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Post Time: 03/07/2008 11:50:12 |
asurisuk
Total Posts: 23
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is there anyway of sending forum members a private message, otherwise you have to put your email address? |
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Post Time: 08/07/2008 10:00:29 |
topazg
Total Posts: 9
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This is a good idea in principle, certainly most forums have it. How should notification work if you receive a new message? What should the options be if any? Sent by email or not sent at all, with the former being default seems the most sensible? |
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Post Time: 08/07/2008 17:24:33 |
asurisuk
Total Posts: 23
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oo-er, now you're blinding me with science!! Umm, i guess I was just thinking of another forum i used to use (a non-ES one) where, when you logged into the forum you would be either alerted if you had a new private message or could go to your personal mailbox within the forum to check your messages.
My memory is that the messages were confined to the forum, ie they were not forwarded to an email address. I guess people could give their email, and other details once contact via the personal forum message is made.
I hope that makes sense. Anything would be fine that enables people to give personal details in some sort of private manner. cheers, jane |
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Post Time: 09/07/2008 10:31:23 |
Jean Philips
Total Posts: 12
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An interesting idea.
We do have people on the forum who are unfamiliar with forum exchanges and have been upset that others can see their details. Others we know are very protective of their privacy.
This is something that needs further discussion before it is implemented.
The newsletter can always be used to ask for contacts, and more people see the newsletter than log in to the forum, as many ES people cannot use a computer.
We are always open to suggestions about improving the way we do things and this one certainly has very good qualities that deserve proper consideration. |
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Post Time: 10/07/2008 18:18:56 |
asurisuk
Total Posts: 23
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This was a perfectly straightforward suggestion I made, which is for some reason being made very complicated, something that is not unfamiliar to me in dealing with ES-UK*.
1. The suggestion I made is for a PRIVATE messaging system, the whole point of which is that no one except the intended person sees the contents of the message.
2. None of the registered users are jumping up and down saying they do NOT want such a service, so i only have your word for it that electrosensitives have reservations about such an idea.
3. Are you really saying that if i want to pass on my email address/personal details to someone on this forum I have to wait for the newsletter which comes out every 2 months, and write a notice saying so. You must see how ridiculous, suspect even, that sounds?
* I note there is still no response to my month-old call for more detailed information about the alleged 400 on the database, even for something as basic as a breakdown of the figure by county.
No news either about the regional representatives, the one stated initiative to come out of the one annual trustee meeting. I gather the person in charge of that initiative is no longer a trustee.
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Post Time: 13/07/2008 22:22:39 |
Ariadne
Total Posts: 9
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You do know of the Data Protection Act? Releasing information held on a database (no matter how vague that information may be) can be seen as a direct contravention of that Act. It's my understanding that most of the people on the ES UK database do not want their information made public, and if that is the case, no matter how often or how long you ask, ES-UK cannot release the information. Please note that I do not have access to the said database (nor do I know what may have been discussed at any trustee meeting in response to your suggestion etc), nor do I wish to, but I have had access in the past to "sensitive" databases (not connected to ES UK) and the same principle applies.
As to the private messaging - I can see both positive and negative things about it. From my everyday dealings with people who are ES, those that are able to use a computer are not, on the whole, terribly computer "savvy" and would be very wary of receiving private messages - no matter whether their information was visible or not. And that's only the people I talk to regularly. Those people who are ES and know about standard forum etiquette including private messages may be fewer than you think. The situation Jean referred to was someone on the powerwatch forum who used their email address as their forum name, and hadn't realised that would be visible to everyone. It was of course changed at their request, however you do need to bear in mind that this may be the very first forum that an ES person has ever registered with.
It's my understanding (having helped a little with the website etc) that the forum was set up so that it could be openly supportive of ES people who had questions - and the answers would be visible to all who may be interested - and may have the same questions. To add a private messaging system, although it's common to a lot of forums, would actually be partially changing the function of what it was set up for in the first place, and therefore of course would HAVE to go through a trustee meeting to be discussed, as any change in ES-UK (or any other charitable organisation) would have to be. And yes, I do have experience in actually working for a charitable organisation.
Looking at the huge (not!) list of people that have registered (which you can check yourself - usernames only), if you want to contact people who are ES, it does make sense to use the newsletter, which goes out to a darn sight more people than are registered here on the forum. Certainly doesn't sound ridiculous or suspect, unless you make a point of seeing a conspiracy. So far you are the only person who *has* requested this, and it will involve a fair amount of coding to put in place - Graham's time is being donated FREE of charge to ES-UK but is not infinite - so priorities do have to be assigned. If more people are vocal about wanting a private messaging service (makes no odds to me) then perhaps it could be discussed at the next trustee meeting.
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Post Time: 15/07/2008 19:45:41 |
cdc
Total Posts: 37
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Ariadne as someone with legal knowledge....
