Posting Links,Helpful ...or not.

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sugarless sue

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Posting Links,Helpful ...or not.

Of late there has been a lot of criticism about moderators and members posting links.
Some seem to think that this is unhelpful when answering a post. I wish to understand why you would think this as these links give up to date info on complicated subjects.
No moderator or member on this forum can be an expert on everything diabetes related but there are some very skilled researchers on here who take the time and effort to find information for the benefit of all the members .We then disseminate this info to you, the members, so that you can read and digest the info at your leisure.
We are all volunteers on this forum, giving back to the forum that helped change our lives for the better. We also have lives to lead however and do not spend 24/7 here, not have we time to dissect and explain every subject that is discussed.
Personal experience is always valuable on here but so is accurate information. It does a confused newbie no good to be given info that they then find is not up to date. This just leads to more confusion.
I give you the opportunity now for constructive criticism on how you want the info delivered on here.
 
oojimmyflip

oojimmyflip

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I note Sue that none of my comments posted on the disability thread have been included here so therfore they are not constructive?

Nigel
 
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sugarless sue

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This is a new thread Nigel,therefore feel free to include any points that you think pertinent to the subject.
 
oojimmyflip

oojimmyflip

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Right then,
To whom it may concern,

This topic was Opened by Sugarless Sue because of a disagreement which started in the topic disability on page 2.

if you agree or disagree with what is said in that particular topic please post your messages here.

regards Nigel.
 
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sugarless sue

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This topic was posted as an avenue of discussion to a series of comments ,Nigel.Not just yours.In order for this forum to give the best advice to members we need to know what the members think of the way information is posted.I will be interested in ALL points of view from various members.
 
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cugila

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IMHO.
I think both personally and as a Moderator that the posting of links is extremely helpful. When I joined this forum there were numerous posts with links in. There always has been. They were a great help to me and others in getting the best 'up to date' information.

I fail to see why this should change because somebody doesn't like links or cannot be bothered to read them ? If anybody wishes to expand on a subject that is fine, just make sure it is accurate in all respects. None of us I hope want's to give out confusing information which is outdated.
There is also the problem of Copyright which this forum has to adhere too along with members. Small extracts are allowed, not whole swathes of information. Re-publishing is not always allowed ?

There are very few of us on here who are actual experts in various subjects, therefore if someone asks a question and there is a link to an answer that is specific to the question, then it is a valid link. What could be more helpful than that ? It also allows everybody to move on to the next Topic, saving time.

In the past if I have got something wrong on the board. My response has been to put my hands up, apologise and make sure it is dead right next time. Perhaps I am being naive in expecting others to do the same ?
BTW, if anybody thinks that all I do is post links you are welcome to trawl through over 4000 previous posts and let me know how many there are ? :D
 
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valattrevear

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I have found the posting of links [not all, obviously] invaluable to me. Being older and barely computer literate I am not always able to find my way around the internet to gain the sheer volume of info that others have taken the trouble to research and send my way :!: I only hope that the unfortunate attitude some posters take has no deletorious effect on the great effort put in by others for the greater good of all. :evil: I, for one appreciate it :) and would like to thank both moderators and members of the forum.
 
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kegstore

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I think it very much depends on what an individual expects to obtain from a forum, and consequently for the forum to manage those expectations (more?) effectively.

We all get very different things from the information posted, relevant to some but maybe not to others. It's not possible to guarantee that information posted will be 100% relevant, because more often than not there's an incomplete picture initially displayed. Effective communication is the responsibility of EVERYONE who posts anything - whether a question or an answer - sometimes this is overlooked and we're ALL guilty of that!

I do feel occasionally that external links are sometimes posted when perhaps a more individual rather than a generic response is appropriate. Sometimes it also appears an external link is included as if to add credence to a post, which is obviously not guaranteed.

But it is the responsibility of us all to make ourselves clear in the questions that we ask, and also for others to carefully read and understand those questions before posting a response. And it's not a race to see who answers first!
 
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Vivienne

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As a relative 'newbie', I have found the information and links on all matters and topics very useful indeed.
Please keep posting.
Thank you,
Vivienne
 
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Spiral

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I find links helpful, I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the amount of information there is out there, so having someone post something they have found helpful is useful. They have reduced some of the hunting I have to do. I have also got to know who posts stuff that may be relevant to me and I am more likely to follow those links up.

