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Please help us to improve Mumsnet - join the Mumsnet Talk Testing Panel

92 replies

JustineMumsnet · 04/05/2021 12:02

It’s no secret that Mumsnet is OLD and as such Talk can be a bit creaky and buggy, particularly when we release new features.

We've been working hard for a while now behind the scenes in preparation for re-platforming to a more up to date and agile architecture and code base. It's taken a while because MN is so big and old but later this year we very much hope to be able to move over to a new and improved platform.

We will be keeping the functionality largely unchanged for now (the aim will be to make updates and add more features once we're on the new platform) but we are planning some limited improvements to the user experience and to some aspects that don't function at all well or where there are large inconsistencies across the desktop and mobile versions of the site.

For example we'll be modernising PMs, image uploading and the way long threads load (to speed things up).

We are really keen to get this right and to minimise disruption, and so we'd love your help us to shape and test the new platform. Please click here if you would like to be part of the testing group, and we will be in touch soon with more details.

(nb At the moment we're just focusing on the web version of the site, so if you only use the app, then we don't need you to participate just yet - we'll be looking at that later.)

Big thanks.

OP posts:
BeingATwatItsABingThing · 16/05/2021 22:41

[quote Loushome]@Sooverthemill

Sorry you are suffering too.
I do think there is a hidden agenda now behind MNHQ’s reason for this because every fight for this has been dismissed....which is exactly our issue in RL...the battle against being heard.[/quote]
I don’t suffer from chronic pain so don’t know what you’re going through but why on Earth would MNHQ have an agenda on this?

Fashio · 16/05/2021 22:52

@Loushome

Here’s some advice *@MNHQ*..... There have been multiple requests for several years by many posters asking out of sheer desperation for just one section on Chronic Pain.

You STILL fail to acknowledge this, time and time again you come back with the classic fob-off of ‘Start a thread in ‘Chat’ yourself, gather some momentum, come back to us and we’ll keep an eye on it.

Absolute bullshit will you ever give us our own zone.

Shame on you - it’s this attitude that we have to fight daily. It’s not ‘just’ the daily pain, the medication, the brain fog, the hospital visits, the new diagnosis, the new prognosis, the new symptoms, the family members that have to endure what we go through.

NO! It’s your disgraceful attitude in failing to offer this support (where we can turn and help each other) that is the cruellest, hardest, most brutal and unfair fight of all.

You want to help us? Really? Start here.

Thus actually hideously rude.
MNHQ
StevenTechMumsnet · 17/05/2021 01:34

Hi @BonesJones SkodaKodiaq and other app people. The android app is different from the iOS one and has fewer features, so that might explain the differences in what you are seeing. Hope this helps.

letsgetbackto2019 · 17/05/2021 05:09

Please add a quick way to hide topics from the app. It seems to exist from desktop but I never remember how to get there when I'm ready

AuntieStella · 17/05/2021 07:30

@AuntieStella

We will be keeping the functionality largely unchanged for now

What changes have already been decided upon?

Repeating my post as it doesn't seem to have been answered, even though MNHQ have been on the thread.
BIWI · 17/05/2021 08:49

[quote Loushome]@Sooverthemill

Sorry you are suffering too.
I do think there is a hidden agenda now behind MNHQ’s reason for this because every fight for this has been dismissed....which is exactly our issue in RL...the battle against being heard.[/quote]
@Loushome if you had RTFT you'd see that I've already posted a link to the board that MNHQ have created for you. There really is no need to be so rude!

00100001 · 18/05/2021 07:47

@Dowser19

Don’t change it perfect as it is
Apart from the awful search function

The slow loading, the laggy 'post' button.

The poor navigation on the mobile site.

The clunky photo upload.

The way you can break the formatting really easily...

Other than those things...yeah .. perfect Grin

Seeline · 19/05/2021 09:18

MN directed me to this thread from another, but the issue that thread was addressing doesn't seemed to have been mentioned here so....

MN please reinstate the 'last commented on by.....' column on the active convos screen. It was so useful not having to click on an thread just to see if it had been updated. Do oyu actually consult any users before you remove functions like this? Lots of people on the thread I mentioned miss this function too.

Seeline · 19/05/2021 09:19

And this rubbish about wanting all platforms to look the same?

How about actually giving Android users an app that works. IT would be great to have all the fancy stuff the IOS users get, but even the basics don't work on Android app. I've given up using it for the time being.

Hawkins001 · 19/05/2021 22:12

Can we bring back where you used to have an entire thread comments on one page, rather than 10pages of 100 please if possible

Endofmytether2 · 20/05/2021 00:01

@StevenTechMumsnet @JustineMumsnet @JanineMumsnet

What's happened to being able to see all 1000 posts on 1 page?

It disappeared a few days ago and there's no option in customise to change it back again (highest is 100 posts per page).

I have a disability in my hands and constantly clicking to change pages is too much for me and puts me off using mumsnet. I'm in enough pain already without adding to it.

I started a thread in site stuff but no one from MNHQ has bothered to reply as of yet.

Please reinstate it, or tell me what I'm doing wrong, as the lack of this function will end up preventing me from accessing your site.

