Blogging Enabled!

[[Co...]]

A little earlier, I enabled blogging for members. Blogs operate as full, traditional blogs - they are not direct replacements for the archived Buddie Blog threads.

Blogs are not chat channels. The are intended for more creative purposes. You might blog about aspects of benzodiazepine use, withdrawal, and recovery. You can blog about a hobby, or nearly any topic of interest. But blogs are not about providing direct 'support'. Rather, they are intended to engage members in activities which will help distract, enthuse, and excite the blogger and readers of the blog alike.

We are aware that the archived Buddie Blogs also operated as a form of chat. But we now have chat rooms which operate in real time - they better fulfill this need. And topic-specific threads may be started at the Off-Topic forum too.

One of the problems with the how BenzoBuddies was organised before the upgrade to this new software is that it failed to serve new members well. We are taking an important fresh approach in fulfilling the sharp end of support with an overhaul of how the primary support forums operate. But we also found that many members, and particular new members, were not well-served by the old overall forums structure before the upgrade. By allowing personal threads (Buddie Blogs) to take primacy within the forums, this detracted from support on other forums, where new members tend participate. This was no one's fault - it is just how the community grew and morphed over time.

There remains the opportunity to create off-topic, topic-specific threads. We have chat rooms. We now have blogs. And soon, we will have semi-autonomous Groups, and members will be able to create personal galleries too.

Commenting is enabled for blogs (and for Galleries when they arrive - soon). You control/moderate comments to your blogs and galleries. And Groups will largely self-moderate too.

We are taking full advantage of the new software to provide more creative opportunities for members and to organise better support spaces.

If you are an established member, and would like to operate a blog, please place your request at the Contact the Team forum.

In due course, we will provide better advice about how to best utlise blogs. But for now, please use the above as basic guidance and use your best judgement. If you experience any technical difficulties or have any suggestions for blogs, please reply here.

Thank you. And enjoy blogs and blogging!

[[Co...]]

This is incredible BG!!!

I would never have believed they would destroy the existence and confidence your blog gave to us!!!I

It revolting and it only shows the spirit of the time, technocracy above humanity.Eliminate the personal character, keep tight only into the permitted lines.

Dictatures are seemingly the new law!

BG, please let’s leave this place and use the email

Or we can form our own platform somehow!

Much love

 

[[lo...]]

Not quite sure I understand.  Does this mean if we already have a blog and wish to continue to operate it we need to contact the team?  Or does it mean established members who want to start a blog should contact the team?  I notice that it isn't possible to post in my blog at the moment but am assuming that will soon change, 

[[Co...]]

3 hours ago, [[C...] said:

This is incredible BG!!!

I would never have believed they would destroy the existence and confidence your blog gave to us!!!I

It revolting and it only shows the spirit of the time, technocracy above humanity.Eliminate the personal character, keep tight only into the permitted lines.

Dictatures are seemingly the new law!

BG, please let’s leave this place and use the email

Or we can form our own platform somehow!

Much love

I'll admit that I am beginning to lose my patience here. I have explained in multiple posts why the changes are necessary. The BB community does not revolve around a subset of its members. The reality is that BB has been failing for a long time. Reduced registrations (except for the spambots), reduced activity, and reduced interest. What has been especially problematic is the lack of support for new arrivals. And I would argue this is partly because too many members have been siloed-off to their own narrow areas (Buddie Blogs). BenzoBuddies will not continue on a failing path to satisfy a subset of its members to detriment of its mission to help the wider community with benzodiazepine use and withdrawal. After all, for the most part, those making use of Buddie Blogs were longer-term members who know what they are doing and where they are going - at least compared with newer members.

The changes and addition of new features (which are far from complete) will help better engage new and existing members alike. If you, @[Co...], do not like the changes and wish to leave, this is surely your prerogative. However, why would you encourage others to leave a support platform with you, simply because you do like the (necessary) changes we are making to the community? Seriously!?

There were a whole host of problems with how the old BB forum operated. You might think of this as radical surgery. But the surgery is necessary to save the patient. And there is whole new life ahead for BB, its members, and future members. I have already described some of the participation numbers at BB in another post. Below, is a screen grab. (Please note: the 'New Members' column should be ignored - they are mostly spam account registrations). Choosing to bury our heads, make no changes, and gradually disappear into oblivion is not an option.

[[Co...]]

