What do you think of Gransnet?

blue14

Although I rarely post I've been on Gransnet for several years and like the way it is set out.
Like many others I don't have adverts or pictures, other than those put on by posters.
Mumsnet feels much more rushed and on Gransnet it's easier to get to 'know' the regular posters.
However, I would certainly use a 'like' button or a 'thumbs up' button.

You have the 🤙 emoji on whichever device you are using.

I often read Gransnet on my phone, I have an adblocker, so only see pictures that people have posted. I can't think how long I've been reading GN, many years, and I still find much to enjoy. My only gripe is when some poster are banned, there doesn't seem to be a good reason for the ban.

I honestly felt like was on the edge of having a nervous breakdown this morning. I decided to ask Gransnet, not expecting much from my fellow old codgers, but the advice helped me to clear my head and make a decision about what to do. Am ending the day feeling much brighter.

nanna8

I don’t like mumsnet and I ‘retired’ from it. The people here on gransnet seem much nicer ,kinder and more intelligent.

I agree. I've never really read Mumsnet because I don't like the tone most of the time.

Well of course, like the on off button on the tv,everyone is able to stop looking on GN or make a particular effort to change things that they do not care for. I was happy finding this, and being able to join in. Of course there will be people I disagree with and other things that may not interest me, so no problem I dont add any comments. Occasionally, it sounds as though someone has got out of bed on the wrong side, but usually people are able to disagree and put other points of view without being unkind. I enjoy hearing about other peoples lives, and find the good morning post absolutely brilliant, especially if I have had a horrible night or havent seen anyone to talk to for a day or two or have some horrible doctors appointment I want to forget for 10 minutes. I have learnt all sorts of useful ideas, some I would never have thought of in a month of sundays, but also hope I have added something helpful or something to think about for others too. Long may GN carry on, and whether there are different pictures or whatever will make no difference to me, as I shall still sit in the middle of the night feeling rotten and be comforted by a drink and a chance to read the lastest posts and think of many things happening all over.

Exactly, Casdon!

I didn't become a Gran until my sixties either 👵
And no, I don't look like that even now.

Casdon

I think there are lots of us in our sixties on Gransnet too. Life is very busy for most people while they are still working, but once retired we have more time, which is probably why most of us don’t join until then.

That could atually could be another reason why people seem to not be joining until later in life.

Even two years ago, posters were supposed to spend hours looking up links, finding many references to something or other, getting more "evidence"etc.

That comment about being absorbed in MN was purely from a financial perspective. Why would directors keep running a business for 12 years that has never made a profit and has to be shored up by the parent company to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds?

I don’t participate in MN as I find being bombarded with moving adverts and pop ups stressful. It also contavenes good web design principles and more importantly, the law. A user should be able to pause, stop or hide stuff like that. I just checked the MN main page with a design compliance checker tool. It found 69 accessibility violations on one page.

So one thing GN does have going for it in all its dullness in that you can block this stuff.

But why does it still show Gransnet Recommended Reads so prominently which hasn’t been updated in six years? Again, any potential advertiser clicking around the site is going to ask the board of directors why should I spend some of my precious advertising budget with your business when you won’t spend any money on it yourself to make it look like it belongs to the 21C.

The logo is so old-fashioned. It looks like something from Charlie's Angels which was in the 1970s!

I really don’t worry about the set up I m happy enough
I have no pictures or adverts bothering me (if I have I ve never taken any notice of them) i ve never seen the ladies and dogs and I ve been on here about 11/12 years
I did have those stupid women stirring a cake for months but that’s gone and haven’t seen it for a good while now and nothings taken its place
I too would like an edit button we’ve asked many times but always been ignored
Otherwise old fashioned or not I come on here to interact with others and it suits me fine

I think there are lots of us in our sixties on Gransnet too. Life is very busy for most people while they are still working, but once retired we have more time, which is probably why most of us don’t join until then.

As I said above, you can edit your posts! Click Preview, edit, then click Post!!

I can understand why some people may prefer to be able to just like a post instead of responding to it. It's faster, easier and doesn't have your name attached. So lurkers could 'like' as well as the usual posters.

