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Concerns about the new format and why
First off, I want to say I love this site and have learned so much on here and made many wonderful friends. I've been on this site for 3 years and have seen many changes. I do have some concerns about some of the recent changes and I'll tell you why.
The stars (or badges) can be confusing and distracting. It's a little uncomfortable for me to feel I'm being graded. I've also noticed that with the "best answer" feature that often times there may be only two answers and one is picked as "best answer". Then later a few more people may notice the thread and may have even more helpful advice or information but they may feel like their answer isn't as important because there's already been a best answer chosen and the op may not even come back to see. I think it can deter others from answering.
One of my biggest concerns so far is now that there are "top answerers" we're starting to get pm's (I'm not the only one) from people because they see that we were on the "top answerers" so they're asking their questions in a pm to us rather than posting in the forums for others to see and help with. The reason why this is concerning to me is because I've had at least two different pm's that were pretty questionable as to whether they are even real or just sent for shock value. I think some people think they can get away with more through pm's. I try to answer as best as I can but don't want to feel forced or guilted into answering questions and am uncomfortable with the pm's because it's not out in the open to be monitored. Do you see what I mean? I deleted one of the pm's because it was just so obviously unreal and it was graphic and disturbing in nature. When I've gone back to look at the profiles I see that it's a brand new profile with no posts or anything on their profile which can look suspicious as to how real they are.
Would you please look at this thread with us talking about some of this and please reconsider some of these changes? Some of them are making many of pretty uncomfortable. I just honestly don't see the need to grade our answers. I think it puts pressure on people. I tend to look for the questions that I feel the most comfortable with and if I feel I can help the person or have knowledge that would be helpful to them then I will answer. One of the good things about these posts is they can help many people who may be going through the same thing. When people start sending the questions through pm's then others can't help or benefit from the question. I hope you will reconsider some of these changes. I love this site and appreciate all you guys do on here! Thanks, April
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/MedHelp-Social/New-Look-Forum/show/1218155
The stars (or badges) can be confusing and distracting. It's a little uncomfortable for me to feel I'm being graded. I've also noticed that with the "best answer" feature that often times there may be only two answers and one is picked as "best answer". Then later a few more people may notice the thread and may have even more helpful advice or information but they may feel like their answer isn't as important because there's already been a best answer chosen and the op may not even come back to see. I think it can deter others from answering.
One of my biggest concerns so far is now that there are "top answerers" we're starting to get pm's (I'm not the only one) from people because they see that we were on the "top answerers" so they're asking their questions in a pm to us rather than posting in the forums for others to see and help with. The reason why this is concerning to me is because I've had at least two different pm's that were pretty questionable as to whether they are even real or just sent for shock value. I think some people think they can get away with more through pm's. I try to answer as best as I can but don't want to feel forced or guilted into answering questions and am uncomfortable with the pm's because it's not out in the open to be monitored. Do you see what I mean? I deleted one of the pm's because it was just so obviously unreal and it was graphic and disturbing in nature. When I've gone back to look at the profiles I see that it's a brand new profile with no posts or anything on their profile which can look suspicious as to how real they are.
Would you please look at this thread with us talking about some of this and please reconsider some of these changes? Some of them are making many of pretty uncomfortable. I just honestly don't see the need to grade our answers. I think it puts pressure on people. I tend to look for the questions that I feel the most comfortable with and if I feel I can help the person or have knowledge that would be helpful to them then I will answer. One of the good things about these posts is they can help many people who may be going through the same thing. When people start sending the questions through pm's then others can't help or benefit from the question. I hope you will reconsider some of these changes. I love this site and appreciate all you guys do on here! Thanks, April
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/MedHelp-Social/New-Look-Forum/show/1218155
Oh My God, let's everyone just chill out here. Emily has explained these changes very well. You don't have to participate if you don't want to. Uncheck all the boxes on the "Question For You" app and won't get any questions. Really, simple as that.
As far as the stars go, they're here to stay so let's get used to it and see what's to come. Like all the other changes over the years, we get used to it eventually :)
As far as the stars go, they're here to stay so let's get used to it and see what's to come. Like all the other changes over the years, we get used to it eventually :)
I just wanted to clarify that I don't think anyone at MH is "trash", nor does anyone at MH. I'm sorry you all are not happy with the changes, and I've tried to help with that, but this is a change we hope ends up making things better.
We certainly don't think anyone here is "trash", or anything near to it.
Emily
We certainly don't think anyone here is "trash", or anything near to it.
Emily
I'm sorry I misunderstood and mis-read the post. I'm presently on vacation and when I came on I was in a rush and that is my only defense. Thanks for setting me straight. :)
That was directed toward Emile. Reread that post and you'll see I'm agreeing with you. The change was the wrong change and now we're being insulted by medhelp and it's moderators.
