Elitist?
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: General Chat
Forum Name: General Chat
Forum Description: For mums, dads, parents-to-be, grandparents, friends -- you name it! And you name the topic you want to chat about!
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=41031
Printed Date: 26 August 2025 at 11:08pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Elitist?
Posted By: Bizzy
Subject: Elitist?
Date Posted: 21 November 2011 at 6:34pm
I know that lots of us wanted more privacy but i just cant help feeling that having a group that you can only enter if you have the password is a bit elitist. I'm sure that most of the time the people in charge of giving out the password would be reliable but what if they werent, what if they took a dislike to a person or group of people and decided not to let them enter... you could then get others in the group talking about the excluded ones - oh hang on isnt that a bit like the groups on FB that nobody liked? 
|
Replies:
Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 21 November 2011 at 6:36pm
|
Oh and even more so if when you do go to enter for the fist time and all it says is you need a password but not how or where to apply for password...
|
Posted By: jaz
Date Posted: 21 November 2011 at 6:55pm
|
You need to have a logon and password to post here now so how is this different?
Also, if you post something on the internet then its not private. Even though you can use a username that doesn't identify you, you are still identifiable by pics and the content of your messages. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: LateStarterLorna
Date Posted: 21 November 2011 at 8:31pm
|
If you requested a password and it was denied ie not answered or received then you could post your complaint in the original thread and pm the oh baby big chiefs? Its clearly posted who the person is to request the password from. ------------- http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/weIHiFu/" rel="nofollow">  |
Posted By: smw85
Date Posted: 21 November 2011 at 8:33pm
|
Is this about the new weight loss topic that is private?
Is it worth trying to request a password! Would I be denied, or is the topic not very interesting? ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 21 November 2011 at 9:32pm
oh it didnt say a person to contact when i clicked on it - not that i dont know lol! Or do you mean it says in the older thread? And not it wasnt a case of something that actualy hapened to me just a vague for instance. Jaz you dont need to have a password to read the forum - or have they changed that and i didnt notice... LOL that would be right... that i didnt notice such an important change. ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker"> 
|
LateStarterLorna wrote:Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 21 November 2011 at 9:34pm
Pretty sure it is the same as the old one... and i suppose its only interesting if that is what you are into LOL. ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker">
|
Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 7:03am
|
wow I am surprised there is a topic on this....is OB getting that boring something has to be started out of nothing???
Bizzy you have been in the weight loss forum for a yr, I know as I have been one of the ones chatting & supporting you...so I am sure you would remember if you read other peoples post in that forum that I asked over a month ago if any one was interested in a private forum & there were a few that were so I asked admin if we could have one. It was taking so long that I said to admin last week to forget it & posted that in the forum & then yesterday it was up & running in the late afternoon. We had over 4000 post & over 45000 views, so probably one of the highest. The reason for the private forum was so us regulars that post there all the time can put photos & stats with it & whatever with people going through the same journey. It is not to exclude anyone it never was, but it is a forum that not everyone needs to be in for obvious reasons Now the original weight loss forum is still there, anyone can post, view & do what ever in it...so no change at all. The privet one needs a password that admin have asked me to give out & Bizzy if you read that post a few up from your last post you would of seen that. Now I don't recall other topics coming about because of the due date groups going private or people making FB groups & OB'ers going there to chat privately but then none of them interested me so maybe there were. So if anyone has a problem with the new private weight loss group get hold of admin. |
Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 7:10am
admin have asked me to give out the password...I have not denied it to anyone but then really the only ones who want it are the ones who want the privet forum for reasons mentioned above... The weight loss group is not a group that interests everyone...& there is still a weight loss group that you can join if you want... those in the pvt one will still post in the others. As I said if you or anyone has a problem with this then talk to admin. |
Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 8:04am
|
Jazzy it wasnt a getting at you - just that the weight loss one is the first private group on here... i know you are the person to ask for the password and i dont think you would with hold it - i was just saying that that sort of thing can happen and having private groups on a forum like this can be seen as elitist. And the elitism thing is something that lots of people complained about when they thought there were secret groups on FB so it amused me that OB was practising elitism. Thats is all. Certainly not a dig at you. ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker">
|
Posted By: arohanui
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 8:06am
|
Bizzy I'm surprised you're not part of the private weightloss thread... you've been an active part of the other one. Why don't you request the password??! ------------- Mama to DS1 (5 years), DS2 (3 years) and... http://alterna-tickers.com" rel="nofollow"> 
|
Posted By: LateStarterLorna
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 8:08am
|
Just to clarify my above post, it was to advise bizzy that there were things you can do should you be denied entry.
