To mourn MN as it was in the Moulden Days

[GregoriaTheGreat]

Admittedly, it was not perfect (full of quiches and Queen Bees). So much so that I gave it a rest for a considerable while. I may even have Flounced at some point (though was not a Mouldie. I would never have been cool enough).

But I now mourn the Olden Days when nobody had to bother with "lighthearted" when a thread was evidently lighthearted. Nobody took everything quite so seriously, even when they would have good reason to.

Posters generally had a decent command of spelling and grammar, too.

Maybe I'm just old and need to take up knitting or something.

Things have changed since smart phones took over (2009 ish?)
I used to sit at my kitchen table on a creaky old laptop with a pint of wine every evening, as I was trapped in the house by a toddler. Now I only peruse MN on my phone when I'm at work.

Maybe putting more effort in, or making the decision to visit the site affects posting style?
Anyway, lots of old posters are still on here. It is a shame about all the name changes though as I often wonder what happened to people I used to "know" and if they are still around

Ah Empress I see. I steer clear of that theme.

Waves at TheCanterburyWhales. Budapest calling. Nice to see you! I think we just see each other on these types of threads these days.

Someone way up the thread asked what Mouldies was - Sungswithitsfingers. Mouldies was when a group of MN Oldies decided MN wasn’t as good as it used to be and they would set up this own forum. Invitation only. All came to light when they invited Justine to join. Which was a bit of a slap in the face really! Lots of people discovered either they hadn’t been invited or they had been suggested and not accepted. It happened at Christmas one year and I was very glad I was away and without internet. Took me a week to catch up on the threads when I got back!

I think it’s def less cliquey now. It’s definitely different. Bound to be as its soooo much bigger.

I remember the first Christmas appeal. It was in response to the collapse of a Christmas saving club and lots of people had lost lots of money and were really struggling. So the first appeal was about helping them. They were known. And it wasn’t a popularity contest. People could and did send second hand toys etc. It was about making sure that the people who had lost money could still have things under the tree for their children. It grew from that into something ridiculous.

Hello Buda-Peridot! I thought that was you!

I've been around under different usernames for about 8 years, and like a few others, one poster on this thread was absolutely vile to me over nothing really, just seeing her name again is like bumping into somebody that bullied you at school.

So many names on here of posters I miss, I do agree it was better before the hun invasion. I hardly ever laugh at threads these days a lot I can't bare to read to the end

I think a lot of posters use MN like they would their own FB page nowadays. The venting, the whining, how FUMMING they are.

Nobody really cares.

Ah Empress I see. I steer clear of that theme.

I can't, it's just too important.

The first MN thread I ever really got stuck into was Chaos's toaster thread. Which reminds me, what happened to Honeydragon???

I've been here since 2003. I was banned for a while for telling someone to quite rightly fuck off. I came back and found you could have a proper conversation but alas, ended up having comments deleted for offending, so I left for a good while. Recently back with a new email and username (recently reactivated).

I do miss Pagwatch. I told her she was 'very wide' once. I meant very wise. She thought it was hilarious.

I know of some of the older names but, other than Stratters who I liked, they just aren't memorable for me in a good way. I'm sorry that dittany left, I argued with her a lot but actually, she was (and presumably, is) a very clever and erudite woman who positively impacted on many people on this board.

The thing about 'poisonous 'witty' comebacks that are 'funny though' is that they are only actually amusing when you're not the target. It's lousy and bullying behaviour quite often and I remember the 'calls to arms' from the clique-members who weren't being sufficiently kow-towed to.

The SPaG correctors... utterly pathetic. If I see them, I report them. They should be banned. I often see that 'microbe and germ' poster in the Services loos and the knobs who corrected "... more than 98% of germs" to "FEWER", feverishly and messily written in biro... I imagine they're SPaG twats here, on their travels.

I joined MN about 12 years ago (name-changed a couple of times when there were security issues) and the Mouldie thing went straight over my head really. I never understood the whole getting together in RL stuff either - I have friends in RL for that. I don't find MN as funny (although the odd one liner does make me giggle) but I think that's because the whole site seems to revolve around AIBU which seems to bring out the worst in a lot of people.

