How can we improve the forums? Your suggestions and comments please

[Chris_B]

Hi all, this thread is a running commentary for all members on things for improvements to the forums. This can be anything from how it looks, the categories, to moderation, community rules etc.

While we might not be able to implement everything straightaway, or keep everyone happy all of the time, we'd like to hear about what you think we can do better.

This is not a thread for discussing the moderation or editing of individual posts - if you have questions about this please contact the team offline via email modsupport@beyondblue.org.au

To avoid repeating suggestions already received, below are some results from our last user survey giving an indication of which new features people would like to see on the forums. This survey was answered by 1,597 users:

44% - Email notification when I have a reply on the forum
39% - Access to the forums via an app
27% - Ability to block seeing posts by specific users
25% - Ability to contact users privately
25% - Ability to use emoticons
25% - Ability to follow posts by specific users
24% - Ability to share links
23% - Forum posts visible only to registered users
22% - A profile, viewable by others users, where I can introduce myself
21% - Ability to quickly access all posts by a particular user
15% - Ability to tag users in a conversation
10% - Ability to share images
6% - Ability to share videos
17% - None of these

Update July 2022 - This discussion has now been closed. Please go to the updated version below to share feedback and follow our updates:

How can we improve the Forums?

[quirkywords]

Geoff

I feel your frustration and used to think it was just my poor technical skills .

I am sure it is something BB technical team is working on.

I have been told to write in word then cut and paste so there is always a copy, but I just write on the forum as it is what I have done.

[geoff]

Hello Quirky, to copy and paste every reply is too time consuming and not really feasible, extra work we shouldn't have to do.

Geoff.

[Guest_1643]

hey all - re mentioning medications.... i searched the forums for a medication name - and came up with about 45 responses. I find that naming medications is quite common here.
Is it okay to name medications in certain situations?
Is it okay to name certain medications?
Is it okay to infer the medication eg - A medication starting with A and ending with B or something, without actually saying it?
There are endless conversations here using medication names. Maybe the rule is too hard to enforce or something but it always felt to me that such a rule was a bit lax at times. We're all trying our best but after nearly 2 years here i'm still unsure how to approach discussions where medications are mentioned.

[Unbeliever]

Geoff,

This happened to me constantly a few years back. So I started opening up my email in a new tab, copying and pasting the question into a draft in my email and then writing my response underneath. Then going back to the BB site and copying and pasting my response into the post.

Saved me a lot of heartache...

The only problem with this method is that there is no "letter counter" in my email so 9 times out of 10 I have to then go back through it and try to cut down the post to meet the BB "character count" requirement.

But other than that, I have never had to lose a response ever again. Which is very relieving.

[geoff]

Hello Unbeliever, on my previous laptop losing replies was common so I started to use Wordpad, but again you have to copy and paste, this is something we shouldn't have to do.

Imagine someone writing their first reply to a person wanting some advice, and all of a sudden the site disappears for any reason, are they going to return to BB or give up.

Problems are bound to happen, that's why this thread was created and we have been promised the 'New Beyond Blue' is going to change and improve the site ?????????? Still waiting.

Geoff.

[Sophie_M]

Hi Sleepy21, these are great questions about the use of medication names in the forum and thank you for seeking more information.

We don't allow medication names in the forum so if you do see posts where they are named it would be wonderful if you could report them so that the moderation team is able to have a look.

If you want some more information and clarity the full list of community rules is here: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/online-forums/community-rules

Thank you for being such an active member of the forums and for helping us improve!

All the best,

Sophie M

[amberlite]

Hi and regards I find complaining hard to do so this is with great discomfort that I try to explain how confusing it is to navigate the forums with the excessive volume of threads. Generally I get on- use the cafe, do the word games and then I start reading ALL the threads and their so personal and just not general, so I feel it's hard to join in. I read so many threads and posts that I end up feeling disorientated. I am not confident enough to start a thread and from where I sit it looks like work. All I'm trying to say is that the forums are hard to use, to much choice can be overwhelming. Sorry if I have mucked up again.

[quirkywords]

Amber lite you have expressed yourself well.
This thread is about improvements and you have a fewer choices would help you.

I found that when I first started on forum I I used to stick to one or two threads . I found the do you like yourself to be interesting and changing and I learnt things.

I tok many months to start my own thread . Only do it if you want to. It is yiur thread so you are in charge, some people just post when they need or want to.

If you feel comfortable just stick to the word games and the coffee

Thanks for your comment.

[amberlite]

awesome and great to be heard, thanks to all.

[Guest_1643]

hi amber that's a fair point there are a lot of threads and also a lot of sections. Kinda confusing at times.

I think whn I came i assumed everyone else had been here for ages and sometmes actually ppl are relatively new themselves... hard to know when you join a thread if the ppl on it know each other from other threads or how long they've been around overall.