What Now? is going green
Hi all,
I thought I'd let you know that at some point next week the site will be going green. This is nothing to do with our carbon footprint. This is because the charity Cancerbackup merged with Macmillan Cancer Support back in April and we've decided to align our branding.
Don't panic, this doesn't mean What Now? will lose it's identity or be changed beyond recognition. Instead, what it means is it will look a bit different (a new shade of paint)...and it also means I've concentrated my efforts to make the new 'green' What Now? come with a few extras.
A new chat room: hopefully we'll be bringing you a more sophisticated chat room that lets you see who else is in there, add new rooms, use emoticons etc...
Content by cancer type: we'll be adding a section where you can see all the content and people on the site by cancer type.
Profiles: this might take a little longer than next week...but we will hopefully be adding a bit of a reworking of the user profiles to allow you to find people with similar interests etc a bit easier, and to make it clearer where each bit is.
If there is anything else in particular you think would improve the site, do leave me a comment below and I'll see what I can do.
Thanks
Thomas
Categories
Do you think it might be an idea to have a Younger Persons' section? I think it might help them to find each other now that the site is getting so large. Maybe not actually define this too closely, as some 25 year olds may feel they would like to be included in that, and others not?
Can you put me in a "Terminal" section rather than with my original cancer, please? I don't want to depress people who have an early diagnosis/correct diagnosis, and I sometimes think that those of us who are Terminal have a lot more in common with other people in the same situation. I think this should be a 'request' section though, as other people may not wish to be thus demarcated.
What do other people think?
Many thanks. Penny
I agree with Penny
I am happy to go into a separate section for terminal people too and thinks there is a real need for the younger members to be able to hook up together more easily.
It all sounds very exciting Thomas especially the improvements in the chatroom!!
Thanks, Jools x
Good ideas
hi Penny and Jools,
thanks for the ideas...I think having a space for younger members is a good idea, and also for terminal members too. What I could create is an area for each that you can join if you wish to make it easier for people to find each other.
I'll factor these in. Keep the ideas coming
Thanks
Thomas
next suggestions
Hi again - would it be possible to make a link from everyones home page to the help section?
Also is it possible to make it mandatory that people complete crtain sections of their profile with information - especially whether they are a carer or patient and male/female (hard to tell with some names - mine included) and cancer type - its so difficult to know where to start when chatting to a new person - and after recent issues it would be reassuring. (I know Kate2003 feels strongly about this too)
Thats it for now..........you know me I will keep thinking about things! :o)
Thanks, Jools
Going green
Well things are looking exciting for next week and cannot wait.
I agree with Jools suggestion about profiles being filled in better as it is difficult to know when speaking with someone in chat.
Also agree with Penny comments too etc.
Keep up the good work Thomas - you are doing well and you are appreciated.
Rose
Green Room
Sounds very good Thomas. I too think profile should be completed and this may save problems as we have had in the recent past. Would it be possible to link directly from the chatroom to PMs so that one could send pm instead of trying to find them elsewhere. Best of luck Thomas. Thanks
Hello Thomas
As Jools said, I do feel strongly about having some mandatory fields in the profile. Several times I have wanted to look up a profile of a new joiner and just come across a blank page. After all the problems we've had in recent weeks, I'm now extremely suspicious of anyone who isn't willing at least to say whether they're male or female, or even whether they have cancer. We do seem to be getting one or two 'commercial travellers' creeping in, and I've also noticed a few 'snake oil' remedies being pushed (e.g., the poison B-17). What Now is a support community, not a captive audience for dubious 'cures'. Obviously I know people may not always tell the truth on their profiles, but I do think it would be a good start if there were a minimum amount of required information. Even if a new joiner is totally genuine, you don't approach a 20 year old female cancer patient in the same way you would talk to an elderly male carer!!! Thanks again for everything - great job!! Best. Kate xxx