New Privacy for Forums and New Membership idea

I met some lovely mums on here but after a while it is nice to really get to know them, so of course we added each other on Facebook and took advantage of their private groups, this was amazing as we got to know each other beyond the screen name and now we are such great friends who share so much more than just baby info, they are like a whole group of BFF's (thanks OHbaby). The main annoyance for me of loging in to OB is that 50% of the time I can't actually login to the forum, I need reset this, delete that and by then my lunch break is over and I CBA. Don't get me wrong, I love the OB magazine and the website, and I still use the forum for reference/queries. I think if the forums had been private when I joined a due group then it would've made it easier to share more information with the girls and there are some people who like the anonymity of the forums, especially in the early days of pregnancy . I would be interested to see how it works and I will definitely be coming back for a due group if/when there is a no.2!

I think its a great idea to make the forums 'member only'. I dont think it needs to go as far as needing an invite - what if someone wanted to connect with other mums-to-be but were not refered here by someone? Having someone moderate the people joining is a bit off for me as well - what would the criteria be? It just seems a bit unwelcoming having to pass a check over, and could put off some people.

ETA - Wanted to add, I think needing to sign up to OB to read the forums is a good idea, but I dont think you should have to sign up to individual groups in order to read things. That way, it allows people who are maybe not so comfortable posting right away to get advice and follow along

I think the facebook groups that develop from here are inevitable, as they seem to be on other parenting forums as well. I get why they are something that admin arent keen on but I guess it comes about as people get comfortable with each other and want to share their personal lives just a little bit more in the way that facebook does. No changes to the ohbaby site would really change that for me - facebook allows me to get to know the people I am chatting to more than a site like this, and while thats not so important in the other sections, to me it is when you are sharing some of the things you do on your pregnancy/baby journey.
Thats not to say I think the forums should change their format though, quite the opposite - the anonymity is fantastic when it comes to asking/answering questions, and when the 'due in' groups start out.

Edited by KLH - 11 February 2013 at 9:51am

I would be concerned that it would deter a lot of people (like myself) who lurked for a long time before actually joining a thread and posting. I started reading the OB Multiples threads when I was pregnant and found the info intersting and helpful but wasn't in a place to start posting until my twins were several months old. If I hadn't been able to read the posts and get a feel for things first I wouldn't have bothered joining.

I agree with KLH that you should have to be a member and sign up but don't think you need to go to the extent of being invited or vetted before you can become a member.

I also agree with Sem that a lot more advertising / spam seems to come through on the forums and perhaps that these need to be "approved" by Oh Baby or there needs to be a specific topic for these companies, individuals etc where members can choose to view and comment or not.

I liked the option we had to go to a private forum with a password and surprisingly generally those on the private still post things in the normal due forum too - more personal / sensitive information is shared on the private due forum and I think we have all helped each other through things where you could not have felt comfortable doing so in the normal due thread.

Small changes could do a lot, big changes could do damage. Overall though love the site and the people.

I agree. I liked the concept of the private forum and was gung ho about one being set up for my due date group but have found that people are posting in both or only one and the relationships don't have a chance to build and bond like other forums where everyone is together.

I like the idea of some privacy but have found that people utilise the private messages when they want to discuss something privately. And as Babygiraffe touched on, it's nice to read other forums like "trying to conceive" or "Birth stories" etc etc and not necessarily participating in those threads. If you had to be invited or provided passwords for every area you were interested in, it might spoil the baby community we have here. I love following other women and reading about their journeys.

Just my 10 cents . I do love OHbaby and find it to be the best forums for everything baby and pregnancy in NZ.

Edited by Rachie123 - 11 February 2013 at 1:55pm

Lots of valid points here. Personally when I first came to ohbaby I liked the fact I could read and get a feel for where I fitted in threadwise before being brave enough to join in. Even now I still like to read a thread before contributing if its a place I haven't been before.
I live in a small town so to ensure I remain anon no-one knows I post on here and I work hard to keep personal details away from public reading.
I can understand others wanting to keep it private esp if people know each other IRL etc.

Just my opinion - I like it as it is. I don't participate in private threads so can't comment.

I think they are all good ideas and valid points.

I agree with the being able to read forums, but needing to be a proper member to post.

I see the purpose of both public and private threads.

I like the idea of being able to invite your friends to join.

I personally love OHBaby and rate it over all the other parenting sites. I love the layout and how fast the pages load and the fact you can have tickers and signatures and the ease of use.

Nothing against other parenting sites, but I find Treasures forums drive me nutty with their loading times, so I just give up on them completely and Huggies, it's just not got the ease of use.

I love the forum jump function down the bottom of the page and have always preferred OHBaby forums to any other.

I'm an OHBaby addict to be honest. And I have nothing but good things to say about what you have done here and those ideas you have suggested.

I think all the forums and thread subjects are great and cater to nearly every person who comes to OHBaby forums for advice or support.

Edited by escadachic - 12 February 2013 at 2:16pm

but both make the forum seem boring and slow... 

^^ totally agree Jazzy

I love oh baby. This website has provided me with incredible support through my first pregnancy, subsequent miscarriage, TTC, and now the beginnings of my second pregnancy. The most important thing for me has been the forums. From my experience, it sounds like the oh baby community is the most supportive compared to other baby sites. I appreciate the forums remaining public to some extent. It would be good to be a member in order to see them but I don't like the idea of private forums. My main reason for this is that I was in the "due in March" thread but then lost the baby. However, I had gotten to know so many lovely women in there and when I was ready to come back on, it has been so nice to follow them along with their pregnancies and now births. If this group had been private, I may not have been able to do this. Somehow it has been a healing thing to follow along and see things come full circle. Now I am pregnant again and a little reluctant to join my due in thread at this stage, but I will once I am feeling more confident. It has been nice going in there and getting a feel for the ladies in there and where I fit in, in terms of due dates and things. I would be very disappointed to see this site get too caught up in privacy, passwords,etc, I'd hate to see it die because of that.