He's not called Steve, is he?

[MasterBeth]

Do some people on Mumsnet not realise how big the internet is?

There's a post on here today about a rowdy family on a UK beach and someone's reply is "It's not Polzeath, is it?"

What are the chances, eh?

It's like when someone posts about a grumpy shop assistant and someone answers "Do they work in Tesco Express in Hull?"

Or someone mentions their terrible boss and the reply comes in "Are their initials P.H?"

AIBU in thinking the people who post these things have the most restricted and delusional worldview?

Of course it's a joke and I totally agree.
East Wales is very different from mid-Wales.
As for certain parts of West Wales, well they're even dubbed Little England.

Some South Walian people are more likely to have gone to Spain than North Wales.

You get to a certain area over the heads of the valleys and the landscape totally changes from barren to green and lush.

It's not just one uniform place. It's just like England in that there are differences.

You really are taking my post far too seriously.
You're reaction to it is way over-the-top and, frankly, you're being ridiculous about a frivolous comment.

Around 18% apparently. Most Welsh speakers speak and understand English, the English speaking Welsh people I've met don't really speak Welsh. Maybe that's a failure of how Welsh is taught in non immersive schools.
Have you ever seen the Rhod Gilbert sketch about trying to learn Welsh?

That figure sounds about correct.
I think that there are certainly areas in Wales where it is more likely to be spoken like, dare I say it, North Wales.

Though of course it is very much spoken in certain valleys communities in the South.

25%: https://www.gov.wales/welsh-language-data-annual-population-survey-october-2024-september-2025-html

Yes I've seen the sketch - I love Rhod Gilbert.

It's not my native tongue, I learned as an adult.

Yup! My uncle was at a bar in New York the day he’d found out a great uncle from an obscure Irish village had died. He got chatting with the chap next to him who, weirdly, turned out to be from the village and knew the great uncle 😱

I've just quoted the ONS that says a quarter... it's not my mother tongue, I learned as an adult. Yes plenty of people in north Wales speak Welsh, not a shock horror thing to announce - but population-wise Carmarthenshire is the most prevalent, with half of the people speaking Welsh. Which last time I looked was in west Wales - and not a valley.

Surely everyone knows Dave from London! if you don't, you have never been

This is old, but fascinatinghttps://marcussteaduk.wordpress.com/2020/08/10/the-welsh-language-a-reality-check/#comments

This is old, but fascinatinghttps://marcussteaduk.wordpress.com/2020/08/10/the-welsh-language-a-reality-check/#comments

The snooker journalist who can't properly interrogate data? There is a LOT of stuff that sits behind the Welsh language - he's missed about 50% of history in his interpretation. It's hugely complex and it's ironic in trying to dismantle the ONS information he has created other gaps that he hasn't answered.

I really don't know why you're taking such a snippy tone over this, I really don't. I mean 18% or 25%, frankly, who cares?
You say you've lived in London for a decade, are you Welsh?
(Obviously you don't have to answer. Please don't actually because if this continues we'll both end up proving the OP wrong and recognise each other.
Another joke, BTW, or at least a comment not meant entirely seriously.)

Are you getting grief over it by Londoners over your Welshness and just snapping at a random person on the internet over it?

I'm not going to explicitly say which nationality I am but I do seem to know a bit about Wales so I'll leave it at that.

We had a teacher from NI. Chatting over photocopying one day, I asked where he was from. Mentioned well known place. I said one of my best mates from uni was from there. Both laughed and said be funny if he knew him.(fairly unusual name)Of course he did- well his son was a mate of his brother. (Mate had sadly died)

They so have!

Of course coincidences happen. (I met my near neighbour in a remote Alpine village / I spoke to someone at a party in Scotland who knew my Cockney nan.)

Of course you could be spotted on Mumsnet if you give out specific details about your circumstances, or have a username that's close to your own.

But if a poster just met a rude barman, it's vanishingly unlikely to be Dave from The Brown Cow down the road from you.

No, some people really do think this and make it clear from their follow up questions.

I did not miss the point of your thread. At all. I absolutely know and understand what you were trying to say.

However in your OP you said “ what are the chances?”

The point of my post is that it isn’t always a coincidence. That it is a small world, and you just never know.. It could actually be “Steve from
Polbeth” ( or wherever!)

it was meant in a light hearted way

But your circumstances are completely different. The opposite.

You are talking about actually recognising someone using details like their real life very unusual nickname.

I am talking about thinking you can recognise someone from completely generic descriptions that could be almost anyone.

So when someone posts about dating someone who is being distant, vague about whereabouts and mentions they’re divorced with a difficult ex, that is so identifiable that another MNer will know who he is, so much so that they ask if his name starts with the letter X and he lives in X town.

Because such behaviour is so rare that it must be the same person that MNer knows.

Because that is the type of situation where MNers struggle to realise that the world extends beyond their small circle, and it has happened many times on here.

I understand.

There's a word for it: solipsism.
I think that we're all guilty of it, but some are worse than others.
As this is a largely female site, some would say the trait is more likely to be found here - but that's a rabbit hole I don't want to go down.
(I said more likely.)
Though I find that as I've got older, this trait has lessened in me.

It could also be paranoia. Not paranoia with a capital 'P'. More like overcaution.

I've thought about starting threads but then thought no it's too detailed.
Logically, it probably isn't, though.

By virtue of it being a very large forum and therefore more likely to be ‘anonymous’, the risk of it also containing people you know IRL is also just as high. Details are often specific enough to identify people if you know them well. There’s been multiple threads about people who have been identified on here.

I agree it’s often said in jest, but if it’s not, it’s not completely bizarre.

People saying it’s tongue in cheek… not always

I’ve seen several egs of people struggling for something like childcare for an upcoming hospital appointment, or no food till Monday etc and posters not even asking where they’re based but saying things like are you near Chorley in Lancashire if so I’m happy to help you out.

I had the strange experience of reading a thread on here and suddenly realised “this sounds like one of DHs uni mates” (a woman who did the same hobby as him). So because I’m a nosy cow, I advance searched the unsername and found posts over a few years, including being on the antenatal thread that would match when her dc1 was born. There was other things that seemed to match her too.

Luckily nothing she posted was “bad” or overly revealing if you don’t know her already. Decided to leave it. I haven’t seen her user name again for a while so guessing she’s name changed.

Really wasn’t sure what I should have done.

But yes while it’s a small world, I’m aware many women I know use this forum or have in the past.

But again, that’s a completely different situation.

It’s often said on serious threads rather than in jest.

I’ve actually been outed a few times. Two of my threads have appeared on the Daily Mail and another was on Facebook. As a result, I now name change regularly and don’t start threads on anything personal, even though there are times I could do with advice from people removed from the situation.

How does name changing work?
If you name change, does it mean that others can't see your previous posts?