Redesign has killed this forum?

I agree with Quincy! This forum does not have to be super-busy or cyber-trendy to be helpful. I've noticed a good many veteran or regular members taking breaks from posting, then returning after some months or even years to update us or comment on a new subtopic. Also, I think the mods do a good job keeping threads reasonable because a few posters tend to "hijack" instead of starting their own thread, which can be unfair to the original poster. So I do continue to hold HW in high regard, and view it on desktop, old-fashioned lady that I am. AND I do miss Red34 as mod!!!!! Despite many physical issues, she always treated us to a saving sense of humor-- which ipoop does, too. / Old Hat (38 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)

we need more visits from Bacon Girl !

What has been hurting this forum is the unabashed pro-med prejudices of the moderators. I thought the forum was for sharing what has helped us, but the moderators tend to pooh-pooh anything that isn't conventional wisdom. I get enough conventional medical ideas from my doctor and don't need the moderators to parrot what they say. I see very little reason to continue visiting here.

This forum could have been a rich resource about diet and supplements etc., knowledge not generally obtained from the medical establishment. It would have helped if we had at least one moderator who was more open minded and supportive. Here is a recent example.

a moderator said...
"My dr says foods will not cause a true flare...
Since you are new to all of this, I suggest you check out CCFA.org. It is a great site to read & learn about the disease & medications used to treat it. You have to be careful reading on the internet because there is a ton of inaccurate information out there."

As far as GaryLouisville is concerned, the question isn't why he was eventually banned, the real question is why it took so long. He continually denigrated any of us who dared to post that we found some alternatives helped us. But the moderators allowed him to continue insulting us for years before he was finally banned from the forum.

Here is a small sample. All I did was search for the words 'garylouisville' and the word 'cult', which was one of his demeaning insults toward us.

[quote=“GaryLouisville”]I'm talking about all those who espouse the benefits of these diets who have no real proof that it actually does anything for them. They have joined the craze just to join the craze, IE a cult.

Sometimes you just jump on the bandwagon for no other reason than to jump on the bandwagon, which is cult like behavior... cherry picked facts to prove their fad (cult) and have absolutely zero proof from unprejudiced, independent sources

the extremists who are pushing their cult agenda which really doesn't even have anything to do with UC

there are a few people who post here who are a member of the anti-gluten cult

This doesn't have anything to do with UC at all. For some it is just about spreading the cult and nothing more.

Many can eat gluten with no problems. I actually find it quite amusing that there is this cult who believe that eating something which is actually healthy is actually unhealthy.

Post Edited (Coffeemate) : 5/7/2019 6:03:29 PM (GMT-6)

Coffeemate....maybe you need a break? What's the purpose of bringing up long past events that have already been dealt with?
Sheesh.
q

For "the UC mods are mean" posting, I can say with certainty that all of the healingwell forums are universal in dropping in traffic across the board. So, that's a broad site thing that's very different in scope than blaming one mod in one forum for one specific instance (that one time my post was edited/deleted).

Facts point to it being site traffic, or maybe just that forums are a bit old school as a whole and loosing velocity. Folks move on to newer means of communicating online.

Without mods there would be lots of spam threads and replies to scroll past (some spammers otherwise flood multiple pages of the forum with automated scripts/bots). Without editing/deleting/locking of posts it would be a free-for-all (comments under political articles on news sites are a good example). Often the reason users posts get edited/deleted/locked have to do with things getting off-topic, often due to thread-hijacking, past bad-blood among users who in-fight and look to settle old scores between themselves, and obsessive folks just trying to prove their answer was right and all else are wrong (often getting vulgar and calling critics ever worse insults); and those things would all drive away posters/readers when left unchecked. All of those things mean little to the OP who was asking a question, and to others lurking and learning from the various viewpoints shared. Do people get occasionally miffed because it was my post affected, why was I targeted and not someone else in that thread who was clearly worse, yes sometimes they do. If you think something was fair then email us, and we'll be glad to talk it through (mods emails are always shared/visible when you're authenticated) or reachout to the site admin.

I believe that on health related sites there's due cause to keep things family-friendly and on topic, so anyone can ask anything without fear of repercussions. It's always a fine balance of keeping things lightly moderated (always hear we do to little on one end of the spectrum, and others say it is overboard on the very same thread lol). Like I've said before mods seldom act alone, and often work/talk it over together before acting. So, it's not me being biased against a specific user whom has a different viewpoint (as some claim). Because the various mods have differing viewpoints/experiences they bring into the discussion of how to act in a specific instance.

As for those who use alternatives and diets, those subjects are talked about often. Usually multiple 1st page topics about using alternatives/diets, or replies within mention doing those things. I think it's ridiculous to say that the mods are out to smack-down all diets/alternatives <_<. In fact, I and other mods often suggest diets/alternatives to tryout to others, and we're quick to congratulate successes of those who found diets/alternatives to be helpful (as flares suck and everyone loves successes). I'd say those veterans who say I have had success with diets/alternatives carry a lot of weight in posts, and a number have been doing so for years here.

If only you know how much the mods ask admin to make changes/enhancements to the site. Some of the mods who have Graphic Design, Programming Skills, and have managed company websites all have volunteered to help healingwell in those areas. In the end, there's one person with they keys, who is protective of the work done, and not eager to crowd-source or outsource work. Ads pretty much barely cover the cost of hosting the site, from what I gather (some months in the red, and other months in the black; varies).

Regarding the site use on a phone....putting it in desktop is an option.

The only thing I've requested/beeeegged for is to have the signatures show automatically. That's been since many, many, many, many years.

The corded phone is considered antiquated...it served(s) tremendous purpose.
q

LOL...seems.
q

straydog said...
IPoop nailed it about mods asking repeatedly for improvements. A few years back the admin shared some info with us about the cost of keeping this place going. He did not go into a lot of detailed information, but we were shocked at the cost. I had no idea. The ads pay pennies on the dollar & nothing more, yes those pennies help defray some of the costs. It is a non-profit, yes members can donate, but don't because it isn't tax deductible. So now knowing this & his own health struggles, I am thankful that he has hung in there & kept the place.

I have been at HW since 2003 & have seen more members be complimentary of the site than negative. Members like having a safe environment without a lot of nonsense, they appreciate the few rules that are in place & like seeing everyone rowing the boat in the same direction.
Public forums are not everyone's thing, some would rather read & be a guest only. The ones interested in joining will join. It is impossible to please everyone, it is what it is. None of us are forced to stay at HW.

I made a donation a year or so ago and it was refunded back to me. I have no idea why. I agree, my perception was that the redesign seems to be when traffic slowed way down. I don't like the redesign as much as the old site. I can't figure out when people have last replied to me either, but maybe that's just me not coming here as much anymore and not being as familiar with the new site. I think the mods do a great job though; I have no complaints there. And really, I have no complaints about the redesign since I don't pay for the site. This is still a valuable resource for me and has been throughout the 12 years I've been "blessed" with UC...(sarcasm). That's why I tried to make a small donation, as a showing of thanks.

I love being able to search for something and read about other peoples' experiences. This forum has been very helpful to use as a reference for treatments/ideas/tips/etc.