<font class="graybody">I would like to address some issues and comments I’ve received on the
member survey.
First, thank you so much for taking the time to complete it! As someone running the site it is often easy to forget what it’s like to be a new member, and what it might be like for regular members. Not everyone has completed the survey yet, but the results so far have helped me immensely.
MIDWIFERY FORUMS
At first glance, I notice a lot of people requesting forums and sections for midwives and student midwives. The scope of this community is to support
doulas. It was a big stretch for me to accommodate a childbirth educators subforum. As a doula you know how important it is to keep your roles separate, and I think by bringing in forums for other professions it loses the focus of the goal. I may create something off to the side if there is enough demand.
INTERNATIONAL DOULAS
International doulas: I will supply you with forums when there is greater demand. Right now there are only a few of you and I don’t think you’d benefit as much as you think from your own forum. Your questions may go unanswered due to a lack of International membership, but I am hoping this will soon change.
FINDING OLD POSTS & EASIER SEARCHING
Our recently introduced
thread tagging system has enhanced our ability to find posts. To use this system, click on the “Tags” link on the pink navbar. Our most popular tags (or keywords) are listed in the tag cloud. Click on a tag to view all posts that were tagged with that word. If you don’t see the word you are looking for in the cloud, type it into the search box.
To view old posts within a specific forum, scroll down to the bottom of the forum you are in, under the “Popular Tags” box. You will see a “Display Options” box. Within it is a “Showing threads 1 to #”section, which has a dropdown menu for selecting “From The” time the post was made. Set this to “Beginning” to display a listing of ALL posts within that forum.
CHAT NIGHTS
There are requests for more chats. Chat Night will be moving to Monday nights (watch for further announcements) and will start off with a unique topic which is discussed for 30-60 min., depending on attendance, followed by free-for-all chat. We are discussing potential topics
here. We will work on more guest speakers and mini-seminars. We hear you!
PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
I’ve read lots of differing opinions on this. Most regular members seem to want a very private forum to protect confidentiality, and a high minimum post count to access certain forums. On the flip side, members who visit occasionally don’t like the idea of having to post to stay active, and to keep their directory listing.
The reality on confidentiality is that if you are discussing a client, even on a “private” forum, and are using identifying details,
you are breeching confidentiality no matter “private” it is. I say “private” because nothing is truly private on the internet. Not unless I was to create a forum where only those who could access it were people who faxed me copies of their drivers licenses and proof of Doula training.
Even the Club private forum isn’t truly that… because anyone can sign up and send payment and get access.
Now to address the members who visit occasionally; Please understand that reading and not posting (also called “lurking”) makes regular members nervous. By reading regularly and not posting, you may feel like an active member of our community because you know us from our posts, but if YOU don’t post, no one knows you. Post count requirements help us create an active support community which is the goal of AllDoulas.
GETTING THE WORD OUT
Our members generate most of our traffic by word of mouth, and more recently search engines have brought us some great new members. It was suggested in the survey to see more advertising of AllDoulas on the internet, to increase our membership. This goes back to the
funding information I posted and is why it’s important for those who can to join the
AllDoulas Club, or send a donation if possible. We are working on a much more search engine optimized site.
If you haven't yet taken the
AllDoulas Member Survey, we'd appreciate it if you did that now!
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Addressing Member Survey Results
