Future of the Forum

I think it works pretty well as it is. Perhaps a humour section would help to cheer people up a little?

I've seen the "karma System" on a couple of Forums that i post on. That might be cool. When you read a post that you like, you can click on a little + button nect to the OPs username, and they get their karma increased. There is also a - button to decrease a persons karma.

This would help people decide if advice that is being given by a certain person is trustworthy/accurate based on the whole communities experience of that persons preious posts.

Thirsty said:

I think it works pretty well as it is. Perhaps a humour section would help to cheer people up a little?

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Can you expand on what you mean by humour ,Thirsty? I thought that's what the threads in General Chat were for. 'Joke Amnesty', 'Words fail me' etc.

I had in mind a section for funny pictures and links which we all receive now and then. You're probably right, though: it would just clutter the forum.

How about using the 'Just thought I would share ' thread that I started ? That was a Email that I was sent.

I would like to see this forum granted the status of being THE place recommended by HCP to come for the best advice on diabetes.

I second that, Sue.

My personal view is that I like it the forum the way it is and it seems to work very well.
So if it ain't bust, don't fix it!

One huge change that I would like to see is in the website advice on healthy eating for diabetics which contains these gems:

Dietary Goals
Aim to provide 50% energy intake from carbohydrate by increasing intakes of complex carbohydrate / fibre rich foods.
Ensure that complex carbohydrate foods (starchy foods) are eaten at each meal / snack.
Reduce fat intakes to <35% of energy intake.

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO. Did I make that clear?

This is the very advice that is causing hundreds of diabetics every day to die of diabetes related complications. Are we trying to help diabetics or kill them?

Doesn't whoever compiles the web pages either read or understand what the forum members are saying? And what the medical profession is slowly coming to accept is the right diet for diabetics.

I agree with you Dennis. I doubt there's a single member on the forum who believes that advice and I've yet to meet anyone for whom it has worked.

I'm proud to be part of this forum though, and notice we now have over 14,000 members. That's still a very small minority even in the context of UK diabetes, but it's growing fast now and I like to think it could be a force for change on a national scale.

I'd like to see a live chat feature where we could invite particlar professors, doctors, researchers, and such to discuss important issues in health care. It could be very useful for both sides.

fergus

Interesting thread - a few points.

As one of the few HCP who posts ( non diabetic) I personally think that HCP would not want to get involved - I have asked a few to look at the site and they did not want to !! The constant critiscm of all disciplines is a shame because there are some good HCP out there - but if people are happy maybe they will not post .

dennis please enlighten us - what would your dietary goals be ?

Would I recomend this site to my clients - not all , you have scared a few away that I have told about it !

I would like to ask who has written alll the info about diet, insulin etc - are there medical moderators?

ally5555 said:

I
I would like to ask who has written alll the info about diet, insulin etc - are there medical moderators?

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There don't need to be, anyone who posts carp will be called on it.

Thank you Ally for your usual negative posting. I can think of at least 6 HCP who regularly and helpfully post on this forum,excluding you.
This thread is about the future of the forum so let's keep it on track.
To answer your final question I'm not sure who wrote the Community page, maybe Admin will know that answer.

sue - it was not negative at all - Ii asked some seriuos questions because if you want to guide people here you need to address them . As a HCP I want to see people moderating the advice thats all. The ineternet is a big place so HCP have to be very careful what they point people to .

I think it is prob the best forum and i think I have made some nice friends on here.

Hi Ally,
I asked my DSN to take a look at the site, as I wanted her to read the success stories thread, so that she might understand why I wanted to give the lower-carb thing a go. I was quite encouraged that she actually logged on in the middle of my appointment but obviously there is too much to read in such a short space of time, so I was/am really hopeful that she will have taken time to read around the forum herself. I am also hoping that at my next appointment we can discuss things further regarding members success with reduced carbs. intake. At present she cannot understand my wanting to follow this route.
I did tell her we had a few health professionals as members and that it would be great to have even more join us but I have not seen her posting.
The problem is not so much that folk scare HCPs or diabetics off, I think it's more a case of they have been taught one thing and many members have found, through trial and error, that the opposite works.
Just as most members approach reducing carbs. with an open mind, I'd like HCPs to read the success stories with an equally open mind.That's all.
All the best, chocoholic.

I want a site that is educational in ALL aspects of diabetic care and control…

What is diabetes?
What options you can use to control diabetes?
What is good monitoring practices?
How can you use monitoring to gain good control?
What complications are involved?
How are these treated?


Education is the key to good control, but the education needs to be full and include everything not just one slant that some perceive because this worked for them, it’s the only method to good control… People are individual they need to be educated in all areas of control and there methods so that they can manage there control, by understanding and building from many methods of control a plan that suits them as a individual..

ally5555 said:

dennis please enlighten us - what would your dietary goals be ?

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Ally,
My dietary goals are quite simple and I have stated them on many occasions in the past. They are that every diabetic should be
a) encouraged to reduce their BS to a safe level (i.e. a level that will not result in blindness and amputations further down the line)
b) taught how to achieve that target
c) taught how to maintain that target long-term
d) not given the blanket "one-size-fits-all" advice that is currently given, certainly by many GPs and nurses and not a few dietitians.

The blanket "one-size-fits-all" advice applies equally to the advisors on the forum, who generally go to pains to make people aware that low-carbing is not for everyone. A simple reduction in starches or switching to a low-GI diet may be all that is needed by some people to achieve and maintain control.

Now tell me where you can find fault in that.

jopar said:

I want a site that is educational in ALL aspects of diabetic care and control…

What is diabetes?
What options you can use to control diabetes?
What is good monitoring practices?
How can you use monitoring to gain good control?
What complications are involved?
How are these treated?


Education is the key to good control, but the education needs to be full and include everything not just one slant that some perceive because this worked for them, it’s the only method to good control… People are individual they need to be educated in all areas of control and there methods so that they can manage there control, by understanding and building from many methods of control a plan that suits them as a individual..

Click to expand...

While agreeing that we need to give as full information as we can,this is a community of diabetics,as such we can only offer our experiences and opinions on what we have found to work for us.By sharing these experiences and opinions we help others.
To take it to the realms of education would require more learned and professional posters who have verified research behind them.This ,I think, would change the community spirit which we have here from caring and sharing to teaching.We are primarily here to aid and support other diabetics in their aim to control their diabetics.

Normal service has been resumed

I have split this thread from when it descended into yet another row into a new thread called Newton's Cradle. Anyone wanting to contribute to that particular debate, feel free, can we please return this thread to its original intention, discussing the future of this forum.

Regards, Tubs.