Joan has really hit a badly needed niche developing this web site and deserves all the accolades she receives and more. However as it grows (and how couldn’t it?) she (and we) need to think about future directions for it.
BTW - I am posting this at this time as our Admin’s tech support seems to be currently in house and some discussions on this topic right now might be easier for her.
First let me state that in my suggestions I am NOT trying to make more work for our fearless administrator but rather think of different ways that everyone can contribute (with Joan’s permission and guidance) to make this better for both the regular users AND the many newcomers who (hopefully) will join up and benefit from what everyone has to offer.
I think everyone recognizes how much invaluable information and guidance exists on the message board BUT as we have all seen it can be difficult to access. “I’ll see if I can find that thread and bring it to the top”. (The sticky posts have been a great improvement)
Taking steps to classify and organize the many treads in a manner that makes them easier to find for both regulars and newcomers would be of benefit. Whether it involves creating subheadings on the message board or pulling the threads for posting/archiving on another part of the site using some method that makes them easier to find, would be up to Joan and her son, but I have sensed that in more than a few situations when a new member arrives here, they are not in a situation where they want to do a lot of searching. They need the facts quickly.
If a thread is pulled intact and made accessible elsewhere on the site as a well directed topic, it can always be edited to pull out some of the comments that found their way in and are not focused on that particular subject. Sorting through all the postings can be tedious. I would NOT expect Joan to do a reorganization/indexing of the posts without help! Joan, I DO NOT want you to get burnout from maintaining this forum.
Speaking from experience, when you start a website it doesn’t take up much time but as it becomes more popular (which you always hope it does!) It can start to sop up time like a sponge. This next suggestion may wind up either being a sore point or maybe it is something Joan would like someone to say, so I go out on a limb and say it.
Joan should not necessary have to do everything around here. Her work is fantastic but because of travels, family visits and the inevitable decline of her DH, perhaps sometime she might consider allowing someone else to write a ‘guest blog’? Joan you know the regulars who you might consider for this task. Maybe you could sometime act as an editor instead of an author? (and earn a little rest time) Again, I don’t ever want to see Joan’s name and ‘administrator burnout’ in the same sentence. <look of panic>
The same will hold true for the message board. As it grows and attracts more contributors there is a greater chance that it will attract inappropriate posts. Whether they are inappropriate and offensive or just dumb advertisements, they will come and like graffiti they need to removed without delay. Perhaps somebody would like to step forward and with Joan’s permission she could designate some deputies to help police the board as needed?
Another penalty of success on the web is band width. I don’t know who is hosting the Alzheimer’s Spouse site or what arrangement Joan has, but with a small infrequently visited site there are generally few if any fees. However as the number of hits and server use increases, somebody always takes notice. I don’t know anybody who gives away band width for free. The Amazon click though’s are great and I have purchased a few books using it, but Joan, I want you to know that I benefit enough from this forum that I would kick in a donation if it is ever needed to keep it going. . . .
Please take these suggestions in the spirit that they are offered, knowing that they are based on having some webmaster experience. I am NOT trying to get into your administrator business BUT I DO want this site and forum to continue and if there is something I can do to help please don’t keep it to yourself.
Maybe Joan will listen to you about setting priorities and asking for help instead of doing everything herself ... she sure didn't listen to me.
Joan does have a "thing" about organizing the discussions under topics and spends a lot of time moving posts around. (You have hit one of her hot buttons ... sigh. She's going to start doing more in response to your post, not less. I can see it coming.) Personally, I think it's a lost cause. The natural tendency is to want to talk about a subject while it is fresh in our minds, responding immediately to someone's post rather than wandering around trying to find a relevant thread and then responding there.
There is no attempt made to organize things by topic over on the Alz Assn site -- and because the membership is much bigger "over there", there are a whale of a lot more threads there ... not to mention multiple forums. (The different forums were an attempt to categorize the discussions into broadly-defined subjects. Mostly, it doesn't work very well. The Caregiver forum is by far the most active, so if someone wants a response sometime this decade, that's where they post.) When someone needs help, the old timers find the relevant threads and bring them to the top, just as we do here.
And you know, while the information in an older thread may be valuable, there's something ... special ... about a new discussion. How to explain what I mean ... If we simply wanted to read tips, we'd buy several of the hundreds upon hundreds of AD books -- we wouldn't need a discussion forum. The personal interaction can sometimes help more than whatever is actually said.
Plus, if you've been following the "strike" discussion, many people say they don't post because whatever they would have said has already been said. I think if we read a lengthy thread, we get the feeling that all good advice has already been posted. We aren't forced into thinking things through for ourselves, and coming up with a response. But in doing that thinking and posting, we may come up with some fresh insights. (Heaven only knows divvi will always come up with something original!!!)
Anyway, my two cents: organizing the threads could maybe take a back burner.
