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)

Wait, you actually think a perfectly normal absolutely commonplace reply proved your "point?" Oh boy 😂

Thanks for proving my point instead 😆😂

Perhaps it's time users started setting up their own chat forums. (Terfsnet, anyone?)

In keeping with the thread I'd like it noted that my real name is Dan Gleballs.

OK, thanks for the chat.

To be honest, I know what you mean, I probably should spend less time here and more time reading too!

Susan, is that you?

You're super welcome. Glad I could help.

This will be the least of our worries. Every new purchase of social media , particularly by US investors is to control the narrative and its usually a right wing narrative. Recent example tiktok whereby anti trump, anti israel and epstein references are being blocked.

US influence is crossing the pond ...pro trump language and policy ...anyone not thinking that this is an issue should familiarise themselves with Project 2025 which is being replicated by Farage.

If mumsnet goes down that road I'm out.

There seems to be a lot more hard right here these days already, everywhere I guess though.

It's worse than that. The Online Safety Act puts such an onerous burden on even the smallest sites, and imposes such crazy risks on individual owners, that within 10 years we'll see most UK community sites disappear and the only remaining options for UK folk to talk to each other will be the big US social media sites or email.

I run a (much smaller) forum myself, and like many others my succession plan has gone up in smoke because nobody in their right mind would want to take on that risk; when I stop, it dies.

Basically, I can't blame her for engineering an exit strategy at this point. It's the only rational choice.

Using Firefox with uBlock Origin works wonders on a laptop. I've never once seen an advert on MN (or anywhere else)

I'm sorry, you really think that Twitter/X is "dead"?

I think I voted wrong - I meant YABU Justine to sell!

It's a company, companies have investors, directors and management. Mumsnet is the same the founder has overall control with 60%. One person having overall control gives a clear direction, but that can't last forever we all get older and the baton has to pass on. Will it be more corporate, maybe, but I don't think anyone will be changing the nature of the platform. Sounds like big ideas to expand abroad.

For full disclosure my actual name is Ima Plank and thank you to @Solitario, @Puzzledandpissedoff and @randomchap for confirming what I knew deep down but haven't been able to articulate - namely that HQ have purposefully been manufacturing extra clicks in evwry way possible, but specifically in the last couple of years with the arrival of the MyPurpleBunny brigade. They're never going to fix Advanced Search are they? I realise now.

Without doubt. There are certain standard things that need to be changed proor to selling and this site has been doing them. Revenue streams have to be visible with ilusions of potential growth. Value from the brand loyalty, especially if you can develop a subscription base. You wonder if any new owners will really understand the uique aspects of this site or it will become another Cadburys. But you can't blame them for selling, if they are. I think the product placement and selective recomendation reviews issues last year demonstrated how vulnerable revenue streams are and how traditional online manipulation to maximise revenue has issues on sites like this. If they are selling then good luck to them. They owe nobody anything.

Did anyone listen to R4 at 7 for the article_/annouucement whatever?

Perhaps mass exodus is a better choice of words. The user base became fragmented as it disappeared to many other different sites and it's worrying when council and other official bodies decide to close their twitter accounts. It will be the same here as it's members disappear to multiple other sites. I still miss a certain garden poster who was incredibly knowledgeable about plants who disappeared around the cookie consent time. I would love to follow certain FWR posters but I doubt they will all go to the same place. Same as certain Relationship posters.

There definitely is. What has been heartwarming to see and read though is the push back on far right, protrump narratives from well read, educated mnetters who dont put up with that nonsense. The problem with any new purchase of social media is that it is these reasoned voices who will get shut down.

It was a joke based on my user name, since user names are a theme on this thread. It’s The Archers at 7pm.

"mass exodus" ?

I believe that there are over 100 million posts per day.

"The user base became fragmented..."

Really? I follow any number of people there who speak on topics that I am interested in. This includes people who speak out on women's rights, journalists in different parts of the world that cover news from there, various barristers and others involved in the law, the odd satire account or two and, finally, some accounts that post pictures of cute cats.

"...when council and other official bodies decide to close their twitter accounts"

Perhaps they are getting replies to contentious posts they have made? My local council, local police force and local newspaper all have accounts on X.

The local council one is very mundane though. They post job adverts, details of a new primary school being built, a special service for Holocaust Memorial Day, details of an upcoming by-election etc.

Saw this, something about appealing to a worldwide audience. Hopefully it will go down the shitter and I’ll finally be free of my MN addiction ha

Another2Cats
I'm not going to argue with you despite you wanting a fight. My local County Council has decided to come off twitter last month due to it being "unsafe" 🙄 It's one of many.

What does Mumsnet being sold have to do with trans people?

How do so many threads on here degenerate into people whinging about gender?

If a PE company wants to buy this place up then why not? It’s obvious that Justine and her mates aren’t interested in it any more, there’s no investment, no overnight moderation in spite of what happened last year, it’s just a cash cow for them.

What value is to be gained from the data on the site remains to be seen, but since most threads are people lying about their salary or how beautiful and willowy their children are, people arguing about strangers’ genitals or obvious perverts trying to get the wide-eyed Disney characters who spend their whole lives on here to tell them stories about their nipples, I think they’ll be very disappointed.

Twitter got sold after the "leftie pro-male" developers designed their system which pushed their gender politic and targeted and siloed view points they did not like.

The woe-is-me crew who had no problem with that political agenda had a meltdown when it was bought for those features.

Robber Baron capitalistism gutted the reporting systems and changed the product base.

MN is not likely being bought as a slow burner steady cashflow. PE likes cashcows to show them the money and boost the management bonus.

It's lauphable that people think X is dead.

Or that there are not millions of users daily.