I HATE MUMSNET: Why one mum thinks the parenting website is smug, patronising and vicious

[morningpaper]

night night

Just read the article... I only thought of one comment to do but then decided against it, I can not bear to recognise I read the daily mail, even if using a pseudonim.

They only print comments from nethuns I think . NOne of my brilliant observations appear.

Wow so much vitriol,

Why would you feel so strongly? unless of course you were generally disliked and ignored by the MN masses for being a bit obtuse.

and shouting in capitals about baby formula possibly?

Nevermind, Off You Fuck darling, back to cosy DM-land (your spiritual home?)

Preserving the British Way of Life?

That's jam making isn't it?

Ha ha - she's an absolute tool!

Love the fact that she is put out by "Before you can even contribute to these online chats, you have to negotiate the terminology of the site and unravel its myriad codes"

Wlcome to the internets love! PMSL and what an utter twat.

I'd love to have written off you fuck on the DM comments (OYF?)

The British way of life? I am perplexed.

Makes a nice change having something to read on the DM site other than Katie Price Is A Bad Mother and Moans About Suri's Footwear.

I'm pleased to see that BD is NOT on the list

this is laid out TERRIBLY btw, can't you make it nice and compact?

But then, at the other extreme, we've got The Guardian covering Cameron's announcement about how to draw Mumsnet right into government's social policy and practice:

"The Tory leader said health visitors would be encouraged to tell parents about websites such as Mumsnet and that information about these resources would be made available in all maternity units, early years settings and family information services. ... To promote Mumsnet and similar sites, a Tory government would ensure that parents found out about them, using leaflets and other publicity material.

"Health visitors would be expected to provide this information and, in some circumstances, would be encouraged to help parents navigate the internet and use the sites."

It does seem inevitable that when Mumsnet is rather oversold in this way there will be a counter-reaction. And perhaps, although horribly biased, the article is a useful balance to that Tory announcement. It is true, isn't it, that the site is baffling and too vitriolic for many people. It is an acquired taste and not necessarily somehting that govt leaflesy and Health Visitors should be evangelising?

Well that is a complicated one innit Deadworm, because Cameron's plan is to strip down the statutory services as much as poss and replace them with things that are free and run by volunteers, so that's just something he can come up with that doesn't cost anything....

Well, she does have a few fair points.

I can see how intimidating mumsnet can be for newbies. Something I've been banging on about for years. I've recommended mumsnet to loads of people, including my sister who has dabbled, but then was frightened off by the aggressive posting styles of some and as she put it "if you start a thread you'll get some replies because they know you, if I start one I'll get none." To prove her point she did start one about twins, and it got no replies.

If you are a newbie and come onto mumsnet to ask about cracked nipples, and no-one bothers answering because they're all too busy yapping about who's turning on the Christmas lights in Slough, how disheartening is that going to be? I'm just as guilty for ignoring those threads.

This is where Netmums is often better for first time mums, because they are so serious over there, because you know you will get a reply about cracked nipples.

Mumsnet has become so big and so popular and I do love it to bits, but it's more about chat now than anything else.

And this middle class image does annoy me. If your posts are eloquent with no grammatical errors then you are bound to be middle class right? Well I'm on benefits, currently unemployed and dh drives diggers, so no.

And yes it is so very very annoying when, amongst all the really good questions directed towards Cameron and Brown, the hard-hitting questions, all the media picked up on is biscuits. Because we're all mothers and that's all we should be thinking about. We shouldn't be straying into politics, leave that to the big strong men, no we should just be worrying about biscuits.

That's patronising.

Ok, rant over.

I am confused. this is the heartbeat guy's wife. her name's Kate not Sarah!

It's an awful site. I posted recommending a brand of formula milk and it got deleted. I politely started a thread (in capitals, because it important) telling everyone how rude they were to delete my thread and I was given so much grief it's unbelievable. I promptly left and it was such an unimportant even in my life that I haven't given it one single moment's thought since. Not one. No.

• Schmauskin, Highgate, 27/11/2009 11:28

OK, who was that? Will the real Schmauskin please stand up.

Yes, yes, MP. And in general both Tories and Labour have had this hideous policy of stripping back public services and dragging in a nominal presence of the third sector as an alternative source of services when in fact their ability to deliver such services is in most cases so poor that their presence in service delivery is just a figleaf for privatisation. Servicces are put out to contract and the third sector encouraged to bid for contracts, to make the process seem blessed with communitarian ideals.

I have discovered that you can get pretty much ANYTHING past the moderators on the Daily Mail comments page provided you include the key phrase 'Welcome to Brown's Broken Britain.' What larks!

ooh, the preserving the British way of life comment was a joke wasn't it? Because I assumed it was witty comment on DM and gave it a green arrow.

Looking at the acronym list I've only ever seen BC used for BabyCentre, birth certificate and birth centre - never for before children.

And I don't think I've seen BBS (be back soon) before either.

gagamama, a double whammy of Broken Britain and Liebour and they let you edit the filthy rag.

Hear, hear Rhubarb.

the most annoying thing about her article was that she said all members are middle-class.
considering how many threads there are about how little money everyone has to live on, i'd love to know where she got that opinion from! so, MNers like their children to feed well and be dressed properly, that means they're all dripping in cash and attitude?
hogwash!
we don't type in text-speak and try our bestest to use correct english (and ask for advice in pedants' corner if we don't know) how does that make us all middle class?????
maybe it's all the SAHMs and the ones who are actually able to buy christmas presents that are showing us up to be middle-class parents....
IME Mners are from all walks of life and that's what makes the site so valuable: there's not (a lot.... of) judging by class and background and usually if you try to, then you're flamed anyway.

and she mentioned the biscuit thing too, didn't she! ooh, we're soo mean to the poor poor gentle men who are trying to screw the country for all it's worth.

"Ah I remember this woman.

Married to that guy from Heartbeat- Jason Durr or something?
"

please, can someone explain to me - doe sshe use a different name while being the guy from Heartbeat's wife or is her 'journalism' name a fake one?

cos his wife is called Kate!?

True Deadworm although TBH when I've been involved in such bids, the margins all seem very similar... I suspect this is one of the reasons why they are suggesting revising this approach