Hi, I hope you were not referring to me about not wanting to hear from my "Costumers." Maybe I am misunderstanding what you are saying...who were you talking about? If you were talking about me "believing you are trash" then you are certainly mistaken and certainly mis-spoke. I don't like the way MH is issunig these questions to us and I was getting some pretty graphic questions, and I am sure there are a lot more people on here such as yourself who have a lot more expertise in that field. :) Look, the point is...MH was good before these new changes. People came here because they enjoyed the forums, getting information from other people in the same boat, helping others who need it, just sharing perspectives in general about all kinds of issues. This new way more or less puts blinders on every single one of us because we don't have the time to answer posts out of the realm of our very narrow margin of knowledge. I would rather spend my time choosing where to go and not be pidgeon-holed into answering questions that most-likely have ALREADY been answered sufficiently. Please Medhelp....change it back!
It would appear that more people than not do not like this new system judging by the poll taken on the social forum and some of the posts here and elsewhere. I just don't understand why that doesn't seem to matter. I can understand trying something new out but I've seen more complaints and grumbling about it than people saying they like it.
In other words she doesn't want to hear from her costumers. She must believe we are trash.
Stars and badges are the same thing, yes.
Please remember that people on this site that could be reading this post do have sexually transmitted diseases, and questions about them are not "disgusting" and sometimes need to be graphic. If you choose not to answer those questions, that's fine, but there's no need to insult others in the process.
I'm not sure why you would get PMs from new members, but you can set your PMs to friends only. Go to your Profile page, click on Account Settings, then Privacy.
If you don't have time to answer other questions or go to other forums, that's fine. Just ignore it.
Emily
Please remember that people on this site that could be reading this post do have sexually transmitted diseases, and questions about them are not "disgusting" and sometimes need to be graphic. If you choose not to answer those questions, that's fine, but there's no need to insult others in the process.
I'm not sure why you would get PMs from new members, but you can set your PMs to friends only. Go to your Profile page, click on Account Settings, then Privacy.
If you don't have time to answer other questions or go to other forums, that's fine. Just ignore it.
Emily
Also, Emily, I have enough to do without branching out into other forums. I've got enough to keep me busy at this time, what with dealing with all this New MedHelp "additions." :) Gotta get back to work....back on task. As far as I'm concerned the issue is closed, and I will just continue to ignore the new way the best I can. I don't plan to make any changes with the way I do things on here...Thanks, anyway! :)
No way, sorry Emily, I found it checked and unchecked it myself. I have never had any dealings with anxiety, although I'm sure we all hav e some on a personal level. I don't have any interest in fixing or offering anyoe advice on sexual issues or sexual diseases but those questions kept popping up. Really graphic disgusting questions! Ugh! Today was the first day I actually saw one or two questions I could relate to but honestly 1. I would rather see what has already been posted as an answer to this question. I'm assuming it's already been posted on the forum? 2. I don't want to deal with PM's with these mostly very new members. I would rather approach that with a wait and see attitude, and 3. People new on here won't have trouble navigating where they need to be. Are stars and badges the same thing? Give me a break...I think that turns everybody off.
Linda -
You still had Anxiety checked under Mental/Emotional Health in the categories. I unchecked it for you.
Just to clarify with everyone - to edit your categories, click on the Questions for You, then click on Options on the upper right corner of the window that opens. That will open all the categories, and will show what you have checked. Simply uncheck to remove what you do not want.
Barb - the questions do go out to many members. I see your point on the answering it from box and not seeing other answers. Perhaps just click on the title of the post for now, and I'll pass your suggestion about showing answers on.
This is not meant to be "cute." It's meant to help people get good answers from our members who have knowledge in the area, and it's meant to help our current members broaden out a bit to other forums.
To use the STD forums example again - Vance2335 is CL of the STD forum. Say someone posts in Depression about feeling so badly that they got chlamydia. Maybe part of the reason they feel badly is because they have received incorrect info about it. If we suggest this question for Vance in the Questions for You, that member could benefit from Vance's correct info.
Or let's use MS. Someone might have MS-like symptoms, and mentions it in the Neurology forum. If we suggest that to members of MS, then the new member gets the benefit of hearing from members who can help with the diagnostic process.
Hope this helps.
Emily
You still had Anxiety checked under Mental/Emotional Health in the categories. I unchecked it for you.
Just to clarify with everyone - to edit your categories, click on the Questions for You, then click on Options on the upper right corner of the window that opens. That will open all the categories, and will show what you have checked. Simply uncheck to remove what you do not want.
Barb - the questions do go out to many members. I see your point on the answering it from box and not seeing other answers. Perhaps just click on the title of the post for now, and I'll pass your suggestion about showing answers on.
This is not meant to be "cute." It's meant to help people get good answers from our members who have knowledge in the area, and it's meant to help our current members broaden out a bit to other forums.
