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.

I've been here since 2005ish (though have changed accounts due to MNHQ's woeful grasp of data security). I agree that the humour has changed/been diluted. On the other hand, the old MN was terribly cliquey and anyone who disagreed with the queen bees was shouted down. Also, AIBU was virulently anti-MMR.

The press have probably scared a lot of women into not posting for serious advice, which makes me so bloody angry.

On a lighter note, I still remember Sharon and her TRexxing DH.

P.S Who remembers OFRpombears or similar?

I think it stood for Oh Fucking Rucksack

Was it Mitmoo we were never allowed to mention? Other than the author we’re not allowed to mention that nobody mentions anymore anyway.

I miss not 'recognizing' posters as I read the threads. There are so many thousands of users now you don't get the same names cropping up as you change between threads. I used to be able to recognise posters from their writing styles without having to read the names. It felt a bit more of a conversation.

Often wonder what happened to:
Cod (InCodWeTrust)
Morning Paper
Xenia (private schools and islands)
BoysAreLikeDogs
TickTock (breast feeding guru)
SGB (sex advice?)
LeQueen (did her dh lose a car?)
GentleOtter (and her farm)
Edam
NewLifeNewName

I haven’t seen many bunfights or pearl clutching. I do miss those funny posts/threats.

There have been a few incidents over the years that have compromised user’s privacy. I think it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing to reign in some posters who totally lived their lives on here, Pagwatch, GetOrf, NatashaBee, Vicarinatutut (how old do I look in this photo?) Etc. Yes there were fewer users, but who puts details of their whole lives all over the Internet? Even back in those days?

Here's MorningPaper's talk roundup from December 2007 (soon after I joined). Even back then Cod was grumbling about the huns

Talk Roundup of 2007
21 December 2007

This week we had a jolly time around the fire recalling our favourite threads of 2007, and here follows a roundup of the highs and lows of the last 12 months on Mumsnet Talk.

This year saw the launch of the Mumsnet Classics, our own little archive of the paradigm-shifting threads that make Mumsnet history. This year's memorable addition to the archive was What Not To Do - The Stupidity Thread, which contained oodles of good advice from Mumsnetters including Countingthegreyhairs, who admonished, "do not announce to colleagues in your best French that you are 'pregnant' and 'on heat' when you are neither." Jellybelly2007's husband cautioned the boys amongst us not to hunt in a darkened bathroom for some lubrication, thereby avoiding picking up self-tanning lotion, and waking the next day "with a spectacularly orange willy and right palm."

2007 has been the year of the pram-collecting Huns on the For Sale and Swap boards, which inspired Cod to advertise earlier in the year, "i want a farkaboo in snot green for a loollyw**k please cna wyou swop. ta hun. Xxx." Wrinklytum offered "a farkaboo in sludge grey, will this do, hun?" but Cod was not biting, "sorry hun then I can't do it. Can I have Quinny Prat in shit brown." Nomdeplume claimed that she owned a "Stinki Xpolorer in helmet purple" and EricGallagher confessed "i av got 46 buggiez now but i aint got a farkaboo yet oh my god dh will kill me if i get anover one. email me [email protected]."

Back in May, Mumsnet finally settled their long running dispute with with baby "guru" Gina Ford, aka She Who Must Not Be Named, following Gina Ford's threat to close the site after Mumsnetters' may or may not have compared her to a terrorist. But the acronym will stick, "Can I still call her SWMNBN?" asked Suejonez, "I've kinda got used to it now and it has a certain ring to it..."

In the summer, a casual discussion about Guardian columnist Jon Ronson's speaking voice got backs up in the Ronson household, and our nattering was interrupted by an irate post from his wife, "I am Jon Ronson's wife. I have a suggestion for you all: just don't read his columns/features/books and you will save yourselves a few hissy fits." "Lol, how needy!" giggled Moondog but Mrs Ronson had the last word (well, nearly), "Seeing how much time you all spend on Mumsnet I can't believe you are mums. Are you all in institutions?"

Mumsnet made a lot of fish and chip paper in 2007. In April, the Telegraph reported that the Odeon cinema chain had withdrawn advertisements for the Madeleine McCann campaign from family film showings after Mumsnetters complained that the phrase "snatched from her bed" was unsuitable for young audiences; in May, our settlement with Gina Ford was widely reported; in August, the Telegraph detailed a nail-biting night on Mumsnet, when we all followed Misdee's husband Peter's successful heart transplant; in October, the BBC reported Mumsnetters' opposition to outdated baby-rearing techniques advocated by Claire Verity on Channel 4's Bringing up Baby Programme, and that was just some of the noise we made. Others made noise about Mumsnet too - Prime Minister Gordon Brown cited us as a "great internet organisation" and we received the thumbs-up from Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks. Plus Caitlin Moran went on about Cod a lot.

At the beginning of 2007, Mumsnetters were shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden death of the little daughter of ggglimpopo, and in May 2007, in over 60 locations, over 500 Mumsnetters and their families walked A Mile For Maude, raising over £15,000 for the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths. And in a fitting end to the year, we have received the lovely news that Maude's mother has given birth to a baby boy - not quite in a stable perhaps, but to a huge amount of joy all round.

Happy Christmas to all mums, new and old; have a lovely festive break and catch you in on Mumsnet Talk in 2008!

