I'm out - adblocker policy

[nameXname]

Mumsnet already make a great deal of money from us and our visits to their website. (Just look at their Companies House accounts.) Now they won't let us look at their site if we use an adblocker.
Apart from all the annoyance, almost all the ads that appear are totally irrelevant to me.
Goodbye, Mumsnet. Good riddance to the ads.

Mumsnet isn't a charity. They're allowed to collect and revenue like any other business

But thanks for the flounce

I agree, this is annoying. I'm not necessarily ready to flounce just yet, but I do feel that MN are being a bit greedy here. As you say, it isn't as if they don't already make a lot of money off the back of the content that we all create.

If they're going to go down this route, I would at least like to see a shift towards more professional moderation of the site, including action to address the growing spread of disinformation via the site. If they invested in this, it might be worth paying for, but not in its current state.

They can't block CSA images but they can block ad blockers.

Make it make sense!

Exactly@MrsBennetsPoorNerves
If Mumsnet had the high standards of really secure sites, then OK. But on past evidence I don't think it does. It already collects lots of data from us, I presume. Why get so greedy and ask for more?

Bye 👋🏼

You do you@strange.

I would not care so much if Mumsnet were purely entertainment and/or companionship but - alas - from at least some of the posts (if genuine) it is not. Not all but some of the women who post are honestly asking for help or at least a friendly female ear to listen or sympathise or share.

It seems to me profoundly distasteful for Mumsnet to already be making a very great deal of money - millions (https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03951486 - from a clientele that includes a proportion of people who have real problems, but now also to be asking for more. OK, they have to cover their costs and make money/increase business value for themselves, but to suddenly involve a new profit-generating 'Visitor Relationshp Management' agency - that's what ad-management Admiral calls itself (www.getadmiral.com/visitor-relationship-management-vrm) -to my mind really does not look or feel very good.

But each to their own.

Bang on 👆

How else can the site make money?

Just use the app. Functionality is reduced, but no ads and everything loads straight away

Exactly!

I've gone the other way and signed up to premium. £30 for a year's worth of advice and entertainment is worth it to me.

I understand that the ads can be annoying but mumsnet are a business and have to make money somewhere. Do you expect them to provide you with the site for free? It’s not really a big deal.

They do need to do better at protecting the site and users though, so hopefully they’ll spend some money on that.

If you’re on an iPad just do “hide distracting items” in search bar. It’s gone for me now, thank god. And thanks to the poster somewhere on here who suggested it.

Game changer thank you 🙏

Im glad it wasn't just me! I've never been pestered before but it keeps coming up! Wont make me leave though I'm stubborn 😂

I use a VPN plus DuckDuck Go who blocks everything for me. And not had many issues.....

Can't they? I thought they had now.

If the adverts were small and not distracting, and still, it wouldn't be so bad.
The people who use ad blockers probably cannot bear the distractions and visual disturbance of ads?

I use DuckDuckGo on my phone - haven't got anything on my laptop to block ads and I do find it really annoying. I usually shrink the window to cut out the side ads but still get them in between posts. Gets rid of the worst of it though.

But the point is, the site is already making money. Over £2m in profits last year. As with any business, there is a balance to be struck between maximising profits, providing quality products or services and retaining loyal customers.

MN's entire business model depends on all of us wanting to be here. If the failure to provide effective moderation and/or a greedy approach to maximising advertising revenue ends up putting a lot of users off, the site will lose traffic and the model fails. MN ignore the voices of site users at their peril.

Yes from advertising and subscriptions, which is what they’re offering now. Deal with adverts or subscribe and pay. Or don’t use the site.

Bye then 👋

I use Mumsnet on my Windows laptop with the Firefox browser. No ads.

I do deal with the adverts, personally. I don't use an ad blocker at present, even though i do find the size of some of the adverts annoying.

But it isn't just about me. The site is only as good as the content that people choose to post, and if MN starts to alienate loyal posters, then the site as a whole will suffer. As MNers, we are not only content consumers, we are the content creators as well, and MN would do well to remember this. Of course, it is a business and it wants to make money. I have no issue with that, but I still think that there is a balance to be struck.

And yes, of course, people don't have to use the site if they don't like the terms of business. They can choose to walk away if they are not happy. That's kind of my point.

I would have thought two millions pound per annum profit would have been enough, but apparently not.