Mumsnet Premium membership - please support us if you can

[JustineMumsnet]

Hi folks,

First and most importantly, I hope you and yours are safe and well, and that you all stay that way.

After 20 years of unreasonableness, rofls, wtfs, advice and support, and the odd lawsuit, it's fair to say that we are as close as we’ve ever been to existential difficulty.

Like many ad-funded businesses, the COVID-19 crisis has seen us take a big hit to our revenues. The businesses who would normally pay to advertise with us are slashing their marketing budgets, but lots of our outgoings are fixed and we so need to find new ways to keep paying the bills.

We’re doing our darndest to find every single saving we can - lots of our staff have volunteered to reduce their hours, we’ve cancelled all non-essential services, I've taken a pay holiday and we will use every scheme and loan available to us from the government and the bank to help tide us over. But we still need to find alternative revenue streams to ensure we don’t run out of funds in a few months...

To put it frankly, it’s squeaky bum time.

I know this is a very tough time for many of you and some of you are only just keeping the lights on yourselves. We’re sending you our solidarity and we most certainly don’t want anyone to stump up anything they can’t afford, but if you can help, please do subscribe now to our Premium service.

We’ve banged this out as fast as possible in response to the current crisis and it’s definitely not the finished article, but it’s free of banner advertising, so if you’ve ever been vexed by those (or use an ad-blocker) this might be right up your alley. Banner ads also tend to make pages render more slowly and take up bandwidth, so if you’re surrounded by bored kids streaming with their mates, step this way.

We’ve opted for a price point that we hope is doable for most and which covers the potential lost ad revenue for the majority of users. We hope £4.99 per month or £49.99 for a year (less than a pound a week!) feels a reasonable exchange for the value Mumsnet brings you, but in any case you can unsubscribe any time.

Over the next little while we’ll look to add some extra features: things that people have requested regularly like editing, sorting posts by the OP, and reading offline.

Rest assured we remain committed to always providing a free version of the site, as we fundamentally believe that access to the advice and support Mumsnet offers should not depend on your ability to pay.

And if you can’t spare any cash right now… then of course we get it. It would still be very helpful if you removed any ad blockers or clicked on affiliate links around the site when you shop, joined our insight panel or even shared the best Mumsnet threads on your social channels whenever you can - it all helps.

If you have any questions at all feel free to post them here and I'll get back to you. We also have a page of FAQs that might answer your question.

Hold tight everyone.

Love

Justine and the team at MNHQ

@FlaviaAlbiaWantsLangClegBack

What would happen when boarding schools, parenting gurus, self identified lawyers or questionable religious charities ask for a posters information to sue them?

At the minute posters are given the option for posts to be withdrawn and details deleted aren't they? If you have billing information too, how would it work? It's harder to erase a financial trail.

We don't have access to any payment information - it's all handled by Stripe.

@Oaksquarebox

£350k a month just on wages.

I honestly can’t get over that for a Internet forum and website. Am I missing something?

Mumsnet is a business. They have to pay people! It's not a cosy cottage 'middle class mums round the kitchen table' kind of enterprise.

And don't forget, the wage bill doesn't just cover the money that people take home every month, it's also their income tax, NI, pensions and any other benefits they get. £350K really doesn't go very far.

I feel uncomfortable with the amount of times I spend on mumsnet (which is actually pretty moderate) so no - I won’t pay, as I’d see it as an “unhealthy” spend of money.
If they end up making it pay only, then I’d probably be rather relieved as no temptation to go on it.

You are now, however, asking me to pay for the privilege of self-censorship, of not speaking truth, of lying about reality. I will happily subscribe to MN Premium if you will relax the censorship rules in FWR, and reinstate respected posters who have been banned for honesty.

If you weren't in the business of allowing non MN users to report posts, and you didn't ban posters for not rolling over to allow the erosion of women's rights then I would consider paying for the service.

