List of forum faults part 2

Retirement - it doesn't suit me........I'll write, till I drop, or AM dropped?! (although I should be doing something else = welcome to autism 1-0-1)

Isn't it "fun" how COMPLAINTS RAISED, are always referred to as CONCERNS SHARED when they are replied to?!  I think that is "corporate speak"?

Isn't it also "fun" how one's perception of "fundamental/foundational" problems can be referred to, by others, as "further REFINEMENTS are needed"?!  I think that is "corporate speak" too?

Isn't it "curious" how one's own perception of "regular updates" can differ so monumentally from another's concept of "regular updates"?!  I wonder what the numbers are on that point?!  I wonder if anyone ELSE is keeping score too?!

Isn't it "ironic" how a thread listing faults here became so long and unwieldy (started, and maintained by the members here) that it was deemed appropriate just to summarily despatch*/KILL it, by der management?!

Is it just me......but if you govern the success of a restaurant by how many people come in to look at the menu, rather than by how many people actually sit down to enjoy the food/ambiance on offer.......with repeat visits......then that restaurant is doomed to failure?

Is it just me......but if someone tells me that I am invited to join a "safe, welcoming and supportive space".....I immediately think of a Lunar, Japanese cult [not sure if I am allowed to say the *Moooonies here, these days?!]

Anyhow - I hope this raises a smile with you Debbie.......and although I could go on......I don't want to be "canned" by der management here now for breaching a rule/spirit due to the potential mis-interpretation of my words as sarcasm or as wry observational wit?!

Stay safe, dear Debbie.

*Open apology = Sorry for using the earlier 18th century spelling of these words - I hope that alternative spellings are still OK to use on this forum now - but if not, I would WELCOME an email to that effect......so I will know to avoid such transgressions in the future.  I'm autistic, and I like to KNOW the rules and established facts of the matter....howsoever currently viewed/operated by der management here now!

I liked the Jedi reference

I am having the same issue as the OP posted, all of a sudden started occurring in the past few days as I’ve posted more.

Thank you Debbie, for sharing this response from our "overseers."

Golly, I feel so much safer and better about EVERTHING now.....I can't even remember why I have been sceptical in the past.  I now realise that "They are not the Jedi I was looking for." Everything is perfect, under control, and as expected.....Naturally.

Gosh, I am so relieved.

I wonder if sarcasm is considered a crime here now, under the new regime?!   Frankly, my dear, I don't give a "hoot" (I know that the original word in that phrase, in the 1940's, caused consternation.......so I don't want to risk it now here....based on my understanding of things at the moment?!

I salute, and retire, for now?!

Well that reply has told us a lot of nothing!

I've received a reply from NAS re my official complaint (which I detailed in an earlier post).

Here it be (there are links within it which don't work in this copy):

Re: Complaint about the NAS online community forum

Thank you for sharing your concerns about the Online Community. We understand that the
technical issues have been frustrating, and we appreciate you taking the time to highlight
these.

We want to reassure you that we are committed to maintaining a functional and supportive
platform for all users. The transition to our current platform was necessary due to the previous
system’s unreliability, frequent crashes, and security vulnerabilities. While this upgrade
resolved many longstanding issues, we acknowledge that new problems have arisen, and
we have been actively working to address them.

Regarding the locking on 21/01/25 of your thread listing forum faults, this decision was made
because the thread had become very long and difficult to navigate. To ensure that ongoing
issues were properly tracked, we created a new summary thread on 26/01/25 and
encouraged users to report problems directly via email to our community manager mailbox.
A link to this thread was prominently displayed on the home page for several weeks.

Your second thread listing forum faults was started on 06/02/25 while our summary thread
was still open and pinned to the home page. While we appreciate users documenting
ongoing issues, this thread also contains discussions unrelated to technical faults, including
concerns about moderation decisions. As a result, it has been challenging for us to extract
specific platform-related issues from it.

We have remained proactive in addressing technical problems by posting regular updates
such as here, here and here, responding directly to user concerns via email and by
responding to posts, and offering solutions where possible.

While the platform upgrade was
necessary and did improve security and reliability, we recognise that further refinements are
needed. For example, we are still working with our internal and external technical support
teams to resolve issues such as a user who is being repeatedly directed to the “I am human”
spam reduction page and several users whose posts are being incorrectly flagged as spam.

While we understand that some users have chosen to leave due to frustrations with the
platform, overall user numbers have remained stable, and we continue to welcome new
members. Many users tell us that the Online Community is a lifeline for them, and we remain
committed to ensuring it is a safe, welcoming, and supportive space.

As a result of your complaint we have taken the following action:
• Reviewing our processes for managing the online community platform and we how
we communicate changes to our service users

I would like to thank you for bringing these matters to our attention. We welcome comments
from people who use our services and aim to use these to improve our services.
If you are not fully satisfied with the way we have handled your complaint y

I never got a reply from NAS, even to acknowledge my 'official' complaint, which was sent by email to the address that they give + I chased twice.

