Community Development

I would expect most moderating to take place in private, that was a concern that we clearly expressed before, although there are a few posters who need to be seen to be moderated, I agree, as well as those we thought unfairly treated in public, contrary to the site 'rules'. Obviously we are unable to judge either the amount, context or content of moderated posts.

I must say that recently, I too have been asking Longman's question - has the will to include and consult with us diagnosed adults fizzled out? I've asked answerable questions in this thread, but I don't see any answers.

Hi Longman,

I have just read through the thread you are referring to. 

A decision to intervene by moderators and interpretation of the "rules" is often a very nuanced. As you know our moderators overwhemingly provide a great service to the community as volunteers, much of which is unseen.

We discuss our approach together regularly including specific cases. 

Bob

Has the resolve to discuss issues fizzled out? I note within the last twenty-four hours a resumption of public tellings off by a Moderator. Has nothing been learnt?

I typically access the site from a Samsung tablet via Google Chrome and it works fine on that.

I guess if you are looking for comments from app users, you would need a visible topic heading to that effect. The lack of a rush of app users to a question hidden under 'Community Development' suggests existing users possbly aren't using apps.

Hi Bob. Well, already you have asked a question about mobile apps and had no responses. Consequently, this thread has already fallen off of page one, and stands to be lost to history in a very short time.

I really want this to be a proper, inclusive discussion, I'd like to understand what other individuals and groups (youngsters, parents, newbies etc) want and expect, so for a start I'd like to see a definite, separate area, with sub-categories, perhaps modelled along the existing lines of the disucussion forum.

For instance. Head the page Community Development, put the mission statement there so we know what we're trying to achieve, and have a simple list of topics. A time target would be useful too, so that we know when a decision will be made -  if we can see the end, we know where to start. And advertise it! Already, we can discuss whether or not to have separate places for youngsters, parents newbies etc. I like to reply to new people but I also like to have the kind of uninterupted robust discussions that sparked this in the first place.

If all of this leads to a rolling programme - say for instance that each topic comes round again regularly i.e every 2/3 years or as circumstances change, that's the next opportunity to affirm or amend the site and how it is being used. We can work within a framework, but by definition we can't work with something woolly and undefined. Does any of that make sense?

Hi

You folks are quick off the mark

I was planning to kick-off a thread to provide information and discuss how best to gather input from Community members on developement of the Community. The "refrain from posting " was just because I was unable to write this intro immediately.

To give some background. On the technical front we are going to have to redesign the Community on either the same or a different platform. It currently uses Drupal .. but the website is on .NET and uses Sitecore content management system.

The NAS website has just been relaunched as mobile friendly to work on smart phones. Over half of users now access the site via mobiles. So we have to look at making the Community "mobile friendly" as well.

It also makes sense to look at the features and functions of the community and it's integration, or not, with the NAS website. There have been calls for private messaging, for example, that we need to decide upon.

In addition I would like to explore (within realistic capacity) how we can develop the "experience" on the Community for new and existing members. I'm already talking with our Help Line and Supporer Care Teams about how the Community fits within the wider strategy for support.

The Community is special, however, as it is Peer to Peer and not a direct channnel of support from staff in the NAS. The value does come from Members and their interaction.

So this is the start of a conversation that I hope will develop over the coming months. These changes will take time, however, so we will all have to be patient. Including me.

As a starter I would love to hear about any good mobile friendly forums that are out there that people use? Pro and Cons of their features .. that sort of thing?

Regards

Bob

RE Frameworks: What have you in mind?

Thank you Bob. How do you see this thread being used? I'm not sure if I understand correctly, but given our ability to go off at tangents, I'm not even sure what might constitute a 'new discussion'. Ooops, there we go again...

Is it that we are to wait for NAS to raise a topic and then comment, or can we make our suggestions from the start? We need a framework. I was hoping that a separate forum would arise, rather than it being just another thread amongst the many. I so want to contribute, debate and discuss, but as we've seen, that can get a bit fraught.

As for all you others reading, I'd love to know what (and how) you're thinking too, everyone's contribution is important if we're going to make best use of this opportunity, so the more, the better, I think.