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An alternative Christmas speech

**helen****helen** Deactivated Posts: 9,235 Supreme Poster
Thank life on earth that I'm not the queen...! :razz:

And I really hope I'm not going to bore you with this...but having read a few posts this Christmas period in relation to the boards, the community at large and TS in general, I thought I'd say a few (possibly too many) words. :)

As lots of you know, the boards are now 12 years old and some of the people who first joined when they were 14 or 15 are now 25 and 26. There are also people still around who were older than that when they first joined (some 25 or older back in 2000). Bearing in mind this time span - the energy past and present that so many of you have invested in terms of time, emotional support, entertainment, knowledge and humor has been incredible. Getting to know everyone has been the biggest honor and I don't think I ever imagined I'd learn so much or gain so much insight. And while there's certain people I never expected to see leave, in reality, it's amazing so many have stayed for so long. :heart:

I first found TS in 2002 aged 21 and lurked until 2005 when I was invited to become a mod by Spanner. I admit that when I first joined I was not ready - I lacked understanding, I was wet behind the ears and I was a bit like a bull in a china shop. Over time, I've realized that you guys call the shots, that's the way it is - that's the way it should be - it's your space and our role is about supporting you where we can with the knowledge we've gained working behind the scenes developing resources for TheSite and working closely with experts on a wide range of topics. We don't want to control the community, we want to enhance it - we want to be part of it, because we love hanging out with you, but we don't want to stifle it. Shikari mentioned about us posting links - I get it might look a bit spammy/generic at times - but mainly we know that there are articles that might be useful that people haven't seen. The search function on TS quite frankly sucks at the moment and there's lots of valuable info we want to help you discover. It's also about reinforcing options shared by others and helping people to make the decisions that are best for them with as much insight as possible.

As Emmalee mentioned in a thread the other day, we're working to improve TS in terms of navigation (search included) and design - this should help us to be more visible to more people who are looking for a safe and fun space to hang out, to talk with others who are open and friendly and to get the opportunity to be a part of this group that has such amazing potential going forward -as much if not more in its 2004 heyday.

I think it's fair to say - things change, people change, people leave, some people stay (hooray!). (I feel like I've turned into G-raffe at this point ;)) The speed at which the internet has evolved during this time has been insane...and I don't see it slowing down any time soon. This means that we haven't always got it right in terms of community evolution - we haven't always acted fast enough to make sure we managed change in the right way, we haven't attracted enough new members to replenish older members who've naturally moved on - and it's taken us far too long to involve some of those older members to help make sure the boards area of TS is an inviting place to be. (We nabbed Kaff for chat pretty early on, so got something right there - with Piccolo and Fiend following close behind. :D) There have been some tough lessons and it's inevitably disappointing to those who feel the changes more starkly than others. Only you can decide for yourselves how much you feel the differences relate to natural changes in how people are using the internet, natural decisions to move on based on lives developing and things we could do better. I just want to let you know that we're aware of all these elements and are looking at ways we can improve our involvement to support the continuation of this community for your benefit.

So what have we been doing all these years behind the scenes? :p

-Developing live chat (the official room didn't exist at all pre-2006) Jim V and I launched it and sessions are now several times weekly as well as a growing number of expert chats thanks to Jo7.
-Developing askTheSite - this is mainly Fostress domain, but the peer advisor programme has gone from strength to strength.
-Involving young people in decision making. TheSite Leaders program is all about giving you (and others who may not have had the chance to find us yet) the opportunity to have your say on developments and gain new skills in the process.
-Working with the community to develop meaningful and resources through thesite.org/stepfinder
-Bringing commenting to article pages with daily moderation.

What comes next?

Well I've already talked about TheSite look and feel. We'd also like to make sure no-one feels like they're getting a 'generic' response from a mod. We will do our best to maintain neutrality, but we're also people who care and want you to know that you all matter individually and that those of us overseeing activity are not a dull, formal bunch.

There's also a distinctly female presence on TS - losing Jim V was a blow and we need to have discussions about getting a broader gender and topic balance. I'm not sorry that people who need help most are finding us - it makes me really happy. I do however feel that everyone would benefit from interaction with as diverse a range of people we've seen in the past. And if you've read this far...you'll learn that you might actually catch Jim V very soon in the chat room... ;)

On that note, I'm off to bed - I just felt compelled to write this now at this time - and for those who've read it all. Thank you. :love:

Comments

  • Indrid ColdIndrid Cold Posts: 16,688 Skive's The Limit
    Thank you! :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Helen, were you sober?

    Seriously - well said.
  • **helen****helen** Deactivated Posts: 9,235 Supreme Poster
    100% sober, have barely drunk a drop this Christmas. :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    woo helen :yippe: well said. i never realised you joined as a lurker too :)

    and jim v in chat..soon? :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    :d
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You stayed up lateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    my first thought when I read this at 5am was "Helen's drunk!" Slightly disappointed ;)

    But anyway, it was lovely to read.

