The Forum's future - your thoughts please!

[MeanMom]

I too worried about privacy (as I talk about my daughters health and would not be fair on her if she could be identified) and Nortberner very kindly changed my forum name for me🙂

Did have an idea the other day actually - will try to explain. In user profile (or somewhere) a member could if they wanted post a short biog - say history of Dx, meds , any problems in past, etc - whatever they wanted to share. Then a link to it could be included in the members sig line. This would sVe people having to reapeat themselves - and people who are replying would have the option of reading the history or not. Members coukd then update the biog as required. There would need to be quite a lit of space as some of is have a complicated history!

Other than that,won't go on about how great forum is but of course it is a life saver, just needs to be publicised more - I feel the hospital should have told me about it.

 

[daisymoo84]

Hi,

I love this forum and find it really useful and friendly! I've only been diagnosed a few months but I don't know where I'd be without every one here so a big thanks to all🙂

I enjoy using the site and I'm sure I prob haven't worked out every feature but I find it easy to use and get to grips with. I can't think of any obvious improvement I'd like!

As for raising awareness lots of great ideas have already been mentioned. I'm still learning how everything relates to one another 😱 but I'm going on the DESMOND course for newbies soon. Is that or the DAFNE anything to do with DUK? Could the forum get a mention there as it would be a perfect arget audience?

Also, maybe some internet advertising might be good? I know people have already mentioned FB but what about using peoples blogs/websites. I stumbled across a lots of blogs before finding this forum and have started my own and know other members have them. Could there be a banner or advert or something people could link to their blogs to direct people here?

Anyhow that's my attempts 🙂

 

[Robster65]

Hi Alan and all...

Weaknesses:
I would like a link maybe, similar to FB that if you create a thread and someone replies, that it gets copied to our email? Sometimes I can post, log off and get delayed in returning, by then my post is pages and pages back, others have made a nice effort to reply to me and then I may appear rude by not replying back?

More smilies to chose from as limited choice

Maybe the option to be able to share more info about yourself or pictures? It may break down some people feeling alone if they see they may have something in common which is not known at the moment

An easier way to adjust the fonts, size, style etc , or a way of seeing the changes made as you type, it is a bit confusing if you want to make something bold to then see 'coding' for that change?

Just to point out Suze, that you can subscribe to a thread by going to the top of the page and clicking 'Thread Tools' then you'll see a pulldown with subscribe to this thread as an option. Then you'll get email updates for a reply (I think!)🙂

The profile page can contain a fair bit of info, but most people tend to shy away from much more than type and meds. Location is always handy. There is a photo gallery but I'm not sure if it's operational still.

Rob

 

[MCH]

I think the forum runs very well and I have certainly learned a lot from looking/asking on it.

One thing I think would be useful is to have a way of seeing New Posts on the General Board as this tends to be where any information/ suggestions are posted. That way, instead of coming on after a few days to 185 New Posts in total if you were in a hurry, you could narrow it down a bit to "useful" - in a diabetic sense - posts to check out. (Please don't think I have a problem or am not interested in any of the other sub forums as it is only when I am pressed for time that I feel it would this might be useful. When I have time, I often look at the jokes etc )

 

[David H]

Hi,

Could there be a banner or advert or something people could link to their blogs to direct people here?

Anyhow that's my attempts 🙂

Maybe Alan can inprove on this.

http://www.diabetessupport.co.uk/images/logo.gif[/img[/url

If you add [B]End square brackets ] at the end of /img and /url at the end of the above code[/B] and insert it in your blog it will display the header that you can click and it will bring you to the forum.

 

[Northerner]

Hi,
I've not read all the posts but my only suggestion would be it be made more obvious where meets are? It may just be that I haven't looked through the site very well (I tend to just read the new posts of the day) but if the meets could be made more obvious that would be good?...

