Forum changes

In mid 2015 when @Appleblossom and I joined the forum, it was a much quieter place. Only about a year old at that time, it seemed every new member received a very much greater amount of ongoing engagement from mods and memership alike than now. The mods were always around and posting then. I too have noticed the slow decline of moderator engagement over the years. For me this has felt a little like there was a job being a bit 'unloaded' onto the membership. I think this opens up too much room for people to be lost as they are arriving at the forum, among other issues. I also just miss the sense that we are all in it together, mods, guides, members and all, and the familiarity and, as @Zoe7, has said, the sense of equality with 'management' that this engenders.

At the same time, like @Appleblossom, I was always aware that mods were likely to be very busy behind the scenes and so tried not to take up too much of their time, except for fairly brief exchanges, which nonetheless, over time, added up to friendly feelings. I too remember feeling very warmly towards Shimmer, for example. She was always around 'liking' people's posts even when not saying that much. It gave a sense of encouragement to me at least and, I suspect, to others as well.

Ultimately I'm okay with the forum however it goes for the most part and I recognise that the traffic on the site means that it may just not be viable for mods to engage like they used to. But, yes, I agree, it would be good to see a little more transparency about the processes sometimes. The forum has been invaluable to me and so many others over the years though, just as it is and has been, and I hesitate to cast it in a negative light. I know that mods are doing a big job. So really, I'd more like to say 'keep up the good work' than anything. Just adding to the discussion.

Love to all.

LOL - awesome image @dragonflygirl - that's a bit how I feel right now - holding on amongst the storm -with drowned wings but trying not to let go!

Hi @Former-Member,

I am in the most gigantic muddle, though less so now that I've had a chance to talk it through a bit. However, the person I spoke to and I both agreed that the time she had available to unmuddle the muddle was nowhere near enough. The muddle is still enormous in my brain.

From my perspective this is going to be an ongoing conversation for a little while and I super like the fact that @Faith-and-Hope started this thread.

My understanding is that SANE deeply values the input of those with lived experience. One question I've been pondering over the past few days, is whether consumers and/or carers were consulted in how the change in your hours (from 9-5 to 10-10) was to be navigated. Sometimes I get the sense that organizations think some decisions but not others should be informed by those with lived experience. As someone with a very extensive history of complex trauma, I am extremely aware of how deeply some of us with such histories can be affected by things that to others may seem like inconsequential administrative issues. I would like to know if there was any consultation done with those with lived experience during the planning stages of the extended opening hours. I would also like to know if anyone considered the potential impact of this change from a trauma informed perspective?

As others have mentioned, from my perspective the muddle has arisen because the moderators have not been engaging with Forumites in the way that they did even just a few months ago. This goes for all the moderators, but particularly the new ones. I felt that I tried really hard to connect with them when they first appeared, and yet relationships have not formed simply because they aren't engaging in Forum Land.

As someone else mentioned, I'm sure that many (perhaps most) forumites have zero interest in connecting with the moderators. For those of us who do have that need, there are invariably reasons for that, which are inextricably linked with the rest of our various muddles.

I think another point of confusion is the relationship between the help centre (HC) and Forum Land. I feel that the HC almost has a bit of an identity crisis happening at the moment. On the one hand we are told that it isn't a crisis service, yet on the other hand, Forumites encourage one another to call the HC because, well, quite frankly, you guys are generally super awesome. Furthermore, moderators will at times invite a Forumite who is struggling, to call the HC.

As I have shared before, I have given up calling other helplines because they either hang up on me, or are amazingly unhelpful. Who can forget the fact that the reason I landed in Forum Land in the first place was because when I tried to talk to a lifeline counsellor about my abusive psychologist, the counsellor responded with perhaps the abuse was an important part of the therapy. These are the sorts of memories that are triggered in me whenever anyone suggests that I call lifeline.

