Members & Guests..?

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Martin9

Martin9

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi all, hope you're all surviving this heatwave ..!! 😎

I've been noticing while I been on this forum that there are, almost always, a good few members online at each point of the day, but at any point there are usually 3 - 4 times as many guests sometimes more.

I'm wondering why, does anyone know, it suggests to me that people are watching these posts on a daily basis and obviously gaining some knowledge & advice without wanting to join in, is this part of the stigma as being diagnosed with diabetes or another reason..?

I also wonder if there's anything we, as members, can do to encourage those 'guests' to join up ..?
 
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Martin9 said:
Hi all, hope your all surviving this heatwave ..!! 😎

I've been noticing while I been on this forum that there are almost always a good few members online at each point of the day, but at any point there are usually 3 - 4 times as many guests sometimes more.

I'm wondering why, does anyone know, it suggests to me that people are watching these posts on a daily basis and obviously gaining some knowledge & advice without wanting to join in, is this part of the stigma as being diagnosed with diabetes or another reason..?

I also wonder if there's anything we, as members, can do to encourage those 'guests' to join up ..?
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I think there are two reasons ( that I can think of, anyway)
Sometimes I look at the forum without logging in, if I just want a quick flick through ( or I'm on the wifi on the coach to London, which for some reason won't let me stay signed in) so I would appear as a guest, even though I'm a member.
Also, I lurked for a good while, learning stuff, and looking things up, not sure I was really a 'joiner' ( I don't do social media generally, I'm the wrong generation!) before I plucked up courage and joined.
 
Robin said:
I think there are two reasons ( that I can think of, anyway)
Sometimes I look at the forum without logging in, if I just want a quick flick through ( or I'm on the wifi on the coach to London, which for some reason won't let me stay signed in) so I would appear as a guest, even though I'm a member.
Also, I lurked for a good while, learning stuff, and looking things up, not sure I was really a 'joiner' ( I don't do social media generally, I'm the wrong generation!) before I plucked up courage and joined.
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And that would be my point, you are very helpful to have around here, so wonder how many others out there ..Robin ?
 
I'm another one - if I'm just browsing I don't bother to log in, only do so if I want to post something. And I'm another one that doesn't like social media, and I was lurking for at least a year before I plucked up the courage to actually join! I don't know how you encourage people to join up who are a bit anti social media - you could tell me forever that Facebook is amazing and I still don't want to sign up thank you. I know it can have it's uses but I've heard too many bad things about that one and would rather not go there, each to his own!
 
Martin9 said:
Hi all, hope your all surviving this heatwave ..!! 😎

I've been noticing while I been on this forum that there are almost always a good few members online at each point of the day, but at any point there are usually 3 - 4 times as many guests sometimes more.

I'm wondering why, does anyone know, it suggests to me that people are watching these posts on a daily basis and obviously gaining some knowledge & advice without wanting to join in, is this part of the stigma as being diagnosed with diabetes or another reason..?

I also wonder if there's anything we, as members, can do to encourage those 'guests' to join up ..?
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Well spotted Martin. You should have been a detective 🙂
 
Benny G said:
I have found this forum to be very friendly, informative, and worthwhile.
As you say there are many guests lurking in the background, who are held back from full participation for all sorts of reasons.
I think a lot of hand holding and encouragement are required to get past the initial awkward phase of being new.
Perhaps the forum could provide a template that could be used for a friendly first introduction. It's important to introduce yourself, and to receive a warm welcome.
The forum needs to be easy to navigate. Lost threads and posts can be frustrating.
New members need to be reminded what forum participation will mean for them: a lower hba1c, better control and better long term outcomes. That forum participation is worthwhile.
Threads that ask for progress reports can keep you interested and help to set goals. Eg What did you eat yesterday? 7 day average fasting glucose level. What did you do today not work or diabetes related? I personally love the low carb cooking thread which keeps me motivated to try new low carb food and also to post and follow the forum.
I love to read about members who have risen to meet their challenges. I think members who have achieved their goals should be recognised for it.
Last week I was at the excellent Newcastle meet, I think meeting other members provides a point of focus that definitely encourages more positive interaction.
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We've attempted to help with some of the things you've noted by the introduction of the 'Welcome' section @benny, but I will pass on your thoughts so that hopefully we can improve things more 🙂

I've met hundreds of members over the years, and it's always been a very rewarding experience 🙂

Forum Meets1024.jpg
 
I must admit I am another one who followed the forum for 7 months before I joined. I trawled through the whole forum and took in as much info as I could.
I learned how to reduce my HbA1c from 156 to 48 in 3 months🙂. Thanks to this forum I`ve met a lot of like minded people with lots of good if not excellent advice. I know for a fact my own DSN follows the forum and nurses from my hospital diabetes team also, but sadly none are members:(. I think people who browse the forum need to take the courage to join and contribute to the vast amount of knowledge that is available to them.
 
