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MNHQ

Try the new 'support' reaction

16 replies

LizzyMumsnet · 14/10/2025 13:53

Many of you told us that while you enjoy using the ‘Thank’, ‘Agree’, and ‘Love’ reactions, there are times when you want to show empathy or care, especially when someone’s going through something difficult, without it feeling like you’re “loving” their situation.Starting today, you’ll see a new reaction available on the site called ‘Support’, represented by a flower icon.Here’s how it works:

  • Select the ‘React’ button underneath the OP or reply.
  • Choose the ‘Support’ reaction (or any of the others) to show how you feel about the post.
  • Reactions are private and only visible to the post owner.
  • You can select one reaction per post.

The full range of reactions is currently available on the website only (not in the app). We hope this gives you another meaningful way to connect with others and show care when it’s most needed.

Let us know what you think or if you have any questions! We're actively looking in to the issues being reported regarding ads and pages freezing so please bear with us on that!

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MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 14/10/2025 14:15

I'm afraid we had to bin the laugh emoji because, sadly, it was being used sarcastically at times, which understandably people found hurtful.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 14/10/2025 14:22

MrsTerryPratchett · 14/10/2025 14:18

What if we promise, no backsies… JK

Is the support one the flowers?

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Well so long as you're in a position to promise that for all MNetters... Yes support is the flowers one.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 14/10/2025 14:54

JudgeBread · 14/10/2025 14:41

How can you justify that when you allow people to be snarky and vile to eachother all the time? It's literally what Mumsnet is famous for, but an emoji is too mean??

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Hmm I don't agree that's what MN is famous for tbh. We would always remove instances of people being vile were they reported, and we encourage reporting. Though people do have different interpretations of what constitutes vileness...

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 14/10/2025 14:58

Glitchymn1 · 14/10/2025 14:20

If you find an emoji ‘hurtful’, I’m not sure you should be using the internet. What if people have hayfever and find ‘support’ triggering. You could probably use the support button /bunch of flowers as sarcasm too!

The main issue was that it was often used to signal that someone thought a post was stupid, and because the reaction was hidden from everyone else, it felt more like a sneaky dig than open disagreement.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 14/10/2025 15:09

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 14/10/2025 15:04

Honestly, @JustineMumsnet, I don't understand this.

A laughing emoji had to be removed just in case it might be "hurtful", and yet blatant disinformation and racism is allowed to stand, with posters being encouraged to "challenge on the thread" when they report stuff. It makes no sense.

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Not 'might be hurtful' was hurtful in many cases. And blatant racism and disinformation really isn't OK. We regularly remove such posts.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 14/10/2025 15:18

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 14/10/2025 15:13

Yes, but you leave many racist posts to stand, as long as posters have been careful to do just enough to sidestep the talk guidelines. They know exactly they're doing and how to bypass the moderators, who seem to follow a tick box approach instead of actually applying judgment and common sense.

Do you not think that the racist content is more hurtful than an emoji?

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We remove racist content when it’s reported, and our moderation team is trained to consider both the language used and the intent behind it. That said, balancing free expression with protection from harm isn’t always straightforward in nuanced discussions and of course we are not perfect.

I’d agree that racist content is far more serious than a mean-spirited emoji, but it’s not an either/or. We’d always rather users flag anything that crosses the line so we can review it quickly.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 14/10/2025 15:38

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 14/10/2025 15:16

You've also made it harder for people to report racist content by tucking it away where nobody can see it. Fine for those of us who know where to find it, but new users who aren't aware that a "report" function exists will be none the wiser.

I can see why you might assume this would be case - I was concerned about moving it too but we've tested it (and continue to monitor it closely) and the data shows moving the button hasn't made any difference to the number of posts reported.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 14/10/2025 15:42

JudgeBread · 14/10/2025 15:31

So in your opinion a laughing emoji is vile, but the following things off the top of my head that I've seen go undeleted (despite reports!):

Telling someone struggling with anxiety to get a grip.

Sneering at a woman in a crap or even abusive relationship for being stupid enough to get in the relationship in the first plCe.

Asking someone if they're unwell or dim because they don't understand something first time.

Calling someone's clothing frumpy and ugly because you don't personally like them.

Calling someone chavvy, fat and common for liking completely normal things like food and TUI holidays.

Are all completely acceptable? But a laughing emoji is just too much to bear?

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I completely understand why you’d feel frustrated if you’ve seen posts like that stay up - none of those examples sound acceptable to me either. We rely on reports to review content, but moderation isn’t always instant and context matters, which can make things inconsistent at times.

