To Have a Secret Crush on UnQuietDad?

[secretcrush]

Cant help it
The thought that there are intelligent, funny, non-sleazy men out there who have masses in common with me....

It just gives me hope

And he's a regular poster on MN too.

"They'd probably be the first to jump ship if hundreds of thousands of men joined up and started endless threads about bathroom sealants, Top Gear and real ale (to choose the last three things my DP spoke to me about last night)."

Actually, have you read the thread titles? I think you'll find it's women who chat about Top Gear, what bathroom sealant to use and real ale (well, wine mostly).

If you took away the 'dad' added to most male Mumsnetter's names, you wouldn't know the difference.

That's the beauty of Mumsnet, we are all equal, you cannot see a person's colour, sex or creed. You cannot judge them on appearance. We are just all parents.

Rhubarb;....are you a nun?

Hello.
Man. Unfacnied by any of you, but I suspect my posts tend towards the astringent, so that's perhaps not surprising.
I came on Mumsnet at first because DW found it a constant source of amusement (well, help as well - but she only told me about the amusing bits). I tend to post on serious threads only when I violently disagree with something (usually, when I think there's some unthinking hypocrisy going on). But a couple of times I've found it useful in that I've been able to talk about serious things that have happened in my family which appear to have been of help to OPs, though for one in particular I got flamed for telling the truth about that way I had thought about my relationship at one point (got told my someone I had clearly never loved my wife, on the basis of one post). MN has been at times very useful to me: made me question some of my own behaviours and motives. But I'd see why plenty of people would want men away from it.

Exactly Rubarb, couldn't agree more

daftpunk, if you have nothing sensible to add, then don't add anything please.

Play childrens games elsewhere.

i guess that's a no for a drink then..

I don't hold grudges daftpunk. I can have very strong disagreements with people on Mumsnet, but I'm more than capable of not letting it carry on.

However are you sure your dh would be happy with you going for a drink with someone off the internet? I could be a rampant lesbian after all!

I like real ale. I am a woman. I am also not (yet) a parent. Would you exclude me from your ideal Mumsnet too daftpunk?

I like the fact that MN is largely women, but I also like the fact that it is open to anybody who wants to join, and I would be against any measures that were introduced to artificially maintain or increase the female:male ratio.

TA - don't do it! The parenting bit that is, don't do it!

god daftpunk you really are the queen of the back pedallers

I respect Threadworm's desire to have an exclusively female site. I can see what she's saying about having been in male-dominated environments all her life, and it being a blessed relief to have a female-oriented zone.

I can appreciate this partly because I am always aware I am in the minority on this site. I often have to explain the history of the feminist movement to my students, of the historically minority voice women have had in society, and persuade them (especially the women) to NOT be ashamed of the feminist label. To persuade them to be part of the re-claiming of the label from its negative connotations.

Unfortunately for Threadworm, this site is for parents, not just for mums, and that ain't going to change. At least for the foreseeable future the best she can hope for is that it is heavily female-dominated, with just a sprinkling of testosterone for flavour.

Paleodad asked why so many of the male posters on this site choose to identify themselves as male? I suppose in some ways my nickname is out of respect for the female posters who would prefer to know, who would otherwise (and reasonably) assume I'm female.

Rhubarb, i don't think it was UQD that Daftpunk was referring to about posting on breastfeeding forums. It was BigGitDad or someone else. I know we all look alike to you people...!

Daftpunk, when I asked people for recommendations of other posts of yours, you seemed to suggest I was urging them to stalk you. I wasn't. I just find your posts hilarious, and was just wondering if there were any other particular gems out there?

Daftpunk, I'll promise you if you want that I won't go seeking your other posts. But I do love your rants. I think I've got a big, beardy crush on you!

PadDad

No, I have never posted on BF. I didn't get here until my children were 6 and 4!

Sorry UQD, you obviously look just like BigGitDad, who I recall I once accused of being BigGayDad!

"heavily female-dominated, with just a sprinkling of testosterone for flavour"

--sounds perfect, padDad.

BTW Threadworm, I got the 'chatroom of one's own' reference.

'S good.

Is that because we're a similar age?

padDad;

hi.... sorry if i got the wrong end of the stick, (i'm a bit paranoid on here sometimes).... tbh, most of my posts get deleted...infact most of the threads i'm on get deleted (pure coincidence that i'm on them) ...anyway, it's good that this thread has ended ok.

om shanti

PALEODAD - "I feel that as a man I am very aware that I am in a very female environment here, ....., I don't have much opportunity for this kind of chat in RL. "

Absolutely how I feel. I edit myself an awful lot to try not to offend and generally try to fit in with the prevailing female viewpoint but occassionally get badly flamed all the same.

It might sound somewhat 'arse licky' but I feel slightly privelleged to be allowed to talk about parenting topics with Mums (and Dads of course) I would normally be socially excluded from.

I generally do not go on quite a few topics unless I have a really strong view and a relevant experience. The only thing that gets my goat is being ignored or flamed for that view just because I am bloke. I read an awful lot more threads than I comment on.

I identify myself as man by my name out of politeness to other posters who I generally assume are women.

I am sad a few women posters do not want men on here. If there were men coming on here to mock women, make sexist comments or be disruptive I would understand that - but I have never read any post like that from a man.

Wow this thread has turned into an epic. It's a good one though!

Agree with what BetaDad has said above.

Here here (waves around paper like in HP)

I have to add that I've never found anything dislikeable about the 'male style of posting' or debating on MN (if there is such a thing -- probably there is not).

It is only that I find the predominance of women to be a hugely good thing -- not that I find the presence of men to be a bad thing.

I've disagreed massively with UQD on his (in my view rather static) anti-religious viewpoint. But I've never found any distinctively male content or tone to his discussion there. And of course in many other areas of discussion a distinctively male viewpoint is a useful thing to have.

I think any men who came onto MN to "to mock women, make sexist comments or be disruptive" (thanks BetaDad) would find this a very unfriendly place to be, which is why we generally get quite a high caliber of males.

Daftpunk, can I ask if you have changed your viewpoint even a teeny bit since the beginning of this thread?