Mumsnetters, what are you like!

[JustineMumsnet]

You might remember filling in a survey about your Mumsnetting habits for some academic types a while back, yes? Anyway here are the results/conclusions they've come up with and jolly interesting reading they make too, non?

the sound of MNers going to find out what they're like

interesting!

15 out of 24 lurkers admitted to not posting because of concerns about how their post would be received:

Highly critical/judgemental responses of some posters
Lurking is fun and being jumped on by total strangers can be scary
A lot of the regular posters are very confident in what they write. I feel that if I post something that they don't agree with, then I may be publicly ridiculed.
Afraid of the response. Posts get ignored. To be honest, it's a bit cliquey.

aw we're nice we are

Thanks very much Justine for putting this up.

Janet and I have written a chapter on our research for a book entitled 'Handbook of Research on Discourse Behavior and Digital Communication: Language Structures and Social Interaction' to be published later this year. The chapter is slightly longer than the title!

Obviously because of copyright we could not post the final chapter up, but are happy to share a draft with anyone who wants to contact us.

LURKERS

Please post, we are nice. Really we are.

Well if they wont post thats up to them, if we left it to them MN would die rapid death wouldn't it?

'The Mumsnet sample appears to be a comparatively older group of mothers, with three-quarters of the respondents aged between 31 and 50'

Oi. , I'm 35, hardly decreit!

And PMSL that 35% avoided SN. It's opt in you loons,just set it up properly

(and yes we are nice to lurkers LOL, unless they're BNP memebrs or similar in which case they'reprobably wise not to post)

rofl at 'in a non-contentious way'...

Very interesting. Agree sea lurkers comments are sad.
Maybe they're looking at the wrong threads? [hopeful]

We need to do a Lurkers unlurk campaign to get lurkers posting.

Hah! There was a thread a few weeks back.. only 2 people posted- both oldtimers

Peachy - don't worry! We know that 35 is actually terribly young.

It is just that, in comparison to previous research into other parenting sites, the Mumsnetters who responded to our survey were more 'mature'. We think that this is linked to the fact that the other parenting sites that have been investigated, such as Babyworld, have all been aimed at pregnant women or those with babies. Whereas Mumsnet is a 'broader church' and therefore you get the mothers of teens, etc, here. Meaning that the age range is wider.

bump

I lurked from 2002 until I finally registered in 2006, but even then didn't really post much

it's scary as hell, let me tell you

interesting - though I wonder how much 391 self-selecting respondents tells you (though I'm sure as academics you'll have covered that.)

On the lurking thing, I'm a relatively new poster, not yet even on the conception wagon, but I find that there is a language/ code which is impenetrable to the new user, I cite this current thread as an example:
"TTC any which way DP CM BT OPK Grapefruit drinking ...."

Given that this is in the conception folder, there is a good chance this is all new to me and others, and it's off-putting to say the least. I've found one thread so far that feels "open" to me, and I'm not quite sure what I'll do when I am no longer waiting to conceive.

That said, the type of posters, and quality of their posting, once I can get past the acronyms (and yes, I know there is a glossary) is far superior to other forums I've ventured onto. Plus, no bloody avatars and sign-offs!

Some further information about the lurkers who answered our survey:

The lurking respondents to this survey were slightly older than the average survey respondent, with only 12.5% being younger than 31, in comparison to 23.3% in the general survey population. Lurkers shared the same profile of number of children as the general population, but had fewer very young babies. In the general survey population, 22.8% of all children were under the age of two. This dropped to 20.5% of the lurkers? children, with the lurkers having no children under the age of six months (4.3% of the general survey population). 10.7% of the general population?s children were over the age of ten, compared to 10.3% of the lurker?s children.

While lurkers were similar to the general population in looking for posts by certain posters and avoiding certain posters, the satisfactions that they gained from Mumsnet were different to those of the general survey community. 100% of the lurkers admitted gaining entertainment from Mumsnet, in comparison to 91% of the general population, while only 37.5% of lurkers gained support (in comparison with 64% of the general population). It seems that you have to post in order to feel that you gain support from the community.

I agree that the code can be inpenetrable, but I don't think that's a reason to stop it. as you become more comfortable, you understand more and find it easier to do so. The thing about public forums is that they evolve into what works for the majority of the people posting at that time, and that includes acronyms etc.

I think I'm one of the four non children respondents I remember filling out that survey!

The entertainment thing is what really struck us.

When you read research about other parenting communities, what is stressed in the support and advice that the posters and readers receive. There is no discussion about entertainment.

However, our feedback suggested that the most valuable thing about Mumsnet was its entertainment value, although support and advice were still important.

I'd be interested to know if the sober graphics and pedantry has encouraged older members and bored discouraged younger parents.

(btw, that's why I like MN

Weebump - that is an interesting suggestion that we had not thought about.

Although we did suspect that emphasis on a good, entertaining, literate, writing style might deter some from posting.

I lurked for ages before I posted, I did and still do find it entertaining, because of the sense of humour here.

Bling - it's fine once you've been in it for a while, but for many people the first port of call might be the conception folder, and seeing the jargon there might put them off. Basically, it is shorthand, but until you know the code, you feel excluded.

I know there is a lot of research into how communities use their languages to maintain the sense of community etc, but without new people being able to find an easy road in, there might not ever be new members of the community. Of course, that might be what certain communities want!

to add - I'm not saying stop using the code, as it is a fundamental part of many online communities, just perhaps temper it in certain places to let new users get a route in!

ONLY TWO PERCENT have been told off?

chickens