atomship47

i've been looking for an on-line cycling support group type forum. what are the mod's (and everyone else's) thoughts on creating a forum for discussing health-related issues and cycling with disabilities.

this can be a very "private" topic for some people. most (including me) probably wouldn't want just anyone to view their posts there. perhaps there could be a forum that requires a different "level" of registration or membership. i'd be willing to pay a subscription for such a service. i'd also volunteer to be a moderator.

is there enough interest to warrant doing something like this?

East Hill

You know, I actually made a suggestion somewhat like this, but along the lines of a 'let the mods know that you may not be your usual chipper self due to [fill in the blank], so please take that into account when you tell me I am a bad person because I am rambling on because I am on some really strong meds' forum, but nothing seems to have come of it.

It could be set up just as the Women's forum is set up, but it would require a gatekeeper, so someone who is interested would still have to explain why he or she would need access.

I certainly agree that there are issues which many people do not want to discuss in public, and it would be nice to have a place where one could discuss those issues without fear of having the problem discussed all over the internet. However, one has to trust one's fellow forum members, and I know that there were some things I discussed in the Women's forum which were passed along to people who did not need to know, and who did not have a right to know--so you would have to be careful...

East Hill

donnamb 

There isn't going to be a generic "health" forum here anytime soon, if ever. Let me try to explain why. We know that a general "Health" forum on Team Estrogen exists. It works rather well there, but they have a very different general poster population than we do here. Bike Forums also has many, many more members participating in discussions at any given time. As I'm sure we all know quite well, there is a certain "peanut gallery" element who I am afraid would love to have vulnerable people to zero in on when they're feeling bored. Unfortunately, that's what a "Health" forum would end up being like, because we would not limit it to certain people.

Now, where could you post about certain issues right now? There is Training & Nutrition forum, which some folks use as a general health forum. Some women (myself included) discuss women's specific health problems on the Women's Forum. Many Foosters feel comfortable talking about their health problems on Foo. If it's a cycling-related health issue, you're also welcome to post it in General. We just don't dominate a forum with an individual person's health issues. We are all here to talk about bikes and riding them, after all. What I've noticed is that people participate for a time on a particular forum and develop good connections with fellow posters. They have a health issue start to affect their lives and they will share, just like one does with friends in RL. Mostly though, people with major health problems come to Bike Forums to focus on something they truly love - bikes. Bikes are what Bike Forums does best, and we moderators think keeping that as the focus is the best thing for all members, including those of us with health issues.