Are we losing the plot?

jack412 said:

it's a very broad group

http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum

India27.7%14,868

United Kingdom20.6%7,426

United States17.5%54,691

Canada3.6%30,041

South Africa2.7%15,582

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Don't count on what Alexa tells you - it's well known that it's a poor source. I've run websites in the past where the 'analysis' (if you can even call it that) from Alexa was incredibly inaccurate and was over 600,000 impressions/mo off.

I have just come to this thread and I agree that it is a good place for new ones to learn I got lots of good advice when I was first diagnosed and I try to help others where possible We are all individuals and come to our way of treating our DB the way that is best for us
I have reported quite a few kitchen sellers and they seem to have vanished so I must have done a good job
CAROL

I think we as individuals like to
A) try and help others
B) speak from our own experiences
C) use our own personalitys to express ourselves.

We want a better future from people that have experience of what worked for them.

Acceptance of personalities on a forum is important.

Sometimes I think there should be a dislike button, but in general I have had fantastic help here for 5 years and made some great friends.

Compared to 30 years ago when there was no internet and experiences to learn from I will always be grateful

Not sure on the idea of a 'dislike' button DD, that would only lead to tensions on the forum

At the end of the day the forum is here for the good of all, it's not here for agenda's or for people to dictate the terms of the forum.

Due to technical troubles I have been off line for a while, when normal service was resumed yesterday I spent a few hours catching up with what I had missed, it saddens me to say I was appalled at the number of newbie original posts taken over by backbiters and snipers, now while I am all for free speech and a good animated conversation the OPs are not the time and place for such, and it must put off many new members, as if they don't have enough to come to terms with already at that time.
Its a shame as this forum and its members are not just a mine of valuable information their kindness and the trouble they go to, to make newbies feel welcome and safe is wonderful and they should feel proud of the help they give.

noblehead said:

Not sure on the idea of a 'dislike' button DD, that would only lead to tensions on the forum

At the end of the day the forum is here for the good of all, it's not here for agenda's or for people to dictate the terms of the forum.

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I agree with you about 'dislike' buttons. But 'agenda' is just about all I see from some folk. Is it really just me who sees it? And is this thread dictating the terms of the forum too? I thought it was about constructive free speech.

I have to say I was a bit taken aback by the "lchf is it a fad"thread...why are there such strong feelings between low GI followers and those trying lchf...surely it is a personal choice here. I'm at a loss to understand the strong feelings here?

Hidden agenda to I suspect ....

zand said:

I agree with you about 'dislike' buttons. But 'agenda' is just about all I see from some folk. Is it really just me who sees it? And is this thread dictating the terms of the forum too? I thought it was about constructive free speech.

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We do get these threads from time to time and they serve little purpose IMHO, for the majority of members they are happy with the way things are and do not wish for things to change, if something isn't broken you don't fix it.

But it is broken!

zand said:

But it is broken!

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I don't agree, far from it in fact, the forum helps countless new members to come to terms with their diabetes and manage it successfully, it's a great resource for sharing experiences about living with diabetes, what's broken about that?

noblehead said:

Not sure on the idea of a 'dislike' button DD, that would only lead to tensions on the forum .

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This is the exact reason we don't have a dislike button. Evidently, it's a tense enough place as it is and having something else to rile people up probably isn't in anyone's best interests.

alliebee said:

I have to say I was a bit taken aback by the "lchf is it a fad"thread...why are there such strong feelings between low GI followers and those trying lchf...surely it is a personal choice here. I'm at a loss to understand the strong feelings here?

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Often, people find a diet (whether low GI, low carb, low fat, whatever) that works amazingly for them. At this point they sometimes feel that everyone should be doing the same thing as them and fail to see that diets are very subjective and may not suit everybody. When they're called out on that fact, they get aggressive and maintain that they're correct, and that's where we get issues. It's hard to punish people for this when they're not actively breaking any rules, and it's often not a deliberate attempt to stir up trouble.

We encourage open discussion on diet here, as it's a major part of everyone's lives and can be crucial to staying in control of diabetes. And for the record, open discussion means that yes, we will allow someone to post a thread saying they manage to live on a low fat high carb diet, and likewise for those that choose to low carb.

That's basically what happens in the diet debates. Nobody's necessarily wrong, it's all a matter of opinion.

zand said:

But it is broken!

