Hello everyone - please can you tell us what you think of Mumsnet Local?

[JustineMumsnet]

Do you use it? If you do - how do you find it? What works, what doesn't ? Is there anything (here we go, nice ham blah blah) you like us to add/ we could do to make it better?

Thanks,
MNHQ

ps if you haven't used it yet here are some tips on getting started

Our is fairly active imo.

Meet-ups have been arranged and I think we exchange a fair amount of local information. However, I find the postcode search facility doesn't work very well so that could be improved.

I can't remmeber who asked but it is possible to register with other local sites as well as your own - I'm registered with several!

Btw, I have noticed a number of events etc listed which I suspect haven't been added by mumsnetters and could be seen as a way of getting free advertising. (I thought I had contacted MNHQ about this)

(elkiedee, I don't see why not - I'll post on our local board)

I use my local one a lot. I have met quite a few people from it and had some great tip offs about local freebies.

I didn't know it was there for ages though.

And I had no idea that MN local was used to enter competitions until just now!

i havnt looked at it much after the first few weeks im afraid.
i will take time to have a butchers later.

I put things whenever I think of them and seem to have exhausted my immediate local area but when I go to look something up I find that the arrows have moved and somethings are showing up in a different town?

I like mine. Bristol very informative, friendly and supportive

its very quiet and not very local!

have just had a little poke about. doesnt look like theres much there tbh...

ok as tzarina - i find noone realy ansewers any threads as not appearing on active convs

i find it impossible to change/edit things on it.
there is stuff on there that i cannot get off.
the map is clunky and takes ages to load

i put a whole lot of new stuff on and it and saved it and it never appeared- even after tech helped me.

agree mostly with tigermoth.

No, I don't use it, I had a look, but just not interested really, it's not what I use MN for.
Think it would be more useful if I was into meetups or was new to an area and needed to find stuff.

dont like it, dont want to use it. mn is for general chatting. not real ilife interactions

Been thinking more. How about if the major local attraction listings were added by mumsnet staff, just the bare details - postcodes, address etc - but accurate!

Then the rest of us voluntarily add comments and reviews of attractions to build up a rounded profile.This is easier to do and more fun. Every review you add could give you entry into a competition.

I think that would make it a lot easier for mumsnetters to contribute to the listings.

Also, (bit off the wall!) but could you try hiding some discount voucher codes for local attractions amongst the listings at random? So people have an incentive click on the sites, look at the listings and find the voucher codes.

Also agree that it takes ages to download the map (my computer set up is old but not that old). I find the plain word list much more helpful and informative anyway, as it contains much more information.

If you want to stay anonymous is there any point in mumsnet local?

Mine also not local enough - nearest are large cities and completely irrelevant, no way I'm going to drive 45 minutes to go to a toddler group. Think it generally needs to be more local and less focussed on large cities (although obviously they are important too). Also doesn't appeal, I have found on here we are generally a sociable bunch so prefer active threads - once a week has gone by life has moved on, often the MN local convos are a few months old.

I also liked the old MN local - was interesting to browse even if not always entirely relevant to my area, and many people have local knowledge about areas they no longer live in or work in which you don't see the benefit of on MN local.

I find it hard to navigate around, not very user-friendly layout and a bit fiddly.

I did go on it but haven't found anything much of interest. Not massively interested in doing local meet ups as I do know lots of Mums round here anyway.

Am idly curious about a few people I encounter on here but they probably live in Tyneside not Wiltshire anyway.

I think it is a good idea. Mind you I have also heard that Netmums does cover the local thing very well.

I think Mumsnet does advice, idle chat, getting flamed up, the opportunity to spout off about anything you fancy very well indeed. I rate Mumsnet highly one of my top 5 websites but not the local bit, just the chat.

Not really sure why we need mumsnet local - netmums does do it so much better.

Mumsnet's forte is it's forum - just stick with that!

As someone who has recently moved to a new area where I know no one, the concept of mumsnet local is great but (in my area at least) the actual content is just not good enough to bother with, not enough detail, etc
I imagine that if you live in a big city then you'd get more out of it than if you live somewhere more rural, where essentially there are less people to fill in info on local groups etc.

I look on the liverpool one but nobody really posts..

TMMJ and MOM oh stockport meet up may crash it and am sure threelittlebabies will go

I think this would have to be managed quite carefully, but I do feel that there must be scope for MN Local to feature local parenting campaigns, eg to improve school dinners in local state schools, to stop Post Offices or hospitals closing, to get Lollipop people/crossings outside schools; etc. Parents often beaver away on these issues without knowing what other local people's experiences are. I would've thought MNers are more likely to be active on this kind of front than users of, ahem, some other websites.

I don't know how you'd prevent abuse by political groups, though, apart from close Tsarina vetting.

oh whoops, sorry MNHQ, I was confusing what you asked with Netmums. I dont use Mumsnet local. Used it once, and no-one posts on it, much.

When you first set it up I tried to submit reviews of a couple of local things but I have never looked at it or used it.

Hey, SSB, I've sent you an email (work address). Are you around?

'Tis frogs btw.