When I read your reply to sea angler it did strike me as being somewhat off to say the least, especially after What Jackson wrote about feeling put off by inconsiderate replys , but that's only my opinion.......
Myself I've a very thick skin but often feel miffed when having answer people's posts or taken part in social topics and received no reply or comment that I'd done so , maybe my persona n avatar have something to do with it as I tend to come as a bit comical, but we're all told to keep our sense of humer I dont see a problem.
Anyway that's my take on things hope no one is offended Live well. Cc
Casie, I'm sorry, I seem to have misinterpreted your reply, I apologise.
CC, I apologise if you found my response to Sea Angler a bit 'off'.
Sea Angler, if you read this, I apologise profusely.
I am not a regular poster, nor a particularly confident person. The reason for my post in the main, was because I felt being a national charity organisation, supporting people with a chronic condition with in excess of 6000 members, that it's a great pity that there are rarely more than 3 or 4 online. I personally think this is sad.
when a comment was made 'I do worry about sounding stupid, getting negative responses and upsetting people'........... im sure no one wants anyone to feel like that.
i would like to stress that I am not condemning the work of PUK. My friends, family, and myself work hard to raise awareness and money to support the organisation. I just think the forum could be made easier to use and a wee bit more welcoming.
This is just my opinion, if it's upset or offended anyone, I apologise.
Regarding the contributions by "admin", If I remember rightly the they were actually invited by at least one forum member supported by others to contribute so as to put a "face" so to speak to the unseen presence of the moderators. . I for one am glad that someone is watching out and steppping in for those people who are unlucky enough to get no reply to their first post on the site for whatever reason.
Hi all I'm newly diagnosed , I find this forum helps me a lot get lots help and information I don't post a lot but am getting to know the people and many a time when I've felt down they have made me laugh would just like to say thanks to all and wish everyone a happy new year xx
I don't think anyone who posts on this forum intends to upset anyone but unfortunately when you have a lot of vulnerable people on strong medication that can have a variety of physical and emotional side effects it's guaranteed that someone will take offence at something someone said,
so I guess the best we all can do is keep on posting and helping in whatever way we can , plus be more tolerant of others and aware others sensibilities..
Anyway I hope we all have a happy new year and continue to support each other to the best of our abilities ,
I was once googling something and I can across a qujote on theweb by an obviously highly intelligent person who naturally held the exact same views as me when suddenly it dawned that person was me!!! So you are right Kendo not everyone is aware although it is obvious when you think about it. Your words are immortal once posted.
I did consider not raising this point in case it reduces the activity. The fact that I administer administer a forum that has the ability to define who can view certain boards or posts down to individual user level made me wonder if the sheer openness puts some off. Our potted histories that help put our posts into context are restricted to logged in users..
The forum I administer is www.wessexcarclub.com in case anyone was curious
I`ve found this topic very interesting and it well illustrates the variety of views and experience there is on the forum. I would like to take up Kendo`s point about the whole world being able to read the posts. When my OH was diagnosed I found the forum and spent some time reading the posts before I signed up to log in. I still only log in on those days when I want to post.
I found the friendliness obvious particularly through the speed of response to a new member or to some-one with a need for a quick response. There are even posts to new members saying I can`t help with this question but I didn`t want you to feel no-one was caring about you today.
I hope we all use a log-in name so we are incognito and that the forum stays open to all.
Hatknitter
Thank you for providing the positive effect of an open forum as it helps people find information quickly and via search engines.
My post was more about being aware and how things can be limited. I'm actually in favour of openness, but your post helped me see how my post could be read the other way
This also means the forum stats don't track user related data all the time so the forum may be used by more people who have registered than is at first apparent.
I am accutely aware that having the same names appearing on the boards can make others feel there is a clique that post possibly more than is beneficial overall.
I do try to limit my jabbering on really I do but once again here I am posting again. Must help get the family dinner on.
Happy New Year to everyone
I've been usig this forum since dx 5 years ago and I have never even thought of checkiing how many are logged on.. I've just had a look and see that I am named as " active" tonight but more often than not I dont log oon and just lurk as do many others, partly to discourage myself from leaping into print without reading the other person's' post properly and/or posting too much . In fact I check out the latest posts most days as I know several others do . When people are new they get a lot from the site and are naturally keen to give back and be of help to others so their names will tend to appear more often. It certainly doesn't bother me.
Well I posted a reply in this topic a few days ago and surprise suprise it cannot be seen
Many times in the past I have requested that the forum be made more welcoming and have more options which are freely available on other forums, even the most basic ones, and yet here with have constant issues with lost posts, no option to post photos, no chat room where members could chat privately about any subject Parkinson related or not. Why can't the administrators see that by having a cheerfull , welcoming place for new members and old to visit, we would increase membership and have somewhere to post that members would hopefully find more informed and friendly discussions and perhaps more people would contribute.
Lets not forget these are public forums and I ofter wonder what the lurkers visiting the forum think, we should have open and friendly discussion amongst ourselves in our own PRIVATE forums, where one could only read if registered as a member, membership should be approved by admin before being allowed to post. A more colourful template would also brighten the place up.
And let's not forget there is more to life than Parkinson's, so why not have forums unrelated to Parkinsons
Something radical must surely be done and what better time to bring in new innovation than at the start of a new year?
As i am new to the forum i am dissapointed to read some negative responses that people have encountered. I joined hoping to make friends with people who understand the problems encountered by people with Parkinsons. I hope some of the issues are dealt with soon and we end up with a helpful forum used regularly. I will continue to read what others are saying and let others know how i feel from time to time
when I originally started this topic, I had no idea it would attract so many replies. Thank you to everyone who took time to read my post and consider the points I made. It's made me realise that we do have a strong community out there. We are all in the same boat either as a pwp or a carer in that we face the same problems daily and its nice to have somewhere to come and ask for advice and opinions.
i read with interest kyloes post. I think a secure chat room is a fabulous idea, not just to talk about Parkinsons, but to make friends. I also think privacy should be a consideration, maybe some pwp or carers would like to post topics that they would rather the www can't see.
i know that PD junction has such a facility, it would be interesting to know if there were any other such sites available.
Hello I will keep this short, its a way of ensuring my post survives, I must say I agree with you Ali p indeed I am reluctant to launch into a lengthy tirade or otherwise, it makes or encourages me to invent many new words (unprintable) when I am about to type the last two words of a informative but extended post , then o goiff it goes on its own uncommanded by me, so in short keep posts short , and many,it stops them missfiring.
Hi,
Also keeping it short (ish) 'cos my posts keep getting devoured by the forum so I'm trying a few things out on the advice of Forum Support who are trying to sort the problem. Ali P, thank you for replying to my earlier post, and apologies for jumping in feet first and then disappearing, but having decided to stalk less and post more, I've only been able to get 3 to stay put for the last couple of weeks. It may be me - PD, the usual mood swings and a foray into the world of varifocals probably hasn't helped .
This is out of sync but I wanted to say that, personally, I appreciate the frequent posters, and those who look out for new members and unanswered posts. And the Doorframe Barretics post gave me something to do on a particularly bad night, so thank you.
K
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