Uh-Huh....I agree that my concerns are that Joan will get super overwhelmed with all it takes to support the website. she has done an excellent job here and in the limelite of AD caregiving around the country. do we know exactly at this point how many actual signed in members joan has? on top of that we can assume copious amounts of lurkers. she stated a million hits a while back. joan if you are listening, everyone here wants you to have your own space and time and not do everything if possible yourself. maybe you could attempt to delegate some functions to others who have the technical ability to oversee some of it for you? i know from other forums i was on, there was managers and sub managers tht di exactly what M says and patroled the site for garbage to delete and keep the site safe. unfortunately i am in total ignorance of any technical input, only able to offer Sunshynes ' 'originality' clause at most..i only have an ole fashion webtv not even a real computer with hard drive due to unsavy techy stuff with having a computer..hahah..but it gets the job done! its surely not keeping me from posting my silliness. i hope joan will reconsider the offers and allow some of you techies to give hher a hand -down the road as Sid progresses we dont want her saying - its too much to keep the website and care for Sid...YIPES!!! our worst nightmare, Joan...!! you'd have us sitting in your lawn protesting! you think about all of it and let us know how/when/where you need anything to give you support. and i know these posts speak for everyone here who loves and depends on this website -you are MY hero! divvi
I know that when you're new, you tend to post wherever, and a discussion on caregiver anger walks off into incontinence which turns into kitty litter which turns into jokes. And yes, as divvi and sunshyne have said, we should TRY at least to keep the topics understandable. I wish there were some way (maybe in the welcome new members thread) where newbies could be asked to start new topics, but that might scare them off. Maybe we could informally agree among us quick responders that when someone asks a question that's way off topic of a particular item, we copy that text, start a new message with an appropriate title, and paste the question into it, with our response. I think a couple of us tried to do that with Lullie's finance questions in recent topics.
I don't think it matters if there are five topics titled "incontinence" so much as there being useful advice buried in a "shadowing" posting.
Another way might be to stick half-a-dozen different topics up at the top for the most pressing topics (possibly we could amongst us post, to those topics, the references to the earlier postings on them). Putting them in different categories, on different boards, as is done a bit on the alz.org site, doesn't work, as Sunshyne says. I guess my nominees for sticky topics, off the top of my head, would be EOAD, Finances, Aggression, Shadowing, Incontinence, Wandering, Driving, Family... what else?
But then, leave the rest of the board ALONE. I think this one is so much easier and more friendly to navigate than the one on the ALZ.org site; I'd hate to see it have major changes. That said, I think the home page IS a bit confusing for a newbie, but maybe Joel has given Joan some help on simplifying it. (the one comment I'd make is: don't underline something unless it's a link to another page; that's confusing.)
If Joan is anything like me, she feels the site is hers and her responsibility and she wants to make certain it is operated the way she imagines, and can't figure out how to pass off one thing because it is interlocked with others. I have trouble delegating because others don't do it the way I want it done and it's easier and faster to do it myself. <grin> However, when overwhelmed, she knows she has several of us she can call upon. (Not tech stuff though!)
Amen! I'm no techie; have a dial-up, and know how to reach this site and e-mail. But, I can make a $ donation to help keep it going as mentioned in discussion generator's post.
I'm a relative newbie here, having been reading and posting to this message board for only a bit over a month, but I'll tell you what worked well for me as I tried to get onboard and tap into the accumulated wisdom here. Not really grasping, initially, the "how to's" and power of the SEARCH functions at the top of the page (perhaps a "sticky" ought to be put up to explain SEARCHING in better detail), I originally just set myself the task of starting with the most recent posts and then working my way back through the various threads until I had cleared all the "unread" yellow bands back through about page ten -- while also keeping up with all new threads and posts as they arrived. Most of Briegull's suggested list of "Hot Topics" of EOAD, Finances, Aggression, Shadowing, Incontinence, Wandering, Driving, Family... keep coming up in new threads (or being brought to the top page with occasional ttt help from some of the oldies with good memories and/or good SEARCH skills) often enough to keep them in the top ten pages, so I've not felt that I was really missing much of importance by not going on back and reading all of the stuff in pages 11-52. I just checked and found that 36 different threads have been active during the past 24 hours, and my guess would be that there might have been an average of at least three or four comments posted under each thread, so that's a hundred or so posts to read each day -- some dealing with "on topic" help and support and others in a lighter vein that seek to help keep this "famil;y" bonded and in a good humor. Bottom line, I think it's working pretty well just as it is -- but I join in offering Joan whatever help I might be able to provide.
Quoting Gourdchipper--"I originally just set myself the task of starting with the most recent posts and then working my way back through the various threads until I had cleared all the "unread" yellow bands back through about page ten -- while also keeping up with all new threads and posts as they arrived."
I was reading on the forum for several weeks before I learned that the threads appeared differently when I was logged on. Until then, I didn't realize that it would show me which posts I had read before and how many new, unread posts there were--so now I just stay logged on.
There are a lot of ways to set a forum, there is some forum software out there that presents a compact page to you that lists the major categories of threads applicable to the site. You can post your thread under the correct topic. vBulletin is one that comes to mind quickly, The downside is that these software and formats while nice and convenient cost $$$ and require further $$$ expenditure for bandwidth and storage.
This forum format works very nicely and provides me with the basic info I need, I can tell what I've read, what's new and it allows me to search to find a subject or topic of special interest. I'm not very techno savvy, so I find it works quite well for me. IMHO Joan has done an outstanding job with this site, I think it's simplicity is one of the keys to it's success.
