Coo-eeh! Come tell us what you think of the New (hopefully much better) Mumsnet Local

[EmmaMumsnet]

Hello. We've been aware for a while now that MN Local isn't all it could be and we've been beavering away for several months now to make it much, much better.

And today's the Grand Unveiling of the all-new, all-singing, all-dancing (well, OK, not quite singing and dancing just yet) Mumsnet Local

We've reorganised the Local sites a bit (they were a bit random, geographically speaking, before). And, if you go to your nearest Mumsnet Local site, you'll see there's much more to it and it's much easier to find your way about. There are loads more categories for listings and space for reviews, and you'll find nearly new inside an expanded Classifieds section - which should make your Mumsnet Local an altogether more helpful place to hang out. Don't worry, we haven't lost the talk threads from old Local. They'll be reappearing in the new sites very soon.

Some Mumsnet Local sites are still a bit light on listings and info (we're working on that right now) but, if you'd like a look at what we're hoping all Mumsnet Locals will look like pretty darn soon, do have a butcher's at Bath. If you want to share something with other Mumsnetters on any of the sites, just click on Add a Listing (the pink button on the right just under the navigation bar).

Sites that are not far behind include Bedford, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Bolton & Bury, Manchester & Trafford, Bournemouth & Poole, Brighton & Hove, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Cheshire, Exeter, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Portsmouth, Southampton, Surrey, and in London? Barnet, Lambeth, Hackney, Haringey, Hillingdon, Islington, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth and Waltham Forest boroughs.

And we're hoping all the other Local sites, including those in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, will be hot on their tails. We're looking to entice people to look after these sites, but more on that soon.

We've designed an easy-to-use Meet Ups page. If you want to volunteer to organise a regular meet-up in your area, just email [email protected] . There are more bits and pieces and snazzy new features to come, too. Once --Tech's had a bit of a lie down

We do hope you like what you see. Do let us know what you think - as ever, all feedback is most welcome.

@ZombTEE

Drunk again, is he, Emma?

It's all the gin you've been sending us. What's a boy (and girl) to do? don't answer that

He's got the right to be drunk.

So do you. You should take the rest of the weekend off. Just cuz I said so.

::nods::

'It's a bit like playing My Granny Went to Market only you don't have to remember anything'

So nothing like it then?

That made me laugh a disproportionate amount.

Still waiting for a bit more than: "This feature is coming soon".

I'm in Lambeth, south London but that is still so general. I'd prefer something a bit more specific - Brixton, Herne Hill... There's a load of the South Bank in Lambeth but it isn't that local to me, it is a proper day out!

So add stuff, swampster....

I am making it my mission to add stuff. There is nothing worse than stumbling across something on Google, thinking it is exactly what you were looking for and then realising there is actually no content.

I just want the character limit thing to be sorted - hurry up Tech!!

You go Brian!

I'll make the Warrington bit the local site that all the others aspire to!

or I'll just add a few bits and hope others come along and add stuff

Yay BRIAN

Lambeth is split down into sections but the Editor has so far only added the big name attractions etc - if you want to add a lovely little toy shop in Streatham you've got to do it yourself.

If everyone on this thread goes away and adds one thing today to their local area then.....it'll still be pretty empty but at least it won't echo quite so much.

Anything I click on I get "This feature is coming soon", ZombTEE. Is it just me then? I CAN'T add anything.

Ah - just clicked on 'Primary Schools in Lambeth' and I could happily add those in - but what's the point of that? Surely for accuracy you just suck those in from a directory somewhere?

Oh, I think Tech has sorted the character limit thing

Next question please:

Do I have to delete (or get deleted) my previous reviews and re-review so the full spiel shows? Or can Tech twiddle things so it shows?

TIA.

Swamp, upperish right hand side, it says "add a listing".

Try that.

I'm going to start adding things soon, I've been ill this weekend and mostly on my phone in bed.

OK, I really NEED to be able to edit listings I add - I make errors!

And the start date/end date thing is nonsense for ongoing things.

Swampster strikes again ;-)

(((dinky)))!!!

(innocent face) wot?

Right, have just clicked on my area and got three local sites listed: Merseyside, Liverpool & Wirral and St Helens, Knowsley and Sefton. THIS MAKES NO SENSE. There will be massive overlap between Merseyside and Liverpool & Wirral, and probably with ST H K S, come to that. Why on earth have all three? Either go for a Merseyside area with broad coverage, or split into Liverpool on its own, Wirral, Sefton etc.

Plus the latter doesn't really make sense as it's specific local authority areas that often get linked together, but someone in St Helens might be geographically closer to an event/place in south Liverpool than they would to a Sefton one in, say, Southport.

I would be willing to add content (L&W is empty at the mo) but not while there are parallel sites running as with my luck, everyone else who comes along will use the one I don't, and I'm not loading it all in twice.

Having looked at other comments, I think people have very different expectations of what 'local' should be, having seen someone say they were looking at Brent but only wanted to know about specific bits of Brent(!) Personally I am happy with a broader approach and willing to travel across the Merseyside area. As it is, though, the areas in my neck of the woods don't make sense. MNHQ?

Hey Electric dreams (i will be singing Phil Oakley all night now)
Thanks for your feedback - we will have a look at this.

I have a question :)

If you live in a city, is it acceptable to put in day trips that are outside city boundaries and in another area. Eg if you were on the Stirling site, could you put in Edinburgh zoo?

Or is tech going to do something really really clever whereby you can search by distance from current location and that will pull in results from other local areas?

It seems to me there is going to be an awful lot of crossover and duplication of areas.

Or or or, if you were adding something, perhaps you could have check boxes whereby you could choose to have that listing appear in other nearby local sites?

Also, what is a Childrens centre?

Also (sorry), under the "Services" section can we have a trades section that subdivided into plumbers /decorstors/ general builders / man wiv van etc etc etc

Ignore last one, just found it under household help - J assumed that just meant cleaners/housekeepers could you change picture to a builder or summat to make it obvious for thick people like me.