I can't answer a straight yes or no to this poll question because I believe that YES members should be allowed to discuss the causes and reality of diabetic complications but NO I do not believe that discussion should take place where newly diagnosed members will walk straight into the discussion before they've even hung their coat up in the hallway and discovered the very BASIC information they need to know to start off with.
As I've said before, the majority of newbies in their initial posts use terms like 'I'm scared, I'm terrified, I'm lost, please help me, I don't know what to do'. To me that doesn't sound like they need to be any more overwhelmed with horror stories AT THAT PARTICULAR STAGE IN THEIR JOURNEY WITH DIABETES. People can only take in so much at a time and whilst those who DO have complications may be perfectly OK with sharing their information, they shouldn't forget that they've had a lot longer than the newby to get their head round it.
Newbies are in shock, when they want to know something, they'll ask. When they have a particular symptom of a complication, they'll usually ask if anyone knows what it is. And I think the DIABETES COMPLICATIONS section should remain totally available to those with complications who want to discuss them, but I don't think they should openly discuss complications with a view to EDUCATING OTHERS. I think that's patronising to be honest. If we really want to be helpful to others less experienced, we'll be sensitive to their feelings and to the stage of acceptance they're in.
I don't know enough about how forums work technically, but isn't there some kind of mechanism which could give newbies access to only certain kinds of basic information for a period of time until they can digest that and are ready to move on to the possibilities of complications. Remember they may or may not be aware of the fact that complications can arise but they just may not wish to read all about the gory details. They're coming to the forum for support and overwhelming them with the complications of diabetes may just not be appropriate for them and may actually make them head for the door.