Forum Streamlining

[Jen93]

No but I see Fructose Malabsorption has arrived (and maybe left) and that is not PTSD related either.

I'm trying to figure out what this has to do with fructose.... :confused: I thought fructose was some sugar like thing in food....

 

[anthony]

The FM site is only new... time will tell whether that stays open or closes. The combat site is doing far better than the sexual abuse site. In the past year, the combat site has quadrupled the post count of the sexual abuse site. The reason is simply that combat veterans have a lack of places online to talk amongst themselves freely, where sexual abuse is so embedded and established online, few people change their hangouts.

The network has nothing to do with the decision to bring sites in... it has to do with each sites performance uniquely. The network of My sites can encompass anything... it isn't restricted to trauma or mental health.

 

[Lucycat]

I thought fructose was some sugar like thing in food

Yes, you are quite right. It is a fruit sugar - hence my surprise that it has anything to do with this site and/or network.

 

[Jen93]

The network of My sites can encompass anything... it isn't restricted to trauma or mental health.

Oh. Okay... just had a ditzy moment.:rolleyes:

 

[Lucycat]

@anthony I guess I am feeling a bit hurt, that I discover here on the public PTSD forum that the forum on which I am a moderator is to close and I had not been informed. Next to hear that it is closing because basically it has not performed well enough is quite harsh. I am sorry that I have not done my job very well. Sorry.

 

[anthony]

It isn't about you or CB... websites succeed or they fail. Some succeed, then fail. I've run them all, failures, succession, succession then failed years later. It is the way of the web. The user base either exists, or it doesn't... and there is so much you can do as staff, but the ultimate decision on a website succeeding or not is down to its member base. Sexual abuse is a huge market online, and already well embedded forums exist, groups and so forth. It takes a lot of time to marginally succeed in creating a website, and I say marginally, because the margin for succession is very small. This one succeeded because I have a lot of myself invested into it, and there is a lot of me in this website foundation. I have more failures than successes in personal websites. I don't beat myself up about it though, because it's no different than having a hundred job interviews to get accepted at interview 101.

Life is full of failure... you choose to dwell on them or focus on the future improving.

 

[Nicolette]

@Lucycat and others involved... I've tried to say nothing but I feel I now need to.

It is totally understandable to feel hurt when a site in which you placed a huge amount of time, emotion and personal investment in is closing. You will more than likely go through a range of emotions.

What I do want to emphasise is it has nothing to do with personal failings of any sort. The site just didn't take off like anticipated and Anthony is now making the practical, administrative and economic decisions about the future of the sites.

Be kind to yourselves please :hug:

 

[anthony]

Do a search for Google Failures, and see what even the big companies fail at achieving. Google have failed at trying to compete with YouTube, so they ended up having to buy it. They've failed numerous times trying to compete with Facebook and Twitter, and Google+ is already in talks for closing soon, as another failure. These are massive things, closed / closing due to lack of numbers. People don't jump from Twitter and Facebook without good reason... and the facts are that both have market dominance, people are familiar with them, and thus... people don't like change. It isn't personal...

This very website has closed down nearly every other PTSD support site online for the same reasons... people are familiar with it, there is a huge foundation of support, so why go elsewhere where the support is lacking? Sure, there are always new ones popping up, but most close for the same reason... people don't change. You have government and major institutional websites already blogging and releasing journals and such about trauma and PTSD... this forum is the end user support aspect, and people just don't change. You read here, there and there... you get what you wanted and are familiar with it, so why change?

This is the foundational issue to creating a new site. You've seen chat programs here come and go, because people love the notion of having something, yet when they have it, they don't use the functions because Skype does AV chat better... and they're right, Skype do do it better. Skype don't do functional text chat for a PTSD / trauma user base better though, thus the simple member text chat here works the best of all tried and tested over the years.

It is a constant trial and error approach, and demographics are constantly shifting, the world is evolving and societies taste change one minute to the next.

 

[Tanishq]

@anthony number under forum names, what does it suggest? post numbers or forums viewed count? I am just curious know it.

 

[anthony]

Post count. Such questions should be asked in the help desk forum though.

 

[Tanishq]

Oh sorry. I understood your suggestion anthony and thanks for the answer. :)

 

[cherryblossom]

What I do what to emphasise is it has nothing to do with personal failings of any sort. The site just didn't take off like anticipated and Anthony is now making the practical, administrative and economic decisions about the future of the sites.

I do totally understand and accept the reasons for closing the forum(s), but certainly (rightly, or wrongly), for me (I can't speak for @Lucycat ), it certainly feels like massive personal failure. I can't help how I feel about it, nor can I apologise for it.

This one succeeded because I have a lot of myself invested into it, and there is a lot of me in this website foundation. I have more failures than successes in personal websites. I don't beat myself up about it though, because it's no different than having a hundred job interviews to get accepted at interview

I invested a hell of a lot of myself in that site, although none of it was financial. I do however think it's more than just not getting a job interview, having spent a hell of a lot of time and effort there for over 3 years. I've never spent several years on a job interview, so I don't really get that analogy.

Anyway, I totally respect your decision, and will do my utmost to assist with the integration in whatever way I can.