Im all for a little privacy esp when it comes to weight, good on you girls for supporting each other, maybe I'll join in one day when I can find motivation, it went on holiday and never returned 
------------- http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/weIHiFu/" rel="nofollow"> |
Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 8:22am
what other one? OB doesnt have any others as far as i know. ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker">
|
Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 8:25am
Mine regulaly goes on holiday, it went missing in action for years! ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker">
|
Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 8:40am
|
Oh Jazzy it wasnt about you or even the fact that it was a weight loss group it was more the private part of it. I remember it took me ages to post in here initially cause i was scared to share my weight with any one so i can understand the need for privacy (and i guess i forgot how worried i was back then too). please beleive me that it wasnt aimed at you at all. So please accept my sincere and humble apologies... ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker">
|
Posted By: Kelz
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 10:06am
|
Gosh, we're damned if we do and damned if we don't.
This thread is all a bit silly....Bizzy, if you can "understand the need for privacy" then why question it? The reason why we didn't like the 'Private Facebook' groups wasn't that they existed....it was because OHbaby! was being used to recruit new members. Obviously we don't want our valuable and knowledgeable members to leave OHbaby! As Jazzy said, if you have a problem drop us an email. x ------------- |
Posted By: Hopes
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 10:54am
|
It is a tough one. I have to admit, I don't like 'closed' forums. In some cases, I can really see why they exist - privacy etc - but for other reasons, I think it's a bit sad. For example, infertility is one possible area that could go private for good reasons. Yet I'd been lurking round the infertility boards for a good while before we were diagnosed with the problems we had. It meant I had a really good background knowledge of what to expect, and the various treatments / recommendations weren't a shock to me. I never posted but learnt a lot from lurking. I would probably have balked at asking for access to a board I didn't feel I was a legit member of at that point and missed out on a lot.
Once I was an active member of the infertility boards, I do admit that a group of us going through similar treatments set up a group on FB and chat a lot on there. That didn't really affect my OB useage, I'm still an active member. Also - and I'm sure I'm not the only one - I just plain like lurking. I ge to know people on here, they learn they're expecting another baby, I like popping into their due date thread to see how everything's going. I've always kind of assumed that's a given on a public forum, and it takes a bit of the enjoyment out of it when I can't  Although perhaps that serves my nosey self right!
I can see why the OB admin has moved in that direction, it just doesn't really appeal to me. But you can't please everyone  -------------   
|
Posted By: AngieBaby
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 11:06am
|
Hi Bizzy,
Just a clarification. OHbaby! was not concerned about Elitism with people moving to facebook at all? We were concerned that people were telling newcomers to the site to leave OHbabY! and chat on facebook, when our forums are such a great source of community for so many women. So I guess that opposite would be true, we didn't want people to leave because we wanted everyone chatting together. It did raise some concerns from our members around privacy, which we have not ignored and have addressed with the password on the weightloss thread. So...no elitism, just trying to meet the needs of our members as best we can. Thanks very much :) |
Posted By: Kelz
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 11:06am
|
Thanks Hopes!