I completely understand that you guys are super busy and trying to make limited resources stretch a long way. However, it really seems to me that somehow Forum Land has been put on the backburner or something since the HC extended their hours. Even from a purely economic perspective, surely a service that reaches thousands of people all at once is worth substantial investment? For example, if the situation on Thursday night could have been addressed in a more timely manner, I would not have called the HC and experienced a less-than-ideal outcome there, which in turn caused a whole lot more muddle. I believe that the more moderators step in and support Forumites in Forum Land, the less frequently Forumites will then be on the end of the phone. Furthermore, when you help one forumite on the phone, you help one forumite. When you help a forumite in Forum Land, you will often be surreptitiously supporting others at the same time, as well as role-modelling some valuable skills to the wider Forum Land community.

Ok, I think that's it for me - for now. I'm pretty sure I have a lot more to say, but my brain is completely fried. Thank you for helping with the muddle @Former-Member.

@Phoenix_Rising will respond to your post later (because I want to ) but need to have a break for a while now

Thank you @Phoenix_Rising, @Zoe7, @Mazarita, @Appleblossom and @Former-Member for your input so far. FYI I'm out of the office tomorrow but will be back on Thursday so I'll see where the discussion has got to and address some of the questions. You'd not get a lot of sense out of me if I tried that now 🙂 Hopefully that gives a few more members a chance to add their experiences and questions.

Hey @Phoenix_Rising Firstly - very well written and extremely relevant to not only the muddle you have found yourself in but also similarly for me of late.

I am with you on asking those question and would like to further add to them: Who was consulted, what were the processes behind the change of times, was it researched based, were people with Lived Experiences/Carers consulted and what 'contingencies' were discussed in regards to hand-overs and HC calls/chats which begin just before hand-over times/end of shifts.

The answers to some of these may be an ongoing organisational issue - and may seem absolutely irrelevant to most members - but some of us (as PR has mentioned) are impacted by such changes.

It has been very clear that moderator input directly into discussions on the forum has declined substantially, and this decline has been most notable since the change/extended HC hours. It is understandable that the newer moderators would take some time to settle in and 'get to know' the community but it does feel very much like the longer-term moderators have taken a 'step back' as well. This may be solely because their responsibilities and hours have changed but it is quite evident that there is now an ongoing 'gap' in the forums...

PR makes a very valid point when she talks about the muddle that eventuated when there was no timely moderator intervention on Thursday night. Having been around when this began (and still seeing the consequences now) it was quite apparent to the members who were in a supportive role what was needed yet it became a much bigger issue than it should have been for lack of moderator support. I personally am still very much affected by both how it was left to get so out of control and the amount of time it has taken to even begin to sort it out. I believe a couple of us were actually fearful of a very bad outcome - yet we could do nothing more than what we did. I admit I do not know what was actually 'going on' behind the scenes but it did (and does) seem that the moderation at the time was not enough to keep the community a safe place - because quite frankly, it felt very unsafe. Whether that is because of a crossover with HC and moderators were busy - or we were left as peers to support those affected - the outcome was a very confusing and draining environment for some members.

I also believe that Forumland has been 'neglected' somewhat of recent times. I also understand that it is Not a Crisis Service - but where there have been precedences set previously for certain members to 'contact' a moderator in certain situations then it is unrealistic and quite frankly, harmful, for that to suddenly change with no explanation. I am not saying that this was right from the beginning but as it was already in place - a sudden shift from the norm is very distressing for that member - and has consequences 'down the line' for those members trying to provide support. As PR stated "when you help one forumite on the phone, you help one forumite. When you help a forumite in Forum Land, you will often be surreptitiously supporting others at the same time".

None of this - at all - is meant to be seen as shedding a negative light on our moderators or the HC - because they are all very skilled, very supportive and very helpful as a general rule. It seems to be 'the system' that is letting them down and as a result this is having an adverse effect on some parts of Forumland.

This is such a wonderful place to be part of - a caring and supportive community like no other - and although there will always be peaks and troughes in regards to any changes in such a place - I hope that the toughs are behind us and we can move forward again, feeling safe, respected, supported and listened to.

@Faith-and-Hope Dragonfly's Meet the Moderator's post can be found here