How can we improve the Forums?

[Sophie_M]

Hi all,

 

This discussion is a space for all members to share suggestions and ideas to improve the Forums. This can be anything. Navigation, notifications, topics and themes, moderation, community rules, or something else!

 

We'd love to hear about what you think we can do better. We are really grateful to everyone who has contributed their ideas already, and we're always keen to hear more. 

 

Kind regards, 

 

Sophie M

 

Please note: 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 

[Summer Rose]

Hi Croix

I’m so sorry that I worried you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for caring.

I am passionate about the privacy issues, but still trying to work out why I have been so upset. I think it’s this …

When I had no one—and I mean no one—I had beyond blue. When my world was crumbling there was a kind and compassionate voice on the other end of the phone to help me. There were people here who cared.

There is something I can’t yet quantify in my relationship with bb that’s really important to me. It’s not like my relationship with any other large organisation, such as a bank or department store or the post office. It’s personal.

I don’t know if this makes sense to you. I just want the best forum possible for all is us. It matters.

Kind thoughts to you

[Croix]

Dear Summer Rose~

It would be a sad world if we did not worry or be concerned about each other.

I know your feelings about privacy and while I'm quite relaxed about others reading my posts can well understand those who do not feel the same way.

I guess in a sense you might feel the Forum has let you down, as I said before I hope we can get that sorted.

However in someways the relationship is there on multiple levels, the Forum admin itself, and the people in it - even if you only see there efforts in text.

I get satisfaction in trying to assist -and sometimes succeeding, in writing clearly, and in gaining back in a lot of things including being creative, having a daily routine or structure and having an identity wiht which to regard myself.

I regard it as a very safe place, moderators will take other action for posts that should not be published, vet hte ones that will be not only for elements that might distress others but most particularly anything anyone says that might identify them -you can't say you just won the PGA:) and can't have a selfie as an avatar or say who your employer is (not even if it is the Army)- you get the idea.

So no, it's not like a bank of other organisation, it is here for people to get together and support each other, no charge, 24/7 and is indeed highly personal.

I forget if I have told you this before -my apologies if I have - but over the years I've read a fair number of your posts as you tend to pop up in places I might have too. Two things, firstly I then probably will not post becuse you have already given them a sensible and caring response, and the second is I still have not a clue who you are, your age, gender, or location, just a gimps of your nature

Croix

.

[mmMekitty]

Hi Sophie_M & all,

I think I wrote somewhere, I would like if members had control over what can be fiewed in their profile, something like the choice to allow or disallow, to give permission or not.

Or maybe, block posts before a certain date, if that' possible - because there may be people who don't want those conversations blocked, too. If some posts are blocked & others not, this could make for a very disjointed Discussion.

However, I don't mind at all if people want to look into my profile. But, I might change my mind when I've been here a couple years, eh? Can there be an optional setting?

*

Apparently I've been over the 2500 character (with spaces) limit a few times, & when this happens & I'm asked to 'correct the highlighted area' (which is a message that does not help me - I've only stumbled into the message I was over the limit.), I copy my text & take it to my word document, to find out by how many characters I am over, because the message didn't tell me.

I select my copied text & open the word count, & discover, it reckons I am not over the 2500, by maybe as much as 200 characters. So far, all I can do isedit, more than I think I really need to, & more than I want. It's very frustrating.

How does your counter manage to come up with the discrepancy, which I didn't see prior to the upgrade? Will we have the count up there, so we can keep an eye on it, as we write? Or some sort of warning, like, when we reach 2000, or some such?2000

I hope this, too, can be sorted out.

*

I'd like all settings to have a default of 'Never' or 'Off', so I could try  out each in turn, see if I like it or not. Doing that would help me understand the function of each setting better, too. 

Thanks,

mmMekitty

[Fusion2k4]

The UX of the new layouts are not good at all.

Starting with the top header/primary menu that is now fixed on scroll - it takes up 1/4 of the screen real estate on 13" laptops, which is the average screen size.

A good UX designer would used a shrinked version on scroll.

Another example is the "Your content was last auto-saved at 02:23 PM" text is far too large, again, taking up so much space.

This is just two items detracting from consuming the actual content.

I am a fulltime UX designer by trade, and I'd love to help/volunteer with this.

