Has Mumsnet dumbed down over the past couple of years IYO? Or, if you're new, what's your impression?

[WideWebWitch]

Well? Just wondering what people think about this. Even if you're new, what's your view? (I don't want to be accused of oldster cliqueiness, I'm interested to hear what new people think too)

no apology necessary hunker, notin the slightest. the tone of all my posts that eveing were twattish - more than usual

I am as old as the hills on here & it has changed a very great deal since if first started. We used to just have very polite, courteous discussions about aspects of parenting & dispense nuggets of wisdom.
Now it is a huge site with all sorts of subjects covered. I don't think it is necessarily worse for that, but it is very different.
I don't believe it has dumbed down either. The debates or discussions are only as dumb as the contributers & I think there are lots of great contributers here.

"It's not, for me, the subject matter, it's the way people write about their subjects."

Exactly MI. I think the recent history of MNet is rather similar to that of TV. I don't think that the percentage of poor programming to good programming has changed much, there is just more of everything and you can get dispirited wading through the dross to get to the good stuff. Also, just like TV, our perception of the past is distorted because we tend to remember the fabulous threads and forget the 701st baby pasta one.

There is one subtle shift that has changed the way I post. I self-censor much more than I used to as I no longer feel that I can say anything that may highlight the fact that we are....can't think of right word and am being constrained by the very restriction I'm trying to describe....um...well-off? Years ago there was a great thread trying to advise Lambchops about whether she should return to work after maternity leave as a City lawyer whilst her husband was striving for partnership in a law firm. Today that thread might still happen, but not without a couple of posters popping up to tell her she was ungrateful and spoilt because she at least had the opportunity not to return to work and a few more saying that all lawyers were over-paid. And it's true, she was lucky to have choices, but making them was no less agonising and that was the point of the thread.

More people has meant more diversity and that's good. But somehow we have lost the 'it's not where you're from it's the fact that you're a parent' unity. But as Ledogy says, you either embrace the change or leave the club!

Issymum you made me laugh with all lawyers are overpaid comment

as far as i can see it wasn't so intellectual years ago either!

Message withdrawn

I think that is right pruni..by which I mean true rather than right

I think that the active conversations has speeded up a lot recently and more threads get lost..and ironically this means more threads being starte on the same topic because they move off so fast and that leads to thread clutter itself

I only started lurking 18 months ago, so don't know what it was like in the good ol' days .

But some posters definitely seem to 'hype up' their posts now to get noticed - inevitable when the site is so big I guess.

Ah but it has been going longer than that Ledology!!! It had already changed significantly by 2002!!!

Mumsnet was definitely best when it was just emails going between Justine and Carrie, it's just been downhill since then

I have not been on MN for THAT long, so as a relative newcomer-ish, here are my impressions;

there are a number of obviously established posters who are VERY confident people who do present their opinions and views very strongly indeed and somtimes the impression has been of this being quite intimidating and off-putting;

MN is absolutely a brilliant resource, it's been wonderful for support on particular things that I just don't know enough people to sort out in RL! Speedy responses and compassionate responses - wonderful. Like going to a huge huge mother and toddler group!

The opinions on MN are very definitely different to those I've come accross in RL; I have had no BF/FF debates in RL! In RL the mums I know have been supportive of what the others are doing; no RL mums I know have waited till 6 months to wean, this was MN news to me; 4 months seems to be the accepted norm in my RL world and tbh no-one I know thinks extended BFing, 'late' weaning or BF v FF is worth ranting about and losing friends over! It all seems heightened on here.

But generally my impression has been of a very very useful supportive place. But that's got alot to do with where I go I guess, I avoid BF threads and don't really go on 'chat', just on specific issue type threads.

Overall I think MN is great.

remember the days when it was "thou" this and "thou" that.

"thou hast maketh an unwarrented slight on my post madam"

"I HAVETH a pink handbag"

"and i haveth a red hangbag!"

"dawn awaits us fair mumsnetter, there you shall find my other glove. your gauntlett of fate"

"aftereth i haveth breastfeedeth...say around 6.30eth?"

pmsl at custy
custy you are a fucking LEGEND you know that don't you

PethMSL

Carmenere you made me smile ...."Mumsnet was definitely best when it was just emails going between Justine and Carrie, it's just been downhill since then" ...quite