8 minutes ago, [[l...] said:

Not quite sure I understand.  Does this mean if we already have a blog and wish to continue to operate it we need to contact the team?  Or does it mean established members who want to start a blog should contact the team?  I notice that it isn't possible to post in my blog at the moment but am assuming that will soon change, 

Any established member can start a blog. We have decided, at least for now, that members will need to request starting a blog. It is not sensible for us to have many hundreds (or thousands) of blogs which go nowhere, created by a new member on a whim and quickly abandoned.

So, ANY member who has been here a while / already been participating in the BB community can request access to blogging. If you would like me to do this for you, you should use the Contact the Team. But we will take submissions in whatever form is most convenient for the member. Would you like to start a blog?

[[lo...]]

Hi Colin, I don't want to start a blog, I already have one.  I would like access to my own blog.  I can see it but can't post in it.  Thanks.  And thanks for everything you do here, some of us benzo addled oldies will struggle to cope with these changes. 

[[be...]]

3 hours ago, [[C...] said:

This is incredible BG!!!

I would never have believed they would destroy the existence and confidence your blog gave to us!!!I

It revolting and it only shows the spirit of the time, technocracy above humanity.Eliminate the personal character, keep tight only into the permitted lines.

Dictatures are seemingly the new law!

BG, please let’s leave this place and use the email

Or we can form our own platform somehow!

Much love

Cona, this is not the way, we will be OK, we can still message each other.

[[Co...]]

1 hour ago, [[b...] said:

Cona, this is not the way, we will be OK, we can still message each other.

Thank you, @[be...]

There is nothing preventing you or other members from starting 'uplifting' threads on the Bright Side forum which would be agood replacement space. But being on a more general part of the forum, it will be more open and welcoming to all members, including - crucially - newer members. And you might - as I believe has been suggested to you - even reference the your archived Buddie Blog as inspiration for a more general Bright Side thread.

I think your old Blog operated differently to most Buddie Blogs. So an admin decided to move it to The Bright Side. We aim to be pragmatic. But, advisedly, I think I should make clear the reason for your Blog being moved back to the archive: it was because of complaints of 'special treatment' from some members. Now, I don't think it was 'special' treatment for the reasons I just stated. But it could argued as being unequal treatment. So, another pragmatic decision by an admin was to move your old Blog to the archive. We cannot please all members; we cannot even please all Buddie Bloggers.

I hope the above explanation begins to focus the unfair expectations made of us by some of our members. We cannot please all members, or even all Buddie Bloggers. BenzoBuddies is making changes to better ensure its survival and to better serve the wider benzodiazepine community. Change is necessary.

[[lo...]]

So if I am reading this correctly our old blogs are not going to be available to us and we have to start a new blog.  I had assumed the old blogs could be transferred to the new blogs section.  

[[Co...]]

@[lo...]

The old 'Blogs' were not blogs - they were threads! They were just called 'blogs'. We now have true blogging available - they are not directly interoperable, as a single thread is not a serious of blog entries. (New) Blogs are article-based, just like any other true blogging system. And you will receive comments to blog entries which you can moderate and even reply to in turn.

All types types of discussion which took place in Buddie Blogs might take place in other parts of the new forums and related spaces. The Bright Side offers a lot off scope for many types of (positive) discussion. And the Off-topic forum offers nearly endless opportunities for topics. And we are also launching Groups, which will cater to specific topics of broad appeal which do not fill well with the main forums (The Protracted Group - which is coming - for example).

Again, Buddie Blogs sucked the life out of the main parts of the forum. You know, the spaces where new members tend to congregate. This was terrible for engaging new members - they would often leave. New members were rarely greeted or engaged by established members, who would tend to engage only in Buddie Blogs. I am not meaning to blame Buddie Bloggers. No, this was failure in the structure of the community. It needed fixing. And this is what we have done.

Other new areas and features: Groups are stand alone single forums. They operate semi-autonomously, with their own teams and, optionally, with their own chat room. Personal Galleries are coming too. Oh, and you can now embed video in posts, upload images directly to your posts, engage in live text chat, etc., etc.

[[lo...]]

Thanks for that explanation. Colin.  I am struggling to read and comprehend text today which is part of the reason for my confusion but I have got the hang of it now.  I have confined my activity mostly to my blog for some time, I don't think I have much to offer new members, my history would send them into a state of panic and could be detrimental so I stay away.  The protracted section was valuable for this reason too but it has been very quiet in recent years.  I am sure the new forum will be much improved and I hope it makes for a better experience for most people.   Change is always a bit difficult and it is rather challenging with the continued cognitive impairment which I experience.   

