AIBU - that sadly, MN is losing its way?

[IntoChanges]

I’ve been on here for a long time and it just feels like it’s not the same place anymore.☹️
It used to be full of useful advice, proper support, funny threads that would keep you reading for hours; the odd bunfight over parking or a real time thread to liven things up, building curiosity and tension. How invested were we!

Now it seems to be:

• endless politics (so much mis-information, which even when challenged isn't backed up with evidence)
• OPs who never come back after their first ‘interesting’ post (so what’s the point?)
• weirdly written stuff that doesn’t sound like a real person/situation at all
• and a lot of repeat topics/commonly applied situations that feel very ‘clickbait’
• no flow - posters jumping in when they haven't read the thread, saying the same thing again and again; endless arguing when posters take exception to something not directed at them; posters unable to accept a bigger picture of a majority rather than their one single view
• derailed threads (immigration, politics)

I miss the days when you could ask a silly question about your laundry habits, or what to cook for fussy toddlers, and get 100 replies that were funny, blunt, supportive or all three. That felt like the whole point of MN, quite light-hearted but sound advice by real people.

I know the site says it’s “for grown-ups” and they don’t want to over-moderate, which I do get.
But honestly — am I the only one who feels like MN is losing its way a bit? Or is this just where all SM/forums are heading?

Funny threads get deleted!

I don't spend a lot of time fretting about changes in Mumsnet but, just this morning, was feeling like there's been an influx of posters with an objective to dilute our content, so all a visitor would see is streams and streams of plonking, po-faced nastiness to any posters still trying to have a PARD (polite and reasonable discussion, for you newbies). To me, these 'plonkers' read as male for the most part.

I'm weary of all the US-style right wing content, too, but that's bloody everywhere at the moment. Think I might need to hide out in some of the long-running, pointless but friendly threads for a while.

And the latest ‘Starmer calling Refom ( post title, not my words) supporters racist’ thread, is blatantly not true.

This is not what he said, a poster has linked the interview, in which he says he did not think Reform voters are racist…yet 8 pages agreeing, mainly with the OP’s lies.

MN has to be better at dealing with misinformation. Wonder if they delete reported threads for clearly evidenced lies?

I agree.

I’m afraid the proliferation of troll posts just makes me doubt almost all of what is written on AIBU. A very high percentage of posts I’m sure are fabricated situations to get people going and a good proportion of the rest I suspect.

Others boards are better, but I find myself getting drawn back into the bear pit.

They’re not very good at removing misinformation at all. Or bad faith actors.

Thank you! I've been biting my tongue over all the comments about bitchiness - you aren't seeing bitchy here, just rude and nasty. MN used to be great at bitchy replies: not nice to receive, but often deserving of applause even if they were aimed at you!

Recently, any sarcastic or otherwise clever put-down gets flash deleted while dull, persistent bullying flows uninterrupted.

Yes, they are dreadful at letting obviously false and misleading thread titles stand. I suspect they secretly approve of them as they generate outrage and, so, more money.

I think I could be done!

I find it so stressful. Hate unfairness and it feels MN are profiting from misinformation and bots. Not what the site should be about.

I’ve been on for 18 years now, it’s less funny and intelligent than it used to be.
Have to scroll for a while to find anything worth reading
I agree that the FWR boards are still great.

I miss the Friday Night Drunk threads.

Comprehension levels are somewhat lacking which spoils a lot of threads. Then many posters want to just argue which is boring and derails interesting debates. Plenty of bored users who seem to revel in jumping on the OP and twisting what they say. I definitely come on here less now although still find some threads helpful.

There are several threads in Site Stuff where posters have asked Mumsnet to intervene on lots of these threads but they won’t!

They say to challenge in the thread & report any hate speech , personal attacks!

I’ve been here about 10 years and up until the August Bank Holiday I’d never reported a post, now it seems I report at least one per day!

The site has definitely been infiltrated by Bots, there is no intelligent debate just a goady opening post followed by pages of hate! The OP disappears!

I have been here 22 years since DD was born and yes I agree. There was always bitching and fighting but it has got much worse. I do still love it but the bots and the endless posts where the OP doesn't come back and engage drives me nuts. I think I see a lot of lazy journo click bait threads too which turns things in a different direction. I guess it is just more people on the internet than 20 years ago and far more 'keyboard warriors'. I probably being unreasonable and many will disagree but I hate that men are on here too.

I seem to spend a great deal more time hiding stupid content scraping no-return OPs than ever before. You can absolutely tell when an OP isn't going to come back. There's one right now about pubs closing. Obviously rage bait and I wish people would see it for what it is. But yes, it's the endless hiding threads that tells me how much it's changed.

YABU to write a thread title that doesn't make sense.

It’s the LTB culture that made me start to respect posters less. Superficial feminism with no effort to work on communication and relationships.

I'd say it's a lot more right wing that it used to be.
But I've been here 25 years so maybe it's just the way things go.

Typed in the wrong thread

I regularly lol at the wit I see on here. There's some genuinely very funny remarks. It depends on your humour though I guess, as light hearted fun threads don't really do it for me anyway. I prefer the subtle one liners that appear in the middle of the ordinary. I think there's some great debate too and I learn a lot from other people's posts.
The last couple of weeks have had an unpleasant flavour on some threads, with the influx of Kirk supporters with very strong views, and then our home grown racists, emboldened to say things they'd not have said without our new friends getting the ball rolling.
That does seem to have died down this week though.

I also think it’s confusing there are so many American posters who don’t introduce themselves as being not living in the UK. Most people are under the impression we’re discussing shared references, but we’re not. It’s not Reddit.

There are defo a lot of bots advertising AI & clickbait threads.

Yep! I looked at the pubs closing thread too…a thread that could apply to many…we all have a pub (kind of), Poster not returned after the first post.

Surely just for advertising revenue or traffic to MN. I keep wondering if being an MN poster is a WFH job…😉😆 - paid for posting click bait. I'd like to apply!

There is always at least one 😉, just what we are discussing…bring others down!

Have you any meaningful points to add to this otherwise thoughtful discussion?

This pretty much sums up my feelings too..

So many PP’s on various threads just itching for a row and putting inflammatory words in OP or other PP mouths.. It’s rife!

How has this wonder of hiding threads passed me by!! goes to check

🙏🙏🙏

I've been here since it were all green fields and yes, it's changed, but then so has social media as a whole. Aibu was always a bear bit, you knew you needed your big girl pants to enter, but Chat was great, such a mix of threads. One minute you'd be crying and the next laughing, yes there have always been posters who were outright fantasists and the occasional onslaught from male groups out to cause trouble. But there's so much nastiness now and obviously manipulative posters, Ai and people with such a polarised viewpoint of politics and left/right division. People just pile on with glee and the thread derailing drives me scatty, especially when people just seem to make up what the OP has said.
I stick it out, mainly because it is my night-time reading when I can't sleep and the more specialist sections of MN are still fairly OK.