Thought I'd complain again about the lack of a front forum list.

[MsAmerica]

I mentioned it before, that this is the only site of this type where there is not the equivalent of a front page listing every forum. It's made even worse by the way that some forums are tucked away in odd places. You need three or four clicks to get to a forum, where other sites would only need one.
I was stewing over it because I'm pretty sure there is a History forum, but I'm not going to waste any more time looking for it.

Talk forums | Mumsnet list here.

History Club - History Forum | Mumsnet history club here.

Historically we liked MN clunky and a bit disorganised as it grew organically.

Ever wondered why chat starts as it does, with an underscore: Chat | Mumsnet check the URL.

Hey @MsAmerica,

Thanks so much for getting in touch. This is a really interesting message and we'd love to talk to you more about this.

Have you got time to chat with me a bit more about what you'd expect to see on this forum list? If so, I can drop you an email to see when you're free.

But no worries if not! Thanks again for your feedback.

I'll be honest @MsAmerica , I don't what you mean by a front forum list. But overall it agree with this. I love how odd and quirky MN is. I love finding random boards in odd places. It's why I'm here and no where else.

Yes I agree @MsAmerica
The only other forum I use regularly is Horse and Hound, and they have the front page list, if anyone wants to see what it looks like.
Currently I'm having to watch threads on the more obscure topics just to be able to find them.

Oh, sure, I'm always happy to spout off.

I'm not sure what you mean, though, about emailing me to see when I'm free. I don't imagine you're talking about a telephone call, right? But email me whatever you like - though with the understanding that my internet time is limited, so it may take me awhile.

And thank you for the implicit compliment.

I don't know what else to all it other than a forum list, the front page that lists (most of) the forums. The one that arrives when you click to get all Talk subjects.
I guess we have different expectations. I'm all about clarity. I'm happy to find quirky subforums, but I think they should be all laid out in the clearest possible way to let people see what's there, to post in the most suitable place, to reach the interested group.

Omigod, I'm always amazed when anyone agrees with me.
Yes, MN is the only forum I know that doesn't have all the sub-forums instantly visible.

I know exactly what you mean - that talk forum list linked to above that you get to by clicking Talk isn't all the forums. It's some of them. And if you want to find a forum that isn't automatically displayed, you have to guess whether it is in e.g. Body and Soul or Other Stuff before clicking them for the full list.

Like why is History Club in 'In the Club' alongside Sporner's Corner instead of in Fun and Games alongside Arts and Crafts or in Other Stuff alongside True Crime and Unsolved Mysteries?

There's the forum A-Z tbf, but it is so long!

Why not have a view where all the subforums for each topic are visible categorised in their topics without having to click the dropdown box?

@MsAmerica even Netmums has a front page...

Oh, thank you, @noblegiraffe! I never expect anyone to agree with me.

If you're curious, when I explained to MN what I meant, the two examples I used of straightforward listings were:

City-Data.com Forum: Relocation, Moving, General and Local City Discussions

forums - craigslist

Is H&H chat all about dogs & ponies? 🤔

I know what you mean OP. Pistonheads has this. That’s a sort of equivalent size forum. When you open it you navigate the forum from the outset by topic.

It’s how many forums operate. I just went on and it looks like the image when you first click through to the forums section.

For me, I can see both sides here. I quite enjoy MN being a little opaque to deter some of the more pesky would be posters. But I take OPs point about navigation to new topics being a pain. I know it’s doable. But I find it irritating too so tend to stick to what I know.

Don’t forget you can add favourite topics to a list then use “my feed”. The topic name where it was posted is at the top of each at a glance of a post and also at the top of each opened thread. Not the same as your proposal but I do find it useful.

@StrongLikeMamma I suppose you could summarise it like that.
I mentioned it as an example because a couple of posters didn't know what @MsAmerica meant.

i like the Piston heads one. Never heard of the site before but it makes it so easy to work out where stuff is. You can continue to have topics in quirky places, just have it then easy to see them for the user.