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Original poster

Why are oldtimers so unwelcoming to newbies

156 replies

NameChanged123 · 01/03/2006 14:26

I am a new member of mumsnet and was really pleased to find it. Unfortunately I have found that most of you oldtimers aren't very welcoming to newbies. Everytime I post on a thread I get ignored, you oldtimers only reply to each other. Sometimes I post on a thread and it just stops all together. I just think it would be nice to make newbies feel more welcome

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 01/03/2006 15:57

LOL, custardo! Mmmmm. :o

7up · 01/03/2006 16:00

poopadomShock hapless child modellers Grin

7up · 01/03/2006 16:00

sorry not poopadom, popadomBlush

poppadum · 01/03/2006 16:02

Mrs Badger, you have my undying gratitude for linking the tablecloth thread. PMSL!!

kleggie · 01/03/2006 16:04

Right, I have been wanting to post some questions for ages- not really a newbie anymore, 6months in, I think means I'm just off probation. All in the spirit of getting stuck in, I want to ask the oldies (you know who, the ones who smell of lavender and carry toffees in their handbags Wink ) for some clarification:

Define the following terms:
Snurk
Honk (not actually seen this one for a while)

Answer the following questions in no more than 50 words each:
What the heck is that bat thing all about?
What exactly is Anthea Turner?
Who, what and why was Titania?
Was the pirate sex woman a troll?

Any answers gratefully received, been puzzling about some things since day one...

wannaBe1974 · 01/03/2006 16:07

I'm relatively new here and have killed my fair share of threads. TBH I think often that it's not necessarily the person who kills the thread but the fact that all the points have been made, so if you make the last point and there's nothing else to be said then the thread is dead as it were, and the last contributor could be forgiven for thinking that they had killed it.

I have been through my own amount of paranoya though but try not to let it get to me. I'm an active contributor to any conversation I find interesting or where I think I have a valuable input, I would like to think that I can potentially make a difference to someone on here one day, but in the meantime I'm still happy to keep posting.

I just have one question which I'm not hugely sure if I dare ask ...

What exactly is the deal with cod? I know she posts lots of critical posts and that she can't type, but could someone ilaborate?

DumbledoresGirl · 01/03/2006 16:11

NameChanged123, I have been using Mumsnet for nearly 2 years and I still get ignored on some threads. Some people are very friendly with each other and I suppose it is only natural that they will stick together - just like in RL.

You have to develop a bit of a thick skin sometimes. I have to steel myself by thinking, this isn't their private chat room. I am as entitled as anyone else to make a comment or start a thread. If you comment on lots of things and try to engage the people who are on the same threads as you, you will slowly begin to infiltrate through the old-timers.

But don't make the mistake of thinking that just because you recognise a name and see a poster regularly that they are a) old timers or b) part of the clique that is at the core of Mumsnet (I am not allowed to say that word, but there is a clique and usually only clique members will deny it!)

And yes, I agree, some people are very rude to newbies, but hopefully not everyone is.

Kathy1972 · 01/03/2006 16:16

Tablecloth thread - magic.
It was the lesbian butchers block anecdote related on the same thread that made me PMSL though....

Boopert · 01/03/2006 16:18

Well all you oldies and newbies. Off to pick ds up from nursery and head off home.

welshboris · 01/03/2006 16:21

Newbies, Im still relatively new, but I just get stuck in.

If youre ignored, dont take it personally MN is a big place. JUst have a go another time.

madtableclothlady · 01/03/2006 16:22

I'm still around, you know? I know when you're talking about me.

wannaBe1974 · 01/03/2006 16:36

Well I'd imagine the pirate was a troll but who knows, takes all sorts I guess lol.

So no-one wants to ilaborate about Cod then?

Perrier · 01/03/2006 16:41

NmaeChanged123 - with you there. Feel like the new girl at school half way through term. I jsut figure nobody has a clue who you are so just get out there and if you want to say something say it! The oldies probably hate the sight of my name now but - hey!

Perrier · 01/03/2006 16:43

DumblesdoresGirl - you are so right - there is a clique - but on the internet - how on earth do they manage that?????

WideWebWitch · 01/03/2006 16:48

Define the following terms:
Snurk. OK, this is like sniggering I think.
Honk (not actually seen this one for a while) No idea, nor me. Maybe it's like parp? Or thud? Both are different though, parp is your subject you KNOW winds you up and you really shouldn';t post on because of this and thud is oh ffs HER/THIS AGAIN?

Answer the following questions in no more than 50 words each:
What the heck is that bat thing all about? It was a comp to see how many times you could get people to click on the bat instead of a genunie link
What exactly is Anthea Turner? Dumb tart and husband stealer currently on tv telling people how to fold towels
Who, what and why was Titania? Well, that's not an easy one. Search her name. She had a rug and debt problems.
Was the pirate sex woman a troll? No idea, not sure I saw this one, oh was it recent? Dunno

I hope I'm in the clique. Welcome new people, I don't tihnk mn is unfriendly, we were all new once and had to dive in and post. I don't ignore new people but inevitably you do get to know people and say hello or more, that's to be expected, surely?

Flip · 01/03/2006 16:54

I thought HONK was used to get attention. Don't know. Just a thought.

Perrier · 01/03/2006 16:55

Who is Cod?

bubblerock · 01/03/2006 16:55

Haven't read all of the replies but just to let you know, it's not just newbies that get ignored, I've been here a year and still have threads that just dwindle to nothing - as have others, it's just the way it is, don't take it personally. If you start a thread where you really need help/advice just bump it up and someone may come along that can help or try searching old threads.

Welcome to MN anyway and please don't take anything to heart - I can guarantee most of us feel like 'billy no mates' at some point on here Smile

Twiglett · 01/03/2006 16:57

i AM the Clique

welshboris · 01/03/2006 16:57

Cod is witty, scathing, gets bored easily, pops in and out with her little (sometimes unreadable) remarks

But, as I found out on a thread last week (nothing to do with me personally) her heart is in the right place

Saggarmakersbottomknocker · 01/03/2006 16:57

Flip - I thought you were still here but called something else - as am I.

Saggarmakersbottomknocker · 01/03/2006 16:58

You can spot cod by the crap typing.

JoolsToo · 01/03/2006 16:58

if you're new how do you know who is old?

sorry but its a load of rubbish

JoolsToo · 01/03/2006 16:58

sorry forgot to say 'welcome' Grin

Twiglett · 01/03/2006 17:00

rules for mumsnet

be witty and/or interesting
have a viewpoint and express it
be coherent
don't use textspeak
be sensitive, but not in an American way
give advice
take advice
have a ruck
post when and where you want
don't get up yourself
and if people ask you to explain what you mean do it