It is a toughie. The majority of the forums won't change so there will still be a lot of room to lurk....who doesn't like a lurk? Such a funny word that 'lurk' hehe. The weight loss thread was just getting more than it's fair share of lurkers :) There's still a lot of other weight loss threads that will remain open and I'm sure that they will continue to be popular. We appreciate your input. Kelly ------------- |
Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 12:25pm
Gosh didnt expect an admin person to be so impartial!  ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker">
|
Posted By: Kelz
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 1:19pm
 ------------- |
Posted By: LadyBee
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 2:27pm
|
Long overdue I think, OB has been rather quite with all the private FB groups opening up. Keeping it all in one place to be able to talk privately or publicly if you wish is great. Keeps the community of OB alive, cause lets face it if you come on in here to chat in your private group whats the bet you will have a lurk around the public forums and add your 2 cents worth while your at it
Good on you OB  ------------- TTC for 4 1/2 years IVF #1 - April 2012 short BFP, no frosties IVF #2 - August 2012, BFP!! 3 frosties! http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
|
Posted By: Lucky apple
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 4:39pm
|
I seemed to have missed the whole saga around this, but just came across the "minor exodus" thread last week (just a few months late!!)
You post here knowing it's public, and personal preference decides what to share and what not to share. I like the terms of access to photo thread - 100 posts and you can see it...means that you are committed enough and are involved in the community enough to see that. Once again, you make your own call re: whether you want to share your own pictures.... With the private thread, I must say that on the quick "lurk" i did, it wasn't clear who the password came from (but maybe that's a good thing cos I am just a lurker and not a member of the weightloss thread). Change is good - just takes some getting used to!! Stick with it OB. |
Posted By: Kelz
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 4:54pm
|
Thanks Sally - appreciate it! ------------- |
Posted By: lisa85
Date Posted: 22 November 2011 at 6:18pm
|
Personally I understand why the weight loss girls would want a private forum. I've had my own weight loss journey and sometimes you want to share photos and personal info with the people you have gotten close to without the general public lurking. So I hold no grudge there. I have been lurking and talking regularly in these forums for over 3 years now and I have definitly noticed a massive drop in forum chat. I think it is in a big part due to facebook and it's sad. I love OB it's the only parenting forum I have stuck with. It's real kiwi women sharing honest advice and veiws with a whole lot less drama than most sites.
But I also understand how private threads could go wrong. Obviously no one wants to feel left out. Part of me feels like this is a public forum so I worry that once you start one private thread you end up with a ripple effect where everyone wants one and there's hardly anyone posting publically anymore. I guess only time will tell if it's a good idea or not. Still at the end of the day I'm glad that OB admin are so open to ideas put forward by us. I'm glad that they are always willing to update and change the site to keep the experience here fresh. -------------  
TTC #3 since Jan 2010 - PCOS MC April 2010 |
Posted By: Kelz
Date Posted: 24 November 2011 at 2:21pm
|
Hi lisa85,
Thanks for your input! The majority of our forums will stay public - we want the information to be available to all the parents looking for help and advice. We get a lot of new members joining up to OHbaby! through the forums - obviously it wouldn't be very welcoming for them if everything was private. I guess it's trying to keep that balance - that's the tricky part :) There are going to be pros and cons of whatever changes we make and will also be members who love those changes and members who don't. ------------- |
Posted By: Tissy
Date Posted: 24 November 2011 at 2:43pm
|
slightly off topic but...
I know the issue is people looking reading and not posting (lurking) but what if you could see the top of the thread ie the original post and had to log in to see the rest of the posts. so if someone googled and the OB thread popped up they could see the first question but needed to log in to view replies it provides some 'privacy' but still allows to draw in new members through topic searching? ------------- http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/ABCD1234" rel="nofollow - My Ovulation Chart |
Posted By: Kelz
Date Posted: 24 November 2011 at 3:58pm
|
Pretty good idea EmptyVessel!
Will put that to the team. Sometimes it takes a huge amount of programming to make one wee change - hence why sometimes requests either don't happen or take a while to happen. ------------- |