They have a timescale within which they say that they will acknowledge a complaint and then deal with it, neither of which have been adhered to.

Why am I not surprised.

I don't have any spoons at the moment, of any shape or description, otherwise I might have complained to the Charities Commission about the fact that NAS ignores official complaints.

Also, I'd not want to be the cause of NAS deciding not to keep a forum, although it's rather a chocolate teapot at the moment.

I think that us longer termers will end up abandoning it, through lack of choice, as the new members seem to be doing, ad infinitum.

I wish you all the support you can find, here or elsewhere.

I keep getting phantom pm notifications. There's a 1 on the pm icon as if I've got a new pm, but then when I look, nobody's written to me.

Replies in threads appear out of order and in a disorganized way. Is this by design or a fault? It makes keeping track of replies, and replying to the right persons really complicated and difficult........I’ve missed a few replies because of it and that makes me anxious, in case people think I’m ghosting them or just being plain rude.

I've not received a reply to this (sent 27th February to the official NAS complaints email address as displayed on their pages), despite the fact that the NAS policy has a time scale within which complaints will be responded to, and despite me having chased:

Unknown said:

I've just made this official complaint to NAS:

NAS is now providing a forum that is utterly unfit for purpose.

Members are constantly leaving because of the forum faults.

Some of these can be found in these links:

https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/40078/list-of-what-is-currently-wrong-with-the-forum

The locking alone of the above thread was inexplicable and cause me a great deal of stress.

So, I created this one:

https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/40983/list-of-forum-faults-part-2

You can see all the faults and how the forum is simply unusable now without causing stress.

You must have pages of correspondence about all this sent by members to the mods.

You have a duty of care and it’s not being performed properly.

It’s similar to ISIS bulldozing Mesopotamia – a fantastic place for autistics (especially late diagnosed) to connect has been destroyed.

The forum is now, for me, primarily a source of stress and sorrow.

This is my lastest email to NAS complaints procedure email address.

I will  make a case with the Charities Commission that NAS is reneging on its duty of care to vulnerable users.

At the very least complaints should be acknowledged:

Test post.

Why are threads being shown as having no views but have several replies?

Stats on the Home page are also often delayed, initially showing zero "views" for several threads, or fewer than the true figure. After some time (but without refreshing the page manually), these then display correctly. Again, I've reported this by email, but just sharing here. 

I suspect that many of the newer issues that we're seeing - eg the erratic notifications indicator, post edits and/or new posts appearing / disappearing (when not due to moderation / filtering), thread stats being delayed - have a common technical cause, and so also have a common solution. Caching problems linked to use of Cloudflare would be my first guess, for those for whom that isn't gobbledygook.

I'm not personally surprised that a move to cloud-based hosting has come with a bunch of unforeseen complications. The good news is that we know that all of these issues are being investigated and worked on, so I feel that we just need to be patient, although I know that's much easier said than done when the issues are so disruptive and feel so frustrating.

I deleted a couple of replies and they have returned. 

So Number to clarify: I realise Sharon answered a slightly different question to the one you ask.

Odds on this post appearing then disappearing then maybe appearing again.

Unknown said:

The Information Commissioner is my next port of call.

Good luck with that.

My official complaint to NAS has been ignored despite their policy of an acknowledgement within 5 days and despite me chasing.

It's horrendous here now with threads and responses appearing and disappearing. 

Users might doubt their sanity.

It's official..........things have now gotten RIDICULOUS here?!

I'm not the only soul to notice and comment on that fact.

Is the idea that WE are all mad and angry and stupid and "longing" for a time that "was before?"

I think not.  I might be that mad......but the "crowd" ain't never getting it wrong?!  We are AUTISTIC !     WE KNOW ?!?!?

My "notifications flash/lightening" has a mind of it's own now (and is therefore functionally useless).......and it remains the case that MANY of my responses posted here [in many different threads - notably CURRENT ones] are simply "disappeared" without any notification, explanation nor for ANY conceivable/foreseeable reason (within the rules that are purported to exist here) for that to happen.

AND.......in case human MODS actually DO bother looking on the open pages these days (rather than relying on emails to the community manager - which, btw, seem to be often IGNORED)........can you answer, for me, just ONE question.....in a really simply yes/no answer...here on the open pages.;

"CAN moderation staff here at the NAS forum look at Private Messages here, whether they are "allowed to" or not?

It is a simple question, OFT asked.......and never ONCE answered, to the best of my knowledge.

Is this a reasonable to ask this question.......and it is reasonable to expect an answer to it, either here, or privately, via email?

If not - why not?

The Information Commissioner is my next port of call.

My funding of this place is now terminated.

Bunny said:

whereby edits to a post sometimes don't show up, even after refreshing the page.

I've been experiencing that this evening. 

Freakily, the added sentence keeps appearing and disappearing. 

In case anyone else thinks they are bonkers, as I did, that Wildlife thread keeps appearing and disappearing from 'home'.

I have screenshots to prove it.

Home screenshot after

I replied to a thread but now it's disappeared: