The Forum's future - your ideas/feelings needed!

[Sally71]

What about asking if Tesco can advertise the forum (in stores, or on their website not TV ads or anything 😱) their partnership with DUK is in full swing and they could maybe include the forum in the events they do and on leaflets and the like?

Or on the collection tins they have at the tills, or on the leaflets and posters they have on the subject!

 

[Michael7]

Brilliant ideas, I trust/hope you have the infastructure in place or ready to roll out to support both you and the new people who come onto the site.

Not meaning to pour cold water onto anything just asking the question

Michael

 

[katie]

I think that the forum really should be advertised in Balance magazine every month. Also, it would be really good if there were leaflets advertising the forum in waiting rooms, along with all the advice leaflets they have in those places.

 

[Northerner]

I think that the forum really should be advertised in Balance magazine every month. Also, it would be really good if there were leaflets advertising the forum in waiting rooms, along with all the advice leaflets they have in those places.

Yes, the web address is usually included these days, but I always have to look really hard for it - needs to be far more prominent. I also think that the forum should always sit above FB and Twitter wherever they are displayed together! 🙂

 

[ukjohn]

Being one of the first members of this forum on the day it opened, and I know that I have been missing for 2 years, I hope you don't mind me responding to this post.
I have no intension of referring to the past but one thing of importance I think is a statement on the opening page letting members know that this is a support group, and no one is qualified to give medical advice and can only refer to ones own experience. I mention this because I get annoyed when I see members tell others to ignore what the doctor tells them and do such and such. The other thing I think would add a nice touch to the membership is to have a dedicated person prepared to do the job, of showing interest in those that have been missing for a while by emailing them to check on behalf of the forum if things are ok saying that we were concerned at not seeing or hearing from them for so long and is there anything we can help with. This shows the member they are still thought of and may keep an higher membership. Anyone not heard from or not posted for a year should be deleted to tidy up the true membership, they can always re apply.
There are many many established members that have gone missing for over a year, perhaps the above suggestion might help to arrest that problem. Although missing for 2 years myself I still take a look in from time to time, I have had great times at most of the meets, this forum is still the best diabetic forum online

Best wishes to everyone
John.

 

[Northerner]

Great to hear from you John! 🙂 You know you will always be welcome here - I have missed your posts.

Your suggestion about enquiring after members who go missing is something I have had in mind for quite a while, so hopefully we can get something sorted for that on a regular basis. I think it might also help to keep connected with those people who are new to the forum, but only post once or twice and disappear 🙂

Regarding medical advice, we do try to be very careful and only allow people to make suggestions of questions they might ask if we disagree with something they have been told to do (or not do) by their nurse/GP, or relate personal experiences. Testing for T2s is a clear case in point, as is people who are on a restrictive insulin regime like mixed insulins which are causing them problems - informing members of alternatives that they may not be aware of. Certainly, we should never tell a member to stop taking medication, and I would hope that, if such a thing was not spotted by a moderator, then other members would highlight it 🙂

 

[spiritfree]

I think that it could be a good idea to ask hospitals and doctors practices to put a poster of this forum and how we help each other. WE ARE SO LUCKY TO HAVE NORTHERNER,ALAN. Thank you so much Alan.🙂

 

[Northerner]

I think that it could be a good idea to ask hospitals and doctors practices to put a poster of this forum and how we help each other. WE ARE SO LUCKY TO HAVE NORTHERNER,ALAN. Thank you so much Alan.🙂

That's very kind of you to say spiritfree 😱

 

[Laura davies]

Bobbie i agree, northerner makes me feel at home and is wonderful

 

[grainger]

I think it would be great if the Calendar showed more than birthdays and perhaps gave a summary of when the meet's are and where - I still never know where to look for this. Other than that I agree with others that an app/tablet friendly version would be fab.
On the whole I think this forum is fantastic. Don't know what I would have done without it when first diagnosed, during my pregnancy and basically whenever I have anything diabetes related go through my head!

 

[woniqidi]

Thank you for creating such a wonderful resource. Im having a hard time dealing with so much information but everyone her is extremely nice.

 

[robert@fm]

Hi woniqidi, welcome to our forum! 🙂 You may like to head over to the Newbies section to introduce yourself; this isn't compulsory (I didn't do it), but it could be helpful.

 

[Highlander]

This is a good forum, people are always helpful and generally polite to each other.

Things to consider:

Would it help if DUK put a link to the forum on all or some of its posters and other material. They already have a link on the web page, although not very prominent.

Another thought could there be a section on Pens, needles and Pills and also types of insulin. Perhaps DUK could support this link. It may also be useful for newly diagnosed diabetics.

Do we need a section for Type 1 and Type 2 - not quite sure about this as it could split the forum into two parts. See what people think.

I used to be a moderator on another forum, which, unfortuneately has now closed, due to lack of support. It was a photography forum. I supplied computer security information about updates and vulnerabilites. As we all use either PC's or Apple computers I would be quite happy to keep this area up to date, if you think it would be of interest to the members. If you would like to see an example of such a post, let me know.

Cheers

Vic

 

[Northerner]

Thanks Vic 🙂 The hope is to include many more references to the forum address - make us more visible. How can people benefit from the place if they don't even know it exists?

Interesting point about the medications and kit - Diabetes UK have just included their latest comprehensive meds and kit guide with the current issue of Balance magazine, it would be useful if they have an online version to have a link to, I will try and find out.

Regarding separate sections for Type1 and Type 2 - this is something that was consciously avoided in the original forum design. Splitting things into what may appear to be logical sections can result in fragmenting the site too much, and since there often areas of overlap that are pertinent to all types then the person posting may not be sure of where to post. I think having all types on the same board also helps raise awareness of both the similarities and the differences that people experience, making this a more inclusive community 🙂

I think information on possible O/S vulnerabilities and problems is often useful here to help members keep their systems protected - you would be very welcome to post anything you come across in the Off the Subject section, thank you 🙂

 

[Bloden]

I like the way we're all lumped in together. It's interesting to read about T2, pumps, parents, etc. 😛

 

[trophywench]

I absolutely agree Bloden - I've learned one HELL of a lot from T2s as well as T1s !

Over on 'other ' DSF we've had polls about splitting it at times - and almost unanimously our members have always wanted to keep us all together.

Let's face it though we all have Diabetes - whether we're T1 1.5 or 2 - our personal difficulties with our D manifest in numerous different ways - no two actual people are the same notwithstanding 'Type'.

 

[Robin]

I agree, being all in together is good. And for those people, like me, who were misdiagnosed as one type then rediagnosed as another, it helps to stay in one place.

 

[Highlander]

Hi Northerner, just got my copy of Balance this morning, so obviously if they can sort this one out online, all the better.

I take your point about keeping everything under one heading rather than splitting into T1 and T2 will always be better and give people all types a better understanding. It was just a passing thought really.

Regards