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EC's Forum Restructuring - 3 Months Later...

Discussion in 'Empty Closets Help and Feedback' started by Martin, Jun 2, 2013.

  1. Martin

    Board Member Admin Team Full Member

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    Wassupski peeps,

    As you may recall, EC historically consisted of a small Support Area containing 4 forums that covered rather broad areas of support. In response to the dramatic rise in activity, EC staff conducted an in-depth consultation with members asking them about a broad range of ideas for restructuring the support area, and after about 12 months of consulting with members, reviewing information and discussing final proposals, we came up with the forum structure that you see in place as of today. For more information on these changes see here: http://emptyclosets.com/forum/empty...97-important-changes-ecs-forum-structure.html

    You may also recall that EC was temporarily shut down on 3rd March 2013 to allow for these changes to be implemented, and various comments were expressed by some members disapproving of these changes for a variety of reasons (confusion, attachment to simplicity etc). However, I'm interested in reviewing these changes 3 months down the line now that we've managed to iron out any issues that the changes brought, and to basically see what the general consensus is now that you've all had a few months to settle into the new forum structure.

    Do you feel that the new structure has categorised topics better? Do you find it easier to identify threads that you can offer support on and/or relate to? Is there anything that hasn't perhaps worked out in the way you thought it would and makes your usage of EC more difficult or less pleasant? Are your own threads (or threads in general) on the first page of forums for a sufficient period of time or are any support forums still too fast-paced?

    Obviously nobody has to answer all of the questions or stick within that scope of information when offering their opinions, but any comments people have regarding the changes will help me understand how effectively they're working.

    Additionally, have any other issues popped up since these changes were put into place? For example, is Chit Chat starting to become too busy because of the vague and broad area of topics that it covers? Is it a dumping ground for people posting in the wrong forums? Is it difficult to keep up with?

    Perhaps you instead feel that the combination of LGBT News and World News hasn't really worked?

    Changes Staff made
    Since 3rd March 2013, EC Staff have implemented two changes to EC's forum structure:

    Coming Out Later in Life had a level of activity that exceeded the expectations of the staff, and we received feedback from a member encouraging us to expand the scope of what that forum covers. In response to this, we now have the LGBT Later in Life forum that aims to cover all aspects of living as a gender or sexual minority when you're at later stages of life. The forum continues to have a stable level of activity within it, and the changes that have been made to it since March 3rd seem to have complimented the activity that we're witnessing within there.

    It was decided that the Physical and Sexual Health forum would no longer accommodate threads in relation to mental health. We noted that a trend was beginning to develop in which people were seeking support and advice on matters that were beyond the scope of what EC can cover within its supportive environment, and the decision was taken to remove mental health from the forum title to help ensure that EC does not begin operating in an unethical manner by offering advice on complicated health issues that are best served by an approved medical practitioner. Thankfully this is a boundary we're able to keep control of when dealing with physical and sexual health, but mental health issues just seem to spiral out of control and very easily drag us into dodgy territory. However, this does not mean that EC will not allow any threads that touch upon mental health issues, but that we will just contain the advice given so that it fits into an acceptable peer-advice narrative, and we will also be very proactive in monitoring such threads and shutting down any which wander beyond acceptable support boundaries.

    So yeah, those are the changes we made from a staff level.

    Any thoughts, opinions, comments etc that you have in relation to the recent changes (or any you feel we could make) will be welcomed and appreciated. :slight_smile:

    Martin.
     
  2. Rose27

    Rose27 Guest

    Happy with changes!
     
  3. Bobbybobby99

    Bobbybobby99 Guest

    I'm content, as I joined after the changes were made.
     
  4. biAnnika

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    My whole experience here has changed since you added LGBT Later in Life.

    I used to wonder where the adults were. I used to get frustrated that I'd post a comment or question, and the thread I was posting to would immediately get buried in a flurry of (very legitimate) teen anxiety threads. I was *very* impressed with how sophisticated and insightful some of our younger members were, but on the whole, their concerns simply weren't my concerns. I wasn't sure how much they cared about what adults wrote (beyond the simple fact of support), and even when insightful, they often seemed to lack the perspective to propertly support adult posters.

    My only concern as the new structure kicked in was that maybe it wasn't a 100% good thing that adults would congregate in one thread and younger people in another...maybe our thoughts were relevant and helpful to teens (although frequently, it seems posters at that age more often just want to express themselves...to be heard...rather than to receive thoughts, particularly from adults). As it has turned out, it seems that a number of teens read the adult threads, and occasionally post here...that would seem to me to be an ideal outcome: teens who value adult perspective can get it, those who want to interact with adults can do so...but each separate group of needs (younger and older) has its own primary forum for discussion.