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Zand, I'm really curious as to why you think the forum is broken? Fundamentally, this is a place where people come to get help and advice about their condition. Do you feel that's not happening? Honestly, please do tell me if there's any improvements you think we need to make. I'm all ears!

alliebee said:

I have to say I was a bit taken aback by the "lchf is it a fad"thread...why are there such strong feelings between low GI followers and those trying lchf...surely it is a personal choice here. I'm at a loss to understand the strong feelings here?

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So am I, I am also often surprised at the level of stupidity in some isolated cases and have found the Ignore Member function very good for my peace of mind and it most certainly helps me not to get involved in that kind of meaningless quarrels that never leads anywhere.

AndBreathe said:

Wow ! I can't quite believe we have over 80 responses. If nothing else, I think that must surely illustrate how important we all feel this community is. Thanks everyone for taking the time to post.

I must admit I deliberately sort of stepped back a little bit, once I had initiated the thread, so that it wouldn't and couldn't be seen as me grinding some axe or another. I had also decided I would “Like” responses to the thread, but I was overtaken by responses, so anyone who hasn't had a “Like” and feels deprived, let me know and I'll press that button.

But, onto the business of the thread.

I completely agree with so many of the posts acknowledging the unending patience and support of those who post on here; repeating the same messages to the new members who inevitably end up here with an issue, and that issue is often compounded by bewilderment and frustration. So, a response of “It's all here, just hit search” would probably feel off-hand.

Like others on here, I recognise that our moderators give up their time, without financial reward, but I also agree that a more consistent and more visible presence would be appreciated by me. Whilst our current moderators are very much silent in the background (as far as we know), it feels, to me anyway, that when one pops up, that something's about to happen. That might be threads locked or deleted, and of course, sometimes nothing. One the occasion I have felt a moderation action was inappropriate I wrote to the moderator, who responded, albeit not making the response I might, personally, have hoped for. I'm not suggesting the response was wrong or out of hand, but not what I would have felt to be the best outcome.

In terms of actions, I think my requests would be for a low-profile, but increased visible pressence by our moderator population. I'm not suggesting they come wielding cyber clubs, but just the odd word could deflect an errant poster or thread back on-track. Similarly, if a thread is locked, it would be fair to pre-warn of that position so that there is an opportunity to either bring the thread back into line, or cease the disruptive activity. One one recent example, the OP seemed bewildered by his thread disappearing, and started another to question that, and how it had transpired. Not too many newbies have the confidence and mental strength to do that when they arrive here.

I do also believe, like others, that even an acknowledgement of and reports would be helpful. I'm not a behind the scenes complainer by nature. I am more likely to try to challenge or sort out issues I experience, but on the very few times I have hit the Report button, it almost feels like I might as well write the message on Word, hit the red X and not save. Shame?

I have tagged the moderators again, to ensure the thread is highlighted and to invite any response they either individually or collectively might like to make.

Anyway, thanks again everyone. It's good to clear the air, and I hope this thread has given that opportunity. Please keep posting.



Mods: @Osidge, @Robinredbreast, @anna29, @daisy1, @IanD, @janewatt

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I have unfortunately been absent from this site for a few months, and on my arrival back an hour ago this was the first post I came across and haven't got any further. I have read lots of the replies, but haven't yet got through them all.
Thank you, AndBreathe for the original post and for this later response.

Earlier this year I had the impression that people were contributing less and that posts were becoming rather abrupt and sometimes aggressive. Now from the position of a few months' absence it seems that this is now well established. The replies I've read do show a wide variety of perceptions of the site.

My reasons for volunteering to be a Moderator was that I've learned so much from others on the site, because I'm very concerned to offer real support and because I have a long experience of working with adults both in groups and as individuals, to make the best of their situation. I'm no expert on diabetes although I do my best to learn and to keep up to date. I therefore don't often respond to posts from Newcomers about factual (?) type issues, but do try to step in when it feels that simple support etc will be useful or when some of the responses are rather too forceful.

I'm very interested in communication methods and I think a real problem with any Forum can be the fact that many users aren't used to reading and writing. They often don't read all reposes to a post (as I've just done - sorry) before replying which can cause confusion and hostility.

Another problem can be that a poster may use words and expressions that spoken in person with gestures, facial expressions etc. might be OK ish, can appear much too blunt and aggressive when written.

I fully understand people's issues with the Moderators' group. I'm not sure that there is a "group" and I've been surprised at the lack of cohesion and exchange between them (us?). I still don't understand the lines of "authority" and "accountability". I try to read as many issues and responses as possible and to understand what's happening overall on the site. As I'm not posting much I played a couple of the games on a regular basis to show my presence.

