This site is ticking along at a low level and we all hope it will continue to do so. Since there's a lot of old threads which are still useful, its a huge resource for people searching google for info about Meniere's and related conditions, there will always be a lot of search traffic hitting the site even if people don't become members.
The Facebook group gives people a way to discuss Meniere's which is slightly more discreet since its not visible to the public. I definitely needed something like that when I was going through the mill 7-8 years ago, now it exists and that has to be a good thing. There was a lot of things that I didn't feel comfortable sharing on a public site but if I had done so I might have advanced my knowledge sooner and maybe had a better journey through it all.
Despite the low level usage our hit rates are huge and I sense a strong sense of community here and I hope facebook reinforces that.
I'm sure MDUK members will have strong opinions both ways. I'm happy to continue to support this site for as long as I can because I gained a lot from it when I needed it most, even though I've not really needed to get help for a number of years. There is a small chance that we will lose the site at some point, for example if a hacker corrupts it and we can't get it back, or if we lose funding which comes from a very kind gentleman who hardly uses it ! etc etc - I like the idea of holding the community together in that event however unlikely it is. Equally there would be some topics which I'd prefer to be on here and not facebook. But I'm very relaxed about it and just hope that people will continue to get the help and support they need whichever medium they choose to use.
I like the idea of being about to push content to people, lets say someone new comes on here and needs some help. If we post on facebook that we need some expertise on that thread to help that person, then we can do that via facebook, the little red "1" in facebook will bring people to that post, and that can link to the thread on here. Its a means of bringing members here when their expertise is needed but they don't check the site that often.
Finally becoming a member on here can be a challenge since we get many spam requests that its hard to spot the real people. At least with the facebook group people can request to join via there, and I can then approve them directly on here. You absolultely can't let the spammers in as they post all sorts of unacceptable material, it has to be marshalled strictly.
I think that sets out a reasonable case for the facebook group, lets see how it evolves.
Topic: MDUK facebook group (Read 885 times)