Like pp have said, I think it's also about growing older and real life becoming more complicated (elderly parents/teenage kids etc) meaning that I read a lot of threads rolling my eyes thinking you really do need to get a life. Plus I've been here long enough to have seen multiple threads about child parking/school parking etc so I don't even look at them.

The one advantage of the site being bigger is that the pool of expertise has grown bigger, MN is often my first stop for information but the downside is that there a lot more trolls and pervs here. These days I definitely stop and consider whether the OP is genuine before posting which I didn't do years ago.

When was this? I've been here for 8 years.

I joined in 2011 and definitely notice more racist posts, and threads which I suspect have been started by a political party/organised interest, but pretending not to be.

I think it was not long after I joined (maybe a year or so) but as it went largely over my head I'm not entirely sure!

I joined about 8 years ago, frequent name changer though. I remember often reading out witty and hilarious posts to DH and that rarely happens now. Mumsnet did open my eyes to recognising misogyny and narcissism and in many ways some of the advice I've had on here has empowered me in my personal life. I will always be grateful for that.

I'm not an oldie, but do pre-date the penis beaker. I snuck in following the decline of a couple of smaller forum communities around the era of FB groups springing up and smart phones becoming more common.

Forums do have their phases, patterns and shift over time. Penis Beaker and hacking have caused gear changes. The User1234678 fault was awkward for discussion because you couldn't follow the converstation involving User12345678, User13572468 and User24681357

Either the big cliques had moved on by the time I joined or I just wasn't familiar enough to pick them up. Threads getting derailed by turning into a bunfight between a handful of posters is a constant though!

There is a general shift and maturing of online communities though. The innocence of the early years of the internet has faded and we've become more cagey about security.

There is a difference in the MN tough love, straight talking like a headmistress giving you a dressing down for your own good, and the trolls who stick a boot into any thread for the sake of it like a playground bully.

I think there is less humour than there once was. I did actually lol for the first time in yonks yesterday. I don't know if it's the anonymity, changing demographic or that we seem to be in quite earnest, joyless times generally.

So why is mumsnet not as good for them now?

It's like the difference between a small intimate gig in the room above a pub and seeing the same band in a stadium.

It's not better or worse as such, just different.

Like pp have said, I think it's also about growing older and real life becoming more complicated (elderly parents/teenage kids etc) meaning that I read a lot of threads rolling my eyes thinking you really do need to get a life.

That is something I've noticed - the number of posters with older children who like to tell those with babies or toddlers that all their problems are trivial and this is the easy bit, even when the poster is really struggling. It's pretty dickish, if I'm honest.

SudoWoodo, I think there's a lot of truth in that, we are living in different times now. Brexit has divided the countries and divided the site. Everything harks back to it on some level.

I think also the judgemental nature of many posters changes a site from lighthearted to antagonistic. People like to judge, but they don't like being judged themselves.

I’ve often wondered where Expatinscotland went and how she is

Lisa Yes I agree that's dickish. I meant more the completely trivial threads where maybe someone is offended by something that a stranger has said which could possibly be interpreted as insulting (for example) but equally might not be. I no longer have any patience for that kind of thing.

I had a 9 year old and a 12 year old when I joined, they are now 17 and 20.
I wouldn't dream of going on any baby threads and tell them what's what, I might share an experience. But anything I knew about newborns is probably not relevant any more.

I am also not an expert on teenagers sadly.

I've been dipping in and out since 2004.

I missed the mouldiegate and the big MN hacks.

Haven't some of the well knowns sodded off to Reddit where they C & P threads and troll hunt? Classy!

I joined back in 2007, under a different username and remember being bemused by Mouldiegate.

I miss the feeling of ‘knowing’ posters, it feels more anonymous know and there are less and less usernames that I recognise. I miss Maryz and MrsDeVere, I never really ‘got’ Cod.

I’ve had this name since 2010 but have come across at least 2 other ‘Sauvignons’ the anoying thing is they were talking shite on a thread I was on, I think I gave up.

*good folk