Lately, I have been really taking a hard look at this forum trying to figure out how to make it better. I think adding something as simple as the avatars has really warmed it up and personalised it much more. Also, it appears the “Ministry of Food” is off to a great start too.
Is there anything that could be better here in terms of the layout? Are you guys able to find things easily? What about “The Lounge”? That area has never done a whole lot and I wonder if it’s just because it’s not really in anyone’s immediate view. Should it be moved to the Announcements section where the Ministry of Food is or is it just not a big deal? Anything else that could be added that is missing?
Is everyone aware that when a new post is added to a thread that the icon changes to red on the left? You can mark the entire forum “read” by clicking the link on the far right on the main board too to wipe out the red colour.
It’s so much better than other forums I’ve looked at - can’t really think of anything that would improve it! You do a great job, Scott. Thanks so much for all the time and effort you put in. It’s a wonderful resource, and a source of comfort - a place to turn when you feel crappy, a place to connect with others who really get what you’re going through. It’s great the way it is, but if you want to experiment because you feel there might be some tweaks that would make it better, then I think you should go for it. Thanks again for all you do!
Thanks Maryalice. Really good to hear that and know it’s a source of comfort for you when this junk rears its ugly head.
It turns out I have a graphic designer staying at my place for the week and am going to get him to help me redesign the main page (mvertigo.org) for his free days surfing on my couch! At the moment it looks drab. Might change something in the main forum too … but nothing too crazy.
I think this forum is great as it is Scott. VERY informative, good sharing and discussion of experiences/information and we have a laugh too. Mainly when we’re all dosed on Valium. Ha ha ha (<- see how fake that looks? Can tell I haven’t had any Valium in several days) .
David, the red indicator is built into the bulletin board software. One thing built in which annoys me but I cannot switch off is the bolding of my name as site admin. By default it was red but at least it’s toned down a bit now.
Just thought of a couple of things it would be useful to know about fellow board members: their location in the world, and their age (or maybe age category: 16-24, 25-34 etc)
You sometimes find yourself replying to a post, especially when someone is fairly new, and you’ve no idea whether they’re 16 or 60, and I think that does sometimes affect the kind of support they ideally need.
In terms of location, would be useful to know where others stand in terms of local specialists etc.
I appreciate that some people may prefer to keep this info to themselves so maybe these should be optional fields to complete.
Just a thought,
Helen
Ps: you’ve done a great job with this board by the way, compliments to the chef
Just thought of a couple of things it would be useful to know about fellow board members: their location in the world, and their age (or maybe age category: 16-24, 25-34 etc)
— End quote
This information is only available if people add it to their profile so not much I can do for this I’m afraid.
Yup, there is a poll function. When you select “New Topic” there is a tab below called “Poll creation”. Have a look at it and mess around with the set up.
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