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?

[Guest_1643]

Hi dB Paul and all

I don't know if a generic email everything u use a word like s**** is helpful

Perhaps if someone is under 18 but otherwise we are not children, we are able to use such a word safely.

I don't read the emails or find they have benefited me in or not in crises.

[golden82]

Would like to be able to edit spelling mistakes - just seen I typed - to instead of too...feel a bit stupid and can't fix it. I know it is a minor thing, but should be easy to implement I would think. Thanks.

[mmMekitty]

I agree with you, Sleepy, except we are not all adults using BB Forums. Some people are more vulnerable than others, too. I try to be mindful of that, even though I won't be permitted the openness I would like

Am I right, that, children are able to read across the entire forum, post across the whole thing too?

I can only imagine, had this site been around when I was a young teenager, I am certain I would have investigated pretty much every corner of this place, & would have been drawn to topics I was living with at the time - topics which the adults around me would not have dared talk about openly with each other, let alone with a child they knew could hear. It would have been of tremendous value to me simply knowing others felt as I was trying not to feel. Maybe I would have found help years earlier than I had.... the possibilities rattle round my head.

*

I'd like to be able to fix spelling mistakes, too, but if I could edit one letter, how many more would I edit? Knowing me, I might want to go back & re-write whole paragraphs! Then the chances are the post someone has written in response would seem to be in response to a somewhat different post. Could get quite confusing.

I guess, Golden82, we're going to have to live with our imperfections exposed!

mmMekitty

[quirkywords]

As the crowned Queen of typos on this forum, people tell me to edit in word but I dont.

golden no one makes as many mistakes as me.

[mmMekitty]

Croix? 😼

[Guest_1643]

Hi all

I know there are children who can read but I think the word itself is not the risk.

[geoff]

Hello Cyaz, thanks.

Geoff.

[Sophie_M]

Hey everyone,

It is very irritating to notice a spelling mistake after posting, we’ve been there many times! While we can’t currently set community members up to edit posts, we don’t mind people using the “Report Post” button to request an edit from the moderator. It might not be instant as mods can be pretty busy sometimes, but we’ll always try.

We love the idea of a Welcome Pack! We’re having a look at how our Forums FAQ and a few other orientation pages could be improved. The suggestions Sleepy21, Summer Rose and others have shared are fab, thank you.

We’re sorry to hear the email received if mentioning a word like “suicide” can be frustrating or distressing for a few of you. We really like Demonblaster’s suggestion of displaying it on the page, rather than emailing each time, but it’s a tricky thing to implement as it’s important that we share some options for immediate support as quickly and directly as we can. 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about young people on the forums, mmMekitty. We hope this is a helpful space for young people. Part of the reason it’s open to the public is so that people of any age can find these discussions and know it’s ok to talk about mental health, and it’s ok to ask for help. We think it’s awesome to think about the impact the discussions you lovely folk have here on the forums may have. 💙

Kind regards,

Sophie M

[Clues_Of_Blue]

Hi all,

Sophie, I think the way the Sane forums do it may be the answer to handling participants using a blacklisted word. Rather than sending an e-mail with no context for what post it's referring to, or what word the system is upset about - which is frankly confusing and dismaying - they give you the information on the spot. I stumbled upon a word that is perfectly appropriate in context (which is how I was using it), but not so much out of context. When I clicked "post", the system bounced me back to the text box I wrote my post in, with a brief explanation of what was not accepted, a link to click if I wished to query or dispute it, and some emergency contact details should I require them. The really important and good thing for me was that the post wasn't suddenly taken away to be toyed with by someone else. I knew exactly what the problem was, I knew immediately and that it was for the very post I was writing, and I could edit it myself before actually posting it. I can't begin to tell you how much better that was for my mental health than the dreaded contextless Beyond Blue e-mail and knowing any one of my posts may turn up later in words that aren't my own and with nothing signifying it has been edited, to tell my fellows why that post doesn't sound like me and likely just doesn't make sense! There is nothing worse for someone who needs to have a voice than to have their voice taken from them and/or twisted. And you know, that's most if not all of us here.

Blue.

[Guest_1643]

Oof....excellent blues clues I find that makes a lot more sense! Great idea.

I'd love a welcome pack , like a link of some basics etc, maybe peers can have a say on what it includes