To use the STD forums example again - Vance2335 is CL of the STD forum. Say someone posts in Depression about feeling so badly that they got chlamydia. Maybe part of the reason they feel badly is because they have received incorrect info about it. If we suggest this question for Vance in the Questions for You, that member could benefit from Vance's correct info.
Or let's use MS. Someone might have MS-like symptoms, and mentions it in the Neurology forum. If we suggest that to members of MS, then the new member gets the benefit of hearing from members who can help with the diagnostic process.
Hope this helps.
Emily
I agree and the more members that come on and give their opinions may show MH that the feelings of their loyal members should count for something. What about it "A" list...on the heart forum, Cindy, Itdood, Jerry, ed, you know who you are...let's see your opinions on all of this new stuff.
I don't like the system at all, and I think the medhelp moderators don't know what they are doing and think this will be cute rather that helpful. The answers I've seen here on this thread gives me the impression the modorator is not listening and is just trying to quiet us down.
It is obvious through this thread the "stars" where never thought through enough and obvious to me should have never been conceived of in the first place. The stars show a hierarchy in a format where a hierarchy does not belong.
It is obvious through this thread the "stars" where never thought through enough and obvious to me should have never been conceived of in the first place. The stars show a hierarchy in a format where a hierarchy does not belong.
Ok I am still getting a zillion anxiety questions, who knows why???? There are a few forums I may have answered once or twice on and I'm an "expert?" LOL That's pretty funny. Still don't like this venue and yes, some of these questions don't seem quite "real" On some of these new people who actually have posts from way back....you can't access trhem to see what brought them to MH in the first place. So I find that a bit odd. I would rather just go to the forum and not be bombarded with questions out of our :) "expertise :). I had also gone through the checklist and unchecked the areas I didn't want to be questioned about. Still getting them. :( I think a lot more members are against this new way of running MH than are in favor of it. I'm sure we'll all continue to do what feels most right and comfortable to us. :) Just hope this is the end of it. :)
Am I understanding this correctly? I thought that questions would go to multiple people who may have posted a lot in a certain area, not just to one person.
One of the biggest things I don't like about it is when I answer a question from the "Questions for You" portion of my home page, I can't see what others might already have responded. In one instance, I posted a response that said almost exactly the same thing someone else had already said, but their answer didn't show up on the "Questions for You" page. In other words, it appears that we are the only person receiving that question, when in fact, we aren't.
When I went to that forum, the question was there, along with the other answers, then my answer seemed "out of place" because it looked like I hadn't read the whole thread and was just parroting other answers.
One of the biggest things I don't like about it is when I answer a question from the "Questions for You" portion of my home page, I can't see what others might already have responded. In one instance, I posted a response that said almost exactly the same thing someone else had already said, but their answer didn't show up on the "Questions for You" page. In other words, it appears that we are the only person receiving that question, when in fact, we aren't.
When I went to that forum, the question was there, along with the other answers, then my answer seemed "out of place" because it looked like I hadn't read the whole thread and was just parroting other answers.
I think the "Questions for You" are not personally directed at individual users. They show up based on your own activity in particular forums. For example, I mostly hang out on the Dogs forum, so new questions from that forum show up on my home page. Think of it more as a quick shortcut to topics that you may be of intest to you without having to go to several forums to check out new posts. As Emily mentioned above, you can edit your interests on the "Questions for You" page and de-select forum interests that you don't want to see pop up every time you come to MH. Does that kind of make more sense? Maybe?! :-)
"I know I'm not who you asked for?" That's a phrase I probably won't be using. I'm getting toooo many "out of my range" questions so I am declining or ignoring or whatever you choose to call it...all of them. I don't think I understand how these folks ask for someone in particular, or do they just say, "I'd like the best, please." Are a lot of us getting the same "Questions for Us?" When we reject a question, does it immediately go to someone else? I'm afraid I'm still in the dark....and I'd be willing to bet postings are down a bit. Can we "opt out" of the QFU?
That's good. That's exactly the thing to do. :)
Yes, I have posted after a "best answer" was already chosen. I try to concentrate on the question and whether or not I think I can help.
You don't have to use it, but I'm glad you tried it. I'd suggest posting after a "best answer" has been chosen if you want to. I think it's important to get as much support and info from as many people you can, ya know? Different perspectives are a good thing, most of the time.
Emily
Emily
Well, I gave it a shot and chose a "best answer" on one of my questions but it just felt uncomfortable and weird to me. I feel like it's almost an insult to the others who posted suggestions and helpful advice. I also am uncomfortable with it the other way around. If I see someone has already posted a "best answer" on their post it makes me wonder if I should add to it since they seem satisfied. I dunno. Not sure I'll ever get used to this or like it much. I'm trying.
rofl...dont ask
What would you rather it be called?
top answerers should be ppl who are "answering" other's questions...not "asking" the same question over and over.
(ok...i'll shut up now and retreat to my corner)
:)
(ok...i'll shut up now and retreat to my corner)
:)
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