Med Help - what gives?

[friole]

I see that you now have the "Hepatitis Form" set up like this one. The other format was SO MUCH BETTER -- I cannot even tell you.  I realize you have advertisers and need space on the left of that, but there wer advertisers on the old format too.  So what you have on both forums is advertising to the left at the top, and blank space at the left down the page after the advertising.

Meanshile we have to scroll over to see who posted. Why?  Can't you reduce the space for the topic and move the posters' names over.

Then when we click on a topic, we have to scroll over again to read it.  It is inconvenient and seeminly, unnecessary.

Now - I can't log in in the Hepatitis Forum -- I can read, but not post.  I have been a member since May 05 and know my password.  Others have had to get a new forum name to post in here.  I did not, but now can't get in the old one with the forum name and ID I have had for almost 2 years.

Also, there is a link from this forum to the other, but I don't see any link from that forum to this.  If you want us to use this forum, you must let us link back and forth easily.

You could see more than 100 topics on the old forum set up and that was very helpful.  To only see 10-20 posts is very limiting and I think a lot of folks won't get many answers to the questions -- and they need answers.

Phil and Cindy, this forum for hepatitis C has been the best one available on the net and the convenience of use is one of the main draws.  Please help us keep it that way.

friole

[jmjm530]

For example, if you go to page 10 (at least with my browser) and look at the post by "harry potter" titled "Night Sweats and Hep C". The post is dated 1/10, which is only three weeks ago -- yet it's closed to comments even though there have been only 13 replies to it. Previously, the thread would have remained opened to new posts until it was archived.

-- Jim

[mikesimon]

If all the other issues get resolved I think it will be fine. Your idea of allowing members to decide where to post is going way overboard. Finally the Forum is manageable. I can actually stay abreast of what has been written and I can find threads from yesterday or the day before and maybe even last week. I know you liked MH the way it was except that then you wanted more moderation. Now, it seems you want none. Make up your mind Jim. Are you taking riba again just for the buzz? Really, in all seriousness, it is normal and probably healthy to think that our shot or our sides are really important enough to be on the main forum but they're usually not. Threads like "I had a bad day" or "I had a good day" or "my first shot tomorrow" or "Today's the day"  "my dog is forgetting how to beg - is he eating my riba?" are the types of threads that belong here regardless of where a poster might think they belong. Let's leave that place to articles, studies, research, expert opinions etc.
The rest of your ideas I agree with.
Mike

[nygirl7]

Personally I think it's a great idea to have the chit chat forum here and a forum for only medical questions/topics on the other side.

The problem is that people who come on to the "medical" board won't know this and we wil constantly have to have posts telling them what can be and can't be posted and then people get offended as if they did something wrong.

I think calling it the Medical Topic Forum (or WHATEVER who cares) and spelling it out that there is a Chit Chat Forum might help - but still old timers won't even look.

I don't think it matters really much - it's all "politics". The chit chat never bothered me and I DO THINK in a support group it has a CRUCIAL PART! AFter all that is what a SUPPORT GROUP is for - however...medical QUESTIONS/Posts are a separate thing.

God I'm rambling. I'm trying to say I think it's a great idea hving the two forums but...I wouldn't want to offend new posters if they screw up and put a "Shot Night One - Bad Sides" post on the med forum. They might need explainned what they can DO about the sides or something or just need to talk. Telling them they posted in the wrong place...............might scare them off.

And that is the last thing anybody here wants to do.

[Tater-ToT]

Well I had a hard time fining my way back over here...
I guess with all the changes, the tech people over-looked putting the link back here over there !!! OOooPPppSSss!!!
:)

[Imagine]

In giving this some thought (at least with the brain cells I have left) I have arrived at something that makes sense for me. The original board is intended for technical medical questions, studies, information regarding hcv. The key word being technical as in technical support. The community board is a general support mechanism for hcv. I think it would have been easier for the transistion if both formats had been the same. Search capabilities for technical aspects of the disease could be searched much more effeciently. Just some thoughts.

[friole]

nowhere ---I know I can comment directly to Cindy and Phil, but part of  my reason to start a thread was to see if others were having the same problems, and it appears that they are. Why do we need 2 forums? -- because we are special, that's why!

I personally have no problem with two forums as long as I can pop back and forth.  I also have no problem directing new posters to the other "half" of our forum for more medically related info.  To me  it is all one forum  - same people - we are just trying to adjust to what to post where.

Jim, you made a lot of good points in your post.  I personally like the unmoderated forum set up.

I do not like only having about 10-20 posts per page.