A new year and the state of BT

[Mark N]

Some good ideas here on how to improve the board. I hope some of them get instituted and we start getting more posters again. I have really counted on this site in the past and hate to have it so slow that not much info gets passed around any more. Good Luck Mike with whatever changes you make as I will be looking to see if it picks up the pace on the boards.

[SalpalSally]

Thanks Mike. I appreciate yours and Dave's and Doc's caring hearts,
for keeping these home forums going. I put a few bucks in JL's pocket
a few years back. I guess it wasn't enough to keep his heart going, but
I always loved this place and still do.

Places like FB have their place. I go there for Family only...no friends.
I'd rather have 20 or 30 good friends here at Braintalk, than 2 0r 300
so called friends at FB. I'll have it in my heart to give again. I've just
been burnt and didn't even get a TYVM...LOL

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((HUGS TO ALL)))))) ~

Jeannie ~ great suggestion! Child Neurology could be the main forum, with those forums you listed as sub-forms.

Albeit lengthy, I find our Forums list to be easy to follow and well organized. Would having sub-forms be less cluttered? I don't know, so I'm asking.

One of the things, which first drew me to Brain Talk in 2000 was its size and its coverage of so many neurological conditions, as well as other conditions. I liked having a virtual library of resources at my fingertips in one site. And while the main focus of BT is neurological conditions, and likely the initial reason the majority of members/lurkers/readers come here, we are not just our brains. We're all potential candidates for an assortment of medical issues, so it's helpful to us to have non-neuro forums.

Is honing down our forum offerings erasing some of BT's original history? Is less more? How will we judge whether the reduced number of forums generates more traffic or more members? Or less?

Mike ~ When thinking about the criteria for removing forums, I thought about the Creutzfeldt Jakobs Disease forum: There are 207 Threads in 11 pages on the CJD forum. They were all posted by flatfish. No responses, except from flatfish. However, the threads seem to have quite a hearty amount of views. So, it's providing a resource to people, who are interested in or need information about CJD. But not even a whisper of dialog is occurring there.

Sally ~ I also tossed a coin or two in the donation box for old BT. I received a hand written thank you card from JL. I was fiercely loyal too, all of which contributed to the magnitude of my disappointment, after it all played out.

But that was then, and this is now. Completely different ball game. I'm still fiercely loyal to the team, because we have a truly wonderful coaching staff.

Love & Light,

Rose

[Lazarus]

The problem is with our name..

Do a google search for multiple sclerosis forums or multiple sclerosis message boards and Braintalk does not even show up...when people are looking for forums they would not search for Braintalk but for the specific condition.
That is why MSWorld has grown as we have shriveled. This site is better...more focused...we need to correct our anonymity. That's what I think.

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((Linda))))) ~

Wow! I Googled Multiple Sclerosis message boards and forums, and Brain Talk doesn't come up! You're right. I agree we really need to fix that. Thank you for pointing this out. However, I'm not sure that we should change our name from Brain Talk, since we cover so many different neurological (and other) conditions here. I don't know what we'd call ourselves ... and it is the historical name of the community.

I did notice that the other site, similar to BT and created after the Big Crash, is listed in the Google search. We should be too. Wonder why we aren't.

Love & Light,

Rose

[hummer]

I too...Wish to thank you....for all that you are doing...and continuing to paddle the boat...when by comparison...it may feel like not too many want to ride.....I do not come here very much anymore...but for all these years...decades...there is never a time...when the link to braintalk...has not had it's little icon saved on my screen....There is a comfort...hard to explain...but the knowing...it is there...this entity that saves....for it truly saved me....

A time or two...it came close to destroying me too...but that in it's self...had a catapulting aspect...that had me cutting apron strings...not by choice...but by absence...always....things change....

I am so thankful for your efforts...For this place...is the spot...that induces COURAGE...for me...I would think for many others...those moments of fear...at the changes and forwards of life...the never ending streaming's of choices.....in my mind...I reach out to that special collective...that IS braintalk...and it holds my hand...as I take another first step...Safe in knowing you are there....