But what is the point in the original poster being able to see how many people like it and other posters can't? Is it supposed to make the original poster feel good that others agree with them?? I really don't understand the point of it.

MaizieD

Tizliz

Even previewing doesn't prevent spelling errors!

That just tells me that people need to improve their proof reading... But we're continually asked to be sensitive about people's spelling errors because not everyone is a perfect speller and what they are saying is more important than how they spell it.
I don't mind people correcting in a further post (because I do it when I forget to proof read )

Like MOnica, I don't think there's much wrong with the present format of Gnet, but I only read the forums and have an ad blocker on my laptop and Ipad, so don't see ads.

I do like the Mumsnet feature of being able to see all the OP's posts, but it doesn't really stop people suggesting solutions for a problem that has already been solved...

A 'like' button would be problematic; posters have other ways to express approval.

I suspect the average age of forum participants is 75-85.

I ,might be 75 now, but I was 65 when I started posting. A bit less ageism, please, PG 😆

Someone suggested it should be absorbed into Mumsnet. Who would be happy with that? The young Mothers would resent us and we would perhaps not be comfortable giving our "old-fashioned" (but usually brilliant of course) opinions

Aely 😂

I suspect the average age of forum participants is 75-85.

I ,might be 75 now, but I was 65 when I started posting. A bit less ageism, please, PG 😆

Absolutely, MaizieD
I haven't always been this old!

And I'm not a Great-Granny yet.

I don't understood why it isn’t absorbed into Mumsnet.

I hope it isn't PaynesGrey.
Mumsnet is so fast-moving that it's impossible to keep up. I very rarely look at it for that reason and have only ever posted a couple of times.
It does have features which I am sure could be introduced on here at little cost with some tweaking of the systems.

Of course, if posters prefer Mumsnet and dislike Gransnet, it would be interesting to know the reasons why they are on Gransnet 🤔

I think the set up is poor. As you don't see who is online you make a post which is ignored or misunderstood. Without avatars I have no idea who anyone is so I end up just talking to myself.

CariadAgain

nanna8

Pictures ? Is this the same forum ? Adverts ? I don’t get any of those,either. A few pics from posters is all, just photos. I still think we should have a ‘like’ button but people here seem to be very, very sensitive about that. No idea why, not as if I would want a ‘dislike’ button. We are seen as old farts I guess so we have to have old fart’s technology.

There's certainly times where I go to click the "like" button and then remember it doesn't exist.

But, on balance, I think it would facilitate "pile-ons" - ie someone putting up a post that someone else didnt agree with and they and their buddies would pile into clicking whatever button best represented "dislike". So I'm inclined to think it's best not to have such a button.

I think on Mumsnet only the person in receipt of a 'like' can see it.

An edit button, available for just a few minutes, would be good.

Mollygo

What pictures?
Since the only pictures put on GN are posted by GN members, that’s rather rude of you LS.

I think that Mollygo is referring to the logo picture at the top of the page - the purple one showing heads of 2 adults and a child - not pictures posted by GN’s. I agree with her in that it’s rather dull, but I suppose we’re not here to be enchanted by clever artwork (though it would be more appealing to look at), but rather to have the ability to post and share ideas. A bit of an update wouldn’t go amiss, and really shouldn’t cost much to do, surely.

Like so many of you, I really think an edit button would be valuable although there is a preview post option, but that means waiting until you’ve finished your post, previewing it and correcting it then. An edit button (as on mumsnet), would be quicker when you spot a typing error just as you press send.

Elless

I enjoy reading Gransnet and it has been really helpful and informative over the years but the interface is very old fashioned. It doesn't seem to reflect today's Grans - the pictures that are used are boring and the whole layout is dull. I know some will say if it ain't broke don't fix it but the systems need updating too.

Just to add, Grans come in all shapes, sizes, ages ranging from grandmothers in their thirties and forties to grandmothers in their eighties and even nineties on here.
Not all are grandmothers, not all are mothers either.

It's a site aimed at older people, mostly women but men are welcome too (well most of them, misogynists excepted).

