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See all MNHQ comments on this thread

"X number of people viewing "

105 replies

QueenClinomania · 18/11/2025 16:50

Is this a new thing you're testing out?
It appears on active convos but only one thread, not all the threads. Does this mean nobody else is reading those threads at this moment or are you only testing it out on a few threads?

OP posts:
Letthemeatgateau · 21/11/2025 14:15

Tontostitis · 21/11/2025 09:26

Ok you asked me why I answered if you can't see any point of view but your own that's on you. It's a nice feature I like it, you don't let's agree to differ.

I didn't ask you.

Cosywintervibes · 21/11/2025 15:42

QueenClinomania · 21/11/2025 13:50

Yes.
If it was me, and the numbers were this low, and I was wanting to seem like the site was more active, and I had no morals 😁 I'd at least change it to x number of people viewed this in the last hour, shortened to the eye sign, and the number, with the fact its the number viewed in the last hour buried somewhere in small print.

No morals Grin

CutlaSquid · 21/11/2025 18:15

Maybe it could be replaced with something to indicate that the OP has updated the thread. It would save clicking on a watched thread only to read 78 posts saying "cancel the cheque/how are things OP?", or the even more irritating full stop to placemark.

ETA: Or the number of posts could be in a different colour if any of the updates are from the OP.

Spiracles · 21/11/2025 18:25

CutlaSquid · 21/11/2025 18:15

Maybe it could be replaced with something to indicate that the OP has updated the thread. It would save clicking on a watched thread only to read 78 posts saying "cancel the cheque/how are things OP?", or the even more irritating full stop to placemark.

ETA: Or the number of posts could be in a different colour if any of the updates are from the OP.

Edited

But that would stop you clicking in. And Mumsnet would lose those page views. Because page views = advert income.

ILoveDuckDuckGo · 21/11/2025 20:32

QueenClinomania · 20/11/2025 16:29

It is showing that mumsnet is a lot quieter than I assumed.

Edited

That is exactly my thought!!!!

23 views ?? Is that all?
There are more ads than viewers on some threads!

Luxio · 21/11/2025 20:56

ILoveDuckDuckGo · 21/11/2025 20:32

That is exactly my thought!!!!

23 views ?? Is that all?
There are more ads than viewers on some threads!

The views are miniscule compared to what you'd imagine for a site as large as they claim MN to be. On active right now at what is arguably a busy time on a Friday evening for people mindlessly perusing there are only 10 threads which had more than 20 viewers and only one thread was in triple digits.

IglesiasPiggl · 21/11/2025 21:06

I think it's awful. It reminds me of those bloody annoying boxes in online shopping that pop up across the thing you're viewing declaring "28 people bought this today" or some such twaddle in an attempt to pressure you into buying it.

I would love it, though, if they could flag up threads that are being derailed by some petty side - argument between two or three posters. Now that would be a feature worth having!

ILoveDuckDuckGo · 21/11/2025 22:05

It is eye-opening, isn’t it @Luxio . Personally, I don’t give a about this new features, doesn’t bother or excite me, but I think it does some serious harm to MN. UK’s most popular website for parents only has 20 views on so many threads! Makes you wonder if they are still popular.

Whoever suggested or approved this feature should remove it asap.

DontMowMyMeadow · 21/11/2025 22:20

Spot check on the live viewing numbers via this new feature @ 10pm Friday night.
On the entire first 50 threads on Active:
Total viewers showing on the new icon = 515!
Total number of threads displaying a viewer number icon = 6

So, 44 out of 50 threads had less than 20 viewers at that point in time.

DallasMajor · 21/11/2025 22:43

But no response from MN.

The new additions all seem so old fashioned, watchers, lurkers, it all comes from a time gone by.

This time next week we will be having countdown tickers in the footer.

But an aside. I've just looked on Netmums as couldn't remember the right word for the footer graphics that they were so keen on. It is completely dead. Replies are months old.
Just feel sad about it.

Kgfkbd · 21/11/2025 22:56

Holluschickie · 21/11/2025 11:32

I can still see it.

Yeah I can see it this evening too

Kgfkbd · 21/11/2025 22:58

DontMowMyMeadow · 21/11/2025 22:20

Spot check on the live viewing numbers via this new feature @ 10pm Friday night.
On the entire first 50 threads on Active:
Total viewers showing on the new icon = 515!
Total number of threads displaying a viewer number icon = 6

So, 44 out of 50 threads had less than 20 viewers at that point in time.

Wow. That is very few people

mumofoneAloneandwell · 21/11/2025 22:59

LilyMumsnet · 18/11/2025 18:46

Hi OP,

This is a new feature we’ve introduced. It's not on all discussions right now.

The viewing count is designed to give users a sense of how busy a thread is in real time and to help highlight where conversations are most active. We hope it will make it easier to spot lively discussions and encourage engagement across the boards.

