Forum Issues and Suggestions

[kimmydawn]

So that the "What if.." thread can hopefully get back to its original OT, I'm copying and pasting from my post there:

I'm open to suggestions in regards to sub-forums, most certainly. However, these sub-forums would be subject to the guidelines and moderated by the moderators of the forum and administrators. We can't, in any way that I see or know about, give individuals moderating "powers" for specific threads...only specific forums. Making all members of a forum a moderator in the forum isn't an option that I see.

I do agree that discussions here can be very pointed, and that a deviation from the OT can take a subject way off path. I would like to discuss our options to work this, but at the same time, I keep in mind that if everyone would post according to the existing guidelines, and asking one's self if their post is on topic with the OT, there would be few issues. Also, keeping in mind that when we post publicly, not everyone is going to agree with us. As long as disagreement doesn't include attack or hijack, that's OK. When we post publicly, we can expect responses within the guidelines. Just as we count on the guidelines being upheld, posters count on being able to post within those same guidelines.

If we are accepting of our fellow posters within the guidelines for the site as well as keep our own posting within the same guidelines, threads and discussions can generally run very smoothly. Also remember please that if we generally don't tolerate well another poster, we have the option to put their posting on "ignore" to make the most of our experience.

Again, I'm open to suggestions for the issues in the forum and in regards to sub-forums. Don't hesitate to PM me.

Thanks,

[kimmydawn]

I wanted to make this thread so that posters can make suggestions on what might help their experiences here...what difficulties they've run into (without being overly critical, or pointing specifically out, another poster), and what suggestions they might have to help this forum run more smoothly.

There has been a suggestion of sub-forums. What specific sub-forums?

Also, in regards to debate within threads where some can get/feel personal, what might be the suggestion outside of requiring posting remain within the guidelines? Chemar made a suggestion that the post could be reported and a new thread could be created for the member. Are there any others?

I appreciate y'alls help on this.

KD

[KC Tower]

Let it be....

Sub forums could be used for Carolines news posts if discussion could be forced back to this the main forum anything more in the way of divisions would divisive and be detrimental to the overall board.

[kimmydawn]

Thanks for your feedback.

KD

[Thelma]

Hi Kimmy

I can't see how sub forums could work as they would only be used as these ones are because if the member wants to make a point nothing sometimes will stop them and the constant being on the lookout would be very difficult and if the mods have to choose which post is usefull and which isn't then it will be nigh impossible for them to do.

I suggest that as an eg Ron perhaps every couple of days or so tell the mod assigned to put this and this one in number two post.

He then would have the choice and I don't for one minute believe there will be a necessity to alter the wording of them.

It's only a need to keep the most relevant posts in order so as to logically follow a pattern for the sake of lucidity.

I can't see many posters asking for thils so it seems to me that it won't be abused.

what say you/

[Ronhutton]

Well, what have I started!!!
Overall, for a group of people suffering from a debilitating illness, we get along very well. We get some great humour which shows PWP's are not cowed by their illness.
But there is a very serious side, together, we have a unique opportunity to make a contribution to overcoming this disease.
How do we do it amicably.
Firstly, sub forums, I fear that they would just transfer any disagreements from the main to the sub forums. The problem is the written word can be misread far easier than the spoken word. The spoken word can take on a friendly, soothing tone, it can be given with a twinkle in the eye etc. But we can only use the written communication, and Braintalk works so well on the whole that I imagine we would not want to radically change it.
Perhaps we need additional guidelines.
1. When you radically disagree with the contents of a post, which may have upset or angered you, do so via a personal message. Hopefully, you are not wanting to show the forum members how much cleverer you are than the poster. This is not really a new guideline, but often not adhered to.
2. When you reply to a post, don't just send a copied publication with absolutely no interpretation with it. Add a commentary, an explanation of what point you are making. If you leave the originator to decide what your point is, he or she often make the wrong one. A reply of a copied reference only, with no explanation of why you posted it, gives the impression of
"Just see that, I can't be bothered communicating with you"
3. We have a "Thanks for this post" facility, how about other possibilities. If a reply is off topic, why not have an "Off topic" facility. If a post gets several "Off topic" votes from a variety of members, they will get the message amicably, instead of a retort from the originator.
There are other such "voting" facilities one could think of, which could improve the quality of the debate, and keep the discussion on topic without dingbats being thrown.
Best wishes to all,
Ron

[KC Tower]

Well, what have I started!!!
Best wishes to all,
Ron
Ron, starting anything is good and your efforts are appreciated .... and the best idea for some semblance of control without being intrusive ....


3. We have a "Thanks for this post" facility, how about other possibilities. If a reply is off topic, why not have an "Off topic" facility. If a post gets several "Off topic" votes from a variety of members, they will get the message amicably, instead of a retort
Ron

This would do much more than the current thanks button. We have people brag about their # of posts counter I wonder who get the record if there was a # of off topic posts counter. How about a pool??

