Setting up a Forum

RE: Setting up a Forum

Iain Richards — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 22:27:59 GMT

Go for it by all means, taking up Arlo's kind offer. I'm part of a number of vet forums and there is less contribution than I'd imagine. I think the same objections of home time vs work time will still apply. By the sound of it, there will have to be some compromise, which is the heart of work/life/family balance. I can thoroughly recommend training days where one shuts down fo rthe day and catches up on clinical and other matters.

RE: Setting up a Forum

Neil Wheadon — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 13:09:43 GMT

Not to steal too much of Arlo's thunder and it's a good offer

Groupspaces www.groupspaces.com offer a forum and a way of writing newsletters with the ability to upload attachments (Yahoo can't do this and neither can Facebook) We have 53 cycling leaders on this and it works well. It is free for up to 50 members and is protected by a secure login. An administrator (there's a job for you Kate) oversees it and has the ability to control access and content.

Neil

RE: Setting up a Forum

Arlo Guthrie — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 13:04:49 GMT

[quote user="Francisco Gomez"]

Kate Richardson there is a possibility of making a 'secret group' in fb. Our practice uses one.

You won't get people wanting to come in because the group is not shown anywhere, and only people invited are able to see posts.

[/quote]

Yes, but we can do exactly the same here, AND you can claim discussions you learn from as CPD, which you cannot do anywhere else (unless you've got the time and inclination to note it down with a pen and a piece of paper every time you visit a facebook forum).

RE: Setting up a Forum

Francisco Gomez — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 13:01:02 GMT

Kate Richardson there is a possibility of making a 'secret group' in fb. Our practice uses one.

You won't get people wanting to come in because the group is not shown anywhere, and only people invited are able to see posts.

You could potentially set up a forum this way, for free, with all the functionality of facebook.

Unfortunally ours has all the employees on it (including groomers, receptionists, etc) so it is not a clinical forum.

RE: Setting up a Forum

Kate Richardson — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 12:42:56 GMT

[quote user="Iain Richards"]However. Both are a poor substitute for a ful meeting. You'll have to find time, or make time in the day (or evening). Providing food is vital. You can post the "minutes" by all means on a web forum. Skype group might work better, but I still feel a proper session is worth while, even if opnly every 3 months[/quote]

We have 2 weekly meetings so that everyone has the oportunity to go to one or the other. But we all live a varied distance from the practice, some half an hour away, one even further, and 50% of us have small children. We work late as it is often, not every day admittedly. I think my idea is a flexible approach to improving communication between, us, it will also allow time to reflect and think of things, which often in a meeting when you are put on the spot, you often don't react as you might have done given time to think. Call it a modern day approach if you like, but it's that flexibility within our practice that allows working mums to work a reasonable number of hours without encroaching on family life in a bad way and has allowed myself and my colleagues to continue contributing actively to the practice after starting a family.

RE: Setting up a Forum

Iain Richards — Sun, 07 Feb 2016 19:59:27 GMT

Or do a yahoo groups post. That wasy they get everying to their e-mail. The down side to forums is having to log in. The down side to email discussion is that it is harder to follow threads.

However. Both are a poor substitute for a ful meeting. You'll have to find time, or make time in the day (or evening). Providing food is vital. You can post the "minutes" by all means on a web forum. Skype group might work better, but I still feel a proper session is worth while, even if opnly every 3 months

Iain

RE: Setting up a Forum

Kate Richardson — Sun, 07 Feb 2016 18:57:10 GMT

Thanks Evelyn Barbour-Hill

RE: Setting up a Forum

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Sun, 07 Feb 2016 16:13:08 GMT

Or have a look at this:

https://www.phpbb.com/

RE: Setting up a Forum

Kate Richardson — Sun, 07 Feb 2016 13:26:43 GMT

That would be ace! Wil pm you

RE: Setting up a Forum

Arlo Guthrie — Sun, 07 Feb 2016 12:29:16 GMT

Well ... I could give you a free one within vetsurgeon.org. Private or not (as you wish). You have complete control over the thing, but if you need help with it, I'm here. Oh, and any forum discussions that your group participate in are CPD qualifying too (which you won't find elsewhere!).