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?

[amberlite]

hello, sick meaning= affected by physical or mental illness. I also believe in the laws of the universe Cause and Effect. If I interpret poorly then I feel poorly. That is how it happens for me. I am not an emotional person I am a physical person and when physical people hit rock bottom Well the outcome can be swift and irreversible. So we have a lot to learn from all types of people. People generally and no one specific. Amber does care

[Guest_1643]

hi there,

i dont think the word disability for MH is always so easy to digest and i would not imagine speaking that wya to ppl wold help them. that's always my concern, does something help or harm?
some ppl really identify with being mentally ill, and also with their diagnoses, they use it as a way to say why they are the way they are. I don't like that so much, i feel like diagnoses are limited and some of the terms ppl use for mental health just put ppl down and make them feel different. but its up to the individual how they self-identify. If someone asks me about my "Mental Illness" i'll generally get upset and correct them, as that's not my wording of choice. theres an orginisation called stampede stigma (if you google stampede stigma) which has some interesting ideas and even a quiz 🙂

[Summer Rose]

Hi Sleepy21

Thanks for sharing so much about yourself and providing honest insights. I always pick up something new from you, which makes me really think.

I will definitely look up the stampede stigma website:)

Kind thoughts to you

[startingnew]

Id really love the ability to tag members 🙏

[eight]

no no i think this is good. its going "excuse me for a second" and screaming your lungs out and coming back completely composed. how else do you regulate yourself

[AndrewR2]

By adding and educational topic

[quirkywords]

Welcome ,Andrew ,to the forum and thanks for your suggestion.

What sort of educational topic would you like to see.?

You can use the search engine to choose a topic. There are quite few articles on depression anxiety and many other topics.

[geoff]

Hello, what does frustrate me, and it's been mentioned before, many times, is that you type out a reply to anybody or someone you are especially communicating with on a regular basis, only for the reply not to go through, as BB is under maintenance, that's what really irritates me, surely those who use the BB site often should be told, you need to respect people, isn't that what supporting those with a mental illness is all about.

Geoff.

[tranzcrybe]

Hi Geoff,

The onus on the member to check the notifications is more a case of chance rather than certainty.

How would you like to see a scrolling banner or watermark overlay that covers the whole screen/site (ideally with a countdown timer for the last minute updaters!) starting a few days prior so everyone knows when shut down will occur?

Design-wise, I think it shouldn't be too difficult as it could work similarly to 'layers' in photoshop.

[Moonstruck]

Perhaps someone has an idea I can try ....for some unknown reason, after years on the forum, I cannot login on my phone. I am writing this on my desktop computer...I can access the BB forum site on the phone but cannot access My Threads...or even login. I persisted with trying to login...and it said "You are already logged in" but I am not. I can't contribute anything or access My Threads. any clues how I can use the Forum on my phone, as well as the computer.

I am not having any trouble with my phone except the BB Forum....thank you...Moon S x