to expect some old timers of MN to be twirling & scuttling around still

[wizzofwotz]

Haven't been here for probably 15+ years. Went absent, never dipped back in . But today something made me think of the MN support, the laughs, life's highs & lows shared when insomnia kicked after my little DDs were tucked up in bed.

DDs are grown and flown the nest. On reflection it was time well spent. Even the cliquey and other shitty bits. Hope you all keep twirling and scuttling around. If you're new keep with it, it will all pan out.

Unfortunately there is far less humour and that is not helped by mbhq. Many hilarious and light hearted threads get stamped on and " you've posted before" whilst they dig out hundreds of threads and claim it's the poster.
Such a shame.

I remember Brian's yoni massage, Alfred cakes, some hilarious mil ones... Yes the doom suckers tried to stop the fun "this can't be real etc" but there was less of them... Mnhq need to get on these joy killers because laughter is the best medicine and often.. If you are tired and alone with small dc you need a good laugh.

The fat balls one and the Korean lady spring to mind when recalling past laughs.

Oh, TikTok... what an amazing woman who was an absolute lifeline when DD was teeny!

Shocked to hear about Bonsoir. Can anyone confirm?

I don’t think Bonsoir has died. She did have - I think - a brain tumour a few years ago. We have a mutual friend, so I’ll ask her.

I do so hope Bonsoir is ok, she introduced me to Faulke tights! 💕

Bonsoir is alive and kicking, I am reliably informed.

Good news. Thanks.

That is good news. I remember Bonsoir well.

Been here for a long time, dipping in and out, various name changes because -well- people!

Been here since late 2005, namechanged a few times, but always came back to RustyBear. My Mumsnet ‘claim to fame’ is (badly) photoshopping the Mumsnet t shirt onto Soupy the bat.

oh, I’m so pleased to hear about Bonsoir! Tell her to get back on here

I joined in about 2006 ish, can't remember exactly. I know it was after DS started nursery and I had a little bit of free time, so then or 2007 sounds about right.

I never minded the royalty. I never expected to just start chatting and people engage with me. I understood I was posting on a well-established website. Their unspoken "rules" are what MN made so unique at the time. Some very insecure people are posting on this thread.

People are weird about "cliques". Cliques are just a few or a group of friends. If they don't want to be friends with you ... leave them alone.

Some very insecure people are posting on this thread.

You sound quite insecure when you write " I never expected to just start chatting and people engage with me." That's the whole purpose of an Internet chat forum 😂

I understood I was posting on a well-established website. Exactly - not a group's private sorority.

Not really. Random groups of friends will usually be friendly and open to newcomers. And the dynamic will be transparent and friendly.

Cliques are groups of individuals who get kicks from excluding others, and who, to that end, have unwritten “rules” and use “in” jokes or language. You still see it on certain threads on here!

Because people name changed less there was frequent digging up of previous posts. I used to post about my ds and change a few details to make it less identifying. So one month I said he was 6mths then a few weeks later on a different thread said 8mths . Someone dug this up and started raging about the inconsistency like I was some sort of troll (posting about really mundane topics like pushchair sunshades) and others piled on. Was all a bit weird

Were you a madam?

The cliques were sometimes funny but sometimes extremely frustrating. It was part of the vibe then. Someone would post something serious and then a whole gang would arrive and post drivel to derail the thread.

Indeed sometimes it was like wading through custard oh, I agree.

Genuine question for no reason other than interest as I wasn’t around - did there used to be an obviously posh / private school contingent?

18 years. Many name changes. Kids now young adults.
MM was funnier back in the day. Even the posts by MNHQ were funnier.
More camaraderie.
More of a community.
More genuine support. (Mile for Maude, Pink Peter)
Regular genuinely breathtakingly funny threads (Booble plate)
Now it’s high anxiety, highly argumentative, fake funniness and not very nice.
I pop in occasionally. I always leave disappointed.

@RustyBear
I was going to ask the same thing of @LindorDoubleChoc

@housebuyingfamily I didn't find it like that, but others have said they did. I've been looking at lots of active chat these last few days. Definitely quicker pace, obv more users, so it's probably an even bigger spectrum of opinions shared now from more varied backgrounds.

I joined in about 2012 and it was VERY clicquey (and I am pretty confident and relaxed about that sort of thing).

Endless back slapping and in jokes from the same four or five people which would run over pages and pages and was incomprehensible to a newbie.

It wasn’t nasty just a bit tedious; you were always trying to decipher someone else’s jokes. A bit like being on the sidelines of a group of A girls at school. I actually prefer it today.

I liked recognising peoples usernames on MN. It was nice to wave and chat with people you 'knew'