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See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Is there just less content being posted now?

191 replies

partystress · 18/06/2022 03:08

Been a MNer for 16 years I think. For the first time ever, I’m finding nothing to read. The same threads hang around for days and days. Active is a longer list than it used to be, but seems to have threads that have not been added to.

I will keep popping in because FWR is so informative, but I no longer feel this is somewhere to come for entertainment or amusement. (Although I did lol at Frubes for the fanjo yesterday!)

OP posts:
partystress · 18/06/2022 08:41

@brittanyfairies you have summed up what I miss most - the wit. Genuine support on serious issues, but wicked humour for anything else.

@Lakeowlmoon I will try your approach. It might stop me walking away altogether.

OP posts:
ProfYaffle · 18/06/2022 08:41

I agree it's the nastiness. You used to get longer discussions which developed more over time but now op's are chased away early doors. There's no way in hell I'd post on here about something which was emotionally important to me.

FinanceLPlates · 18/06/2022 08:50

I have more but wanted to post quickly before it goes Grin

Apart from those two top priorities, I think these would help, both in terms of tech and culture:

  • fix search so you can easily search by poster (the current version doesn’t work properly, a lot of names - especially newer ones I suspect - don’t show up in the list)
  • search across all posts, not just OPs
  • don’t delete so many threads - some of the most amusing and witty responses have been triggered by questionable posts. Also, a reminder to keep it civil and the occasional deleted post are preferable to entire threads being pulled. Often there are useful, knowledgeable or funny posts in amongst the robust discussions. People spent time and energy writing these, and others got invested in them. So it’s a shame if it all just goes “pouf”. Also discourages posting. @MNHQ you used to be very good at getting the balance right and foster a culture of witty grown-up discussion.
A note re the “search by poster” functionality - I realise this can have some negative effects but it also has a civilising component.
SpinningRoundRightRound · 18/06/2022 09:15

[MNHQ] used to be very good at getting the balance right and foster a culture of witty grown-up discussion

I agree, @FinanceLPlates. I could be wrong, but I'm kind of detecting the 'feel' of some different pairs of hands making some of the moderating decisions since the big platform switch.

I was just thinking the other day that MN now often comes across as a bunch of unpleasant people arguing joylessly and weirdly about crap. Making a contribution on a thread should not make a poster feel like they're being aggressively tailgated. In this atmosphere - and let's not forget the drafted posts that disappear in a cloud of ad-loading - posters who have wit, writing skills and literary grace are hardly going to bother.

RavenousBugblatter · 18/06/2022 09:19

I think there's less activity now too. It's a shame.

Seeline · 18/06/2022 09:23

I think the algorithm for what is in active has changed recently.

Threads hang around for ages without being posted in - they shouldn't be in active, and never used to be.

If I look at the threads in the last hour, there are loads that never appear in active. OK some may not have any/many posts but some are really busy and don't feature in active at all.

It would be great if this could be looked at because at the moment active can be very boring, whilst some interesting threads never get their moment.

TroysMammy · 18/06/2022 09:24

There's not many I want to watch and the ones I do the original poster stopped posting at page 2 and there are 12 more pages after that.

There's no fun, no drama, no trolls even, it's just boring really. I know things going on are people's lives but it makes me think tabloids lifting stories are preventing people posting or they have read advice on other threads, got their answer and life is good for them.

Also threads I watch and are on that are removed just disappear, no deletion message, it's just gone.

partystress · 18/06/2022 09:26

@Seeline how do you look at threads in the last hour now? I don’t seem to have that any more.

OP posts:
Seeline · 18/06/2022 09:33

@partystress I can only find it if I MN on my laptop. It doesn't appear on the mobile site. I'm an Android user so don't bother with the crappy app so don't know if it's there or not.

Babdoc · 18/06/2022 09:34

I wonder if Covid and the lockdowns have just limited people’s lives, so we all have less to write about? And are out of practice at debating, or even having a conversation?
Perhaps people now just google for information instead of asking other mums on MN for advice.
There seem to be fewer women seeking help with abusive partners - I hope that’s a good sign that there are less of them, or that we have previously publicised Women’s Aid and the Freedom program so they go there directly, instead of via MN.
FWR seems quieter too, possibly because the mainstream media are belatedly fighting back against the transgender attack on women’s rights, and we have been able to sit back a little.

SpinningRoundRightRound · 18/06/2022 09:44

And let's not forget the data breach(es).

That puts a lot of women off posting in FWR and, potentially, about domestic abuse.

Blusteryday101 · 18/06/2022 10:06

People are understandably reluctant to post on here now for advice and support, unless it's for a niche subject, and I think that's a huge shame, as there is a wide range of intelligent posters to call on who share a good breadth of knowledge. But there are also too many people who also enjoy being rude and dismissive and get a kick out of making the op feel worse. I suppose the very thing that makes Mumsnet great - the freedom to largely post whatever, whenever, anonymously - is also becoming it's downfall. Once again, the few ruin it for the majority! T'was ever thus!

Maybe this was what Mumsnet premium was all about? To eliminate this sort of thing? Unfortunately though, owing to various security breaches, I am reluctant to give them my credit card number.