    So overall, I would say my experience here has improved...and as a result I find I spend more time here, and contribute and benefit more.

    As I said in my thread last night...thank you!
     
  5. RainbowMan

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    I think that biAnnika hit the nail on the head there. The LGBT Later in Life forum has *significantly* changed the dynamic of the forum for those of us that are coming out later in life. While the perspective of teenagers is interesting, they simply don't have the same life experiences that us older people do, and didn't grow up in the same time and under the same circumstances.

    It's also really nice that the LGBT Later in Life forum is not "exclusive" - i.e. younger members are welcome to post there as well. That way younger members that wish to either gain an "adult" perspective on things can do it, and those that don't, well...don't have to.

    As for the rest of the changes, I'll have to admit that sometimes there's confusion about which forum to post something in. I'll sometimes just choose "General Support & Advice" as a "default" option if I can't figure it out where to put something, but most of the time it's pretty clear cut.

    One suggestion that I'd make is to move the Chit-Chat/Entertainment/Tech forums below the support forums, since EC is primarily here as a support venue, and those other things are "nice to haves". But that's really a nit-pick and isn't going to substantially change anything.
     
  6. theMaverick

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    I'm cool with everything that's been done, although I will agree with RainbowMan that the support forums should be up top, above the "fluff" forums.
     
  7. Juggalo

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    I like it. Its easier to find things.

    Keep chit chat at the top, due to the large volume of posting. Place the support stuff directly under it, with games at the bottom.
     
  8. BMC77

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    I won't disagree with the thought that EC is primarily a support forum. But I'd put more value on "Chit-Chat" and even Fun and Games than "nice to have." These forums, while not support, do help build community, and keep EC vibrant.
     
  9. Juggalo

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    You have a good point.
     
  10. RainbowMan

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    I never really thought about it that way, but from some of my time in those forums, I've gotten to know people better, and it's helped me to identify more with what they're going through.

    It's also important in my mind that the "whole self" is allowed to be here on EC - if EC were to become a forum devoted exclusively to LGBT stuff and no other topics were allowed, then a boring forum it would indeed be. You'd have no idea about my favorite baseball team (which has the best record in baseball!), for example :grin:
     
  11. FemCasanova

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    I`m a hopeless creature of habit who dislike changes as a default, but I agree with the other posters that the changes seem to have worked really well. There are more sub-forums to go through, but the threads don`t disappear out into page x so quickly, so it`s easier to find the threads that have remained unanswered. And the solution was very tidy, very well organized. So, I think it`s really great this way. Nothing negative as far as I have discovered.
     
  12. MerBear

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    I like the changes personally but it seems ever since they've been made.....that a lot of people left. on my list at least. I'm going to take the rules are getting more stricter?
     
  13. BudderMC

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    ^ a lot of people from my list have left too.

    The new changes may have triggered a slight increase at that point, but this site has always been home to a number of people coming and going. When you think about it, there really aren't a lot of long-time, regularly-posting members.
     
  14. Filip

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    I'm not sure that's something you can take from it. In fact, there were no particular rule changes implemented along with the forum restructuring. And I don't think we're really more strict about enforcing them either.

    On the other hand, I agree with budder; the site does have a decent turnover rate. Which is somewhat normal for a self-help site, I think. Many people come here with immediate problems, enjoy the place for a while, work on the problems, and then move on. either because they solved the issues, or feel like they got all the advice they can get.

    It's relatively a minority of people who make EC into their favourite online hangout spot or who stay around to dispense advice and support. It's awesome when that happens, but it's pretty inevitable to see people depart too.
     
  15. That1Guy

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    I like the sections the way they are, when I first joined I actually thought there were too few forum sections. Most other forums i've been on have a lot more.
     
  16. MerBear

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    Well, the reason I brought up that was because I've noticed some people left and I didn't want to bring it up here but I though that may be the rules have gotten stricter since I know a lot of people who have gotten banned. And some of the people were really respectful in fact and gave good advice. I'm not asking for a reason....I just thought, maybe the rules have gotten stricter
     
  17. Fiddledeedee

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    One thing I just noticed related to the staff-made changes...

    "Coming Out Advice: A supportive place to ask for and give advice about coming out. Includes sub-forums for those coming out later in life, and a place to post stories about your coming out experiences."

    Not any more; that subforum was merged into the LGBT Later in Life one. The text should probably be updated to say "Includes a sub-forum to post stories about your coming out experiences."
     
  18. Martin

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    Nice catch! I shall update that as soon as I'm next signed into my laptop! :slight_smile:
     
  19. Martin

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  20. ForgottenRose

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    I love all the changes. It makes it all flower better in my opinion.
    I missed EC that one day<|3