Quote:
Originally Posted by Deirdrea
I am in no way trying to get into the middle of this. I'm posting only to give some ideas. There are MANY ways to start a much smaller online community. Through the pm feature here most people get email notifications so you could go through and PM the people that you are trying to get the attention of. There are many different options for private online communities. A bunch of friends of mine (who I met online because of having a baby at the same time) have moved to a totally private forum. We use beehive forums and pay a yearly fee. The one girl who manages our acct. asks for donations yearly and we all contribute and it's all good. I think the yearly fees may be like $50 or so but really not terrible when everyone contributes. It is totally seperate then where we started but we all feel completely safe posting there.
I understand a need for people to have a "safe" place to post. It's hard when you think that your boss or mother in law may be checking up on you. I really don't think that that has anything to do with how far you are out of surgery. I think the surgery is how you all met and that your once small community has exploded. It happens and it's not really something that you can control. You can also set up chat rooms on many IRC networks. It's a super easy to use chat program and although I'm not TOTALLY sure how to go about setting it all up, there are places to learn that information and find a server to put your chat room on.
I'm a year out so I'm kinda "in between" these two stages. I also probably wouldn't post personal issues here just because of how public this board is. I can understand both sides of this issue. I think with a little planning what you're wanting to have happen Bridget you could get it but I hope that you are still here to give advice for those of us who are in between newbie and 3+ years out.
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The thing about doing something outside of TT is that so many of us this far out aren'tchecking in that often and would not know where to find us if we started another forum.....we like how TT is set up. John has done wonders with this site. He is always adding new features. Also, PMs suck in that you can't keep track of the posts, see who has posted things, and there's no way to have a search or keep a history.....I certainly don't want to use up all of my memory on keeping messages archived.
As I mentioned before....John set up an accountability section....that is private and not a public forum....perhaps we can go in there and feel safe....plus, as the "newbies'' graduate....we want them to know that there is a bigger storm on the horizon to prepare for as you forget what the hell it was like to lose your hair or dump every time you even smelled sugar.
As for when you're no longer a newbie, that's up to you to figure out. I'm smartypants, so I tend to graduate ahead of people
Then again. I my ex had RNY 2 years before me (makes him over 6 years now), with Dr. Callery. I went to 3 pre-op informational seminars, and double every other class. I also wrote a dozen research papers for my school courses about WLS, the history, the variety of surgeries, the outcomes....I did my statistics paper on this subject, I have written articles, I have been part of several nursing and medical bariatric groups......I have spoken at many meetings.....I was a "newbie" for all of a few short months....I'm not an expert, but I have a lot of experience and time under my belt......
And, even with 4 years approaching....I'm always learning, always adding knowledge, and going out and trying new things.
I'm definitely a newb when it comes to surfing
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