Also, when Mumsnet started, way back when, there were far fewer sources of information about parenting, domestic tasks, cooking etc and other forms of sm have now filled that gap.

It's such a shame as Mumsnet is unique really and I have hugely appreciated its presence over the years. But now when I log on there seem to be either the same threads about "how often do you shower/how often do you change your bed/do you take your shoes off before going indoors" (to my mind done to death and really boring) or a cat fight under different guises on the subject of sahp v wohp (which I find upsetting) or what probably are troll threads where the op disappears after their first post (which are either not worth engaging with, or if you do, are frustrating).

There are some good threads around still in feminism and politics, and some of the advice under the relationships board can be genuine I think, but as for general run of the mill threads, I agree with pp about the lack of nuance, not to mention wit and humour.

Minimalme · 18/06/2022 10:19

@Ablackcat thank you, it really depressed me.

I worry that the vicious pile on might one day push a more vulnerable poster into a very bad place.

I have been on here for the last 10 years and loads of content used to make me laugh, especially on AIBU. People seemed to take more care over their responses, injecting humour where we possible.

I have deregistered twice recently and dh keeps telling me to come off MN because it is definitely not adding anything to my life.

BlackberrySky · 18/06/2022 10:22

I also think some people are put off by the frequency with which MN threads end up as clickbait in the tabloid press. I know it's a public forum, but I don't think that's the same as having your thread all over the tabloids, especially if you know the person you're posting about isn't on MN but may well read national tabloids. It's really lazy journalism and I wish MN would stop it.

MermaidEyes · 18/06/2022 10:23

The new app update is dreadful for Active/Trending threads. You can refresh 5/6/7 times, and yet the same threads will keep appearing, with a couple of new ones thrown in. If I haven't clicked on them the first, second, third time Mumsnet, it's because I'm not interested. And then you can click on actual topics and find a whole load of current threads being posted on that you would think might make it into Trending.
Also agree re trolls... Maybe I've just been here too long but I swear every other thread in Aibu or Relationships I take with a pinch of salt these days.

cstaff · 18/06/2022 10:29

I think the new app has definitely affected movement on here. It is shutting me down regularly and just yesterday I was typing a post and some fault happened and shut me down so I just didn't bother then.

September29th · 18/06/2022 10:30

Problems with site functioning, can't go back to a thread without having to go through a rigmarole of closing, refreshing, opening, or closing the site down and starting again by which time I have lost interest.

So many people not reading the original post properly and posting useless and unhelpful replies, seems worse than ever before.

Nasty people, trolls, people that abandon threads, people that drag up zombie threads and still no warning on the OP that it is a zombie.

Trending, threads not changing colour when you have opened them so you end up opening them again as, if you are like me, you forget which ones you opened, and that pisses me off a lot for some reason.

Security. Never seems to be sorted really.

Premium.

I spend a lot less time here now.

HydraWater · 18/06/2022 10:36

Help me please, how do I hide topics like AIBU etc.? I had a quick look but I don't see a feature to do this. But I am not the best at these things either. Thank you!

EarringsandLipstick · 18/06/2022 10:37

I agree re Active Threads not refreshing.

I think it's (yet another) glitch since the new platform. I've noticed that Active will stay the same for ages, then suddenly update but with threads posted 24 h or even days before, that haven't been in Active before.

SpinningRoundRightRound · 18/06/2022 10:38

@HydraWater I think to hide whole topics you may have to go into your own Settings and customise.

Ablackcat · 18/06/2022 10:38

I think a lot of the nastier posts are trying to emulate the quick wit of bygone days but just can’t.

Viviennemary · 18/06/2022 10:44

I used to look at trending to see if there was anything interesting to read and there nearly always was and it changed all the time. Now it's the same threads for hours or even days on end. At least it seems like it. And even the old emoticons have gone.

MermaidEyes · 18/06/2022 10:46

Also, as a pp said, I'd like to hide topics like Conception and Birth that I'm not interested in, and that clog up my feed, but I can't see you can actually do it on the Android app, which is all I use. I wish the algorithms were more like, say, Instagram, where the particular topics you read/look at, are the ones that show up more. I never read anything on Conception, Birth, Babies, Baby names, and yet my bloody Active is always full of those threads.

ZebraScarf · 18/06/2022 11:11

I lie the new layout but it seems to take a long time for threads to load. 10pm seems to be the worst time for it.

And I've probably been here too long because when I read thread titles I find myself categorising them according to which particular brand of troll has almost certainly started them. And there now seem to be more people testing out plots for their first (and probably last) novel - usually written in 'Take A Break" inspired language.

And people with genuine issues are often put off by the thought of having their thread picked up by newspapers.

IllDoItButOnlyForTheAttention · 18/06/2022 11:32

LondonWolf · 18/06/2022 06:04

Regularly being accused of deep character flaws, and the wilful lack of nuance makes MN a pretty miserable place to be these days but that's true across all SM.

If it's any comfort, @LondonWolf, I always find your posts very insightful. Love to see your name pop up on a thread cos I know you're going to bring some sense!

Swipe left for the next trending thread