The laughing emoji question isn’t really about it being “too much to bear” (and I didn't say it was vile) it’s about how it was being used. When something is deployed repeatedly to mock or belittle, especially in a hidden way, it can feel very unpleasant. Both things can be true: we should be faster at removing genuinely nasty comments, and we can still look critically at features that make piling-on easier.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 14/10/2025 15:47

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 14/10/2025 15:43

That could just be because there are more offensive posts to report than ever, rather than everyone knowing where to find it.

As I said, it isn't really an issue for longstanding posters who know that the function exists, but newer posters won't necessarily find it. And over time, that is likely to drive down the number of posts being reported. Perhaps that was the intention, I'm not sure. With the increase in racism across society, I can imagine that the moderators are being kept busy. Perhaps the volume of reports is also impacting on the quality of their decision-making.

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Well we'll definitely be keeping an eye on that - tbh more reports are helpful. Nipping something/someone in the bud early saves a lot of bother later so we are very mindful of making sure new people know about the feature. Thanks

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 14/10/2025 15:53

SadOldLadyOfTheLowlands · 14/10/2025 15:50

So make the reactions public, which is what most places do - to be honest what is the point of making them private?

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That’s a fair question, and it’s one we’ve talked about a lot internally. The idea behind keeping reactions private was to avoid threads turning into popularity contests or pile-ons, where people feel judged by how many reactions they get. We call the feature “hidden gratitude” - the aim is to keep Mumsnet distinctive and genuinely helpful, rather than a place where people are chasing likes.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 14/10/2025 16:01

AutumnCosy2025 · 14/10/2025 15:55

Justine

we get that, but it's like a whole class punishment. Just deal with the 'naughty kids'

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Yes I take the point. That was our stance for quite a while - we asked people to report it and dealt with the culprits. But it became too widespread, and too many posters were simply hurt and left rather than reporting. We’re really not trying to punish anyone, just to find a balance that keeps conversation lively but respectful. And I know it's not quite the same but we do have the clap, thumbs up and love emojis...

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 14/10/2025 16:25

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 14/10/2025 16:07

@JustineMumsnet Out of interest, how do you know that people left because of this if they didn't actually report it?

I deleted my original account a while ago, after having been on MN for many years, because I was increasingly upset about the site's failure to tackle racism effectively and I realised it was impacting negatively on my mental health. I'm back now after a break, but nobody asked me at the time why I was deleting the account.

Edited

A few routes - Trustpilot, other people telling us - which made us think there could be quite a few more who left without us knowing about it...

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 14/10/2025 16:42

JaneJeffer · 14/10/2025 16:36

MN’s solution to racism is scroll on by if you don’t like it

That’s really not the case. We remove racist content when it’s reported, and always have. We also encourage users to report anything they think crosses the line rather than just scrolling past. Mumsnet’s always aimed to be a space for robust debate, but never for racism or personal attacks - and if you think we’ve got it wrong, we’re always happy to take another look.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 14/10/2025 17:08

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 14/10/2025 16:43

No. It's "feel free to challenge on the thread but we will delete your challenge if you dare to actually call someone a racist because that is a personal attack and it breaks our talk guidelines".

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I get why that feels frustrating, but the rule against calling someone a racist isn’t about shutting down challenges - it’s about keeping debate focused on what’s said, not labelling individuals. You can absolutely challenge racist views or language, but personal accusations tend to derail threads fast.

MNHQ

HebeMumsnet · 19/10/2025 22:03

Hi @JaneJeffer . You're right. We don't tend to delete threads in Site Stuff. Generally speaking, threads here don't require deletion and we want to be able to see them and hear users' thoughts.

We think the one you're talking about here was a bit of an anomaly in that we weren't convinced the user was genuine and it was quite an inflammatory thread, so we took it down while we investigate further, as per the deletion message.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 20/10/2025 11:49

AutumnCosy2025 · 19/10/2025 20:39

Thanks for your reply. I know it's not easy. Lots of ticks & hard places!!

Just had a thought....

i wouldn't like arrows or thumb up/down but how about making the smiley something others can see? it shouldn't turn into a popularity contest, just a quick way to publicly acknowledge a witty post.

oh & while you're here, any chance of making the quote function better by it returning you the post you quoted once you post your post. It's so difficult finding the post again in the thread it's just not worth the effort to reply to a oust if all you want to do is pist a smiley

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Thanks for this - we'll definitely take a look at quote and think about the smiley suggestion

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