The site owner (joan) is the one who has to decide how many $ and how much time she can afford to to put into the website. They all cost $. In my opinion she has done a marvelous job setting up the site, although I'm new here I really enjoy the site and really don't mind if the thread wanders around. If I am looking for a specific topic, I can always use the serach function. I do agree that a sticky at the top would help explain some of these functions to the newby.
We can help all out by using the site as a gateway to our purchases from the advertisers on the site, this will help produce the $ it takes to keep it operating. I am an avid reader of a certain author's books that are out of print now, I purchase books regularly on line, if we had a link here to B & N and Abebooks, I could access their sites from this forum, my purchases would help provide some income to support the site. Others may buy books from the same sources - just a thought.
Mary's words sounded as if they came from my mouth. I think if Joan feels she needs help (with the forum she started) she knows she can ask. The way things are now, comfortable, like talking to friends.
I am with Mary on this one. I think Joan has a great site here and personally I don't know of any changes I would make. I am like Mary, I don't deligate well and there is the old saying "nobody does it like I would want it done". I found out I sometimes have trouble bringing something up on the "Topic" section and do better on "the next one, and right now that escapes me". Anyway that will bring up threads with ex "insomnia/not sleeping" in the threads. Click one of them and you will usually find a variety of places with the subject being discussed.
I have "the other sites, actuallly 4 of them" under bookmark "alz" and when not many are posting on this site I will sometime go to one of them, but just plain don't like them. So, you newbies, keep your posting up, we really need you and your fresh ideas.
Another forum I belong to recently moved to a new site with many new features and updates. It is beautiful and the instructions for the switch were great. I don't go there any more. I don't want to do tricks-I just want to communicate easily with my family.
Thank you for all of your suggestions. Some I have tried and haven't worked, and some I am implementing without you even knowing it! I am always open to new ideas. If I like the idea, I try it. If it works, I keep it. If it doesn't, I don't do it again.
#1. Arranging the topics into categories. It IS possible to do it on this forum, and I have tried it. It made things WORSE and more disorganized because everyone ignored the categories. We ended up with incontinence in the EOAD category and so forth. That's why I went back to "general" in the categories.
#2.Asking for help and delegating - Apparently it is done so efficiently, you don't even know it! While Joel and Barbara were here, a friend of mine was reading every single post every single day, and she alerted me if anything needed my attention. She is always monitoring these posts, so you can be sure if anything I consider inappropriate is posted, I know about it, and remove it promptly. Kadee (thank you so much) handles the ages and locations of all the new members, and just recently e-mailed a beautiful new chart with all of the details. (I haven't posted it, because my web design software won't let me - says it's too big, and I can't figure out how to fix it.)
#3.Guest Blog - The plan was to have a guest blogger on the first of every month. I did it in October, but everyone seemed to like my blogs better. I believe that part of the success of this website is due to the personal nature of my blogs. I HAVE taken your suggestions not to write one every day. If you notice, I'm down from 6 a week to about 4. That works well for me.
4.Stickies - I mentioned somewhere in one of these discussions that I had no idea what a "sticky" was until someone e-mailed me and explained it. Since then, I have "stickied" 3 topics, and I will take the suggestion to make another one about using this board and the "search" buttons.
5.Off Topic - I think I will add a "sticky" to remind everyone about "off topic" discussions. If someone goes off topic about their cats or things that have nothing to do with our Alzheimer discussions, they can do so by writing "Off Topic" in the discussion topic and put what the topic is. Example- "Off topic - my new kitty." Also - PLEASE - if you KNOW you are going "off topic" in a discussion, don't post it there. Post it in the appropriate topic or make another discussion.
7.Control - For the first time in my life, I am working on a project that is totally and completely mine - my idea, my writing, my creativity, my organization, and my decisions. I love doing it. Yes, I am at the point where there is enough work to hire a staff of 3 more people. Obviously, I do not have the money for that, so I do prioritize the jobs I have to do.
8.Briegull - e-mail me and let me know what is confusing about the home page. Reorganizing that is one of the bigger projects on my list.
9.FINANCES - Yes, you are absolutely correct. Nothing is free, except what you get on the Web. This evolved into a job, which turned out to be a non-paying one. Since my personal finances are now at the critical point, I cannot keep up this site without some monetary assistance. I have been working on getting a donation section set up, but once again, technology has glitched. It has to be through PayPal, and since my one and only PayPal deposit didn't post, I have to get that straightened out before I set up the page. Thank you for your support, and I can assure you, I will be accepting donations once this glitch is fixed.
Thank you for your input. I am always open to suggestions to improve this website.
Joan, I will take some time and look at your front page and see what I could recommend - i think basically the side links are awfully LONG so people don't realize what gems you've got there. I will email you.
Two other things: I just discovered myself that PayPal WILL NOT AUTOMATICALLY transfer money you receive from them to your bank account or credit card account. You have to go on and do it.
And re Kaydee's file - Kaydee, I assume it's excel. Can you print it to .pdf and let Joan use it that way? If you want to mail it to me (briegull at gmail.com) I should be able to do that...