There is a Calendar of future Forum Meets in the Events section and I try and publicise when each one is coming up in plenty of time 🙂

http://www.diabetessupport.co.uk/boards/showthread.php?t=22971

...
I would like a link maybe, similar to FB that if you create a thread and someone replies, that it gets copied to our email? Sometimes I can post, log off and get delayed in returning, by then my post is pages and pages back, others have made a nice effort to reply to me and then I may appear rude by not replying back?

More smilies to chose from as limited choice

Maybe the option to be able to share more info about yourself or pictures? It may break down some people feeling alone if they see they may have something in common which is not known at the moment

An easier way to adjust the fonts, size, style etc , or a way of seeing the changes made as you type, it is a bit confusing if you want to make something bold to then see 'coding' for that change?

If you want to subscribe to all your threads (and others that you post in) then you can go to the User CP, Edit Options, Messaging and Notification, then select from the drop down list under 'Default thread subscription mode' 🙂 You can edit your subscriptions from User CP, Edit Subscriptions 🙂

Hope that helps! Will take all other suggestions on board. Thanks again everyone 🙂

 

[robert@fm]

One current weakness is the Private Messaging system which facilitates cliques and alliances being formed behind the scenes. Let's have an open, transparent group with no secret messages out of sight of other members.

I disagree, people need to have an opportunity to exchange information safely within the confines of the forum.

I have met many friends on the forum a few of whom I pm fairly regularly. These pm's are private and allow things that people wouldn't want to be shared with the whole forum to be discussed.

This does not mean that I am part of a clique at all - it just means I have found friends who I don't mind sharing more private information with. I would still respond on the normal boards to these people in the same way I would everyone else.

It would be ridiculous to remove the pm facility in my opinion.

I think the PM bit is vital. I offered some near expiry BM strips to anyone who could use them a few months ago. We used the PM facility to exchange addresses. I am sure the lady concerned wouldn't have wanted her home address posted for all and sundry to read.

I fully support all of the above (except of course the first post which triggered the rest). I myself have used this forum's PM system once, to exchange mobile numbers with Northerner prior to last year's Birmingham meet; without PM tis would have been difficult or impossible. Does this make me part of a "clique"? Of course not.

 

[robert@fm]

Hi Alan and all...
Have only read page 1,2 and last so I am sorry if I have repeated anything!

I have my thread view set to 40 posts per page (I think this is the maximum user-selectable view, though another vBulletin forum I'm on has the default set to 80 per page instead of the usual 15), so for me this thread is "only" three pages... so far. 😉

Weaknesses:
[...]
More smilies to chose from as limited choice

I agree, just having the vBulletin default selection is a bit restrictive. To my mind every forum needs an evil-grin smilie (for humorous posts of course), and another forum I'm on has a very good selection including a bashing-head-against-wall one which would also be useful here.

 

[imtrying]

I too worried about privacy (as I talk about my daughters health and would not be fair on her if she could be identified) and Nortberner very kindly changed my forum name for me🙂

Did have an idea the other day actually - will try to explain. In user profile (or somewhere) a member could if they wanted post a short biog - say history of Dx, meds , any problems in past, etc - whatever they wanted to share. Then a link to it could be included in the members sig line. This would sVe people having to reapeat themselves - and people who are replying would have the option of reading the history or not. Members coukd then update the biog as required. There would need to be quite a lit of space as some of is have a complicated history!

Other than that,won't go on about how great forum is but of course it is a life saver, just needs to be publicised more - I feel the hospital should have told me about it.

I think that's a great idea about people having a mini blog about their journey. It's really useful to know where people have come from and where they are now.

Also, some others have mentioned about privacy and it being an open forum....just wondered as a possibility if maybe the newbie section and maybe a few others could be open, and the rest closed until you join?

I have to admit, I forget when I'm typing that actually the whole world can see what I'm writing...maybe I need my own warning message asking if I'm sure I want to tell the whole world before I post lol

 

[Natalie123]

I like MeanMom's idea. Having some sort of "biography page" that can be seen when someone clicks on their picture would be good. It could be a bit like a facebook profile that people can put as much or little information on it as they like - no personal data obviously, but info about what they like doing, what meds they are on, when diagnosed etc

Also, although the forum is linked from diabetes uk website, it is not really obvious. I think the link needs to be straight from the main home page. When you click on the how we help tab at the top, you can select local support groups, careline etc, but our forum should have a link from there too.