KARNAK said:
I must admit I am another one who followed the forum for 7 months before I joined. I trawled through the whole forum and took in as much info as I could.
I learned how to reduce my HbA1c from 156 to 48 in 3 months🙂. Thanks to this forum I`ve met a lot of like minded people with lots of good if not excellent advice. I know for a fact my own DSN follows the forum and nurses from my hospital diabetes team also, but sadly none are members:(. I think people who browse the forum need to take the courage to join and contribute to the vast amount of knowledge that is available to them.
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There's certainly nothing wrong with 'lurking', it's a time-honoured tradition since way back in the days before forums when people used things like Usenet Groups to communicate (Google bought up Usenet and converted all the groups to forums a few years back). A lot of people may be attracted to the forum from a Google search, looking for an answer to a particular problem - when they find the answer they may not feel the need to join or return. Actually, a lot of people join but don't post, but this does allow them to use the forum functions such as 'New Posts' (forum needs to know who you are to know what posts are 'new' to you 🙂)

It's always good to get to know new people though 🙂 Diabetes is a complicated condition with a very broad range of impact on people's lives, so the more experiences we read about, the better informed we become 🙂

Glad to hear how it helped you @KARNAK - hopefully it is helping many more at this very moment! 🙂
 
Northerner said:
We've attempted to help with some of the things you've noted by the introduction of the 'Welcome' section @benny, but I will pass on your thoughts so that hopefully we can improve things more 🙂

I've met hundreds of members over the years, and it's always been a very rewarding experience 🙂

View attachment 9322
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That is an excellent montage Northie 🙂
 
Benny G said:
I have found this forum to be very friendly, informative, and worthwhile.
As you say there are many guests lurking in the background, who are held back from full participation for all sorts of reasons.
I think a lot of hand holding and encouragement are required to get past the initial awkward phase of being new.
Perhaps the forum could provide a template that could be used for a friendly first introduction. It's important to introduce yourself, and to receive a warm welcome.
The forum needs to be easy to navigate. Lost threads and posts can be frustrating.
New members need to be reminded what forum participation will mean for them: a lower hba1c, better control and better long term outcomes. That forum participation is worthwhile.
Threads that ask for progress reports can keep you interested and help to set goals. Eg What did you eat yesterday? 7 day average fasting glucose level. What did you do today not work or diabetes related? I personally love the low carb cooking thread which keeps me motivated to try new low carb food and also to post and follow the forum.
I love to read about members who have risen to meet their challenges. I think members who have achieved their goals should be recognised for it.
Last week I was at the excellent Newcastle meet, I think meeting other members provides a point of focus that definitely encourages more positive interaction.
Click to expand...
An excellent post Benny.
 
@Benny G - thanks for you're great comments. We're always looking for ways to improve, to help new people feel supported or to help guests feel ready to join. Your feedback is really helpful and it is always good to hear all of your viewpoints on these things!! 🙂

@KARNAK its great that your nurses follow this forum! Even if they do not join, I hope that by reading this forum, HCP's can get a better understanding of diabetes from the perspective of their patients, which in turn can help them in their practice.

Although there are many folk who for whatever reason, do not join as members (yet), I am always very pleased to think that there are people out there who are reading threads and hopefully finding information that is helpful to them. For everyone who posts, you are contributing to the information here that is supporting someone else with understanding diabetes.
And maybe, after time, when those people feel more confident in their knowledge perhaps, will join and offer their posts, to support others who are reading threads.

It's so interesting to hear how many of you were guests for a longer period of time before joining and how long you read the forum before signing up.
Delighted to have you onboard - and hello to any non-members reading this, you are all very welcome!! 🙂
 
I lurked for a couple weeks then joined. Some people just wanna read I suppose and I bet they've got some good pointers doing that. 🙂
 
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