What has happened to Mumsnet? Is it AI?

[OddityOddityOdd]

There are so many excessively long opening posts recently, they look like essays. I can't be bothered with most of them, they seem to have all the answers for themselves. Are they mainly frustrated authors ? Where has all the humour gone? All the quick queries, nightmare neighbours and parking ones? Anyone got a brief CF issue?

Glad to see a respite from all the neighbour and parking threads TBH.

Yes, and then people quote the entire thing in their answers!

I may be guilty of being a long poster! I think a variety of different posts is good and you aren't obligated to read or respond to anything!

I think a lot of people try and include as much info as possible because if they don't, they get accused of drip feeding info and it's to prevent wasting everyone's time with people making shit suggestions that they have already tried....

There seems to be an obsession with listing daily food diaries at the moment. Multiple threads that bring out people listing their 'healthy' eating and being astounded that people like food. I often wonder if they are bots because really? Who has the inclination to write out their daily consumption for others to impressed with. Is it AI or narcissism?

I don't think the OP's are bots but some of the responses definitely read as though they are.

I quite like the food threads as I find it fascinating to see how other people live and eat.

The long posts are usually written by "men" having some sort of relationship crisis and want a woman's perspective.
I generally assume journalist rather than a bot

If they were aspiring writers, they'd learn to self edit and be more succinct.

TBH if the opening post goes on and on I’ll just roll my eyes and close the thread. I’m very ‘TLDR’ now; life’s too short.

Is it AI or narcissism?

For me neither - I like cooking, food, recipes, losing a few pounds occasionally, and new ideas, and find it interesting to see what people eat in a day. Yesterday I was introduced to Korean Toast!

Food threads are far more interesting than long drawn-out family sagas and tall tales.

You'd think, wouldn't you!

The long posts are because people used to be accused of drip feeding.

I think it’s to do with the sm becoming more hostile. So people write long opening posts to cover every detail for fear of being accused of drip feeding, or they feel the need to justify certain aspects of a post as they don’t expect posters to give them the benefit of the doubt anymore, nor do they seem to understand humour or nuance.

X posts TheDandyLion 👍😀

It isn't threads purely discussing food. It's the threads where people are listing their daily diets which is clear restricted eating and saying 'people have lost sight of what is healthy'. I know what restricted eating is, I have been hospitalised with anorexia. I don't think a parenting forum promoting restricted eating is a good thing.

It's this.

I don't mind a long op, so long as it has paragraphs and the op writes in full sentences, otherwise I get lost and give up.

I don't think a parenting forum promoting restricted eating is a good thing

I don't think MN promotes that at all.

From what I see, all the super-restrictive posts get torn apart and people get the piss taken out of them for claiming to be full on a "massive salad and a square of 80% dark chocolate".

I’m a long poster. And I’m always a bit embarrassed by how much I go on. I’m a frustrated writer is my excuse. I’m female and not a bot. At least, that’s the case in the reality I’m experiencing.

I always assume either a lazy journalist or an aspiring author practising their work.

Or sometimes it's just so obviously a troll.

So I read almost everything on here for its entertainment value.

Very occasionally I find a post that my gut tells me is genuine.

Agreed.

MN can be pretty brutal. Short post = drip feeding. Long post = TLDR.

I strongly believe that publicity about MN on other SM has attracted a lot of people who want to amuse themselves by making trouble- a lot more of these people than we used to get. MN gets talked about in a very sneery way in X/Twitter and the more that happens, the more of this rubbish we get.

I don't think it's a bot at all (why would it be)? What I don't get is the huge amount of irrelevant info. I know people don't like being accused of 'drip feeding' but we don't need to know all about your ex's cheating/financial difficulties/work history when you are actually asking how to introduce your new boyfriend to your kids! And if someone asks if doing X is ok, 90% of posters say 'absolutely not' but the OP just comes up with excuse after excuse why they are right and everyone else is wrong.
Ultimately I think there's just a lot of bored people out there.

I don't agree about the drip feeding theory - alot of long posts are full of extraneous info that is not relevant to the main issue

But there’s a variety of lengthy posts, rather than just one type.

Bonkers. Characterised by no paragraphs, weird use of “which”, determination to use “n” not “and” despite also using 3,000 words to say nothing, wild backstory, irate OP who gets pissed off when everyone focuses on the backstory about prostitutes, nine ex-wives and stealing when they’re just being lighthearted about pizza, honest.

Man whose wife won’t sleep with him seeking reasons she should sleep with him, in the hopes that by presenting data from Mumsnet to her, she will sleep with him.

”My DH is terrible and lazy and awful to me and tight with money and does nothing round the house and verges on abusive but he’s a great dad! I offer no evidence for his greatness, I’m just saying!”

Lighthearted by someone who isn’t funny and covers this fact with words.

Goady plop and run.

Lengthy, pretending to be confused about the Middle East but really wanting to stir up trouble.

Elaborate trolling from PBP.

On the whole I don’t think journalists do the lengthy ones: they do drive-by “wow, sex post-baby is tricky, what are your experiences?” without sharing anything.

I don't think it's AI fgs (that's going to be a new paranoia isn't it?) I think it's OPs who are terrified of being piled on or having lots of posters making wild accusations and assuming a narrative which seems to be the latest trend

I think a lot of people get pissed of with threads being deleted so just don’t bother anymore