Slow/quiet

@The-red-centaur Hey sweety you contribute alot:). I am talking about ones that come in ask their question and are never heard of again. It is a shame as the more the merrier.

@Eden1919 you hit the nail on the head Eden1919. Yes you are right and i am not quite sure what can be done about it tbh. Any ideas everyone? for example has it anything to do with the strict moderating on certain subjects? I know that upsets new comers from time to time.

@The-red-centaur good idea. I know the moderaters were trying to encourage that back a couple of years ago when I first came online. Then it all seemed to be forgotten about.

@Bunniekins @The-red-centaur I also personally don’t like the long threads I find any thread hard to keep up with if you haven’t read the whole thing or been there from the start and often when I try I feel lost and overwhelmed trying to figure out how to reply. The social threads are ok but even then to me it feels like too much which is why I don’t tend to go there so much.

Idk what the reason is for people not staying, I do think the guidelines as much effort that has been put into them can be very vague and hard to interpret so perhaps if people are getting posts deleted that may be off putting... one of the other things I wonder about is that because it has been slow it that new people aren’t getting replies as quickly as they may be expecting so then they think there is no point coming back. I also wonder if (and I am not sure if this already exists) but maybe a guide for new people about how to use the forums and what to expect kind of... like I think maybe people expect one thing and it isn’t what they thought it would be so then they leave. Idk what the answer is.

@Eden1919 yes I have read a few new threads of people who are unhappy and the common theme seems to be that they wanted their questions answered but were not willing to give back to the forum. It has to be a give and take thing as we are not professionals hired by sane to give advise we are all in this mi box together and need to help each other to make the forums work.

Hi @Eden1919 @Bunniekins @The-red-centaur @Former-Member @outlander

I've been away without my computer for a total of 3 1/2 weeks since boxing day - very unusual for me. I'm back now! I would add that as much as we try to respond to newcomers and unanswered threads, there are only 7 community guides for the whole forums. I think there's been talk of increasing that number down the track. And I know that 2 or 3 of us cg's have had major life challenges off-line in recent times. We too are just people with our own lived experience of mh issues and doing this as volunteers - so please excuse any delays in response you've been experiencing. Not making excuses here, just sayin'.

I agree that there's a large number of people who come to the forums for the first time and only post once or twice then disappear again. But I also see something like 3 or 4 people in every dozen or so who do go on to participate regularly. There is also a percentage who go on to 'lurk' (that was the term used in a previous discussion with mods some time ago) just meaning that they read a lot of posts and sometimes support them but rarely say anything. I think the forums are still helpful to these people. I think it's always been that way really and I've been around since 2014.

At times I do find it disappointing to put effort into a response and then get nothing back, but again it seems to be the nature of the forums that that will happen sometimes. After all, everyone here (other than mods) is dealing on a daily basis with their own mental health challenges and management.

Welcome back wonderful @eth! Good morning @The-red-centaur 🙂

@eth That is what I mean though the pool of main supporters is small... there aren’t many guides so if a few are off for whatever reason (which is completely fine) then there is not enough people to cover the ones who need a break. I really don’t know how to fix that and people who just like to read is fine I think it is just or it seems (I have no actual numbers or genuine evidence) that there is a small group of people who do majority of the supporting especially on the somethings not right forum where people are perhaps needing a little more support than other areas and that because there are not many people actively participating the ones who are are getting burnt out then there are even less people to do the supporting. I really don’t know how to make this easier for everyone involved, I am also not sure what makes the people who lurk not want to join more actively I don’t mean to say they should or shouldn’t but it is another thing to consider, perhaps people don’t feel confident. As others have said the forums work on give and take and that can be hard to manage but I think maybe the idea of more community guides or even a whole different role that could be there to fill in some of the gaps might be helpful. I am not saying that is easy but maybe something to think about longer term.

I also really do think there needs to be an explanation for new members about what to expect when using the forums because I have noticed some of the adds for the sane forums sort of make it seem like there are always people around to talk to 24/7 and that there are heaps of mods and it is a bustling and busy place.... I know adds have to entice people but I think sometimes the way it is worded can leave to confusion. And sane can be like that but right now it seems a little flat... idk these are just some thoughts I have no idea how this would work logistically.