Mumsnet to be sold

[Mikehunt2018]

Or at least partially. There's no mention of it on Site Stuff but Sky reported it yesterday.

https://news.sky.com/story/mumsnet-founder-roberts-plots-delivery-of-new-owner-13501362

(oh and Mike isn't my name. It's a play on words)

Well it still has hundreds of millions of users, so not quite dead yet!

I think you’ve done a bit of multiplication there

I've been here 16 years and spend waaaaay too long on MN. All good things come to an end and change is inevitable. I'm sad to hear that MN is being sold. PE will completely bugger it up. I don't blame Justine for cashing in. She's loaded anyway and will make a bundle before this whole place goes south.

I will be sad but I will find a new home, maybe on reddit. Or take up reading again!!

PS I am neither zen nor a nudist

I saw this reported too. I saw the sell off coming a while ago with the increase in advertising, the dodgy categories of adverts we started to be subjected to and also the loss of some functions which increased the number of page clicks we have to do to navigate the site. It looked to me like a sell out was beginning. It all seemed to be being done to increase revenue for MN, making it more attractive to buyers and at a higher price. Unfortunately all of those things make MN less attractive to users. I've been around for a good few years and use the site less because of the intrusive level of advertising, the unsuitable types of adverts and the (cynical) loss of functions. MNHQ said repeatedly that the functions would be fixed but they never were. Funny that.

I do not believe that

You know what? Whilst mumsnet might be nearly over, this thread, with people declaring their usernames are not accurate or otherwise, has reminded me a bit of "old" mumsnet. Lots of lovely genuine people on here (plus the inevitable twat for balance). I already miss MN being a place for like minded if disparate people.

Yes, it all makes sense.

And the huge increase in the number of posts where the OP never returns. I knew they were fake but never understood their purpose, guessing now it was all part of increasing engagement for selling price..

Isn't it just

Who knows, different ownership might even improve things... especially the endless glitches which very obviously no-one has any intention of fixing

The march of the ads on MN is about making money, obviously.

But are the single post OP threads or unlikely scenario threads actually click bait etc? I don’t think there’s been a time when a lot of the relationship or family or social problem threads haven’t been fictitious. Some people just love to start a fight or throw in an ‘edgy’ question.

A great many threads are the product of mischief or boredom and always have been.

Also the desperate need for clicks. Obvious troll threads not taken down, astroturfing political threads left up. All just a desire for clicks. Just to prove they get advertising revenue.

I guess it does prove the saying, if you're not paying for it, you are the product

🤣

The sad thing is that - with the right browser or strategically draped socks - this place is still capable of being like the "old" Mumsnet. I can think of a perfect example of that at the moment, with many, many posts, drawing new users to the site, genuine, supportive, funny, interesting, a credit to the posters - old and new - and to MN. Like you with this thread, I notice it more now because it is not the norm.

PS For full disclosure, unlike my latest username, I am currently being crushed by a large cat and the head and one paw of a giant dog, together with a DC who is stealing my much-needed buttered crumpets.

There have been a lot of posts lately added to threads that have nothing to do with the subject matter which usually appear overnight. I enquired about one of them and MN said they were taking a look but they didn’t do anything about it.

users spent a total of 45.7 million hours on the site

Time flies, I could have sworn I only spent 36 million hours on this godforsaken site last year 😭

are the single post OP threads or unlikely scenario threads actually click bait etc?

Almost certainly IMO

Ditto the "revitalisation" of old threads, which HQ assured us were just to make sure the OPs got a fair chance to receive responses - as if they couldn't have bumped these themselves had they wished

I don't blame Justine at all

It is a business after all

I will be sad if it goes or changes substantially

I probably spend far too much time here

It's a great place to chat

And who will keep us updated on things like goatman with the MC Hammer style trousers? And Savernake Forest. I would never have known about these things if not for MN!

I joined in 2009 and have felt I had the best of the site. It hasn’t been the same now for a good few years. I think of it as pre and post penis beaker. Penis beaker brought a lot of people to the site. In the old days posters were jokey, clever women who talked about proper fashion and amusing ways with children and didn’t take themselves too seriously. Now every thread has someone taking offence at something.

Yes, they were definitely the golden years. Not just the taking offence thing, and also people just being purposely obstructive and mean, but I just really miss the intelligent humor. That’s probably the main thing I miss.

Also, posters that seem to reply in odd circular ways. Sometimes in conversations with each other.

They will post something either goady or faux naïve like ‘what do you guys think of Trump?’ They’ll never give their opinion, and usually put a couple of kisses afterwards, weirdly.

If you reply to them in good faith, they’ll reply once as if they are in good faith, and then their next response will be moronic. It’s a specific pattern.

Dear new owners - please add a long overdue block button, replace the laugh emoji and let us see the emojis on other people's comments.

Cheers.

I met a real life Mike Hunt once.

So the site has been going downhill since 2013 then? That's a long time to keep using a site you don't enjoy.

Or maybe it's just always been the same way and people are experiencing the Pollyanna Principle.

I joined about 10 years ago.
It was smart and funny and no one took themselves too seriously.
And the support I have had on this site has genuinely kept me going through dark times.
I liked that, if anyone got too deranged and goady, they were met with light-hearted recipes until they gave up and went away.
But it has got worse over the last couple of years. I'm not sure if it's AI, bots, bad actors or people who won't accept others' right to have a different point of view - some posts are so low you have to wonder who's behind them and what's their agenda.
But. There are still wonderful people on on this site and the stories and life experience and support of 1000s of women are precious. Let's not forget that Justine and others have poured their heart and soul into Mumsnet and we're all the richer for it.

Thank you for helping me prove my point. Just because things change doesn’t mean there’s nothing left to enjoy. Thank you for your feedback though

We had the book when our son was born, so funny!