Is there just less content being posted now?

[partystress]

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!)

@JustineMumsnet thank you for taking the time to respond. I am slightly encouraged, especially by the openness to looking at moderation. It would be great to think that MN could buck the trend on polarisation. I don’t think moderation alone would achieve that, but it might help encourage MNers with a more positive spirit to post more and dilute the negatives?

The thing is people won't care about the reasons. So many forums and social media platforms have gone under over the years because people get fed-up with technical issues.

I never agree with the "MN used to be so much nicer!" stuff - rose-tinted - but I'm certain the average user is much dimmer now. Is it from when Netmums' forum shut down?

Yes, to dimmer and humourless too

And whoosh there goes another thread. Waste of time posting on anything anymore.

Sadly I think a lot more can go whoosh Jane

The daftness of some of the posts is driving me nuts. Some are for froth. Some are just a non-event.

e.g my friend told me not to wear purple. I don’t even like to wear purple. I’m fuming/offended/upset/eating 300 cakes.

To be fair, the last one is made up but it isn’t a million miles away.

I truly missed MN when I was put on the naughty step. I really did. But the clowns are taking over the circus and spoiling it.

I know you have to take some posts with a ruddy great shovelful pinch of salt but some are just utter mince. Plain as eggs.

Was just on one that has gone & I happened to see the deletion message.

Nothing on my TIO so I guess the message, like the thread, didn't stick around!

I admit I am short on patience
but being told off for missing sone info when I had originally hoped to find something helpful - another poster with an elderly mum - and then being thoroughly told off....it's exactly the kind of thing that makes you wonder if real life is becoming less scary than the internet.

i doubt it's MN specific, it's just I like hanging out here normally but not at the mo.

*find something helpful for the OP, not me 😂

@EmmaH2022 you were correct that having an assessment isn't the same as being ill but I can't be bothered to post on there and get my head bitten off.

Hi @Daisyroseandhyacinth , to hide threads please click 'hide' at the top of the thread. You'll see it to the right of purple button that says 'Watch thread' and the button that says 'Flip' next to it.

Do let us know if this is not showing up for you

Thanks but I was referring to hiding whole subjects, like baby names or relationships. I figured it out eventually though.

The hide buttons don't work IME. (Android phone ) and too much repetition on topics. Conversely twenty different threads under aibu talking about holidays or covid or skiing. The board is all over the shop.
You have one job 🤠
Just trying to be helpful cos it's just not what it used to be 👍🏼

I agree that allowing AIBU to be used for traffic is adding to the problem of bad feeling. Everything is up for criticism there. Moving threads to where they belong would help.

I agree. It would be a lot of work for the mods for a few weeks, but once people got the message that they can't use AIBU "for traffic" it would slow down a lot.

Yes, I agree with this too. AIBU has just become a total free for all with a large number of posts not even having an AIBU. And because AIBU is known as the bear pit, posters rip into the OPs regardless of the thread.

There are dozens of topics on MN which are tumbleweed central and if moderators (because surely that’s the job of a moderator) moved threads into correct topics, those topics would appear in Active more often and people might feel less compelled to shoehorn every single post into an AIBU for traffic.

I also think the number of topics needs to be cut right down. It becomes a cycle - people get confused trawling through 100 topic names to find the most appropriate one, so they just post in AIBU or Chat. Then AIBU and Chat get all the traffic because they're the only ones with threads, so nobody posts anywhere else because they don't get replies...

Do we really need an entire topic for Tattoos? Or Yoga? Do we really need seven different boards for weight loss instead of one weight loss topic with seven threads for the common diets? Do we need a whole topic for people who have pet fish?

I quite like having a separate topic for cats (The Litter Tray). I do think the health topics are underused as everyone wants to post in AIBU for traffic about medical matters for some reason.

I think a parking topic would be good because I think that has peaked now. It's like the shopping list threads of old.

Do we really need an entire topic for Tattoos? Or Yoga? Do we really need seven different boards for weight loss instead of one weight loss topic with seven threads for the common diets? Do we need a whole topic for people who have pet fish?

Yoga's really quiet. It could go under exercise with other quiet exercise related topics. It would give a much busier board.

Troll running riot again tonight.

And why three separate topics for work (Work, Back to Work, Employment Issues)? They seem to get used interchangeably. Surely it would make more sense to have a single work topic?

I've been here off and on for 15 years. It becoming an unpleasant place is nothing new. I left in 2015 as it got too much for me. People have been encouraged to be unpleasant and flame. People looking for serious advice go on places like FB groups where you would get such nasty messages (or less likely to). You'd be crazy to share anything personal. It's a trolls paradise.

That's not new but the new platform and people leaving after the latest data breach is making the problems more apparent. My teenage daughter and her friends read here to laugh at the crazy replys. I'm shocked some people think it's worth donating £5 a month to a message board when there's so much out there.

*wouldn't!

I’d love it if yoga livened up a bit

I go there every so often, shout ‘echooooo’ and leave again

refining the topics sounds like a great idea (just please leave the magnificent Sporner’s Corner)

Hi I just wanted to drop in and give a one week update. Last week I hid Aibu, relationships, divorce and every small child related topic,( I have teens, all pet topics ( i have none) though I kept parenting and things like chat.

I can report back that mn is on the whole back to being a wonderful supportive site and I'm loving the higher proportion of style and beauty!