As a volunteer, I still feel accountable to Forum members. It might be useful for each moderator to write a short piece about themselves (to show their relevant skills, knowledge, experience, times they regularly go on the Forum, etc.). and to make clear what members can expect from them. There should be more clarity about what Moderators do and how they become Moderators. Forum members could suggest how particular skills could be used.

Recently I've been absent due to IT problems. Back at the beginning of the summer I asked for advice over Internet connection, and you, AndBreathe, offered help. However I was unable to resolve the issueby your method but was prepared to leave my temporary home every day or so to find an Internet connection. Then my computer died! It's an Apple MacBook, so it was difficult to get help. Eventually it was taken to a specialised workshop some distance away. This took 8 weeks to be resolved (July & August are no-go times in France).

Computer eventually restored to me and then my return to my own house meant that mid-September I was in a position to re-start on the Forum. However as I was due to depart on holiday on September 25th I decided to wait until my return last night. So, here I am. I'm sorry that there doesn't appear to be a space where I might have been able to inform any Forum member who might have been interested or noticed my absence.
A thread of "notices" would be helpful to enable members and Moderators to work more closely together.

Sorry if these points have already been covered recently elsewhere and I haven't yet caught up with them.

I'm about to spend next couple of days catching up.

Thanks for your patience if you've read my ramblings down to the end!

Best wishes to everyone,
Jane.

Kat100 said:

Hidden agenda to I suspect ....

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I don't understand "hidden agenda". Aren't people just passionate about what has worked for them?

I'm passionate about my volunteer work at my GP's which is why I mention it fairly often. It's a passion that helps others to be aware of things external to this forum that affect our health....

Passion is good but I am absolutely bewildered as to how "hidden agendas" are seen. Perhaps I'm thick. I just think people have passion...

@Giverny @noblehead I feel it is broken because as the OP says

"I have noticed over recent times that the forum appears to be turning into a fractious, combative place to be, which for a support forum doesn't feel quite right to me."

I just want to tell newbies what has helped me. As has already been said some of us don't feel comfortable doing that any more. I tried twice this morning and deleted it and merely said 'welcome' because I didn't want to get into a fight about low carbing. An active member, whose posts I enjoyed reading, left in the Summer; I believe this is because that person was bullied on a thread by people who were against the diet the person was advocating. This is where 'agendas' come in to play. I don't like seeing members leaving like this, if an active member suddenly leaves after a heated discussion wouldn't you call that broken? Or maybe simply 'job done'? Or merely just 'time to look away'?

Surely it's best for us to speak out now to try to heal any rifts rather than let them continue and get worse?

AndBreathe said:

Thanks again everyone.

There have been some great points raised on here; some of which sit with us, the general membership of the forum and others focusing on the Moderator/Admin population. It feels, to me, like this it could be interesting to either keep this thread going, or have some form of feedback mechanism on the site? I don't know if Admin/Mods have any shared areas, or message boxes we could use to make contact, without having to single out any individual? I know we have the Report button, but that carries certain connotations and is usually linked to a specific post or poster, which might not always fit the bill, and doesn't feel like it covers either general feedback or even praise. Sometimes, we may just want to feed back thanks for something very positive.

Would anyone else find this sort of thing useful?

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Yes, excellent suggestion. I think I was trying to suggest something similar in my long rambling post above.

alliebee said:

I have to say I was a bit taken aback by the "lchf is it a fad"thread...why are there such strong feelings between low GI followers and those trying lchf...surely it is a personal choice here. I'm at a loss to understand the strong feelings here?

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Personally, I chose not to read the particular thread beyond the original post, as I predicted that it was one that would quickly descent into a dogfight between LCHF supporters and skeptics; something that I have probably read all before on countless other threads and so have little interest in at the moment.

Such discussions are not wrong of themselves, as long as they remain within civil bounds and do not descend into personal attacks they are in my opinion to be encouraged. Interest and progress is often the result of the resolution of opposing views.

At least this thread was one that made it obvious from the title that it was dedicated to such a discussion and like me one could decide for himself whether to participate or not.

I do not really have a big problem with such threads.

What I do find highly objectionable is threads, particularly initial enquiries from newly diagnosed being hijacked by keyboard warriors fighting their cause in complete disregard and disrespect of the original poste'rs wishes and needs.

We are first and foremost a support forum and the need to offer support to those in need must override all other considerations.

Pavlos

No lost plot. No broken forum, Just another interesting thread which brings us together yet again.
Well done. @AndBreathe