I love Mumsnet. Do you know it? It's a discussion and advice platform dubbed "by parents for parents" (although there are lots of childless people on there) offering an opinion on everything from the best toaster available to what to call your new baby.
It's where I go to escape the real world, like a cross between a reality show and a soap opera and just as predictable mostly, with only my imagination to "see" the characters who contribute under some fabulous made up names.
Almost every evening you will find me scrolling through the top threads of the day, often with the option to click to share whether you feel the OP (original poster) is being unreasonable or not.
As an example of the wild varying topics, a quick glimpse at today shows me someone calling themselves "cleaningthebog" asking people to sign a petition to stop naked bike rides to "protect the children" and another from Ducksbehindthesofa asking (lightheartedly) for words and phrases that drive you insane where one of the first replies is from someone who had a friend who referred to going out for dinner with her mature friends as "girlie din dins". Yup - I'd hate that too.
There are usually who swathes of wedding questions about guests, outfits, step families, hen parties, brides behaviour, bridesmaids behaviour, gifts .... the list is endless.
There are always a lot of food related questions with people asking if they think that one fish finger and six peas is a perfectly reasonable meal for a 15 year old boy while others ask if 5 entire chickens with ALL the trimmings and a side order of lard is OK for a family of three, one of whom is 18 months old.
The relationship ones are the ones I think, I hope, are most useful really, with some desperate people who seem to need to be gently told or reassured that a partner dictating what you eat or wear or where you work and who you see and when is abuse as much as a punch. There are also people online who suspect they are being gaslit, cheated on, abused, conned, taken advantage of and (on the whole) the mostly female readership are great at pointing out the red flags and often offering good sound advice or directing the OP to legal and support services. I love that Mumsnet often feels like the ladies bathroom in a club on a busy Saturday night, or the changing rooms at Dorothy Perkins where complete strangers wade in to give support and advice which often feels more trustworthy than that of your nearest and dearest.
(In fact lots of people actually head to Mumsnet to ask for outfit advice - what to wear for an event, a body shape or refresh a tired wardrobe. Want to know what handbag will go with your wedding outfit? Ask Mumsnet.)
As well as the cheerleaders and the sympathisers often offering a glimpse into their own journey and the outcomes, there are also usually keyboard warriors who think people should kick their partner to the kerb immediately for the slightest of misdemeanours.
Talking of keyboard warriors, Mumsnet can be as toxic as the site formerly known as Twitter whatever the subject but the algorithm seems pretty efficient and toxic posts get greyed out fairly swiftly. Like my policy on X I avoid threads which I know are likely to be completely unaligned with my own views and ethics. I'm there for fun and a nosy look at the life of others, not to be enraged pointlessly by anonymous nutters.
I think what I love about it is it covers such a wide spread of humanity across the globe from the wealthy wondering if they should tip their staff at Christmas (yes) to those who are clearly living hand to mouth. You have every political view, lifestyle and religion which makes for fascinating reading for an inveterate people-watcher like myself. I even come out of lurk mode occasionally and leave a comment!
So what do you think of Mumsnet? Voyeuristic and toxic or a useful service offering an exchange of views and information? I think it depends what thread you happen upon.