All Community Members: Please Read

[Harrison]

Hey all;

Sorry I�ve not been able to post more -- you know the drill about being busy. It�s great to see so much sharing, learning and cooperation on a daily basis. Thank you all, even the newbies are offering their assistance! Y�all are great!

Here�s something for you �strategic� members to chew for a bit (pun intended). As I look across the forums, there is a great deal of useful information exchanged, but often in a repetitious way. What we really need is a more sophisticated application that is user-friendly, but is more able to provide �knowledge management� and efficient ways to exploit the �wisdom of the crowds.�

New members will always need TLC and emotional support, and that�s the most important service provided within this community. But perhaps we can do a better job by having the �right� application? Is there a better app than this Infopop software? Give it some thought. Let me know if you have specific applications in mind that may be better�

�and now, a few housekeeping details:

1. App. 1/3 of the members have bogus email addresses. Wuddupwidat?! Please update your profiles to include your preferences regarding communication. You need not show an email publicly, but one needs to be provided to me, as I am the site owner and moderator. Many folks will email or PM me ask for assistance � and I�ll take the time to respond to an inoperative address?!

2. Please consider inserting a �signature� in your profile, one that includes 3-8 lines succinctly describing your spinal profile. Other members appreciate this and it encourages responsiveness and supportive communications. You can also include a picture of yourself in your profile too, as some members have done.

3. I am the sole owner of this site and have no financial or business ties with any of the members. The recently implemented GoogleAds help cover the costs of hosting; but donations since then have dropped to zero. If you care to make a donation, feel free to do so here.

There�s more, but that�s it for now. Thank you for being part of our active, global and most helpful community in cyberspace!

[Alastair]

Hi Harrison,
Well as you know every person that joins here gets a "Welcome" PM from me.

There is a direct link to the FAQ`s in that message, and the FAQ`s are there to stop repetition.

How to get folks to look in the FAQ`s I don`t know if this doesn`t work , but loads of people simply rush in with problems and needing TLC and never look in the FAQ`s unless I quote again as a reply to their question.

Much is really within members own hands,You can take people to the info but its up to them after that.
Best
Alastair

[letteski]

Harrison and Alistair,

Re: TLC, that is what makes this forum such a special community and I hope that never changes.

Re: signitures they are so helpful to keep everyone's unique case straight.

Re: Repetition well I don�t think that will ever change it is the nature of the exchange but as senior members we can help by pointing others in the right directions when we know where threads exist and link them in. Its just another from of TLC.

[LeeK]

Personally, I did read the FAQs and look through the site before posting but my question is not always addressed to the degree I may be looking for--or I'm looking for more thoughts on it. By posting a topic you get more current and varied input & insite into your concern(s).

Getting unique and personal feedback (TLC?)helps alleviate the isolation and despair that I would think most of us who are still dealing with chronic pain on a daily basis feel.

I think some might "rush in with our problems" because we are so overjoyed and relieved to finally come across a community that understands and "gets it" because they have had similar experiences.

Thank you Harrison for hosting this site, it has meant a lot to me lately and has been my only form of support (TLC).

FYI, in the FAQ re US surgeons, this info should be updated...
You have:
Name of center: San Dieguito Orthopaedic Medical Group
Primary investigator: Raymond J. Linovitz, MD, FACS
Timothy A. Peppers, MD
Location: 320 Santa Fe Drive, Suite 204
Encinitas, CA 92024
Contact name: Lori Cullinan
Phone number: 760-943-6700

There was a name change a while ago...it's now called Core Orthopaedics see http://www.coreorthopaedic.com/

Dr. Westerlund is another spine surgeon there

[Alastair]

Well I don`t live in the USA or know anything about your health system so unless someone advises me I have no idea.

So are these Drs on the link you have posted are these still the same Drs????

Would you like to leave me a PM with this info on so I can update things please?
Best
Alastair

[sahuaro]

Harrison:
A couple (or so) of thoughts:
-Some of the repetition is actually helpful--maybe I'm just getting old, but there is so much information to absorb that the repetition helps put it together and integrate it. But it would be helpful if info could be grouped together.
-The few times I have tried the "search" feature have not been particularly helpful. The FAQ's are great but sometimes don't address info I'm looking for.
-If I am reading your post correctly, it looks like you are requesting some technical suggestions. I have forwarded your post to someone who is a techie and hopefully he will have some suggestions.
-I also wanted to let you know how much I appreciated the interview with Dr. Zeegers on "The Cutting Edge" forum. Can we have a place to post questions and issues we would like Mark or you or others able to pick the brains of ADR surgeons, to address?
Thanks again for your good work.

I might suggest Community Server as an excellent way to do integrated discussion forums, email lists, newsgroups, weblogs (blogs), file galleries, content management, and more to help enable you to create your community presence quickly and easily (a weblog format would be great for doing the FAQ-like items and news announcement items in a chronoligical but non-forum manner - I agree there might be some benefit to breaking some of the current forum content out into more applicable content managment style tools). See http://communityserver.org/

I can probably help with it, too. But either way, ADRSupport.org is excellent now - and I don't mind some disorganization. It makes it real.

greg

[JoJo]

What's a "strategic" member?

[Harrison]

Thank you all for your helpful feedback! JoJo, "strategic" was a reference to some of the people who have technical insights or anyone that can help strategize the future structure of this forum. And many of these comments here are good nuggets of wisdom to help me "strategize" for the future...

Thanks