter off the lounge floor if I got a carpenter in to put some bespoke oak shelving up either side of the chimney.

I'd just been telling them that my hoover had packed in a few weeks back and I was having to use a dustpan and brush.

*According to MN their dh would never ever call them a bitch and if he did they would split up the entire family over it.

My husband would never call me a bitch *

Mine neither!

In RL most families do Haven/Butlins or holiday complexes abroad. On MN families only stay with native families on their remote working farm in the middle of Croatia and there are no other brits within a 100 mile radius.

MN: "why don't you talk to (whoever), instead of asking strangers on the internet? ".

Sometimes this is sound advice, but often there are perfectly good reasons why you wouldn't want to talk to someone in real life: doing so can have immediate and irreversible consequences, it can open a can of worms. Suppose someone wants to know if they should LTB. If they ask a friend, a family member, or hint it to the man himself, that person will then know they are thinking about it, which might have adverse effects. Sometimes people want to get a straw poll from someone dispassionate who they have never met.

Because of the way our blame culture works, sometimes calling a company to make an enquiry can be disastrously irreversible. If you had an issue which you suspect might cause problems with insurance (e.g. that crack in the wall has been getting bigger), you wouldn't ask the (bastard) insurance company first: simply by asking, it's then permanently on record that it's a "known" issue which might cause problems claiming; the person you speak to can't ignore what you said, because they are accountable, and the call has probably been recorded. You might prefer to get an informal opinion from somebody else with experience, before asking "officially".

Frozen sandwiches are always a touchy subject.

My husband would never call me a bitch

Mine neither!

I'm glad to hear it. And if mine ever did, I would definitely reconsider the relationship, because it would mean that he is a very different person to the one I think he is. I've never even had a relationship with a man who would call me a bitch.

I grew up in a house where my parents were always slinging verbal shit at each other, and it is simply not something I wish to repeat.

People pretending they don’t understand something (when they clearly do) just to make a point or show how marvellous they are. ‘I genuinely don’t understand - what does ‘cooking from scratch’ mean? Isn’t that just making the tea?’

Congratulations - you’re clearly a domestic goddess who has never even heard of oven-ready lasagne. Have a fucking pineapple.

There are a lot of disingenuous posters on here. A lot.

Second bathrooms/utility rooms.

Tho not only MN. I once had to report that my toilet was very badly broken (shock horror I'm a council tenant) and the woman who took my call told me to use the other toilet. Which considering I lived in a council house was just

Except I am now the exception to the rule and have a second bathroom/utility room in a council house but that's purely because it's an adapted house.

Everyone on MN has spare iPads they can hand out to their kids whenever the need arises.

Long plane journey? "Bring a couple of iPads loaded up with films and games for the kids!"

Like they're not highly expensive pieces of kit, and you'd have a drawer-ful at home

@paulruddislush

I really dislike the level of disrespect shown to anybody who even hints at believing in God, sending their child to a church school etc. These posters are, imo, very rude about others' beliefs , referring to God as a 'sky fairy'. Ironically, these are often the same posters who jump on anyone who shows even the tiniest level if misunderstanding about other faiths' beliefs.

Frozen sandwiches are always a touchy subject.
But that's because everyone knows sandwiches are awful 90% of time so frozen ones are an abomination

Thanks bananas. There is a sly, smirky tone when addressing an op who has expressed any faith based posts, references to "cults" etc and a desperation to shoe horn in anecdotes about how "the worst people I know claim to be Christian"and a general air of condescension "intelligent people don't believe all that mumbo jumbo". Incredibly blinkered and rude imo.

Being told you are thick by another poster who disagrees with your political, religious or life values. Stating that is used to shut down conversation and bully anyone who has a different opinion.

Telling a poster in need of money to take in ironing, sell everything on eBay or get a lodger.

paulRuddislush best username btw. I agree. Does anyone remember that thread where someone pointed out lots of scientists are also believers in faith eg christian, muslim, jewish etc. And someone said her friend was a christian scientist. Queue loads of posters saying her friend was thick and no way would a scientist believe in God, and they would want her sacked if true. Was utter crap from posters who probably dont even have a simgle gcse let alone a qualified scientist status.