Blessings to you...for all your time and effort...and your Compassionate Loving Care...I am ever held...because of it....
I too wish you success in your school...and your continuing endeavors of brain talk....
ALL LOVE TO YOU...and yours.....
Blessings on us All......

[agate]

Do a google search for multiple sclerosis forums or multiple sclerosis message boards and Braintalk does not even show up...when people are looking for forums they would not search for Braintalk but for the specific condition.
That is why MSWorld has grown as we have shriveled. This site is better...more focused...we need to correct our anonymity. That's what I think.

I went through the first 10 pages after doing a Google search for "multiple sclerosis" and didn't find any mention of BrainTalk.

I did find it on page 3 when I googled "neurological disorders message boards."

I agree that this board should come up easily on a Google search if that's possible.

The board you mentioned, Linda, seems to attract a lot of people partly because it has the endorsement of the MS Society as the "official" MS board.

[SalpalSally]

The board you mentioned, Linda, seems to attract a lot of people partly because it has the endorsement of the MS Society as the "official" MS board.

Yes they have great attraction power, but their staying power is not good.
Loyalty works both ways, as we see here at Braintalk...Now...

[funnylegs4]

((((((Hugs to All)))))) ~

Donna and funnylegs4 ~ you both mentioned "readers," which is another aspect of BT. When I'm looking on line for specific information about a condition or a procedure/surgery, I often visit discussion forums to read and learn. I don't join the forum, because I'm just researching. But in many cases, readers might turn into members, which would benefit BT, if they participate after they join.

Mike ~ Questions about the blog feature: would it be exclusively for BT members, or would non-BT members be able to use that feature? Would you have guidelines, content control, oversight of the blogs?

Purple1 ~ The Gluten forum isn't on Mike's list of forums to be removed, because it has more that 10 threads, and it is active. You're safe.

Love & Light,

Rose

Exactly! Like for example my friend needed a lot of info on something called the "Moro Reflex" so I was just googling around getting as much info as I could for them on forums/message boards without actually joining them. I, and most people I know don't join many forums because they just want info and don't feel the need to resister unless they have something specific to say. The reason I joined Braintalk was because I was at a stage in my life where I became more aware of my Cerebral Palsy. I wanted to learn more about Cerebral Palsy and share my experience with others. I thought Braintalk was just a CP forum until I accidentally clicked on an icon or something a year later and I was like "Wow! Look at all these posts on so many medical conditions! How Cool!"

I like the idea of sub boards. I see them used on the other forums I am part of and it does seem to condense things a bit. Definitely do something about the google search issue. When I google "Cerebral Palsy forums" we are not the first choice that comes up and if I google something like "visual impairment forum" we NEVER come up at all. Might be better to keep the blogs member only to prevent spamming unless you are willing to moderate it closely.

[alex44]

Mike - I respect your judgment in all things. Please, unless the forums you are planning to cut take up hardware space (memory) or physical resources, take care. Please be gentle. A lot of time, a forum may only get one question, BUT one person may have the answer the person needs. Thank you in advance - It may be none of my business but did J.L. leave on a sour note? If you do not wish to reply to the last, I totally understand, having dealt with office politics for WAY too long and am glad I don't have to anymore. Hope you had a happy new year and that it only gets better for you.
Alex44
Skypilot

[Virginia]

I am not sure what it takes to stay close to the top on google searches, but I know that it takes some work and time. It could be that Mike and Dave do not have the time and resources to keep us there, but I agree with others who have said this is part of our problem. If new people do not know we are here then how can they find us? Way back - in 2001 that is how I found BT. I googled Multiple Sclerosis and found BrainTalk. I have been here since that time. This is still home and I do not want to give it up. However, I understand how difficult it must be to keep it running. As far as financial help goes I wish there was a way to contribute. I did sign up for iGive, however I do not order that much on the internet.

Mike, if you can come up with any answers as to how some of us might help I am sure there are people who would be willing to do so. As others have said we do appreciate all that you and Dave do. Hope you have a good school semester.

