Why is it so hard to get on the Moms on the Hill listserv?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I moderate another parent's group. If we allow open enrollment we just get spammed by people trying to sell us kiddie services or people who don't fit our member base.

I'm assuming you meant "geographic member base" by that statement. Otherwise, that sounds pretty cliquish to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: you don't want everyone knowing where a lobbyist or high ranking Senator's aide's family lives.

You're joking, right? Washington, D.C. : where there is self-important person on every corner....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I moderate another parent's group. If we allow open enrollment we just get spammed by people trying to sell us kiddie services or people who don't fit our member base.

I'm assuming you meant "geographic member base" by that statement. Otherwise, that sounds pretty cliquish to me.

We take people from anywhere in the DC area. We even let in members from Baltimore. It's not cliquish at all. We are very permissive in who we let in but they have to fit our purpose. To take an example elsewhere, I would expect that Mothers of Multiples takes parents who either have multiples in their family or extended family, or provide care such as a nanny to multiples. That doesn't seem cliquish to me.

[Anonymous]

PPs who are on the MOTH list, why don't you offer to invite the OP to join - she sounds like just the type of person the list was set up to serve (eg a Mom who lives on the Hill).

[Anonymous]

I was the moderator who handled the MOTH invites for four years. Unless things have drastically changed, all you need is to live within the geographic boundaries of MOTH and to have a child, be expecting, or be in final stages of adoption to belong to MOTH. There is (or at least was) no secret handshake or anything close to cliquishness. OP, send an email with your name and Hill address and parent or parent-to-be status to [e-mail], and the moderator who now handles the invites will send you one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was the moderator who handled the MOTH invites for four years. Unless things have drastically changed, all you need is to live within the geographic boundaries of MOTH and to have a child, be expecting, or be in final stages of adoption to belong to MOTH. There is (or at least was) no secret handshake or anything close to cliquishness. OP, send an email with your name and Hill address and parent or parent-to-be status to [e-mail], and the moderator who now handles the invites will send you one.

Now you've done it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was the moderator who handled the MOTH invites for four years. Unless things have drastically changed, all you need is to live within the geographic boundaries of MOTH and to have a child, be expecting, or be in final stages of adoption to belong to MOTH. There is (or at least was) no secret handshake or anything close to cliquishness. OP, send an email with your name and Hill address and parent or parent-to-be status to [e-mail], and the moderator who now handles the invites will send you one.

Now you've done it!

Hahahaha. I did like the old days of MOTH where you met someone at the park, did the secret handshake, jump on your left foot three times then 4 circles to the right go get in. Much more fun. EV is going to loooooooove these e-mails!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The moms on the Hill give Georgetown moms a run for their money when it comes to cliquishness. I can somewhat understand, you don't want everyone knowing where a lobbyist or high ranking Senator's aide's family lives.

I am surprised anyone thinks of Georgetownmoms as cliquish. It's easy to find and open to any parent living in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The moms on the Hill give Georgetown moms a run for their money when it comes to cliquishness. I can somewhat understand, you don't want everyone knowing where a lobbyist or high ranking Senator's aide's family lives.

Ha ha, this is actually quite funny. I guess there must be some hotshots on the MoTH list but I've never even considered that before. Hope they don't mind that people like me who shop at thrift stores being on the list too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The moms on the Hill give Georgetown moms a run for their money when it comes to cliquishness. I can somewhat understand, you don't want everyone knowing where a lobbyist or high ranking Senator's aide's family lives.

This is just not even true at all, in real life I mean. Yes you have to get an invite to join MOTH but literally you can go up to any mom anywhere on the Hill and she will send an email to the moderator and that's it. EVERYBODY GETS IN. There's no criteria for membership other than living on the Hill, and it's not like they even verify that. Tell me how that's cliquish?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I moved to Capitol Hill six months ago and have a 3 month old. I know zero people in the neighborhood and am not the type to walk up to strangers and strike up a conversation. I've heard about the MOTH listserv through the on-line grapevine, but it is ***ridiculously*** hard to locate. It apparently is a yahoo group, but all of the other yahoo groups I am a member of (including one for dog owners on the Hill) have a "join this group" link on the main yahoo group page. MOTH seems to require that a friend "invite" you and I only figured this out by googling around and following the breadcrumbs where the group has been mentioned on other sites. In fact, what I mainly found were other people posting questions about how to join.


I am not so much asking how to join (I know - find a friend or a random stranger and ask for an invitation), but hoping there are some MOTH members out there who can explain the logic behind why it is so hard to join. And maybe pass along to the powers that be at MOTH that their club has gotten a bit too exclusive.

I'm sure the MOTHers were just waiting for you to move in and tell them how to do it, OP. Things will definitely change from now on based on your post. Bravo!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PPs who are on the MOTH list, why don't you offer to invite the OP to join - she sounds like just the type of person the list was set up to serve (eg a Mom who lives on the Hill).

Bc I don't want to out myself as a DCUMer. Seriously, that's why.

[Anonymous]

Really? The group of women that berated a woman for allowing her child to wear attire that had a political view not shared with much of DC? That's not mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I moderate another parent's group. If we allow open enrollment we just get spammed by people trying to sell us kiddie services or people who don't fit our member base.

I'm assuming you meant "geographic member base" by that statement. Otherwise, that sounds pretty cliquish to me.

We take people from anywhere in the DC area. We even let in members from Baltimore. It's not cliquish at all. We are very permissive in who we let in but they have to fit our purpose. To take an example elsewhere, I would expect that Mothers of Multiples takes parents who either have multiples in their family or extended family, or provide care such as a nanny to multiples. That doesn't seem cliquish to me.

And what purposes would that be? How might one fit your purpose in order to get into the group?

[Anonymous]

I have been on the listserve for 6 years and not much has changed regarding the process of how to get on the list. I am pretty sure I did not know a MotH back then because they all thought I was my child's au-pair, so I must have emailed the moderators directly. Just shoot an email to the address someone posted below and that's it!