Question:
The facts of Q&A life
Having been bumping around OH.com in general and Q&A specifically for the last three or so years, I have come to recognize a few facts of life: 1) People are going to post repeat questions. They just won't take the time to search the archive first. It's annoying, but there it is. 2) People are going to have varying opinions and not hesitate to post them. Sometimes this degenerates into ugliness. That's why we have moderators (coughBOBcough) and a fine job he does, too. 3) People are going to post their medical questions here. Yes, they are. And I don't think most of them are expecting Expert Medical Advice; no, most of them are just looking for someone who has experienced something similar who can reassure them they are not going to go insane/explode their pouch/die in some gruesome manner before they can get to their surgeon/dietician. For every patient, at some point, WLS is The Great Unknown. It's human nature to reach out and find someone who has walked in one's particular shoes and lived to tell the tale. There's disclaimers all over the site .. it's redundant to respond with a stern "We Are Not Professionals! See Your Doctor!" disclaimer to each post. (If you still feel the need to post a disclaimer on each post, save yourself time and blood pressure points and just post "WANP, SYD!" We'll all know what you mean.) Or, alternatively, chillax. It'll be fine. — Jeanie (posted on May 11, 2006)
May 11, 2006
Thanks for the kind words I am the moderator of Q&A. I try to post see
your surgeon on medical questions espically those that alarm me. Things
like my leg is swollen and painful. Possible blood clot, go to the ER
immediately. Much of the posting here is people reaching out to others who
have been thru it. The repeats dont bother me, because of that. WLS is
SCARY, so this board can help. I want to thank all of you for helping
others! The vast majority here are nice folks. Honestly I hate breaking up
fights. My motto is the less moderation is the best moderation, but do step
in to prevent people from getting hurt. There are some hot button issues
that tend to cause troubles:( I am a volunteer, and run my own business
fixing office equiptement, so I cant be here 24/7 but try to do the best I
can. It was my promise to God to give something back if I survived surgery
and did well. This july I will be 5 years post op. Time sure flies.
— bob-haller
May 11, 2006
Great post, Jeanie. Right on the mark!
— LindaLee H.
May 11, 2006
Hi Jeanie... good post. One thing however, repeat questions are not
necessarily annoying. Each person has their own slant on a particular issue
that includes the person who asks it and thos who choose to answer. I could
ask the sam equestion everyday and get different answers. Sometime
reassurance on YOUR OWN question is all someone needs. I don't mind seeing
the same ones. People are here for support and it is not necessarily
therapeutic to read answers to someone else's question. But otherwise I
agree that usually someone has experienced similar problems and can help
istead of the whole see your doctor thing!
— SteffieBear15
May 12, 2006
LoL! You hit the nail on the head!
— MissKimberly
May 12, 2006
Jeanie-DITTO...I think that OH has been VERY helpful to a lot of people
when they need someone who understands what they are going through. I never
get irritated seeing the same question over and over-as there is always
someone different posting the question and are probably just looking for a
friendly voice/face :) to answer them and to tell them that someone out
there has had a similiar problem/circumstance and they are going to get
through it!! Where I am from, there are NO bariatric clinics/surgeons OR
support groups, so OH website is mine and a lot of others in the SAME
situation. There are going to be people who arent as patient and
understanding!!! For those people, we just need to take them in stride and
know that it takes all kinds of people to make the world go round!! Have a
good day everybody!! Janet
— want2luv2bme
May 12, 2006
Jeanie,
I'm somewhat new to the site, I've only been using it for about six months.
When you say that people should be using the archives to find answers to
their questions, I need to ask if there is an easy way to find that answer.
There are hundreds of questions posted daily and you expect people to go
back and sift through millions of answers to find the answer to their
particular situation. Also, there are advancements made everyday in how
people deal with pre/post surgury issues. Something that may have been
true three years ago when you started on this site isn't necessarily true
today. I think that not only is it not annoying to hear the same questions
over and over, I feel that it's important that they do get repeated so we
can have the most up-to-date answers available.
As far as getting angry over someone giving the advice to see a physician,
who are you to decide what responses were are allowed to give? If I read
that someone is asking how to take anti-inflamatory meds and I see that
someone like you is telling them to try crushing them, I will give a
response for that person to see their physician first. You could be
responsible for ruining the lining of that person's stomach or even causing
their stoma to close. If the person posing the question has already spoken
to the MD, then they can ignore my advice, but I'm certainly going to share
the info that I got saying that these types of meds of very dangerous post
surgury. I'm sure there are people out there who do go overboard, who feel
that this is not a place for medical questions at all, but from what I've
read, this is a place where we are all allowed to give the most helpful
answers we have and if you don't like it, maybe you need to talk to the
creator of the site about coming up with a Q&A area for people 3+ years
out only. I've gotten so much great information from this site, it has
really helped me through some tough times and I hate coming across these
messages here. Q&A stands for question and answer, WHAT YOU POSTED IS
NOT A QUESTION, AND ANSWERS SHOULD BE POSTED IN THE REPLAY AREA. Thank you
for allowing me to share my feelings on the matter.