Party A and B agree that for a one off fee by Party B Party A will provide Party B services indefinitely. Party A decides later on to change indefinite to anually. Can Party A change terms of a contract like that? Is this in breach of contract?
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Post Time: 14/08/2008 19:31:58 |
Ariadne
Total Posts: 9
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cdc -
I'm assuming this is in connection with the Powerwatch subscription. Yes, in the terms and conditions that are on the website that you sign for when you (or whoever) took up the offer (and to buy *anything* from the website, you have to tick the box that states you've read and understood the terms and conditions).
These are standard terms and conditions found in most companies, any service provided is subject to change at any time. It's not a breach of contract.
I think you've also perhaps misunderstood what has happened in this case. What actually happened was that Powerwatch are withdrawing the subscription service completely and making it FREE from June 2009 onward. Therefore EVERYONE gets effectively a lifetime subscription, so they withdrew the option to buy Lifetime Subscriptions and reduced the Annual one (and keep reducing it every month until June 2009) to show the limited lifespan. Those people who had a Lifetime Subscription were offered the chance for a partial refund to drop it back down to the annual rate, which could, if they'd subscribed over a year before, actually still have given them far more than the "one" year that was left to run. At what point is a customer worse off?
This is somewhat off topic though. I'm also slightly puzzled by your phrasing - were you asking ME if *I* had legal knowledge? My legal knowledge is limited to some business and contractual law that I studied when doing my accountant qualifications. Therefore I do know about the Data Protection Act and some things about contractual obligations, however I'm not legally qualified. Just thought I'd make that clear :) |
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Post Time: 17/08/2008 19:27:57 |
cdc
Total Posts: 37
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Yes I did misunderstand what has happened. I assumed when I started reading the thing it was an attempt to get more money off me.
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Post Time: 18/08/2008 18:08:48 |
SarahS
Total Posts: 14
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Hi,
It is good news about the Powerwatch subscrips, and very generous to make free, as I know there are lots of running costs etc.
Regarding the suggestions here about the forum (although a bit forcefully put!), as a resonably computer literate ES user, if at any time it was possible to make Private Messaging (PM) possible, I would support this, having experinece of the facilty elsewhere.
The whole point about PM function is that it usually has various opt-in/out customisable options available to users, e.g. people could select whether to subscribe to it when signing up. On other forums that I've used, there is also the option to have a notification sent by email, this way you are made aware when someone has sent you a message, but they don't actually have access to your email details, ensuring confidentiality. Also, you can choose not to respond to a message if desired.
I totally appreciate this would take extra code and resources though, and is not necessarily a priority, but those are just my thoughts to add to the mix for future reference. It would be great to have some way to communicate directly with other sufferers online, and also might get the forum/posts moving a bit quicker, as otherwise people only tend to check in every couple weeks or so.
Regarding seeking contacts via the newsletter, I also agree that it would be good to have some sort of network set up with regional coordinators etc, to put some kind of social support groups in place - although again appreicate resources are limited. I am not very familiar with data protection details and appreciate the law must be carefully adhered to - however, can this not be overridden by people giving specific consent to the disclosure of certain details, e.g. an additional mailing sheet could be sent with a newsletter to be completed and returned by those wishing to do so, with options to discolse telephone, address, or email etc (at person's discretion,and signed/dated etc) to other participants, and details shared with regional coordinators, who can then compile a list of people in each area and share details between participants.
Something very similar to this is in place with many other charities, e.g. ME, so data protection can't be too much of a barrier.
Just suggestions anyway, but I suspect for every ES suffer who wishes to remain private, there are others, such as myself, who would like to message others online and be in contact with others in the area, in a more organised way.
Best wishes
Sarah :) |
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Post Time: 20/08/2008 19:59:16 |
cdc
Total Posts: 37
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Free internet forums can be set up in a few minutes from free internet forum providers; which have all these options available.
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Post Time: 10/06/2010 17:25:13 |
asurisuk
Total Posts: 23
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Now we're in a new era of ES-UK are we going to be allowed the dignity of being able to send messages to each other in private, or is the situation to continue where all contact between us is mediated by the unelected elite lucky enough to have found themselves running this enterprise? Though I appear to be the only one who seems to be bothered by this, outrageously undemocratic, strait-jacketed state of affairs, which I find extremely alarming. I find it more disturbing and depressing infact than ES itself.
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Post Time: 12/06/2010 18:43:11 |
cdc
Total Posts: 37
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Well it took over 10 minutes but if there is any interest in a regular type forum you can use the one below
http://z7.invisionfree.com/Electrosensitivity/index.php?act=idx
Has all regular forum features including direct private messaging
Or you can even set up one yourself. |
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Post Time: 25/06/2010 07:03:38 |
Researcher
Total Posts: 191
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http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/eSens/
This may help as a good forum, for personal contacts.
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