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 

[mmMekitty]

Hi Geoff. (& Quirky & everyone)

When I click the bell Notifications, when there is a number - not as big as your 78/98 & such, I see a few of the latest, & can 'view more' if I want. Then the number disappears until more Notifications are recieved. You may be getting loads of Notifications in regards to loads of Discussions & Posts... I really don't know, just guessing you are Following heaps of Discussions (? & individual Posts), & Topics?) 

If it's not something like that going on, then I'd suggest you get in touch with Modsupport directly. Maybe ask Sophie_M to respond here for anyone else with a similar question? 😸

*

Hello tealflowers 😺 I've enjoyed seeing you around again.

If you follow Sophie_M's suggestion & turn off all Notifications, do  you know where those Discussions you want to see are? 

Warmly,

mmMekitty 

[britishtvfan]

hi mmMekitty. yes i've read Sophie's reply (thanks). i have unfollowed this thread as i keep getting notifications but i still get them & emails even  when it's nothing to do with me? i have unsubscribed from emails from this thread but it just says error & it still sends me the emails which i find annoying. i delete them but it keeps happening. i'll just go to certain topic discussions like social stuff or if i feel up to it, sad things. i don't check the forums let alone reply as much as i used to. maybe i should work on that just for some company, i'm pretty lonely. but that's irrelevant to this thread. it's nice to see you too btw.

[geoff]

Hello mmMekitty, the number now is 5 and I haven't had any response yet, so it baffles me.

Geoff.

Life Member.

[mmMekitty]

Hello tealflowers & Geoff, this might help both of you, I hope. If not, I'm sure Modsupport would help you more directly, if you email them.

I'd asked about recieving Notifications for a Discussion I had not 'Followed', had not even participated in (far as I recall), & I was sent the following:

"It sounds like you may be subscribed to a whole topic, rather than an individual discussion (FKA thread. You can see what you’re following, and unfollow posts, discussions and topics by going to profile, scrolling down to “Discussions you’re following”, and then viewing the list or hitting “Manage discussions”.

When I followed this advice, I discovered a list of what I've Followed, & saw the Discussion on the list, & then I checked the checkbox, found a note at the top of the list, asking if I wanted to remove the selected item/ , & I haven't seen one Notification about that Discussion since.

I still don't know why or how it was on my list, but I'm not concerned anymore about it.

I think knowing how to access this list & remove anything you don't wantt to Follow anymore could be very useful, especially when it seems you are Following too much to keep up with or realise the Topic or Discussion or individuals Posting are making you feel uncomfortable.

It's a good reminder from Sophie_M, to report anything you think breeches the guidelines or conditions of use for this site.

Ideally, tealflowers, Follow what you want, then either watch for Notifications, or go to your Profile Page, & see a list there of what you have participated in &/or Followed. I've also been using the little 'support' heart, & it seems people are Notified when I've supported their post within a Discussion. I will be Notifified that (for example)

'Sophie_M supported 

How can we improve the Forum?' (& the Discussion name is a link to it).

I will rarely use 'All discussions' because I don't always cope well with the deep distress of others, & things I simply don't know how to answer. & because I simply can't do as much as I have done - I've got to limit my connections here, both for physical & psychological reasons.

There are times when I'd like to see Sophie_M pop in & offer direction, advise, or remind about these guidelines & conditions of use, & the fact we are not health care workers & cannot replace medical advice.

Anyway, getting sidetracked..

Warmly,

mmMekitty

[mmMekitty]

Geoff, I forgot, somewhre - I think in Settings, there is an option for 'real time notifications' or not as you would prefer. Sorry, I can't recall exactly where. (This would be a good example of where Sophie_M could plese pop in & help with this.)

I like it set to real-time, for when the number next to the little bell changes, while I am logged in to this site, I know the most recent Notifications are most recent responses, (replies or support), to the Discussion/post at the top of the list.

😺

mmMekitty

[Sophie_M]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for sharing what’s going on for you here. We just wanted to pop in and comment on a couple of things.

Hey Geoff,

Sorry to hear you're confused by this number appearing and changing. Hmm, it sounds to us like mmMekitty is on the right lines, and the number you're referring to is your notifications. When you click on the number, it should take you to your notifications page. The number will refresh whenever you view this page.
We hope that helps. If it's not sounding quite right or reflecting your experience, we’d really appreciate if you could share some screenshots with us (at modsupport@beyondblue.org.au) to help us see the problem.