With all the security breaches that have occurred over the previous 12 months it really concerns me that subscribing would mean you have even more of my personal info which would be vulnerable if another security breach happened. Did we ever hear about what happened to your intern, the one who deliberately leaked users' details because she didn't agree with views on the FWR board?

Whilst there are many commendable aspects about the MN forum, you are running a business at the end of the day, profiting from all your users. If only you would treat those very same users with more respect, then I would be happy to support your business and pay.

Anyone feeling misled that mumsnet said that there was a blip with search function and that would be up soon

But clear now only if pay

You are completely delusional if you think this site is worth anyone’s subs.

1. It’s “moderated” in an entirely arbitrary fashion, now you’re expecting us to believe that paying members will be subjected to the same scrutiny as non? You can’t even get this troll infested place under control now.

1. The site content is provided by us. You’re asking us to pay to read and contribute our own nonsense.

1. Your security breaches are legendary (whoever you employ to manage it ain’t worth that £350k a month wage bill). Who in their right mind is going to give you their real name and bank details.

1. Ad blocker is your friend, no need to fork out for it to see “fewer” if you can see zero for zero.

1. The content (that WE provide) is routinely used as tabloid fodder- are subscribers due a cut from lazy “journalists”.

Get a clue in mumsnet ivory towers eh?

Again, it’s a “no” from me 😂

350k a month on wages that still doesn't even include paid night mods. Bloody hell.

Nor indeed a simple reply to a job application nearly a month ago.

Sorry to hear you've got problems.

Like other posters, I'd be a bit worried about security. So:

• Could you perhaps arrange a way for people to subscribe and/or donate by PayPal?

• Could people send donation cheques by mail? If so, what would be the correct address?

@Puzzledandpissedoff

willowhazel that's why I hoped for some clarification on what "fewer adverts" would look like in practice. One less? Half of them less? All removed if we pay?

If the product is "ready for launch", surely there should be some information available on this?

Yes - we'll get some e.g.s of this on a page. We're just producing an FAQs so will add it to that. Thanks for the suggestion.

@JustineMumsnet

Not too long ago one of your interns posted mumsnetters’ IP addresses on twitter.
Please tell me why I should trust you with my bank details.

Fwiw I’d be happy to pay but probably only if I can give you cash in an envelope. Sorry.

(And what happens if a poster pays for a year and then gets banned on the FWR board?)

@JustineMumsnet

Many mums-netters feel that mumsnetting takes up too much of their time, a distraction, but unhealthy.

So they’re not going to pay for something they don’t regard as necessarily a positive thing in their lives.

I’m surprised

Oh Justine.

What a retrograde step this is. And especially to ask this now, when so many of your audience are in absolutely dire financial straits, and are using MN as a ranting board/entertainment/whatever.

I have been here since it was all fields, and it has been sometimes very good, sometimes absolutely awful and sometimes just meh. I had a break at one point because I was fed up with the quiches (might even have had a mini flounce).

I sympathise with your plight, but I am also mindful of the fact that I have absolutely no income for any kind of foreseeable future. To be essentially told that I'm a second class citizen by you, too, is a Bit Much.

I value MN and I want to pay for Premium I so but aside from the fact I can't really justify the cost right now... there are some flaws in the logic here for me.

1. Data breach concerns
2. Creating a very worrying and tangible have/have not divide between users
3. Paying private fees for a public access forum means that your life is still open as fodder for the media, even though you are now paying for the dubious privilege of having your worst moments broadcast by the Daily Mail

But if the idea was eventually that private members are able to shut their posts off to public access this thereby exacerbates 2-tier system.

But really for me, there is a plus side to two tier in some ways, it would only be worth paying £50 a year if you could shut your posts off from trolls, journos, and people only here to be joyless aggressive keyboard warriors and keep them to genuine MNers.
But this distinction should not really be on a means tested basis more length and quality of posting.

Not subscribing instantly but Food For Thought

facility to edit posts - ONLY IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER COMMENTS!

