Riven in the Economist

[ooojimaflip]

"David Cameron, the Conservative leader, travelled to Bristol to discuss nappies for disabled children with a Mumsnetter who was dissatisfied with the answers he gave online."

I'm sorry for my previous post. SB if you really are here it's not meant nastily so please don't be offended.

But do you think being richer/poorer/more/less educated affects whether or not u fill out the survey? If not there's no reason why it woulnd't be representative.

I don't know if there even was a NetMums census, just trying to figure out how they could say that NM is for the less well-off - maybe they just made it up!

"I just assumed there was an NM one."

I didn't even know there was an MN one, why would they ask that? and why would people fill it in? What does it matter?

"atlantis: then i don't like your politics, but i'm sure i'd like you."

Ohh Nickelbabe, don't rush to judgement on that, but thank you.

I will wade in and ask whether MN should be renamed ParentsNet ?! Or even WomenNet?

my 2 sons + 1 daughter mock me for being a MNer

The census was almost definitely for advertisers, asked a lot of stuff about age, area of country, household income, # and age of children, education levels, how often you use MN, etc. All the sorts of things you need when you are trying to get people to pay to put ads on your site - we have xx users who will probably buy your stuff.

Riven you are so cool!

And I use NMs as often as MN . The noticeboard is great, but not tried the coffee house so that's the thing you could directly compare. I think they're both good in their own ways, but text speak does annoy me, takes me longer to read.

My DH takes the piss out of me for my NM and MN habit, oh and FB!

good post wukter

Hmm, so who IS Sarah Brown on here????

How's not here this weekend? gone off to do RL things with her DH....

Ah yes, I remember.... AnyF*cker....

It's her, I bet...

Good lord, I really worry about the state of the country and the people running it/wanting to run it when it turns in to a mumsnet/netmums thing.

Yes I use mumsnet, yes I always vote, so why oh why are the papers full of the great mumsnet vote getting ....

Well done Riven though, I hope you get a good outcome

Wow NYTimes! Wonder if that's where the anti-American complaint came from.

Wukter - you is naughty!! (but funny)

There was a MN survey about all of us. i think the results said that 75% of respondents had a degree. I suspect that, plus general correspondence style, led The Economist to assume middle class and therefore more affluent than Netmums. I had to laugh at their phrase though!

Also that MN is in the NYT too!

Global dominance surely awaits!!!

I have joined this website after seeing the news on Riven's plea for help with her daughter Celyn. I am absolutely shocked at the lack of support Riven is getting. I also have a 6 year old daughter, who is (thankfully) healthy in every way. She sleeps on average 10 hours per night, but it hasnt always been this way - she was an awful sleeper for 4 years of her life. I also have another child who wakes most nights, so the broken nights are continuing, although I know they will improve one day, unlike Riven who's sleepless nights will be on-going. I can sympathise with Riven, feeling exhausted day in, day out is a burden in itself to your family aswell as you. Broken sleep is torturous at the best of times, let alone when you are awaking having to check a poorly child. I feel I would like to help Riven in some way, yet am at a loss as to how. Surely all the mums on this blogg can get together a petition (if there isnt one already?) to get some extended hours of respite for the many families in this situation? Big hugs to Riven, and Celyn & family xxxx

As far as I can see Riven wants the whole thing de-personalised. I believe she's deregistered here and from Facebook. It seems to me as someone rather on the fringe of MN that she posted when she was down and set off a series of events that have resulted in events going way beyond anything she could have expected (or possibly wanted). She's now in the middle of a media frenzy and is having personal information about her and her family discussed on the radio, in the papers and all over the internet. Even here, details of her life are being picked over in relation to the statement made by her local council.
I think before anyone else takes any action that has her name attached, she should be asked if it is in accordance with her wishes.

MLP - well said. every day there re many pleas for help etc on MN, people get down, they come here for support, empathy etc - temporarily at the end of their tether for various circumstances. Unfortunately for Riven someone decided to politicise it - the media will obviously jump on any opportunity like that and exploit it, and so will teh politicians - who will now dare post on here for fear of their real life turning into a global 5 minute sound-bite to help sell advertising for TV and newspapers?

To be fair, Riven did ask for someone to contact David Cameron, and did endorse some of the other action taken. I suspect that she was under stress at the time and possibly didn't realise what she was letting herself and her family in for. Personally, I hope that it does something to publicise some very important wider issues around disability.