And for the record, I fully agree with RH angst about some of the posts in "his" thread but strongly felt the proposed solutions were one sided and not advisable.

[oyster]

suggestions from rh, i like 1,2,and 3.

call me weird, you wouldn't be the first, but, i like the argueing. although it does detract from a good and productive thread and it is a real shame when people insist on having their feeling hurt, there is an authenticity to it. any community i have been involved with has had these very same issues, it is how we grow as a group.

i am not a great organizer but a structure in this forum to provide a way for a thread to stay on track would be worth trying. i like the sub thread where the originator could somehow just include the posts that are pertinant

:grouphug:

[kimmydawn]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

I'm one that likes a good debate on issues with which I have knowledge...a good die hard debate...lol. It's just not everyone's cup of tea and I understand that. I think conflicting opinion, thoughts, and knowledge is actually what makes a good conversation...one where we can gain something from.

Some like debate, some like just positive contribution sticking to the facts, and some even like a good argument. Most don't enjoy "mud-slinging" though.

We have to find that middle road knowing that we can't be everything to everyone but try to make it as comfortable as possible for the whole.

I know, speaking personally, I can get really involved emotion-wise when the topic is something I'm passionate about, and in my experience, that's where the hurts and upsets can occur...due to a passion...something great to have.

So, with many who are passionate about their very lives, I think we'll figure out a way to making posting more comfortable for the whole of the forum, if not for every like or taste.

Also, it's not an "ugly" act to use ignore on occasion. There were times that I'd sign on and think, "Ugh, I can't deal with so and so today. I can barely tolerate them on a good day." Ignore isn't a forever thing...but to use as we need. Just another suggestion, and one that the whole can benefit from at times by not having to read upset.

KD

[vlhperry]

Some of us do not contribute to the costs of running this forum, others contribute something to keep it up and running but what is contributed on an individual basis does not come close to the total costs of keeping this forum going. Many of us are computer illerate and would never be able to keep a forum of this size up and running.

If the moderators edit or block you from this site for a week, take your lumps. More than likely they were deserved. We do get overinvolved from time to time, espiecially if we are housebound and don't get out and vist friends. Spending too much time by yourself has a tendency to focus all your thoughts on what you believe, argue with yourself, begin to put too much credence in your own ideas and theories, and lastly, become to believe your theories as fact and refuse to acknowledge other opinions; looking only for those that will back up your own.

Since we all signed on this forum promising to follow the forum rules, at that point in time we are acknowledging the possibility we might not only be able to follow them, but also that we all are capable of breaking them. The moderators must be trusted to act according to their interest in providing us with a safe environment to vent good news, views, develop friendships, and we must accept the fact that no one is perfect.

I am one of those who keeps threatening to leave. My views oppose many on this forum and I take it very seriously when others make sarcastic remarks about my posts. Some say make your disagreements with a spoon of sugar. The same person may permit themselves to "flame" another thinking they are not attacking someone but are defending a more ethical belief.

This forum is sometimes used by people who are trying to help others by posting long, current studies on many different aspects of Scientific findings about Parkinson's disease. If the information doesn't interest you, ignore it. But there is usually someone who will find something helpful in the post, depending on where they are with their symptoms. If this is true, thank the poster so they know someone is out there listening and considers their efforts to assimalate information as valuable. I assume that persons on this forum who perform this function would lose interest if they never received feedback.

Vicky

[therese]

I just want to say that all the responses to this thread were excellent...especially those related to how we "treat" opinions/ideas of others. On a less serious approach to this, I wanted to say that it reminded me of something that I once read and have often used...in jest, of course: "You're entitled to your own opinion as long as it's the same as mine."!!

Therese

[Thelma]

My Grandmother always used to say when I got uppitty "two great minds think alike" but then she would smile and change the subject. Wonder why lol

[kimmydawn]

I appreciate the responses here and hope to continue this thread so that possibly we can work with the issues that members have found upsetting for them, or not working for them, on a continual basis...as far as threads, posts and communications go.

If there's something you don't feel comfortable putting here, please PM me.

Also, I do want to let you know that this thread is to think of suggestions that might help the communication and flow of this forum, NOT to discuss specific guidelines or actions. If you disagree with the guidelines, which are agreed upon when joining and posting, or mod/admin actions, please PM and admin. or DocJohn. I'd like us to discuss what might improve the forum function overall within the already established guidelines.

KD

[reverett123]

I will speak only for myself, but it is frustrating to be trying to carry on a serious discussion of a scientific topic here at times. It is like practicing football and the marching band is using the same field, at times. :D

On the other hand, I like to joke and kid around sometimes as well. And I know that not everyone is able or willing or even interested in taking part in some of the things I desire. But some are and there should be some way to accomodate us all.

Back in the days of steam powered computing, I used to frequent Usenet. There was a convention there of prefixing the subject line with an abbreviation to let readers know a little bit about the thread. Maybe something like that could work here.

