A few updates to Mumsnet 🎨

[LizzyMumsnet]

You might notice things are looking a bit different today. We’ve given Mumsnet a colour refresh, based on feedback from you in our surveys (thank you!).

We’ve also moved a couple of things around to reduce clutter and make things easier to find:

• Watch now sits under the OP post
• Report has moved into the meatball menu (the three dots on posts)

As ever, we’d love to hear what you think, so please share your feedback below.

Sadly they haven't toned anything down yet. All they have done is move the watch button back.

They said they couldn't do anything until early next week because weekend

But I'm glad you posted this. Working with disabled people and particularly those with SpLD and autism, I knew it wasn't compliant.

The differences are really stark when you see them side by side like this. The old blue is so much more subtle and restful to the eyes, while the old post colours give much better contrast and less dazzle, making posts much easier to read.

Ah, sorry, that's must be what I thought had been reverse tweaked. I'm not reading very carefully, for obvious reasons, more run in, quick skim, and scarper again! It really is unbearable, and so obviously was not done by any kind of competent qualified professional.

Offered without comment:

How do you do that?

I guess the poster is referring to when the threads change colour if you open them

Ah ok - I thought there was a way to change the awful blue on blue on the homepage.

Correct. A most impractical solution.

I'm quite impressed, in a way, by them manging 106 critical accessibility issues by accident. Just think how bad they could make it if they really tried.

Did they get AI to do it? It really doesn’t seem like human eyes looked at it before making the changes live.

Maybe it's an attempt to get all the middle aged women and their middle aged eyes and middle aged opinions off Mumsnet?

I'd love to know what the process was, but I don't suppose we'll ever - ooooh! another flashing, mainly white advert, right next to where I'm typing in dark mode! Lovely.

I kind of feel they should fix the bugs before taking the axe to something that wasn't broken.

And another. Flash flash flash. I've told them they're usually MN ads, to the right of the thread.

There's quite a few protected characteristics in that suggestion (age, sex, disability & protected belief). So it can't be that.

We’re their core users, surely.

This is just silly - on what do you base your assumption that they “will have complied”?

Accessibility testing is historically a weak area on MN. Every time the site is changed significantly a thread like this generates multiple users having issues accessing the site.
Note - running the site code through a free to use tagging tester does not confirm accessibility, it simply confirms the absence of that class of coding error. A site can be unusable and pass that kind of code testing.

The advertising framework alone regularly renders the site inaccessible to those using common accessibility tools and is apparently unfixable.

Its entirely possibly to build configurable colour options into a modern website. In fact it was possible from the earliest days of html. It requires a user focused design approach to actually do it.

Many sites who rely on users to be beta testers are open about it and keep the old version of the site available for at least a transitional period. That enables people to opt in to the beta testing, provide test feedback and revert to the old site if needs by whilst bugs and design faults are fixed.

Mumsnet has been such a source of help and support for so many people over the years. How many of us were in need of help when we first discovered the site? Whether it was what washing powder gives the best results for dog blankets or is my husband right that I'm the crazy one?, or just a bit of sleb gossip to let our brains have a break from our real lives for a few minutes hours.

Many of us have, in turn, been able to support with our middle aged wisdom that has come from our experiences to those who need a handhold or a gentle guide to the edge of the woods.

But maybe that's not sexy enough, not what MN wants to be about anymore. That would be such a shame.

Did something as basic as the colours really need to change to modernise the site or, do you have a point @GeniuneWorkOfFart , perhaps it is the users who MNHQ want to 'modernise'?

Nope

The age thing has surprised me but I am flabbergasted by the sex split!

I’d love to know if that 30% of men regularly post or just browse.

I bet they’re mostly on the sex board. There was a noticeable increase in male posters when the sex board was created.

Actually I’ve long suspected that a good percentage of the unpleasant posts on MN come from men. Taking their chance to put the boot in

That is a very unclear statement from MN. What does 'audience' mean? Is it the same as 'visitors'? Do they mean account holders? How can they tell the age or sex of a 'visitor' unless they are an account holder and 'visit' whilst logged in? And, I don't recall providing my DOB when I registered. I might have filled in an age band. Which will now be many, many years out of date.

Hmm, this data seems highly questionable to me.

It's not a statement from MN. It's just an overview taken from an internet traffic analyser - https://www.similarweb.com/website/mumsnet.com/#overview

I've no idea how they compile the data but if you're interested it probably tells you somewhere on their website.

.

Surely that’s not right. Why would do many men be on here? Are they busy reading AIBU and Feminism? I don’t believe it. Maybe their female partner has logged in from a device that’s logged into the male’s Google account or something like that.

Mumsnet’s strapline used to be “By parents, for parents”, @FeralWoman - even though it is called Mumsnet, it isn’t just for mums, or even just for women.