Posted by Garnet71 on February 12, 2009, at 1:15:11
Other members have asked me if I was a researcher, part of a study. Upon further investigation, I found out the conversations on this board are part of a research project. I wish I had known that before I started posting. I'm not comfortable in knowing that things I have said could end up in journal publications. I feel there should be some type of informational banner, a warning of some type, on these boards. I know this is a public place in which others can do many things with the information one posts, but I feel violated. I also feel deceived in knowing some of the people I have spoken with may not have had 'real' concerns.
I am also uncomfortable with the option of not having any control over my posts; I have a problem with impulse control--not one day of my life goes by where I don't think 'why did I have to say that?'. I'm too open and revealing which of course is my personal issue, but I've never utilized a forum in which I was not able to delete, or at least edit, my own posts. I had once sent an email to administrators, asking if my post could be deleted, and was told I was not permitted to have that done. It's quite often that I read someone's response the day after I've posted something, and thought 'I can't believe I said that'. I wonder why I cannot delete some of my posts, when the option is a feature for other forums--a feature there for a reason.
I've also just found that information from this forum is pulled to many other websites. Again, I realize transparency and personal cookies or footprints are the nature of the internet, but had I known that before, I probably would have been a bit more cautious with things I had said. One of the reasons I liked this forum was that it was not easy to find.
This concern is intended to be helpful. Some of the members here have concerns about the amount of traffic on this forum. Just from personal experience, I have noticed that when forums are too partitioned/categorized, they tend to not be as active. Then when a potential new user discovers the forum, in seeing little traffic, it turns them away which leads to less and less traffic. It makes little sense to me why Medication, Neurotransmitters, Alternative, etc., should be seperate topics. People on the Meds board talk about neurotransmitters; people on the Alternative board talk about meds; they are not seperate issues, but are more interrelated. How can you talk about one and not the other? Why the division? I am sure some will disagree. Same goes for Social-Politics-Religion-Psychology-etc. In addition, the logistics of the board are not very user-friendly and while categorized, confusing and distracting at the same time. I think it would be a positive overhaul to have this forum redesigned from a format of the 90s t a more modern format. The website itself is not encouraging or welcoming to potential users, it seems.
On a more positive note, I think the administrators do a very good job at moderating this board. I've used others where moderators regularly jumped on innocent posters who may have said "the wrong thing", creating a sense of walking on eggshells for the forum users. Here, it seems, just the right amount of moderation is practiced, and the moderation I've seen is very rational.
I hope I don't sound too critical here, but for the first 3 issues I brought up, I do feel violated and somewhat deceived. I realize my own personal shortcomings may influence those feelings, but these are not issues I have come across on other forums I've used; my discoveries about this forum came as a total surprise to me. Yes, I am now having regrets about using this forum in the nature that I have.
Thanks and regards,
Garnet*********
"I want to let you know that Psycho-Babble will be part of a new research project soon.
Participants in this research may be joining our community here. There may be as many as 230 of them, and they may or may not mention that they're in the study. I can't get into the nature of the study now, but I'll be happy to answer questions afterwards. I do want to reassure you that current posters aren't the subjects of this research and that the research participants will be here for support and education, not to study the rest of you.
I hope you'll be as excited by this opportunity to contribute to medical research as I am. Please accept my thanks for all you do to make Babble the supportive and educational resource it's become.
Bob"
poster:Garnet71
thread:879572
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20081228/msgs/879572.html