So it must be difficult to strike the right balance, especially if money is limited.

(Apparently, I still need to nourish and protect my baby's skin, according to the advert at the top. 👶)

I've been on GN for many years. I've met up with other Grans on several occasions. I'd say that some of us really friends. I was rather taken aback at the implication that some of us apparently have a 'wider perspective' than others! How insulting. No wonder some posters have snippy responses to their posts!

fancythat

Tizliz

Even previewing doesn't prevent spelling errors!

Why not?
Genuine question.

I have never understood why posters dont make better use of Preview Message

Because I need to pay more attention - perhaps there should be a big arrow not a subtle underline of the mis-spelt word. I was only pointing the finger at myself!

PaynesGrey

I wasn’t intending to be ageist, Maizie. It was just an observation. It’s clear a lot of people have been members for a long time, maybe from the start in 2013. That in itself can be problematic as the forum feels (to me anyway) more like a small social club rather than an open discussion forum. Not cliquey as anybody can take part in any discussion but there are bits that seem more like regular and established friendship circles. Does the same happen on MN?

We all know what people’s interests and political leanings are (or think we do). With so few active members, in any discussion about N&P, or anything else for that matter, one can pretty much put a stopwatch on how soon it will be before “regulars” start sniping at one another.

And the fact is that if the forum is meant to attract people from the age of 50 but if the average age is 75-85 then that’s a whole generation apart. Each generation is inclined to think differently from their parents, have different opinions and concerns. Without a breadth of age and contributors, the topics under discussion become somewhat limited to the concerns and opinions of the older generation.

If there was a poll I wonder just how many members would be age 50-60? If not many then it begs the question why not? Is it because the site looks old and tired? If it had more traffic, it would attract more revenue which could be spent on updating the site. As it is, I suspect the membership is diminishing not growing, which is bad for any business. One losing over half a million a year, which is what the accounts show, isn’t going to spend any money on a new look or making it work better.

Which is weird in a way as aren’t we supposed to be the generation(s) with all the wealth? Why aren’t businesses queuing up to encourage us to spend it? It can only be 1. because there isn’t enough footfall or 2. the sales people aren’t promoting the site to businesses or 3. they are but businesses don’t like what they see.

I pretty much agree with all of that.

I think, could be wrong, as not often reading MN, that the 50-whatever age group are staying longer on MN?

Personally, I couldnt bear any more threads on "what pram shall I buy"?, or "should someone with a pram make way for disabled people?[yes, obviously].

CountessFosco Very few messages get any sort of response, so don't worry about that. And fancythat well done for carrying on posting regardless.

When it comes down to it most of us know very few , if any, of these virtual people who may or may not be who they say they are. Some have met, most haven't. Posters come and go, change names, have off days leading to the odd spat, good days when they support others having a bad day or make everyone laugh at their antics. More people probably lurk than actually post, so who knows when you'll strike a chord with someone reading and prompt them to post. I just take what I read with a pinch of salt and enjoy the fun bits.

No, I will not be naming names! If anyone is thinking to ask!

CountessFosco

Used to contribute on a regular basis, but now no longer. There have been some eye-wateringly nasty and almost abusive answers to posts including "well, you obviously don't think like the rest of us, so why do you bother"? As well as "you loaned a piece of computer equipment to someone - what kind of a gullible idiot are you anyway"? So although I lurk, very seldom contribute as I personally find some of the threads superficial and what I contribute obviously no-one is interested enough to respond. Apparently I don't think like the rest of you because we have lived all over the world and therefore have a wider perspective on life.

I would also add, now I have been on this site nearly two years, that there are 2-3 regular posters[dont think any are on this thread, so dont worry!] who post like you quoted.

It has taken me a while to realise that that is their pattern of posting.
So I personally ignore their posts.
They are not really being personal. As they do the same thing to many other posters as well.

Although I rarely post I've been on Gransnet for several years and like the way it is set out.
Like many others I don't have adverts or pictures, other than those put on by posters.
Mumsnet feels much more rushed and on Gransnet it's easier to get to 'know' the regular posters.
However, I would certainly use a 'like' button or a 'thumbs up' button.