[[be...]]

58 minutes ago, [[C...] said:

Thank you, @[be...]

There is nothing preventing you or other members from starting 'uplifting' threads on the Bright Side forum which would be agood replacement space. But being on a more egenral part of the forum, it will be more open and welcoming to all members, including - crucially - newer members. And you might - as I believe has been suggested to you - even reference the your archived Buddie Blog as inspiration for a more general Bright Side thread.

I think your old Blog operated differently to most Buddie Blogs. So an admin decided to move it to The Bright Side. We aim to be pragmatic. But, advisedly, I think I should make clear the reason for your Blog being moved back to the archive: it was because of complaints of 'special treatment' from some members. Now, I don't think it was 'special' treatment for the reasons I just stated. But it could argued as being unequal treatment. So, another pragmatic decision by an admin was to move your old Blog to the archive. We cannot please all members; we cannot even please all Buddie Bloggers.

I hope the above explanation begins to focus the unfair expectations made of us by some of our members. We cannot please all members, or even all Buddie Bloggers. BenzoBuddies is making changes to better ensure its survival and to better serve the wider benzodiazepine community. Change is necessary.

Yes I understand, I have been thinking about the link and such. I have to be honest I was uncomfortable with the placement of the blog and no others having the same, and I felt it would be only a matter of time, before buddies would voice their complaints. Thanks for your reply.

[[Co...]]

@[Co...] Thank you for your PM.

To everyone else, I think Conafetto and I have come to a better understanding of each other, even if we are not in total agreement. And that's OK, isn't it - to agree to disagree.

[[Ho...]]

I was going to start a new thread 'how do we blog' but now I'm glad I didn't! So basically the new site is being structured to help newer members onboard and help them get involved and supported? And to keep members interacting more?

I miss my blog and visiting other's blogs, but I applaud your efforts and I'm sure I'll get used to this. I think it will be better for the forum in the long run, and am glad you're taking a long view. I look forward to figuring all this out!! Thanks for your hard work and patience with everyone. I know it's been brutal and I'm sorry for that. You deserve a huge banner of thankyous. 

Gratefully, HCHC

[[Co...]]

Thank you @[Ho...]

Your comments encapsulate exactly what we are trying to achieve.

The way the old forum ended up was no one's fault (except maybe mine) - it just kinda steered itself there over time.

Would you like to start a Blog? Just say the word and I'll make the change to your account.

[[Ho...]]

Colin, I'd love to blog just because that's what I used to do for a living—write! So it's comforting to be able to do that. Thank you so much!!

[[Co...]]

@[Ho...] I look forward to reading it!

[[Ho...]]

Thank you Colin! I do too   once I figure it out!!

 

Much appreciated!!!

[[Co...]]

2 minutes ago, [[H...] said:

Thank you Colin! I do too   once I figure it out!!

Much appreciated!!!

You'll work it out. And we are here to help anyway.

[[ga...]]

You know, all in all, I think the new boards/blogs look good and are going to work out well for most users. The change over must have been a tremendous amount of work. I'm impressed by how few glitches there have been. Kudos to the team!

[[Ho...]]

2 hours ago, [[C...] said:

You'll work it out. And we are here to help anyway.

Oh good!! So glad to hear that! Because I tried to post but am not sure where to start. I went to my profile and navigated to a place where I could read the blog and comments, but when I clicked it says nothing here yet. I'll keep trying different things but if I'm missing something, please let me know! I can miss obvious things! I can use Photoshop, Indesign and Illustrator but when it comes to anything PC-ish I don't have the skills!

No rush Colin, any time that works for you! Thanks so much for the offer!! 

[[Ho...]]

Hey Colin, I figured it out! Whoo hoo!! 

Thanks again; you're a sweetheart!!

[Guest [...]]

Hi HC, I found you finally. I’m still learning my way around here . 
so this is your blog? 

[[je...]]

1 hour ago, [[J...] said:

Hi HC, I found you finally. I’m still learning my way around here . 
so this is your blog? 

@[Ja...] Right next to the search bar to the left is the option "Blogs". Click on that and you can access all the active blogs. 

[[Pa...]]

11 hours ago, [[g...] said:

You know, all in all, I think the new boards/blogs look good and are going to work out well for most users. The change over must have been a tremendous amount of work. I'm impressed by how few glitches there have been. Kudos to the team!

Thanks Gardie, this has been challenging for everyone, its especially hard on our members but so many are doing their best to learn and adapt, we appreciate everyone's patience.