[Mike Weins]

Donna: Yes I keep an eye on Child Neuro and have read a few of your blogs. With regards to BTer's showing off their own businesses or what not, it's not discouraged. It needs to be approved prior to posting. A simple process where you alert one of the admins (David or myself, Dr. Hoch rarely uses the forums) about your businees and we'll look over the site if there is one, and usually approve you to post about it. Spam is unsolicited, asking us first isn't (usually).

funnylegs4: Yes the forums appear to have a lot of views, however 81.3% of those views (on average from all visible forums not just those being cut) are from search engine bots. This means that no human is actually visiting the threads. We can't move BT to a free or cheap host, our bandwidth is too vast for them, and they don't offer us the control we need to make BT thrive.

Rose: The blogs would be for BT members only, and most likely only Distinguished Community Members would be allowed to blog. I'm still looking into all of the blog options and add-ons/mods to determine what to enable and/or add. In the past being big was in, and we were not only big, but we were damn good. We had lots and lots of information that couldn't be found without long searches. We have John Lester to thank for losing ... all of that. Between him giving up on BT, and his refusal to hand over any archived copies, he almost destroyed BT completely. His actions discouraged so many of our members that posted the info they gleaned from researching, they pretty much gave up. Those that moved on to NT are (well were last time I cruised that place) still reluctant to post the amount of information that BT once had.

tic chick: I have condsidered sub forums, and may yet set some up. Any forum with less than 10 threads is under serious consideration for being cut. Anything with 5 or fewer is definitly going to be cut. I like the idea of a "childhood disorders" or "children with health something" category. I wouldn't mind seeing a few more name suggestions for that.

alex: Technically they do use some resources being displayed. A fairly small amount. The cutting of the forums is to try to reduce the over whelming feeling that's been brought to my attention by having so many forums (about half with little to no info) to go through. JL did leave on a sour note, a very sour note. I addressed the two big issues in my reply to Rose earlier. I have no problem (now) in calling out John for what he's done (and did not do).

Virginia: It used to be all about keywords and links back to the site. Now it's all about content and links back to the site. The more good solid information we can put into BT, the higher our rankings in search engines will go. Unless we go and buy are way in, but that's only temporary and if we don't have the content to back it up, we look foolish. As for what you guys and gals can do to help, I will be starting a new global thread with some ideas.

[alex44]

Mike - thank you for your reply. I can only imagine the havoc that JL caused. You must be a miracle worker to do all the things you do. THANK YOU! I understand your point about the # of forums, How about maybe a "Special Question Forum" for people that may have a special needs question? Also, I know you are looking to cut forums but could I suggest one? As in Dentistry - or rather lack of - If you are on SSI and have no assets - you are out of luck - a few states still will provide dentures - but not many. A forum to share resources would be nice. Again, Sorry you got so royally S......, hope the Kittys are doing well, My own network is acting up so no more pic's for a little while. Take good care of yourself, you are doing a lot and I would hate to see you burn out.
Happy new year
Blessings
Alex44
Skypilot

[tic chick]

hey mike !

yeah, i think the word "child" or childhood" should come first in the name of the forum category. it gets your attention right away.

are you going to give each category it's own forum and see how much traffic it gets before maybe making sub-forums or cutting them?

-Child Neurology
-Add & ADHD
-Autism Spectrum DIsorders (In 2013, the DSM-5 replaced autism, Asperger's Disorder and other pervasive developmental disorders with the umbrella diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.)
-Children's Epilepsy
-Coping with the Loss of a Child
-Tourette Syndrome

possible names:

Childhood Neurological Disorders
Children's Neurological Problems
Childhood Neurology
Children's Neurology

anyone else want to add any other suggestions?

jeannie

[Bou]

Hi, folks! Checking in for the first time in a loooong while. Hi to Agate, Gary, Peg, and anyone else who still remembers me. I became confused long ago about where BrainTalk had gone, and I was also at a point where I had to cut back dramatically on online ventures. Just not ebough time! But today I was looking for it after encountering an old friend who burst into tears in the middle of a store after receiving a neuro dx. I remembered what helped me in the months prior to and following my MS dx, so I decided to try to find this forum again. What was most distressing was following outdated links on MGH that sent me to dead domains. I knew it was probably still here (thanks to sporadic e-mails from Gary), so I kept trying and finally found it, and found even that I am still a member (yay).