New format is idiotic

I miss the larger profile photos. It felt like making a connection to others here without invading their privacy. This is a forum for people in great distress and the old site had a solemnity about it that has been lost. All the new social media features are frivolous and very poorly thought out by those who have no idea about why we all are here. They didn't bother to understand what type of site would provide the support we are all here for.

Seems to me like we are really going to have to work harder to keep the character of the forum intact, and that's very disheartening. None of us need more difficulty. But I need the connections and support, so will make the effort. Time will tell.

That's another good idea. I think it makes it easier to read.

Another member asked, what I thought of the new format. Here are my thoughts.

First of all, I felt respected that he cared enough to ask. Thank you Lane.

I don’t like the new platform. I think it is a FAIL that could have been avoided if only the end users were considered.

The cakes, badges, emojis, likes etc are insulting and juvenile and I feel alienated. I felt like I was gut punched when I read the cakes were meant to be whimsical…. I am SAD I have a need to be here. I don’t celebrate my longevity in this nightmare journey.

This forum, and the warriors who participate here have saved my life and my sanity. I am eternally grateful

I’ll make it work because I have to. I don’t have an alternative community to turn to. What a shame, AA had such disregard for the end user.

Specifically, the following issues are bothersome to me:

• navigation is more cumbersome than before
• poster avatars and user names are so small and difficult to read, that they are not useful
• key discussion boards that I found beneficial were eliminated
• the SDLC (System Development Life Cycle) was so horribly implemented, members may engage less or not at all, as a result useful information is not shared, support is not provided. It hurts the members and the does not benefit to the community.
• I suspect AA valued the user analytics the software provides more than making the application user friendly for a demographic that is already struggling with very difficult circumstances.

I suppose I could sum it up by saying I feel DISCONNECTED, not connected. I am now less likely to engage with what has historically been an especially valuable tool in my caregiver tool box.

sigh 😔. I had hoped to be over the learning curve by now. Its seems more mountainous than necessary.

Lady Texan, I feel disconnected by this update too. I’ve started to look at other forums that are more user friendly and less juvenile.

No capacity to delete a post at this point unbreakable unless you edit it and just delete it that way. Backspace all the way, or use Cut function maybe?

Just tried it and that's what you'll have to do. Backspace all the way, or the "cut" function works on my mouse by right-clicking.

M1 has 2500 of something. What is that?

I am trying to ignore. I am mostly upset that I am being manipulated into competing or even having to look at points, likes and so forth. I am upset that this is upsetting me.

Iris I appreciate how hard you are trying to understand this new platform. Frankly its overwhelming to me and from the posting to many others. Clearly I can not, nor would I ever assume to speak for the Association. What I will say is this. They (the Association) do not look at the points, badges, cupcakes, emojis, thumbs up etc as a competition. It is meant to encourage. I know that most of us don't see it that way, but that is why they are there. Try to block them out. I know its difficult. I can so relate to your line "I'm upset that this is upsetting me." And to think I thought I was the only one whom did that!!

Deep breath, block that stuff out and move forward.

eagle

I don't want to be on fakebook, next door is getting there, need to disconnect from that.... I really thought I had found somewhere I was comfortable, like here, SOS admins. We're old people here, we don't want or need cakes and badges, points, levels, etc. What we do need is compassion and caring....and a FONT WE CAN SEE AND READ! Save this wussy stuff for the teeny boppers, we don't want or need it. I need my friends, people who understand what I'm going through and can advise me, help guide me through the difficult times. I need help at times, at other times maybe I can be of help. Likes have zero meaning when you're going through what we are dealing with. Seriously people, have any of you walked a mile in our shoes? It would seem that you haven't. Perhaps leave the fru fru stuff by the wayside and let us just chat back and forth, help one another....show love and compassion. That's what we're really here for. Please reconsider some of the changes and maybe ditch a few of the more ridiculous, and alter a few things to be more user friendly to the actual users? Pah-lease. (Also spoken as please) This is my plea, perhaps also the plea of a few others. Thank you in advance for your consideration to our wants and needs. ~ Another Day ~

GothicGremlin I understand everything that you are expressing. I am entering my 12th years as a caregiver. My DH was diagnosed at 54 yrs old. I've been on these boards a very long time. It has seen me through some difficult times. It's been an encouragement and support system when there was no other support. People whom are going through the same thing as you are going through is such a value this board used to be providing. We can only hope the new platform will somehow become what we all loved about the old board.

eagle

Eaglemom, some members have to be here, because there is nowhere else they can go to find the support that is here. Other members want to be here, after their direct caregiving is over, because they want to share and help the new people. There is something inside each of us that encourages us to visit this site every morning. We don't need cakes or likes or other types of whimsy to encourage us. It is disconcerting that the powers that be at Alzconnected don't know this.

I have been psychoanalyzing myself to figure out why I am so distressed. It is not because I can't figure out the new platform. Along with the sense of being manipulated, that I posted about earlier, I have figured out that I am experiencing a deep sense of loss. I have lost the communal feeling, because other members are so upset, and I have lost so much wisdom from old posts and old relationships from emeritus members. Michael lost all of his 800+ contacts, he is very upset, and I am upset for him.

Before the transition, I spent three days reading and copying posts from the Archives on the I Have Alzheimer's board. It wasn't enough time. I didnt get to the other boards. Even though I was a medical professional, just about everything I know about dementia and dementia caregiving has come from these message boards. Truly, my life has been changed! I would not be where I am today without the wisdom here. I liked to read the Archives and the older threads now and then. All that is gone.

I had a thread, "To Lift Our Spitits". Gone. The references to other dementia-related sites for patients--gone. Some of our members had been in newspapers or on a PBS TV show--gone. So much more.

If Anzconnected wanted to encourage members, I could have had some suggestions.

--Keep the old Archives (pre Dec 2011) and archive the current boards (Dec 2011 to present)

--Keep the Clinical Trials board

--Keep the Musings board

--Have only two Caregiver boards, as before

--Improve the Search function

--Make the chat rooms Zoom-friendly

These are my ideas, other members had other ideas.

The point is, we don't need externalities to keep us coming back. We need our same message board, but better tweeked!

Crushed - as a IT person, I believed similarly to your wife. The most important system design requirement was to find out what the end user wanted and needed. Yes, there were things they wanted that needed to be changed to give them something that would work better. However, I always explained my changes to them and got their agreement before I put it in place.

I think that the organization outsourced this web design and build- or at least used a package ( the brand Vanilla whatever) to build it. Either situation results in a product that can’t fully meet the end user requirements. At least without tweaking over time. -I am getting more familiar with the site every day. It’s lost its cozy sense of ambiance, but I am able to read and post. Although I don’t read as many threads as before.

I will keep coming here. This is the community that saved my life during my first stint as a caregiver. It is the lifeboat I know. But the lifeboat needs to continue to deliver. Key elements of the forum are:

• give and get support,
• share useful information,
• provide opportunities to vent and opportunities to laugh,
• allow us to ask questions and get answers,
• help us feel less alone,
• share wins and also share the losses,
• and so much more!

I think we all have a part in making the forum what it needs to be by our content. The cakes and badges are unfortunate, annoying distractions, but the people and the interaction among us is what makes this place so valuable. Please keep coming back. Lets continue to help each other on this miserable journey.