Your feedback needed: Updating our forum categories

[espressologic]

Hi @Captain24, 

I'm sorry to read you're not liking the sound of these changes. These are changes we're suggesting based on member behaviour and feedback, rather than for the benefit of SANE staff. The main goal is to improve the forum experience for everyone, making it easier to find relevant discussions and support.

Forming connections and friendships is a huge part of what these forums are about. We believe that creating categories more aligned to what members are actually talking about will facilitate these connections by creating more focused and accessible threads.

I know change can be challenging, and we want to ensure that any changes we make support members' ability to connect and receive support. When you have some time, it would be helpful to know more about how these changes might impact your ability to make connections on the forums. Specific feedback is crucial for us to work through concerns when re-designing things, just as we did with the guidelines discussion.

[Captain24]

Hi @espressologic.

Im not smart enough to be as articulate as others, so I’m apologising in advance. 

I feel as though my MH issues fall among many of the sub sections. So where do I go on any particular day. While support from different members will be really good and valuable, they also don’t know the rest of your story as it’s in a different couple of areas. So there aren’t really bonds formed that know your whole story.

I don’t think I’m making a lot of sense. 

It’s ok.. I’ll stay out of the changes as it seems as all I do is push back. There is no way of keeping everyone happy and being a MH forum change is hard for a few. It is awesome that you are involving members in the changes though to try and assist. 

I’ve come to the decision that I’ll wait and see what happens and decide if this is still the place for me. It’s for the majority and to make it more accessible for new members. 

Thank you for your time

[espressologic]

That's really helpful, thank you @Captain24. So do you think it might be good to have as one of the categories something like "Day to day coping" that leaves open the scope of what you're needing support for on any given day?  There isn't a problem with having long-running threads, it's just that with the page loading issues they will have to close off at some point (at which point you could start a part 2, 3, etc if you wanted to keep the narrative) - does that make sense? 

[Captain24]

Yeah a day to day category sounds good @espressologic. Sometimes you just need to talk about your day and everyday is different. It may not fall into one of the categories and you may just need to vent. Sometimes just a ‘vent’ can help deescalate a situation. 

I understand long running threads may have caused a loading issue. It would be good to be able to part 2 part 3 like you said. 

[Birdofparadise8]

Right okay, I agree with what @Captain24 has said and I do like the "day to day coping" that might be a better idea also I don't use the tags you mentioned. @espressologic 

[Zoe7]

@espressologic I have a wondering here... is the analysis of total posts made or a percentage of members who make said posts. The reason I ask is that we often see a member(s) posting continuing difficulties in one area that spans over many months (even years). As this is often a continuing issue for those members, would it be more beneficial to make this analysis of the percentage of members who share the same/similar issues rather than the total of posts made on an issue/topic? Interested to hear how this was collated and if it is infact a true reflection on individual issues coming to the forums or a more widespread analysis where an issue/topic word ie. SH is calculated by a count of how many times it pops across all posts ...eg. someone could mention SH twice in one post - is that counted as 'seen' once or counted as 2 times?

[Zoe7]

@espressologic The 'trigger warning' debate is a complex one. I see a visible difference between a forum such as ours here and the use of trigger warnings in universities etc. We come to the forums for help and support whereas those attending the universities/educational institutions in that link must know that what they are to be studying will invariably have difficult topics to deal with. This is where I see the big difference - the forums are often a place that members come when they have no other means of support or to supplement the support they are receiving - it is not someone's choice to be dealing with mental ill heath BUT it is an individual's choice to study what they want to study ...and if by doing so they are exposed to difficult issues then they also have a choice to leave that course.

I personally believe 'trigger warning' is used much too widely as we do not know what may trigger someone. I also believe the word 'trigger' is becoming more mainstream and infact losing a lot of weight in conversations. Trauma is another one in a similar category. Whilst we cannot compare (nor should we) what is traumatic for one person, it is also being used more in everyday language eg. 'that meeting was traumatic'. 

I see we are risking actual help seeking and further adding to the stigma surrounding mental health when such terms become mainstream. It dilutes the potency and importance we need to place on the higher end of the scale. It is great that there is awareness but do not 'water down' things like trauma or triggers and use in everyday language to describe things that are just minor/short term upsets.

[Zoe7]

@Captain24 I can see some of the 'wholesale' changes that are in the works as affecting many - not just you. Your voice here is just as important (maybe moreso) than anyone elses. I say maybe moreso because it is a place of great support for you and if you are 'waiting to see if it is still a place for you' then there needs to be a massive rethink on what is done, how it is done and having people like you on board to continue to support. So your voice really matters in my opinion 🥰

[tyme]

Just to clarify, does that mean the trigger warnings have the same/similar effects as spoiler tags? @Zoe7 @espressologic 

I've read the research on TWs for a while now... but just wondering if spoilers are the same.

[Zoe7]

@espressologic I would separate Trauma and Grief into 2 categories then - 1. Grief and loss and 2. Navigating trauma (only a suggestive title - could simply be Trauma).

My concern with a dedicated SI/SH category is that members (especially new members) will see it as a crisis service. This is especially crucial in the 'out of hours' times ie. after 10pm when there is often still a lag in times when such posts are seen to by moderators. If we are going to go with the simplified Community Guidelines then I fear there will be a lot more members posting in distress and not knowing where to draw the line. If we had a category "Managing our MH" then SI/SH could be a dedicated thread within that rather than a stand alone category.

I would rather call the "Mental Health Conditions" category "Mental Health Management" or "Managing Mental Ill-health". I think that gives it a more forward and recovery-oriented focus.