Hey tealflowers,

Hmm, that’s strange. Sorry to hear you’re receiving an error message when trying to unsubscribe, that must be frustrating.

mmMekitty makes a fantastic suggestion here:

You can see what you’re following, and unfollow posts, discussions and topics by going to profile, scrolling down to “Discussions you’re following”, and then viewing the list or hitting “Manage discussions”.

If you’re wanting to go a step further and turn off notifications all together, this is another option. If you go to Profile, then click Settings, and the click Notification Settings, you could try unticking all the boxes listed there and seeing if that helps? From there, you can also edit your Email notification settings. Again, it might be worth turning everything off for a while, and then coming back to try out turning things on one at a time whenever you feel like you might like to try out more notifications.

Hey mmMekitty,

Thanks for the wonderful tips you’re sharing here! Yes, you’re right, it is possible to turn Real-time notifications on and off. Here’s how:
Click Profile, select Settings, select “Notification settings”. One of the options shown here is “Turn off all real-time pop-up notifications”. Geoff - if you try this, please let us know how you go. 🙂 It sounds like it could be a really helpful option for you. 

Thanks again everyone for keeping this wonderful discussion going... sharing tips, letting us know what's working and what's not so great - we appreciate all of it. 🙂

Kind regards, 

Sophie M

[geoff]

What was good about the old forums was that we could see any new posts that hadn't been answered, now we have to go through page 1, then 2 and keep going to find any unanswered threads.

Geoff.

Life Member.

[mmMekitty]

Agree Geoff, & the pages are 'short'. I'd like to see more posts per page so I'm not having to go to the next, next, next - this is taking time. If I go & read a new Discussion, & return I am back at the beginning again, & have to go to the page where I was, & it might be page 5 & there is no way to very quickly jump to pages not allocated a little square in the page navigation thingy.

I'd like to go to one location to see various lists of Discussions. A dropdown menu of these could include, Discussions I've made, Disscussions I"ve responded to, (whether Followed or not), n option to see a list of Newest Discussions (with a date range selector?) A list of for Discussions which I've been Notified about. I'd like a list of the Discussions I don't actively Follow, but want to check back with, read more of at another time, or some such.

A site I was once with had permitted us to keep a list of other users, those we frequently talked with, & maybe something similar, which would link to where an individual most recently posted, or three most recent, only?

I think now, I wouldn't want to link to their Profile Page, & not until we have control over what can be viewed there, & (pie in the sky), 'Highly restricted' for general public, 'Somewhat restricted' for members not well-known, & more 'Open' for those we give permission to.

Funny, I keep clicking on my Profile Picture up there at the top, expecting it will simply link me to my Profile, & am surprised when I realise the little dropdown menu is there instead... just when I thought my brain was keeping up with the changes! 

Warmly,

mmMekitty

[Hanna3]

Hi mmMekitty,

I keep having to scroll through page after page after page too - it's takes ages and it's a nuisance!  I see one post on a page and then when I click the left arrow, it doesn't take me to the next most recent post but to weeks and weeks ago - and I have to scroll up page after page until I find the second-but-last page.. it's time consuming and a nuisance.  I'm glad I'm not the only one having this trouble!  I often have difficulty seeing what the most recent post is replying to.  

[mmMekitty]

Dear Hanna,

I'm sorry, I can't imagine what is happening with your phone/laptop/tablet to make this site not work as it ought to.

I don't usually use my iPhone for viewing websites, but the other day I did, & at one point Voice Over on my phone said I could view the screen as it would look on a desktop. Well, I can't tell you what it did, because I couldn't see anything much at all anyway... just a thought that maybe there are settings on your device that could be helpful? If I ohly had my iPhone to use, I'd be looking to find some tech geek to help. 

😼I might even try Apple support... go into an Apple Shop. 

I don't know who'd you would ask for if not an Apple product.

On BB, they are only putting a few Discussion titles  per page, so finding a Discussion, even a recent one, is difficult. I noted one before, not even a day old, & it was already on page 5.

Have you been in contact with Modsupport? Do you know how to take a screenshot on your device, & attach that to your email to Modsupport? Showing what your screen looks like could help alot.

💖💖💖💖

mmmekitty