    My shorter Christmas speech: thank you so much to all the mods and memebers for helping me get this far :heart:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    :heart:

    Also, OMG JimV??!?!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I also thought at first that Helen might have had a drink or three, but after reading it I realise it's some of the soberest and sobering comment/text that I have seen in a while. Thesite as with the Internet has evolved massively over recent years. It's a fair point to say that the boards and main website have not quite kept up with the times, but there is a good point in there too. Sometimes you can get carried away and although change is good, changing with the times just for the sake of it can be bad. Change is good, but not if it's just for the sake of change or reinventing the wheel.

    This way I think thesite develops in a way that it does change, but remains recognisable throughout. Changes can be made to the way it is now by all means, but as it stands, the testament to the hard work of YouthNet staff is that thesite is already in a good place. The difficult thing with a place like this is that if it was 100% perfect then a lot less people would post on the boards, as they find the advice they are looking for. However, we might be close but are never quite there in terms of perfection, that is where the help of the users and thesite leaders comes in. The community aspect of the message boards is often key in making people come back, so the two birds with one stone approach works well in this case. We can get people involved in the community aspect by involving them in how changes need to be made to this place.

    Don't worry Helen you didn't sound too much like me when you talked about people coming and going. It is sad when people leave YouthNet and thesite, but it is sad because we are recognising the positive impact that an individual person had made. As much as it would be nice to hold onto them forever, we do have to let them go. We need to remember that when we have these awesome people work for YouthNet, they have to had come from somewhere else, the somewhere else being an organisation that has let them move on. As an organisation such as thesite, it's important to evolve and grow and not end up in a Kodak moment. A Kodak moment being where a company [kodak] are primarily based on one thing such as 35mm film cameras, but end up seeing their primary business model useless.

    Times are good at thesite, but it's important that the users as much as the staff get involved in how we develop this place. Hoping you all have had the best Christmas that you can. I look forward to your future input.


    Sent from my whyayePad using Tapatalk
  • plugitinplugitin Posts: 2,197 Boards Champion
    Lovely speech, Helen!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    plugitin wrote: »
    Lovely speech, Helen!

    :yes:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Great Thread Helen.... Why were you awake at like 2 something AM ?

    Would also love to thank the mods and users on TS for all your great support since the time I joined, you are all amazing, wouldn't be where I am now without TS and you all <3
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    HELEN YOU'RE OLD!!!!!!! ahem :P

    I'm only commenting..cause my names mentioned? :P
  • **helen****helen** Deactivated Posts: 9,235 Supreme Poster
    G-Raffe wrote: »
    I also thought at first that Helen might have had a drink or three, but after reading it I realise it's some of the soberest and sobering comment/text that I have seen in a while. Thesite as with the Internet has evolved massively over recent years. It's a fair point to say that the boards and main website have not quite kept up with the times, but there is a good point in there too. Sometimes you can get carried away and although change is good, changing with the times just for the sake of it can be bad. Change is good, but not if it's just for the sake of change or reinventing the wheel.

    This way I think thesite develops in a way that it does change, but remains recognisable throughout. Changes can be made to the way it is now by all means, but as it stands, the testament to the hard work of YouthNet staff is that thesite is already in a good place. The difficult thing with a place like this is that if it was 100% perfect then a lot less people would post on the boards, as they find the advice they are looking for. However, we might be close but are never quite there in terms of perfection, that is where the help of the users and thesite leaders comes in. The community aspect of the message boards is often key in making people come back, so the two birds with one stone approach works well in this case. We can get people involved in the community aspect by involving them in how changes need to be made to this place.

    Don't worry Helen you didn't sound too much like me when you talked about people coming and going. It is sad when people leave YouthNet and thesite, but it is sad because we are recognising the positive impact that an individual person had made. As much as it would be nice to hold onto them forever, we do have to let them go. We need to remember that when we have these awesome people work for YouthNet, they have to had come from somewhere else, the somewhere else being an organisation that has let them move on. As an organisation such as thesite, it's important to evolve and grow and not end up in a Kodak moment. A Kodak moment being where a company [kodak] are primarily based on one thing such as 35mm film cameras, but end up seeing their primary business model useless.

    Times are good at thesite, but it's important that the users as much as the staff get involved in how we develop this place. Hoping you all have had the best Christmas that you can. I look forward to your future input.


    Sent from my whyayePad using Tapatalk

    Nice touch.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Emmalee wrote: »
    HELEN YOU'RE OLD!!!!!!! ahem :P

    I'm only commenting..cause my names mentioned? :P

    Helen isn't old, shes only 25 ..........


    Sent from my whyayePad using Tapatalk
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hahaha only a year older than me then Helen :)

    Sent from my GT-S5830 using Tapatalk 2
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've actually read this now! I love it :heart:
    You're amazing, Helenmelon!*hug*
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've actually read this now! I love it :heart:
    You're amazing, Helenmelon!*hug*

    Oh no, sophieannnn had discovered my secret identity!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    G-Raffe wrote: »
    Oh no, sophieannnn had discovered my secret identity!

    Hahaha, took me long enough!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    :d
    Great to be here and meet some amazing people!
    Thanks Helen
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    **helen** wrote: »
    There are also people still around who were older than that when they first joined (some 25 or older back in 2000).

    Those guys really need to grow up
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