For example, we already use OT for off topic. Maybe we could adopt "SER" for serious consideration of something scientific by serious curmudgeons like myself? And maybe KIL for keep it light.....

Yeah, that's gonna fly.....:D

[kimmydawn]

That's a good suggestion, and one I saw before...using icons.

What kinds of icons would help us here..."off topic" was mentioned, "serious postings only"?..."for fun"?

Thanks!

KD

[CTenaLouise]

what we need is an image of Einstein with his tongue stickin out -
holdin a postboard with a stick : that says -relativity check!


http://www.cardcow.com/images/set21/tiny/card00046_fr.jpg

[Thelma]

Tena Tena Tena

I love you kid and your style it is always on point and realistic. Nothing fatuous about you as is about me. I am here one minute and gone the next. Must be my age or looks or something. lol lol lol

[CTenaLouise]

Well thats the first thing I thought of -LOL? :D

also this shows how people differ in opinion...

to each their own - ;)


Why did the chicken cross the road?

Aristotle: It is the nature of chickens to cross roads.

Isaac Newton: Chickens at rest tend to stay at rest, chickens in motion tend to cross roads.

Albert Einstein: Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road moved beneath the chicken depends on your frame of reference.

Werner Heisenberg: We are not sure which side of the road the chicken was on, but it was moving very fast.

Wolfgang Pauli: There already was a chicken on this side of the road.

KINDERGARTEN TEACHER: To get to the other side.

PLATO: For the greater good of man.

KARL MARX: It was a historical inevitability.


RICHARD M. NIXON: The chicken did not cross the road. I repeat, the chicken did NOT cross the road.

GEORGE W. BUSH: The chicken crossed the road because he was an evil-doer, and we smoked him out of his hole and got him on the run!

[Jaye]

BILL CLINTON: Ah did NOT fricassee that fowl, uh, Miss Chicken.

My opinion on the coded thread suggestion: Eight years since dx, I have about as much chance of remembering the codes as I do of where I put my keys. Let's not get too carried away about rules, otherwise Tena would have had to start a new thread to make a joke, and I would have had to know about her thread to make my clever, witty response. Some of the best threads have an ebb and flow about them.

If people are being disruptive, please deal with disruptive people, don't put a bunch of Parkies under still more and more rules. Besides sharing information, we come here to be with each other for mutual support, don't we? To me that means not being scrutinized for weirdness by non-Parkies (other than Thelma, who is not really a non-Parkie) and not being told to behave in some standard fashion. I know you mods weren't intending to do that, but I fear any tendency in that direction. I don't believe in coralling all the horses to put shoes on only a few.

Information-sharing threads could include the word "info" in the title. I am in favor of letting the rest flow freely. Hmm, we used to have a member whose humor was often misunderstood, so he marked his humorous posts with "HFF" for Humor Flag a-Flyin'. It was voluntarily done to help others.

Those are my views, AND I'm flexible about accepting whatever gets changed.

A comment for those friends who may have thought I went away mad from the "What if..." thread: I was indeed off-topic, and I preferred not to have my post as the last thing before a "rolleyes" comment. I get enough of that at home, LOL. Then when I thought about where else to post it, I realized it wasn't worth preserving. It was kind of a bad-hair day anyway.

Nonetheless, Thelma, your words were inspiring and comforting. Maybe I'll be fatuous for a while, too, just to be fair. :D

Suggestions? Mods asked for suggestions. Okay, remember what DocJohn blogged about personal-interest forums working better than information-sharing forums? I'll try to find it later.

Jaye

[chasmo]

that the moderators approach this forum with.
The saying, "be careful what you wish for, you might get it!!", comes to mind in this situation. We are all different and have our own opinions as to how the group should be operated. my suggestion is, to delete personal attacks and let the formicuns post whatever else they wish to.
Remember Chuck Sloan and Laura Dean (ole CS and Harley) were sumarily banned in the old Braintalk, and the moderators ignored our requests to talk about it. That is why I switched to this forum.

This, or any forum, will NEVER suit everyone, but I think that it works for the majority of us.

SO the bottom line is, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!!" I appreciate the forum and its moderators just as they are, and would never presume to micro-manage either.

SO lets cut each other some slack!! Lets learn, laugh and sometimes cry together and be thankful that we have such a great place to post!!

Charlie Black

[kimmydawn]

I just want to clarify...it's not my wish AT ALL to add more rules... The guidelines we have are a plenty to boggle this old brain. ;)

I was speaking more of suggestions that y'all might have for forum flow, posting, etc.

I liked that icon suggestion, but it's only as useful as those responding make it. It still could be a helpful tool for the OP to show their hopes for the thread?

I personally think that, if the guidelines are kept in mind when posting, and if posters can feel free to post within those same guidelines without upset in response due to all embracing an awareness that a differing opinion or individual knowledge is just that, conversations could continue on and on and on. :)

KD