 

[Robster65]

I must admit, I found the forum from a google search and didn't know about the DUK relationship until I'd been here a while.

A biography page would be a good idea if it can be implemented.🙂

Rob

 

[rossi_mac]

Morning peeps,

The Forum's Future, there's a question. Can't see much wrong with it to be honest, I haven't been around much as have been busier at work and home!

I can see the benefit of a chat room if there could be one, unless it requires a lot more mods then probably not as you guys/gals do enough.

But I guess really you would just need to ensure more access and traffic by improving the sites SEO and Balance advertising (not a small in the corner image, something big and bold)

The off the subject board is great and although as a one time occupier of said one liner threads I can see that the current name is confusing...

The only thing that I would consider useful but it may split the forum up a bit is to have perhaps a board for different geographical areas, thus enabling people from nearby areas to catch up a bit more, and form friendships with more possibility of meeting, but while maintaining the balance of keeping the big family is hard so maybe not!?

I dunno, pros it seems to work, can't please everyone all of the time, but doing a damn fine job. To DUK make sure they set aside support/funding when it needs it, perhaps to make sure it stays well maintained monitored strong and uptodate technically speaking. Cons it's nearly pink in colour, and some people write far too much for me to read it all!

Cheers

Rossi

 

[Adrienne]

Cons it's nearly pink in colour, and some people write far too much for me to read it all!

Cheers

Rossi

Hahaha that would be me then I do ramble on Rossi 😉

Also the colour is a good one. It is pink I presume because pink hummingbird is the colour of DUK. However they are rebranding colour and logo very soon and are going blue (navy?). They hummingbird is going (god help those who had it tattooed).

So perhaps we should change the pink then.

 

[Northerner]

For those who are interested, the MNDA forum that I nearly ended running has the same software, but an updated version. I think it looks quite nice and a lot more modern now that ours is a few years old 🙂

http://forum.mndassociation.org/

Thanks for that about DUK changing colour and logo Adrienne - that peice of information must have slipped past me!

 

[Adrienne]

For those who are interested, the MNDA forum that I nearly ended running has the same software, but an updated version. I think it looks quite nice and a lot more modern now that ours is a few years old 🙂

http://forum.mndassociation.org/

Thanks for that about DUK changing colour and logo Adrienne - that peice of information must have slipped past me!

Oooo thats a nice looking forum, I like that.

Apparently pink is confused with the cancer charities as they are pink aren't they.

 

[imtrying]

oh no, I like the pink colour

Will navy stand out enough for it to be noticed on advertising??

 

[Kwaka1]

The link is a little 'lost' on DUK's website. Perhaps a bit more profile wouldn't go amiss.

 

[Northerner]

The link is a little 'lost' on DUK's website. Perhaps a bit more profile wouldn't go amiss.

Definitely on the top of my list along with Balance. In my opinion we ought to get better billing than Facebook, because the forum is a much superior place to discuss experiences and issues. 🙂

 

[FM001]

Definitely on the top of my list along with Balance. In my opinion we ought to get better billing than Facebook, because the forum is a much superior place to discuss experiences and issues. 🙂

Don't know what preference Facebook gets over this forum, but it might be opportunity to remind DUK that not everyone has a Facebook & Twitter account, I've not got one and never likely to have one.

 

[Adrienne]

Personally I think the facebook page is a disgrace. DUK police that one and the advice that people give out to others is sometimes very wrong and absolutely shocking but it is there for all too see. Not good.

If you post something that a few of the regulars do not like you get bombarded with not particularly nice emails.

Not a good place to be but I do look as sometimes newly diagnosed children's parents pop up on there as a first port of call.