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]

Hello Sophie_M

I hope you & The Project Team get your avatars back.... I miss seeing them & other avatars that were here from years ago. I could more easily 'spot' some threads when I saw the avatars on the screen, yours included.

I was checking out the process for uploading another avatar, & I would like to know why I have to separately, confirm both a large avatar & a small avatar?  

Hoppy Long Weekend

Hugzies

mmMekitty

[mmMekitty]

Hello Sophie_M & Project Team

what has happened to the 'Report Post' button?  It had been the easiest & quickest way to let you know there might be a problem with a thread or post  - now it is a round-about way I have had to use a couple times just today, to email you about the threads I've come across, which are either (perhaps) inappropriate or for you to respond to more directly, or do not adhere to the terms & conditions of use for this website.

Using the email link below doesn't seem right, because this link is for people wanting more direct help than the forums allow. Reporting of threads/posts is more appropriately a matter for moderators, so I suggest a dedicated link, or that you restore the 'Report Post button.

Hoppy Long Weekend, with hugzies

mmMekitty

[ProjectTeam]

Hi quirkywords,

The recent changes that were made to the Forums include new experiences for logging into the forums, and for uploading/changing your avatar.

Kind regards,

Project Team
Beyond Blue

[ProjectTeam]

Hi mmMekitty,

Thank you for your feedback.

Avatars for Sophie_M and our account are back now, and more avatars will be returning soon. Over time you'll see avatars reappear for members that have used the forums since July 2022.

That's a really great question about why you're now asked to crop your uploaded image for both large and small versions of your avatar. Avatars used to be managed in a software platform that was separate to the forums. They are now managed by the software platform the forums actually runs on. This platform requires both a large and small version of your avatar.

The large avatar will appear on your profile page. The small avatar will appear next to your posts, in the top navigation bar, and other smaller places across the forums. We expect most members will crop both the large and small versions of their avatar in the same way. But some members may like to make a closer crop for their small avatar, so the details in the image are more easy to see at the smaller size it's displayed at.

Regards,

Project Team
Beyond Blue

[ProjectTeam]

Hi again mmMekitty,

Thank you so much for bringing to our attention the missing "Report Post" link. This wasn't removed intentionally and has now been restored.

Thanks again!

Project Team
Beyond Blue

[mmMekitty]

Thank you, Project Team

Good to see your & Sophie_M's avatars are back.

Thank you for the explanation about the large & small avatars. That makes sense.

I've not figured out how to use your cropping tool. I've tried to & I can't seem to make any difference to the pic I try to crop. Could you please explain what I need to do?

When I know how, I'll have a go & see if I would like to zoom in on Mekitty's head. I may just make another pic, if I can't & use that, maybe? Can I upload a second pic for the small avatar?

Hugzies

mmMekitty

[Whatsinaname]

Hi team,

Apologies if this has already been said, but it's a long thread...

I think it'd be great to click on others profiles and see when they were last active. The nature of the forum means people come and go, so it'd be great to see if you're talking to people that are still active.

[tranzcrybe]

I like that idea; and to go a step further, what would the consensus be on placing an 'active' indicator (similar to Skype) when online (on the forums) so regulars can keep in touch to have a chat?

[ProjectTeam]

Hi Strydz,

Thanks for expanding on your previous feedback.

We can see the many benefits to an edit or delete option. Care would need to taken as this functionality can change the flow of existing threads, or the meaning of replies. We love the idea though!

Kind regards,

Project Team
Beyond Blue

[ProjectTeam]

Hi mmMekitty,

Sorry to hear you're having trouble with the crop tool. Could you email modsupport@beyondblue.org.au with a screenshot of what is appearing on the crop avatar page? We can then provide some more guidance.

Unfortunately the same image must be used for both the small and large avatars. Members are just able to crop that image differently for the two avatar sizes.

Regards,

Project Team
Beyond Blue