As ever, we’re very open to feedback, so do let us know if you have thoughts or suggestions as you use it.

Could we have a tally of the number of responses a post has?

So the number of 'thanks', 'love', 'agree' and 'support' a comment/post has recieved (of course, who has reacted can only be seen by the poster, as it is now)

xx

Okiedokie123 · 21/11/2025 23:06

I hate it mnhq.
May as well go full on nethuns and introduce tickertapes as well!

btw please can we have our colour preferences back? Blue for the op and mnhq posts is so stupid and annoying.

DallasMajor · 21/11/2025 23:13

Okiedokie123 · 21/11/2025 23:06

I hate it mnhq.
May as well go full on nethuns and introduce tickertapes as well!

btw please can we have our colour preferences back? Blue for the op and mnhq posts is so stupid and annoying.

@Okiedokie123 if you go to settings you can change the colour back- there was a lot of people complaining about the change.

Bit of a theme- MN doing stuff to alienate those that do like to spend time here

DenimFatball · 21/11/2025 23:22

I think some of you have over-estimated just how busy MN really is. There's probably a few thousand people online at any one time during peak periods, which is quite a lot for an old forum like this.

And really, what does it matter if these figures are shown or not?

Okiedokie123 · 21/11/2025 23:27

@DallasMajor excellent news thanks! I was one of those that moaned when it was altered, I didn’t know mn had listened and allowed us to revert back to the old way.
And yes I feel like MNHQ are introducing changes as a way to stay relevant but all they are really doing is alienating those of us who are happy with it the way it is (which I suspect is the majority)

JaneJeffer · 21/11/2025 23:30

Justine’s message says there’s 25,000 posts a day on here

DenimFatball · 22/11/2025 00:11

JaneJeffer · 21/11/2025 23:30

Justine’s message says there’s 25,000 posts a day on here

Edited

Well, yeah, that's what she says. But are they real people or bots? Who knows.

For 25,000 daily posts, you'd be looking at roughly 10,000 active users, plus a heap of lurkers. It's not millions. That's fantasy.

Luxio · 22/11/2025 07:04

DenimFatball · 21/11/2025 23:22

I think some of you have over-estimated just how busy MN really is. There's probably a few thousand people online at any one time during peak periods, which is quite a lot for an old forum like this.

And really, what does it matter if these figures are shown or not?

I don't think anyone thought the site had millions of users but for active threads at a busy time on a Friday evening when you'd expect the site to be busiest to show less than 1400 users viewing threads and that's presuming all the other 44 threads in active has 19 viewers which seems unlikely is incredibly low.

If even the most active threads aren't getting over 20 viewers, the trigger for the view counter to show, then I hate to think how quiet the rest of the site is.

It also seems statistically unlikely there are 25,000 posts a day if there are only a couple of thousand users accessing the site which is the impression the viewing metric gives.

DallasMajor · 22/11/2025 08:45

Problem is, I've just looked at active threads and there is hardly anyone on. So little point in me checking threads as unlikely to be any interesting posts added as no one is on.

So it actively puts me off.

Luxio · 22/11/2025 09:36

DallasMajor · 22/11/2025 08:45

Problem is, I've just looked at active threads and there is hardly anyone on. So little point in me checking threads as unlikely to be any interesting posts added as no one is on.

So it actively puts me off.

Exactly. There are currently 3 threads on active with more than 20 people viewing them.

Knowing there's only a handful of people actually viewing the threads is making me click on the threads less than it did before when I could only see the amount of replies.

SilverPink · 22/11/2025 09:50

You can tell the site isn’t particularly busy though, my Active is full of threads that have been there 2/3 days already. I’ve scrolled past them several times.

NotLookedYet · 22/11/2025 13:17

SilverPink · 22/11/2025 09:50

You can tell the site isn’t particularly busy though, my Active is full of threads that have been there 2/3 days already. I’ve scrolled past them several times.

And all of this is going to self fulfill.

I could spend hours on here, even just a couple of months ago…now I scan active and my notifications, to find very little new information and leave.

I'm just no longer engaged.

Feels like the start of the end!

StTunnocksSchoolCaramelHouse · 22/11/2025 13:19

SlothMama14 · 21/11/2025 06:05

I’m surprised MN wants advertisers to see how few people are viewing threads though - hundreds of views on a site this big is pretty dire. If it was thousands you could understand the appeal of doing it. Clearly engagement is down which is why they keep trying new things, like this and Justine’s vow to step up moderation to stamp out nastiness in posts.

On that thread about moderation, JustineMN says that:

‘One thing that really helps is reporting. There are around 25,000 posts a day on here, so we really don’t see that much in real time. If something feels off, please do report it.’

25,000 posts a days sounds such a lot. So much so that I can’t quite reconcile it in my head with the stated ‘viewing’ figures of a few dozen here, a few dozen there.

It’s a mystery.