However, I find myself irritated when someone expects me to have all the answers and do their thinking for them :? but I am happy to be involved in discussions about subjects that interest or affect me. I have also spent a lot of time composing a response only to have it overlooked or ignored by the original poster.

I am here because I am diabetic and I want the support of other diabetics who are not necessarily toeing the standard NHS line about what amounts to good control or who know that one size/answer does not fit all. I tend to post more from my personal experience than get involved in learned discussions about scientific papers, although I am interested in them in so far as the inforamtion may apply to me and do read fairly widely. I'm very selfish and there are only so many hours in the day.

I wonder if the people who complain about links are the same ones who don't report things that are broken, leave the empty cartons in the fridge and can't be bothered to refill the photocopier...

I have moderated on another message forum I know what a thankless task it can be :( And I know how much time and effort the moderators put in to provide the support that keeps this forum running, while still managing to get some of their own needs for information and advice and humourous chat met by the other board members.

A friend of mine often refers to the "c" word - courtesy. Good manners help keep things running smoothly, as does counting to 10, although there are days when counting to 10 just isn't enough!
 
Sid Bonkers

Sid Bonkers

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sugarless sue said:
Posting Links,Helpful ...or not.
Click to expand...


I find some links very useful and others, mainly those that lead to medical sites or research papers, useless as I suffer from dyslexia and those sort of papers just seem like gobble-de-gook to me (thank goodness for the spellcheck dictionary in Firefox :lol: )

Keep posting links and leave it to the individual to choose which they explore
thumbsup.gif



What does annoy me is that links take you away from the site, could Admin fix it so links open in a new window or tab? Much better IMO :)

You know what its like you look at one page and a link there takes you somewhere else and before you know it your 10 pages away from the forum :lol:
 
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Dennis

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As a member of this forum since it's earliest days, and one who has often posted a link where I was aware of one that could answer a question or problem far better than I could phrase an answer, I have seen many hundreds, possibly even thousands, of replies along the lines of "thanks for the link - it told me just what I wanted to know".

I have seen only one objection to links being posted.

Draw your own conclusion.
 
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Aadrgon

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The big advantage of posting a link is that you can read the work yourself rather than someone elses interpretation ( this is not intended to be immflamatory ) - it prevents the 'chinese whispers' effect.
Keep posting them please ( and yes opening a link in a new window would be nice )
 
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sugarless sue

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Just as an aside,if you right click on a link you can get the option to open it in a new tab on Firefox and ,I think IE as well.
 
Sid Bonkers

Sid Bonkers

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sugarless sue said:
Just as an aside,if you right click on a link you can get the option to open it in a new tab on Firefox and ,I think IE as well.
Click to expand...

You are quite correct Sue, well in IE you get the option to 'open in new window' not a new tab as in Firefox but not everyone is as PC savvy as you or I.

Most forums and web sites for that matter do not want to send people away from their own sites. It was just an observation. :D
 
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gbtyke

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I hold own the shift key to open in another window or control / alt keys to open in another tab. Don't know if it works on all browsers though.
 
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sugarless sue

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sugarless sue said:
Posting Links,Helpful ...or not.

Of late there has been a lot of criticism about moderators and members posting links.
Some seem to think that this is unhelpful when answering a post. I wish to understand why you would think this as these links give up to date info on complicated subjects.
No moderator or member on this forum can be an expert on everything diabetes related but there are some very skilled researchers on here who take the time and effort to find information for the benefit of all the members .We then disseminate this info to you, the members, so that you can read and digest the info at your leisure.
We are all volunteers on this forum, giving back to the forum that helped change our lives for the better. We also have lives to lead however and do not spend 24/7 here, not have we time to dissect and explain every subject that is discussed.
Personal experience is always valuable on here but so is accurate information. It does a confused newbie no good to be given info that they then find is not up to date. This just leads to more confusion.
I give you the opportunity now for constructive criticism on how you want the info delivered on here.
Click to expand...

Back on track, anyone else got any comments?
 
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graham64

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For me links are invaluable, when faced with long winded posts I need to see evidence to back up the comments.

Cheers
Graham
 
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