— onmiway
May 12, 2006
WELL SAID, Jeanie. And I can't help noticing that the people at whom this
is loosely aimed did not respond to it. And that's funny.
— nicolerod
May 12, 2006
Hey everybody. Thanks to those who read my post and saw what I was
actually saying. To those who didn't, let me clarify. 1) I never said
these three things are annoying to *me personally*. Having been here
almost daily for years, I see trends in things people gripe about, and
repeat questions are one of those things. I, myself, take it in stride to
the point of having ready answers for these things that I can personalize
if necessary. 2) On the medical posts, the responses I am talking about
are the rote "See Your Doctor", especially when there is no
accompanying attempt at reaching out to the person or sharing info. That is
patronizing to me. What if it's 3 AM and the poster just wants reassurance
until the doctor's office opens? 3) and this one is for Rebecca .. relax.
I ain't telling nobody how/what to post, and as is the point to my original
post, they wouldn't listen if I did. :) I'm merely stating the facts
about this message board (or any other), with a bit of humor, in the
attempt to foster further understanding and keep everybody's blood pressure
under control. I see it may not have worked. ;)
— Jeanie
May 12, 2006
I agree with you wholeheartedly! I would add a number 4: that people will
repeat certain items as "WLS gospel" even though there is no
scientific evidence, no scientific evidence to back these claims.
— koogy
May 12, 2006
OH! Let me add #5. There will always be people who will skim a post and
reply with their knee-jerk reaction without taking the time to actually
comprehend what is being said/asked. I've done it, to my shame and regret.
But, que sera sera. :)
— Jeanie
May 12, 2006
Hi, Jeanie. Yes, I did post a repeat question (immediately before your
post yesterday)...I agree with the writer a couple of posts above, archived
information is often outdated, and I was hoping to find someone who had
experience with my particular provider and plan. As it turns out though,
it's my company evidently who is responsible for the exclusion, so in the
end it would have done no good. :/
I agree that it can be annoying sometimes to see repeat questions (I have
been on another, literary, forum for about 10 years) but at the same time I
recognize that there can only be so many different subjects covered over an
extended time span. Sooner or later there is bound to be redundancy. I
remind myself of this whenever someone brings up a topic that I've heard
10,000 times before.
— Kate B.
May 12, 2006
Okay - maybe someone can enlighten ME on this. I've been on OH for years
now and there is something I don't get about the Q&A section. Mainly
WHY it is here. Everything that is asked on the Q&A section is
available on the message board(s) and likely you'll get a quicker answer on
the message boards. Additionally, the Q&A is extremely difficult to
research information on. I won't even attempt to try to find anything on
it anymore. I love OH and what it does for everyone, but a little
constructive criticism here: The Q&A is a disaster and really I think
it needs to be streamlined. It has no logical organization or way to find
information. 99% of the time I do not go back to read posts I've responded
to because it's just a hassle looking for it. I know OH is doing a lot of
updating, and I hope this section will get a little attention. I'm
thinking personally that a Q&A section should be left to experts to
answer - much like other sites. Q&A as it is here now is nothing more
than posting on a message board. I feel it should be a feature where
either a medical professional or seasoned person with stable knowledge can
respond. Even if a medical professional they will always add the
disclaimer to visit your doctor, but they can provide additional insight
sometimes. Just my 2 cents worth.
— Dinka Doo
May 12, 2006
AMOS MOD HERE! Q&A was originally designed as a long term library for
questions years ago when the site first started. Search isnt the best:( But
its there. I dont know how far back the MB posts go, before its upgrade it
was a couple weeks. Q&A goes back to the sites creation last time I
checked. I will pass along the suggestion for a better search. Q&A
tends to be for more serious WLS ONLY discussions while the MB is kinda
anything goes... Like what shall I name my dog. That would get zapped here.
Anyhow thats a bit of the history . At one time I moderated the MB, and
hated it since it tended to bring out the worst in some, perhaps because of
the number of non WLS discussions. Q&A tends to be a friendly fairly
serious board. Thankfully we have few problems:)
— bob-haller
May 13, 2006
Jeanie-I couldn't have said it better myself.
cw
— [Deactivated Member]
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