It will be an absolute nightmare of a Troll's Paradise if people can edit posts at will.

Please believe me, the ability to edit posts is massively open to abuse and it will be abused - because wherever it is allowed it is always abused and causes huge problems.

Everyone who is thinking, "Oops! I put 'their' not 'there' - so glad there is an Edit Function!" or "Drat! I misspelt that name - thank goodness I can correct it now!" - you have NO IDEA what mayhem will ensue.

"Edit" can mean deleting everything except a punctuation mark or completely changing the content of a post.

Moderators - just think about the extra work that this will generate for you.

@JustineMumsnet - if you REALLY want to go this route PLEASE limit the ability to edit. The ONLY way to avoid problems is to AUTO-BLOCK the edit function as soon as a further post is made. Auto-block needs to be able to kick in even while someone is editing a post and before they save it.

If the system cannot do this, please do NOT allow post-editing by users.

The current system might seem clumsy but it avoids so many other problems. "Self-correcting" in a follow-up post might seem a faff now but it is nothing compared to the time wasted on a stream of responses to a post that is later edited to say the opposite of what was first stated.

There will have to be an interface between MNHQ and Stripe to verify that UserX has paid subs as PersonY. That will be the weak link for hacking or legal demands as to rl identity.

Mumsnet is a business. They have to pay people! It's not a cosy cottage 'middle class mums round the kitchen table' kind of enterprise.

Yes but its a user content generated website, and a very basic one at that.

I can understand facebook having huge developer and software engineer costs. But this site has such basic functionality I imagine a uni grad could write it in a few weeks for a few grand

Got to agree with every point by @SlipSlidin

For many women in difficult circumstances mumsnet is a lifeline. If you live with domestic abuse/financial abuse, having “mumsnet” appear on your bank statement would surely put you in a more vulnerable situation? This proposal marginalises those who need support, and risks making the vulnerable more vulnerable.

@NobdieTheNob

Oh Justine.

What a retrograde step this is. And especially to ask this now, when so many of your audience are in absolutely dire financial straits, and are using MN as a ranting board/entertainment/whatever.

I have been here since it was all fields, and it has been sometimes very good, sometimes absolutely awful and sometimes just meh. I had a break at one point because I was fed up with the quiches (might even have had a mini flounce).

I sympathise with your plight, but I am also mindful of the fact that I have absolutely no income for any kind of foreseeable future. To be essentially told that I'm a second class citizen by you, too, is a Bit Much.

Really not saying anyone's a second class citizen Nobdie and I'm really sorry if I've made you feel that way. I can only reiterate that we will always have a Mumsnet free and we won't allow it to deteriorate at the expense of Premium.

Of course I absolutely understand that this is a very tricky time for many and the last thing I want is for anyone to overextend themselves. But we needed to do something because we can't continue without revenue and I do think Mumsnet is a valuable resource in this difficult time that people need to have access to.

5th time

@JustineMumsnet

Fewer ads”

So not ad free then?

Will there be any changes to the free version? Like a increase in intrusive ads? To encourage folk to pay for “fewer ads”

Or any changes at all really?

Also- why are you only answering some questions?

@Buscake

For many women in difficult circumstances mumsnet is a lifeline. If you live with domestic abuse/financial abuse, having “mumsnet” appear on your bank statement would surely put you in a more vulnerable situation? This proposal marginalises those who need support, and risks making the vulnerable more vulnerable.

We don't have anything to do with payments - it's all handled by a third party (Stripe) so I really doubt MN will appear on any bank statements but I'll definitely check and come back to you.

How so Buscake?

They still have full access to the site and poster's advice and support.

The subscription page says that terms and conditions apply but I can’t see a link to any T&Cs. Can you confirm what they are please?

Chandler Justine just posted to say there's going to be a FAQ added which will include what "fewer ads" would look like

Hopefully all will be come clear ...

Opps, I totally misread your post Bus.