would sane consider these changes to the forums

[Bunniekins]

hi everyone i was wondering what people thought about possible changes to bring the forums.

1. having the ability to block someone.  i think this would be beneficial in so many ways. it is not necessarily a negative thing it can stop arguments from escalating and feelings from being hurt.

2. having the ability to contact other members outside the forum.  we are all adults here and i believe should have the ability to form friendships if wanted outside the forum.

looking forward to hearing from other members.

bun

[Forest_Fairy]

Hi @Bunniekins,

Thank you for your thoughtful suggestions in regards to possible changes to the forums. 

The forums are set up as an anonymous space to support the safety of all members. 

If you would like to share your feedback with SANE directly,  here is our forums email -

team@saneforums.org

And here is our feedback email - 

feedback@sane.org

I encourage all other forum members to reach out to SANE directly should they have any suggestions or feedback they would like to share. 

Wishing you a peaceful day ahead,

Forest_Fairy

[FearofUnknown]

I would also suggest:

1) better categorisation of posts as the Spaces we have now are not adequate for various kinds of topics

2) a better way to save posts besides just having a list 

3) better access to past posts so they aren't lost in oblivion every time someone posts something new

4) the ability to start polls so we can vote on certain topics 

5) a better system to mention people like not listing all names when somone @ you

I will add more suggestions when I can think of some more. Tell me what you think about the ones I have so far. 

[Captain24]

Hi @Bunniekins 

I do like the idea of being able to block someone. I have had troubles in the past and have felt bullied and harassed. It was dealt with though but being able to stop that member posting to me would be beneficial and make me feel safe. 

I don’t really like the idea of contact though. Yes we are all adults but I like the fact that we are anonymous and have the ability to speak freely, well within guidelines. I really am not sure if I want people to know me outside of here. I would feel awkward if I was asked too and don’t want to. 

I do like the idea that someone suggested about have certain Facebook pages linked that may help but link from the forums not from members. So there is no breach of anonymity. 

Just my thoughts. 

[AlwaysMyself]

@Forest_Fairy i actually like seeing/considering the suggestions other members have. If it all were just to the email, we would never get that opportunity. If SANE does need it to be shared only to them (not for member discussion like this thread) for some reason, i wonder if there could be a dedicated place then where members could vote of a curated list of "future development / fixes" that are sane-approved but open for feedback on what our proprities are as consumers of the service.

E.g. various bug fixes vs developing a "poll" module vs other ideas...

I love the idea of being able to do polls @FearofUnknown . It would be a really good way to get feedback but also fun "get to know" as a group thing. Even if the results were user-anonymous and just an aggregate figure.

I have often thought it would be great to have a way to send semi-private messages too. Messages that Mods and Peers etc can still see and review, but perhaps the member can select which other members (and not the public) can view. I dont think of this as "replacing" the function of the forums as a peer support that is open (and can be helpful for even non-members to read helpful tips), but could allow for:

A) sharing more details that add to the persons context but they don't feel safe sharing openly (esp when they fear it could risk identification by an abusive person) - even if its a photo of a distinctive pet!

B) ability to message to Mods/PSW a message that may not meet the community guidelines due to distressing nature, but that they would like more support around --eg could be a bit more detail on their history, or current disturbing thoughts, etc.

Whilst i do wish that i could have the option to give my contact details to other select members for *if* they wanted to reach out outside (like @Bunniekins ), i know this wont be possible and that there does need to be the safety and ease for non-confronting avoidance of feeling pressure to reciprocate like @Captain24 mentions.

I do wish though, but know it is not practical because of resourcing, that we could use SANE offices as a courier service to be able to send mini-gifts or cards etc (tangible tokens) to other members if we wished. But again i know for some people they would feel obliged to reciprocate and that would cause problems. I just like giving small things to make someone smile sometimes without any expectation of returned behaviours, so naturally this is something i do for other friends and naturally feel the same for here also. Again i know this is not realistic 😊 just heartful wishful thinking. Its a sign of care in the community and a positive reflection on the forum community here.

[Bow]

Being able to block people would be so handy. 

contacting members privately will never occur. 

there was all this talk of closed/private and smaller places for people to connect and even have contact with mods and psw. This all came out of the co-design thing. But over the last 6 mths or so I’ve noticed a huge step away from this even being remotely on the cards. Workers are so busy, doing stuff behind the scenes and emails are strictly for safety check-ins and guideline stuff. 

will be interesting to see what the upcoming changes are going to be

[mallory_strife]

@FearofUnknown 

i do find the spaces confusing, (like, what's the difference between something's not right and the trauma space?) i think there needs to be more definition. also strikes me as odd that there is no queer space 

[Forest_Fairy]

Hi @AlwaysMyself,

You have some great ideas here and I can see you've put a lot of thought into your suggestions. I agree that having a shared discussion around other people's ideas and seeing what resonates with others can be invaluable. 

The forums will always be anonymous, safe, respectful, and recovery-oriented - these are non-negotiables so to speak. 

I encourage other forum members to share their ideas here and connect with one another about what they would like to see happen, or via the feedback email (feedback@sane.org) if they prefer. 

At SANE we want to be able to draw upon the wealth of knowledge and wisdom accumulated from forum members. This discussion thread will be monitored so that ideas can be shared and explored in future co-design processes. 

We love to hear this sense of passion and the ideas centred around improving this important space! 

Forest_Fairy 

[avant-garde]

@mallory_strife 

My understanding of the spaces that you mention

Talking through Trauma and PTSD

i see this as a space to talk through the broader issues of trauma. My story actually lives in this space rather than our stories because I find it difficult to own my experiences, I'm just not there yet. 

Something's not right

I use this as topical, like when I have an issue with a particular thing that I need targeted advice on, like when I needed advice on my former therapist. 

Our Stories

This seems to be where most people put their personal history threads, what happened to them and where others go to find out about them.

[avant-garde]

I like the idea of polls and blocking people, another suggestion I would make would be sub-forums, spaces within spaces so to speak. 

Like having a "demographic" space with LGBTQ, yarning mob and maybe neurodivergent spaces within that. 

I like the anonymity, it helps me feel safe to share everything that has happened to me.