MNHQ
StevenTechMumsnet · 20/05/2021 01:01

Hi @Endofmytether2 I'll have a look what's happened here and we'll be in touch. Sorry for the delayed reply.

baaaaal · 21/05/2021 14:52

If you are redoing the forum (which I assume will involve creating it from the ground up or some serious jiggerypokery in the backend)...

Can we change the strikethrough formatting to _ (underscore) rather than a dash?

People use dashes all the time in writing and I read a thread every other day with struck-through text that wasn't meant to be there.

I think underscore is used for underline but why do things need to be underlined when they can be bolded Grin

Just to make sure I'm not going cray-cray I am typing an example of the would-be strikethrough. I always forget if it works with spaces or without spaces Blush

BeingATwatItsABingThing · 21/05/2021 15:40

Strike through requires two dashes before and after.

  • - like this but with no spaces - -
only seems to work with me when I select strike through from my formatting options though
daisychain01 · 22/05/2021 05:25

I'm amazed at MNHQs decision to bespoke the build of the new platform. Whyever would you do that?! It's a massively expensive and time consuming approach, and it won't future proof the solution. Does that mean you're going to have to employ yet more staff?

There are loads of good quality out of the box forum software solutions with all the bugs already ironed out and don't involve building the forum from the ground up. You can add extras at additional cost but that's far more cost effective than starting from scratch. All the testing you're going to have to put MN users through, what a massive burden and cost, when you can acquire a product that's a ready made solution with features people have been asking for, for years.

Random789 · 23/05/2021 21:03

Isn't it a bit weird that there is an MN-only sticky topic that is just called 'content'?

What would you think of a newspaper that described its articles as 'content'? Doesn't that title just suggest 'filler', 'column inches', 'stuff to avoid a profitless empty space'?

MNHQ
JustineMumsnet · 24/05/2021 16:02

@daisychain01

I'm amazed at MNHQs decision to bespoke the build of the new platform. Whyever would you do that?! It's a massively expensive and time consuming approach, and it won't future proof the solution. Does that mean you're going to have to employ yet more staff?

There are loads of good quality out of the box forum software solutions with all the bugs already ironed out and don't involve building the forum from the ground up. You can add extras at additional cost but that's far more cost effective than starting from scratch. All the testing you're going to have to put MN users through, what a massive burden and cost, when you can acquire a product that's a ready made solution with features people have been asking for, for years.

Hi Daisychain - obviously we gave this a bit of thought and considered the off the shelf platforms out there at length as well as the approach of some other big forums. We came to the conclusion that they were too restrictive - we'd simply have to change them too much to make them viable. Moneysavingexpert have gone through a similar re-platforming recently and chose Vanilla (one the main providers) as an off the shelf solution. I think it's fair to say that lots of their users are unhappy with the results and the compromises it's meant. Mumsnet's been around for a long time and evolved into something that would be impossible to replicate with an out of the box product - yes you'd get a like button etc but you wouldn't get the ability to have more than one username or 1000 posts per page for example. We view Talk as the absolute core of what we do and so worth investing in. Basically replatforming will allow us to improve the functionality and stability of the site and the effort of customising means it makes more sense to build our own than to modify an existing product. Thanks
OP posts:
daisychain01 · 24/05/2021 20:10

Thanks for the update, Justine, I can see where you're coming from wrt how MN has evolved over the years. I just figured if you're looking to contain costs, I would have though a cloud based solution would give you the Evergreen capability to constantly keep pace with how forum platforms are continuing to evolve.

I'm looking forward to the big reveal and the fresh new look, as I'm sure many of us are.

It's a big challenge but I'm sure the MN crew are well up for that!

Onceuponatime1818 · 26/05/2021 06:43

The moderation for more covert racism is terrible.

Threads after threads of this is going unchecked and not removed.

It’s off putting at best and institutionally racist at worst.

AuntieStella · 26/05/2021 06:48

The moderation for ageism is pretty much non-existent.

But I don't think that choices about site standards will be changed by doing stuff to the tech on which the site runs

BIWI · 26/05/2021 08:32

@Onceuponatime1818 and @AuntieStella I think the issue here is that moderators only see the posts if they're reported. Generally speaking, racist/sexist/homophobic/ageist posts are deleted once they've been brought to the attention of the mods.

tappingintherain · 26/05/2021 08:43

@JustineMumsnet Can we have a way to hide threads from the list please? Some people have this already, not all of us. I have to go into individual threads, wait for it to load, click on 'Hide this thread', then back to the list. 3/4 actions instead of 1. Please help with this as it's tedious when you're trying to hide more than 1 thread at a time.

AuntieStella · 26/05/2021 08:49

[quote BIWI]**@Onceuponatime1818* and @AuntieStella* I think the issue here is that moderators only see the posts if they're reported. Generally speaking, racist/sexist/homophobic/ageist posts are deleted once they've been brought to the attention of the mods.[/quote]
Only if the mod agrees with the person reporting, and that the casual ageism remains rife (despite a few of us reporting it). 'We'll let this stand for now' is a common response, or the perpetually annoying 'interesting debate'

BIWI · 26/05/2021 08:51

True @AuntieStella. I do argue the case with them though Grin.

Onceuponatime1818 · 26/05/2021 09:43

@BIWI

We shouldn’t have to argue our case though, it should be removed, and even reported. Racism is illegal. The poster should be banned.