[Moonstruck]

Is this where I reply to Croix?   I miss you and all my friends.  I hate this new format. I feel abandoned and the loss of Forum is a new and horrible blow to my mental health.   It says in place "most recent" or whatever...but it never is.  It begins with years and years ago.   I want to see recent discussions with people I interact with.  My discussions comes up with the threads that I have made...no others...once again back to 7 years ago when I joined.    I cannot understand why Forum has done this to us...and to me?   It has been a huge loss in my life...yet another one.    BB is supposed to help with our mental health aren't they?   they have destroyed something so very necessary for me......I am heartbroken by what they have done.

[Croix]

Dear Moon

Follow the link please

https://forums.beyondblue.org.au/t5/bb-social-zone/croix-parler/td-p/195867/page/136

We'll sort out your contacts with friends

Croix

[mmMekitty]

Hello Sophie_ & all,M

I'm still messing around with the 'sort by' order, on some Discussions. Going from one  end to the other, eventually using the page navigation, as Croix has described.

One problem is the 'sort by' items look like I've selected Newest to Oldest, when the posts are ordered Oldest to Newest, & so I try pressing Oldest to Newest & then pressing Newest to Oldest, thinking that'll fix it. But it does not always work.

There are times I'd like to scroll down more posts before I have to go to the next page. 

Also, I'd like to 'Hide' the initial post. which is at the top of all the Discussion's pages, I look into, & sometimes are long, too, which is something else to scroll past.

Thinking of things being big, those pictures at the top right of some pages take up a lot of room, & I'm not sure why to have them except for aesthetic reasons. Even for that, I'm not enjoying them much: too much vivid blue, which for me personally, is irritating to my eye. Luckily,for me, you put them on the right & I can also scroll down so they are out of sight. (Right eye doesn't see them over there.Sometimes, thugh I' have to be looking up there, if I want things up there - quicker to look).

Warmly,

mmMekitty

[Sophie_M]

Hey mmMekitty,

Thanks for sharing that. The team are looking into all our options with profile pages, so hopefully we’ll be able to find an option that the community can enjoy.

Thanks for letting us know about your issues with the character limit and its accessibility limitations. We’re passing this on to the team to investigate, and we’re really glad you could flag it for us!

We’re aware there’s an issue with the character count, and it’s something we’re looking into and hope to fix as soon as we can – apologies for the confusion and inconvenience you’re dealing with in the meantime. Thanks so much for sharing it here.

Hey Fusion2k4,
Thank you so much for sharing these insights with us! We’re sharing them with them team and really appreciate your feedback and the offer of helping/volunteering on it. Just one of the ways we’ve seen this community come together and want to help each other during this adjustment to the new. 

Hey Moonstruck,
We’re sorry to hear you’re missing your friends while getting used to the new Forums. If it helps, choosing “newest first” display in all threads will show you the newest ones, but the preview will show the original post, not the latest one. We’ve heard that can be a bit confusing and have fed this back to the team. Thank you for hanging in there.

We’re sorry you’re feeling heartbroken and finding it unhelpful. We’re glad to see Croix and mmMekitty are here with you, listening, as are we. We do take on the feedback that it’s been a difficult transition so far and we really hope we can help moving forward.

Thanks again everyone, we really appreciate your feedback as well as your openness and support of one another as we all adjust. 😊

Kind regards,

Sophie M

[Sophie_M]

Hey blondguy,

Thanks for sharing this update!

We wondered if you could check your junk mail for messages from us, and/or email us to let us know your current email address?

Hope you don’t mind us popping this request here! Just wanting to make sure we’re up to date and keeping in touch with our Life Members 😊

Kind regards,

Sophie M

[mmMekitty]

Hello Matchy,

Are you looking for Threads/Discussions you started?

Or, Threads/Discussions someone else started, & you have posted in?

Or Both?

Telling us that would help us help you. 😺

Sorry Quirky, when I work that out, I might be able to explain how to... it is not so easy as it used to be at all.

When you can see how many posts you can get some idea, & then look to see who made the Discussion, & when.

I'd like it to be easier to, because I can imagine how disappointing it would be tomake a new thread/Discussion, for the first time ever, so recently joined, & then not have anyone respond. If that had happened when I first joined I would have stopped right there & then.

Please, BB, Sophie_M, Team, think about that.

mmMekitty