to think that regular MNers should check the unanswered threads section

[Preggopreggo]

I have only just realised that this section exists.

Its very sad to see all the posts from people about things like loneliness/domestic violence/PND with zero replies

And then there’s some threads that randomly have 100s and 100s of responses, so many that’s it’s probably too overwhelming for the OP

IABU - It’s a dog eat dog world out here

IANBU - share the love

Yeh I can't find it on the mobile app

I think a lot of the spam/stealth/not so stealth advertising ends up here

It’s when you go to Talk > Active, there is a horizontal menu with

Active Trending New Unanswered

Do you know if it's possible to do this on the App?

Periodically in the past you used to see from time to time a thread “Shoutout to the unanswered thread section, let’s all go answer some unanswered threads” and people would chip in and report that they had answered one or two.

I always thought this quite sweet - and perhaps a more friendly and encouraging way of putting it than thinking of checking the unanswered threads section as something regular MNers “should” do.

I check unanswered threads regularly after a pp started a similar thread you you op a few years ago. Prior to that I didn’t know it existed.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/active?tab=unanswered

I can't seem to find it on the mobile app.

I stopped posting on unanswered threads as the OPs never responded.

I used to check and answer all the time years ago, long before the advent of smart phones!

But now I'm on an App, I wouldn't even know where to look for unanswered. :(

There is no 'should'.

People come on here for a bit of light relief and a way to wind down. If theybsee a thread they feel strongly about, or can advise on, they reply.

But there is no obligation. No one is here purely to see who they can help today.

There's also little point in many "I don't have any advice but didn't want to leave your question unanswered" type responses either.

I don't owe mumsnet anything. I'm here to mess around.

No there’s no “should” about anything in life is there? But that’s not to say the suggestion isn’t reasonable.

We can all just use the site as light relief and that’s fine. Or you can choose to help someone in distress who is posting for support or clarification. Just like when you see an incident in public, you can stop and help, or you can move on. It’s entirely your choice.

But seeing as Mumsnet is a free resource, from which we can all, very generally speaking, say what we want and usually gain something: whether it’s light relief, cleaning advice, or a listening ear, personally I think it’s good to give something occasionally as well as take.

And personally I think a “read and wish you well but have no advice” sort of post is better than receiving no replies at all which could be a bit soul destroying if someone was really upset about something.

But each to their own!

Me either

I think the point of those types of responses is to bump the thread to Active Conversations (?)

Also in some situations the OP knowing they have been read and heard is helpful of itself.

Thanks OP really good point - I've answered 3 (some are a bit niche or out of my sphere of any knowledge) but will keep checking!

I think we all offer help and support where and when we can.

I offer support and advice far more often than I ask for it but suggesting that we 'should'? - there are a lot of posters on here who are 'people pleasers' and the last thing they need is another sense of obligation.

There have been posts I've read and haven't responded to when I could have done, in theory. I think most people don't because they have no advice to give or don't have the capacity to do so that day. Or just feel overhwlemed with the way the OP is written.

If people can or want to check the unanswered fhreads, they can but 'should'? No.

I do this quite regularly. If I can’t offer any advice I sometimes post in the hope it bumps it up a little.

Unanswered Threads used to be more prominent in the MN layout years ago, and there were some posters who would make a point of bumping unanswered threads. But I don't really think it would very often be helpful to do that now that MN is bigger and not really a community.
In the old days it was a bit like noticing someone at a party who was standing alone. You could assist the mingling process if you wanted to. Now, it would be like trying to assist the mingling process in a busy crowd of shoppers on Oxford Street.

It's there on android (desktop mobile, the app is so awful I deleted it years ago) - the problem is that it's off to the far right of the top blue bar after tapping on Active on the bottom far left, so doesn't show up unless you look for it.

Maybe not having Active and Trending next to one another would be a way MN could increase engagement/visibility?

Or maybe everybody should just uninstall the app and use the mobile desktop, seeing as the app is never going to be functional in any significant manner.

Thanks for this - I wasn't aware of it. I've seen threads before that have gone unanswered (usually months after the fact, spotted at random) so it would be good to know where to find them :)

Fair enough Greycarpet I see what you mean.

Any time you click on Active Conversations there are likely to be several threads that are destined not to get a reply. It is probably more helpful to respond to these new threads, if you have something useful or kind to say, rather than seeking out older threads which the OP may have given up on, and which she could herself bump if she wanted to.
And the trouble with posting on older threads just because they haven't been answered is that you might compose a reply that is written just for the sake of answering. A reply like that may not be very helpful or comforting.

I couldn't find it on the App either. Thanks for the heads up though. I hate to think some people feel ignored, particularly if in distress.

I can't find this on the app. I selected the Active button at the bottom but there are no other options from there.

I would love to find this, it's a lovely idea to make sure people in need don't get overlooked.

There used to be regular "call to arms" threads - and I think I started a couple of them - which would be titled something like "there are 215 unanswered threads - lets do something about it"

And people would take the time to answer - bit like a friendship bench I suppose.

What changed - MN itself. Now you just see the 100 most recent unanswered threads, rather than all unanswered threads in last week (or however long it was). So you never see the peaks as you used too.

Pity really.

a) all threads go to the "unanswered threads" tab when first posted, so if you want to catch the brand new ones, there they are

b) the tab does not show old threads, rather the 100 most recent that are unanswered. Even with this thread encouraging people to look, and therefore perhaps answering the newer ones, and in turn more threads shuffling up into the most-recent 100, the oldest is 48 hours