Forum housekeeping - threads with 100+ posts

[Chris_B]

Hi everyone,

Regulars may have noticed that some of our long-running threads from different sections have been moved today to the BB Social Zone. We've been reviewing threads over the last few weeks and have noticed that threads that go past 100 posts have usually drifted away from the original topic and have become more about checking in on a daily basis on any number of aspects to do with wellbeing, as well as the social interaction that has become such a great part of our community here. In some of these threads, the journey is quite incredible, where a person has started out feeling suicidal and has moved to a place where they've recognised how well they're coping and are putting those skills into practice every day.

Although the BB Social Zone is billed as a place for discussing topics other than mental health, anxiety and depression seeps into every aspect of our daily lives and it's not realistic for those of us using the forums regularly to put up walls and make compartments for what's going on.

So from now on, we'll be reviewing threads that go past 100 posts and seeing whether they are suitable for moving to the Social Zone, in order to keep our subject sections focused on specific topics where members are looking for a resolution or support in moving forward in the short term.

Hope this makes sense.

[Chris_B]

Ok, I'm going to do this today. Sherie, how would you feel about your thread going into this new section?

Below is the proposed title and description (I can change this):

Long term support over the journey

How do you cope with anxiety, depression and its effect on your life over days, weeks, months? In this section you'll find long-term discussions (100+ posts) from members who have opened up to share their daily journeys with us.

[Guest_5218]

If you unlock my thread ..... yes please, I'd be happy with that.

Thanks. (-:

[Clues_Of_Blue]

For my part, I am satisfied with that as a solution. No problem with your title and description. Thanks for consulting with us and listening to our feedback, Chris, it's important and appreciated. I hope this change is okay for Sherie and Emmy, too.

[james1]

Hi Chris, I am very impressed by how quickly this got resolved.

Well done to you and the team.

Nothing's perfect, but hopefully it's a step in the right direction for everyone's needs, new members and existing members, to be met.

Cheers

James

[Chris_B]

There's a lot of things we can't fix quickly, but for the things we can, we must get it done 🙂 . I'm sorry for any upset the movements today have caused, I'm glad we can all agree on how much we care about this space.

[Emmy.]

Happy with that option. Sorry did you say my threads could be joined together as that would be really good or linked somehow

[Lost_Girl]

Hi Chris,

In regard to Sherie's thread, I can't see how this has gone off topic. I have read this from the beginning. Sherie continues to provide regular updates on her therapy and the results and impacts that this has. In addition the thread has brought to light the domestic abuse challenges. Both of these topics are posted on weekly if not more often. The change is that as well as the original people that joined her thread to support her, new members join as they meet her either via the cafe or via her help on others threads. These people have then read her story and join in to support her daily.

Expecting that people will only post on the issue they are experiencing seems unrealistic as each individual is having to integrate into their lives. What you have decided is straying from the topic is in fact not doing so but explaining how a person with for example PTSD and domestic abuse copes on a daily basis.

In addition these posts serve to provide a community of support where readers can see quite clearly how sharing stories and ongoing support is critical in the healing process. I have learnt that even with the proper psych care and GP and medical assistance, people do not seem to improve unless they feel heard, feel that they are not alone and have regular support and reassurance.

A lot of people here do not seem to have a support network outside of BB. I do think it is important for people to see the whole journey.

I have noticed when new people join existing long term threads they are either hoping to give back to someone who helped them or hoping to get support from the same people helping that person. Both giving and receiving help seem to be an integral part of healing.

Just fyi, I use the search function to try and find topics that I need info on rather than scrolling through topics. However I understand the housekeeping to a point.

I would suggest you consider a new section and call it something like "Long term member support", however I think you are limiting support to new users by doing this. When I find a thread on topic but it only has 10 responses it will not help me as much as learning through someone's ongoing journey.

Personally Social Zone doesn't make sense to me to receive ongoing support and encouragement on my chronic pain that I have had 24x7 for a year now. I still suffer daily and the support here helps keep me from tipping over the edge.

Thanks for your support Chris.

Kind regards,

Carol

[Chris_B]

Hi Emmy, it's not technically possible for us to merge unfortunately, but I can move both your threads into that new section, and you can use whichever one you feel most comfortable with.

[Emmy.]

That'd be good thanks

[Lost_Girl]

I have another question Chris just brought up by this discussion. If a long term member did decide to leave the forum but had made friendships here. If two parties sent private requests to admin both consenting to share a personal email for example would this ever be considered?

Carol