MORNINGPAPER XXX

I haven't been on much recently and so have thankfully missed all the hun-ing and x-ing. Each to their own but it's not my thing. I also get irritated by AIBU being used willy-nilly for things that really belong somewhere like Chat. I like the idea that we are mixing in, so I don't mind posts where SPAG isn't a strong point as I can usually get the gist. Having been around a good while, I've had breaks and name changed quite a lot like others, mainly to maintain anonymity IRL and because of site security lapses. I did depart for a while after an unjust telling off. Coming back after being proved right took a bit of the sting out of the experience but it made me more cautious. The threat of litigation, fake threads and the gutter press seem ever present these days. It's good to get to know other posters, including who to avoid. Unfortunately that's been lost to a large extent by the necessary name changes, but I don't miss the cliques one little bit. That particular downside has unfortunately been replaced by a different sort of nastiness and trolling, especially in AIBU and in the wee small hours - pun intended. Mumsnet was never going to stay the same, because little does. I see pros and cons, as with most things. The genuine wit, wisdom and kindness is still here when we're lucky.

I have been around since 2004/5 I think. DS was almost 4. He is 18 now.

MN has definitely changed. Not so cliquey which is good. Much bigger obv so as someone said it’s harder to find your tribe.

I remember having to pay to be able to contact other posters. I remember when the site would go down around 3am. I remember MorningPaper doing the round up and then Aitch taking over. Suspect it would be very hard to do now.

Cod is on Twitter with a few others from those days.

Wow to the memories that Round Up brings back.

I remember the shock of reading about Maud.

Stratters is another one who I liked and maryz. Think people nc more often now.

Maryz was banned. Someone mentioned PomBearWithAnOFRS - she’s still posting, I think she’s just PomBear at the moment.

I love these threads. I would never have been part of the in crowd since I'm too oafish.

I remember the auction. I was gutted that I didn't get the name I wanted, because it was so apt for the job I was doing at the time. And you know what? It has NEVER been used. Humph. (Although it meant I stayed with LtEve and I am glad about that)

I'd love to chat to GetOrf again, I hope she's doing well. Her temazepan (sp?) posting was legendary.

And if MaryZ is lurking - we miss you loads.

Someone upthread mentioned SolidGoldBrass- name has slightly changed but she is on the Man In Park thread in Active.

Cod was a bully. Up till very recently very easy to spot as still started nasty threads aiming to get her fans bowing down before the great wit she believed herself to be.

The RoundUp used to be brilliant when written by MP and would have me crying with laughter. Then it just became a cringefest of unfunny tales full of unfunny quotes by the writer's mates The same two or three well known names were mentioned every week

I think two things have happened over the years- MN has many more members, so it's harder to find those special threads, and yes, the days of forums like this are numbered. There isn't going to be a "Mumsnet election" any time soon, that's for sure .

The tacit acceptance of trolls, the appalling treatment meted out both by other posters and HQ on "troll hunters" the made up CF rubbish (trolls by any other name) The credibility really isn't there any more

SPaG- yes, there has been a decline in standards..I think more because of the fact that most people these days communicate by phone rather than by composing a post on a PC than because of the post PB demographic. We should also remember that those of us here since whenever (2004 in my case) are a whole generation older than many youngish posters finding themselves here pregnant for the first time .

What is foul is the coven of bitches who go round actively correcting people's SPaG and then running over to Pedants Corner (which those of us who work with the English language have all but abandoned as a result) to copy and paste the mistakes onto their smug bitch threads over there .

Bucharest/DrankSangria calling btw

All Forums change over time. If you don't like how one has developed over time, then find one that suits. I have recently left a forum (sounds dramatic, I just stopped viewing it) because it has changed from before. Is it a big deal? Things change, that's life.

I was just browsing MN classics the other day (which I dont do much) and I dont think the threads I remember laughing at most are on there... perhaps they never existed.

On here since early 2004 and yes it has changed, but I also feel the loss of the cliqueyness is perhaps worth the loss of the community feel. Though I still use things I got in the MN swaps, i used to love those. The idea of doing that now [shudder]

I still feel comfortable on MN, in some ways more so. In the old days I felt like I did at family get togethers when I was the poor relation.

"Who was the poster who took her bikini bottoms off in the public pool?"
I met her and she had a stone roses or smiths related username but I can't remember it. It will come back to me.

Well yes life is about change but you're allowed to feel sad about loss. I miss how fast-paced mumsnet used to be. There were many more threads and they weren't all instantly set upon by people who seem determined to tell the OP off.

The Second Coming was the your minge poster. Very funny irl :)

Oh Mumsnet back in the day had plenty of people just wanting to get at the OP!

I think what’s gone is actual debate.

Mumsnet used to expose my mind to the world: I remember some great debates about forced adoption, politics, vaccinations and private schools.

Now there isn’t a sense of debate, just taking sides and a judgement with that side taking that mean people are reluctant to get involved.

There used to be a moon symbol at the top of the page which told you what phase the moon was in. This was due to a belief that posts quality and content became more argumentative or weird during a full moon. I miss that moon.

I also think a lot of posters have joined reddit, and I think the existence of it has in turn changed this place. People still encourage trolls, though.

I don't mind that it has changed but I hate the way nowadays posters can't wait to rip the OP apart for the most trifling things. There also seem to be 2 hundred million 'academics' 'employed by universities' who talk absolute shite about universities and entry standards.

The tacit acceptance of trolls, the appalling treatment meted out both by other posters and HQ on "troll hunters" the made up CF rubbish (trolls by any other name) The credibility really isn't there any more

Bob on. I can’t even be arsed to report these days after seeing threads that are blatantly rubbish being left up as “ the poster appears above board “