We're merging some sections into the Travel advice area

[MichaelMumsnet]

Hi all,
We’re doing some work on making the Talk boards more useful and user-friendly for both regular and new users. After looking at some stats for the site, we think we could boost activity on the whole by merging some of the lesser used sections.

We’re proposing to fold the topics in this section into the general Travel advice area.

This should increase the number of topics in the section - and hopefully lead to more posts and responses to members.

Yes to leaving Camping alone. And also Cruising and Skiing. I don't want to trawl through generic threads especially when I can't access advanced search on my phone.

Another vote to keep the camping thread!!!

WRT one single thread.. there is another fertility forum that enforce this and I find it very poor and it hardly gets any posts on it. It's hard to join a long-standing thread and you tend to find the same few posters conversing. Not great when you want to chat/advice on a specific topic. I rarely visit that forum anymore.

Camping section I mean!

Leave camping alone. It's my mumsnet happy place. The rest of this place is feral. The camping people are not.

Also looking at the threads in Travel Advice they could easily fit into the other specific categories.

Looked at over the whole year I can see that 'skiing' wouldn't be busy, but it is quite busy for the few months of the ski season and those of us who ski love to talk skiing with fellow enthusiasts. Please leave the travel sections as they are!

No!
There is nothing at all in common with camping and long haul or skiing. They are opposites!
It is niche , and when people need niche info they come here and get it

Plus the campers chat amongst themselves.

Tedious smart Alec’s answering every question “about what go I need ?” With ‘a hotel ‘....

Hands off our tents!

And what Kerberos said!

You know there is practically a MN outpost on a particular site in France because of the talk here?

No, please don't do this. I find all
the separate travel sections useful, camping when I'm going camping, cruises when I'm going on one, UK when I'm staying in the UK, you get the picture. It doesn't matter if they are quiet, I like the fact that they pop in Active, they'd move too fast if they were all in together.

Please don't do this. Everything I know about camping that's worth knowing has been found in the mumsnet camping topic!

I'd really miss it, all the useful threads not grouped together.

"but we will all get lost in a gazillion 'best day out in London' threads"

Which really ought to be moved to the London topic.

Instead of looking at data, MNHQ, how about looking at the history of how the topics came about, the mood within them, the value they add (even if only occasionally via a high-traffic thread) and just what people think of them.

And consider that, instead of letting topics wither, you could be more proactive in moving threads to the topics. So that people can find all the threads about days out in London and how to use Oyster cards in 'London', all the threads about stoves, tents and 'what do I need most as a first time camper' un camping, and 'what does my Dc really need for th school trip' in ski-ing.

All that info is lost when buried in a wider topic, or the juggernauts of AIBU/chat. But can be easily spotted if MNHQ would move threads to the topics (which used to happen a heck of a lot more often than it does now). Then it becomes a self reinforcing habit - people see the topics in active and look at them and use them. And can find previous relevant threads way, way more easily, making MN a better resource.

Please please don't. For all the reasons suggested above. Camping isn't just a holiday- it's an art form! There's a reason why people camp- or don't, it'd be like mixing oil and water.

Looking at the topics, I would suggest:
UK travel
Overseas travel (possibly broken into Europe travel, and further afield?)
Camping
Skiing
Cruises

There might be a better word than 'travel' to incorporate the ideas of days out etc. But it's too late in the day for me to think of.

Oh no, please don't. I don't travel, I camp in the UK. I've never posted in the camping topic but I read for advice fairly often. I would actually avoid a travel section as being irrelevant. Also agree that people will jump on with camping hate (as they do in real life) if stuck in with fancy foreign hols.

Please don't merge camping.

It's has a totally different outlook to other holidays and like others have said would attract nay sayers who just don't get camping.

It may be seasonal, but I come to the camping section in winter just to browse to get my camping fix until I'm able to go again

Please don’t merge camping for all the reason stated by others. It’s my favourite Mumsnet section

Please don't merge camping for all the reasons others have mentioned. I've been a contributor and avid follower of the Camping section for over 10 years and found some of the best campsites and recommendations for kit on this. We are a breed apart and need to keep our little corner of happiness 😀

Another no vote here. Please don't move it. This space is invaluable for anyone into or thinking of getting into camping, plus for all the other reasons everyone else has made so eloquently

Camping needs it's own section.

As a newbie to camping I came onto mumsnet and browsed the camping board for essential kit also when looking at campsites I searched them up on mumsnet to see if anyone here had been to the sites and what they thought of them.

Camping is very niche and needs it's own section.

The amount of traffic in a section isn't a very good indicator of it's worth, I haven't posted in camping but have learnt alot from reading older threads which would have been difficult to find in a general travel section.

The thing with camping is it’s only a certain type of people who will do it. Just like skiiing and it’s a minority. Having to wade though 100’s of shall I go to magaluf or Croatia threads, will stop being bothering. You will also as mentioned by a Pp get the whole oh god no why would sleep under a sheet in a field typed jumping on.

I was just about to start a thread on the camping section. If the camping section was to disappear I simply wouldn't use MN for Talking about camping, I'd use another site where I could talk to people who actually camp.

You need to look again at whether this whole exercise is being driven by an analysis of numbers.

Or by how MNers want to use the site, including the less frequented bits of it.

The idea of an imposed mega thread - who came up with it and why?

Please leave camping, skiing and cruising separate - they are distinct topics and very varied in themselves.
The camping topic is especially useful and it covers destinations and kit, this wouldn't work as just one long-running thread.

Another vote here for keeping camping as a separate topic. We'd never find it merged in with travel. As another poster said, I wouldn't use Mumsnet for camping advice in this scenario, I would go somewhere more focused.

Camping should be kept separate. It would be impossible to find the information otherwise.

I'd really like Camping to be kept separate too.