The PM have been returned to us until MONDAY so that we can take any information out we need/want etc....

I think we as members should ask NRAS if we can moderate this group between us?

We could vote in two or three people who are committed to the forum and will be willing to keep an eye upon things.

BUT PM must remain private!

lol what nitemare i cartn work out how extract my archived pms been supporting others given good tips how does ones ave lol il chck barbs post again maybe a brain light left work that out.
grr
melly

Hi all, I am gobsmacked to say the least!!!!!!!!! I haven't been on for afew days and can't believe what has blown up in the meantime.

I have to say for a forum that we pay for, it is the worst run forum I have ever been on. Members are offering to be moderators, which this forum is crying out for. Please NRAS listen to the members requests. PMs are such a vital means of support, it enables you to discuss more personal matters and become real friends with people. Who as others have stated are often low and housebound. I must say I am seriously thinking as to whether I will renew my membership, the fuss every couple of months seems to be so great. It could be avoided by a properly moderated site!!!!

What a shame someone could be so unkind to another member and ruin it for everyone, they should just be banned or warned then banned. It isn't fair to penalise veryone. I haven't seen any post re the lightheareted banter of the forum. I would be upset if that side of things was removed. Some days with this illness are so hard, a good laugh lifts the spirits. You have a choice whether to participate or not.

I am sad this happened.

Deb x

NRAS Please please please, can this be resolved?

Don't want you to lose members and subscriptions as I think you are a REALLY great charity - so much so that I am doing a 10K run to raise money for NRAS and still wish to be involved in charity events and fundraising on your behalf in the future. I think you stand out as a charity that really fights for our rights and Big Ups the profile of RA especially at a political level, i think your work is amazing.

I have been completely without any support like this until very recently and can vouch for the fact that the emotional support has been absolutely IMMENSE and must not be under estimated. Many of us find ourselves "fighting the systems" in our daily lives and this can be so weary making, deflating and depressing.
Feeling down is also a very common side effect of RA, medications etc and recent decisions are affecting people s emotional well being, please can you liaise with us a bit more to help support those that this is affecting most, maybe send emails to all of us and PLEASE help us feel involved in decision making about this forum which we have all paid to join.
Please can you let us know if there is future scope for discussion with other forum sites about best practice solutions or for some to be involved as moderators, as Merryberry discussed in her post yesterday?

Thank you ~ from Liz (and also on behalf of my daughter, fellow runner and fund raiser - Sophie, 16, who doesnt know anything about all this yet!)

'We' the forum users are not causing stress. A negative response to another abuse of power in our forum is not the cause of this problem. It is being caused by very basic mismangement of an online community.

I have RA. Last time I looked I hadn't had a partial lobotomy, personality bypass or surgical removal of my years of management, technical or social media experience or regressed to the age of 5.

I have a toddler to put to bed, and a set of meals to batch up in the kitchen. I will come back and post something new and possibly progressive this afternoon.

Like many people here on the forum, I could do without the additional stress and entirely agree with Franky's point that this has not been managed properly by NRAS. I've never belonged to an online community before and this is my first experience, well what can I say......

As always,

love,

Barbara
XXXXXX

i've emailed, awaiting reply xx

Hello Ailsa, welcome and thank you for posting. It's nice to see you here.

I for one stand by opinion that removal of the PM is overkill. HThat strong responses care found to be saddening is a shame to read, and my impression of being treated like a naughty child deepens. I'd be thrilled to see such sign of life and care in forum members. If it is not possible to discuss it openly, so be it. Using a 'contact another user' type facility will have to do on this forum. From what we saw of what we guess was the issue, it seemed to have been dealt with fine by the parties concerned. Of course, we will never know. So be it.

It would have been interesting to be part of a discussion of 'every other possibility', it would have been enagaging for many members to contribute to and learn from.

The forum is a fantastic support, but many of us feel concerned about unwritten rules, implicit judgements. It's stifling. Anyway, can you please advise us on the cloud of other stuff we're fogged about in relation to forum management?

1. I'm lost about the moderation system already being in place. What is this? I feel properly dumb now, can someone please point me to this info?

2. Can we please have clarification of what the ‘lighthearted thread’ thing was all about, the paranoia levels flying around off-board are shocking?

3. Members really want to self moderate. Please can you discuss it WITH us, not present a fait accompli?

4. From my personal experience of reporting an abusive post (in my opinion) I've been left in limbo. Can you ensure feedback from this 'report as abusive' facility is forthcoming?

5. The forum guidelines are presented as static, but could they be opened for discussion and agreed amendment between members and NRAS team? The guidelines, like the forum, can then evolve as a managed process and these bumpy times the forum has don't turn into major implosions. Every time something crops up, we run around trying to figure out how to discuss, negotiate, understand. All for lack of clear power structure.


Thank you, and the whole team, Franky.

Yep, so be it on PM, just as I said. The other stuff are just unexploded problems going to go off again in future, if we have no say in management decision about to be taken.

Let's do this, ooh every 3 months shall we? That looks about the frequency going back over both forums.

Where can we read a copy of the Charity's Constitution and its rules relating to forum use and PM'ing?