Hi folks

[welshguy49]

I've just joined this forum so just saying hello :-)

[Stumbler]

Hi @welshguy49 and welcome to the Forum.

 

It's pretty quiet around the Forum, but we're hoping it might pick up.

 

The few of us that are here will try to ensure that no posts go unanswered.

 

Stay safe.

 

[welshguy49]

Thank you for the reply Stumbler I just noticed from some of the thread dates that there doesn't seem to be much activity here.

[Stumbler]

@welshguy49 , unfortunately, it's a sign of the times, with the escalating growth of Social Media, e.g. Facebook, etc.. This seems to offer immediate response, but may not have easier access to connected accumulated information and repositories of facts.

 

We're doing our best to survive in trying times.

 

[welshguy49]

I hear you but I'm yet to see facebook help anyone with MS and somebody that's newly diagnosed may feel awkward discussing their condition on facebook at least on forums an alias is used.

[Marina]

Hi welshyguy49 and welcome from me too.

 

For some time a few years ago, this was quite a busy forum but, as Stumbler has said, people seem to have floated away to places like Facebook. I totally agree with you about FB, and I could go on at very great length about the pros of a “proper” forum like this one versus the cons of an FB group!

 

The forum logs show that people do come and read the forum. It’s just a shame that they don’t sign up and post - so thanks for bringing a bit of life back to us, even if it’s only for a little while

 

As MS (and its symptoms) isn’t something that disappears or becomes transformed into something else over time, I keep the forum going even if only for reference to those who visit and lurk.

 

If you have anything you’d like to ask or say about MS, please feel free to post it in the MS Discussion section. If you’d like to chat about something that’s not about MS as such, then this section is made for that.

 

[welshguy49]

Hi Marina when I came across this forum I joined too see if maybe I could contribute. I've had relapsing remitting MS for 20 years but  despite the usual battle scars from old relapses I'm very fortunate to be enjoying a long period of remission.

[Stumbler]

@welshguy49 , you're just like me. I got involved in Forums after 30 years of symptoms. I thought my experience may prove useful to others too.

 

It was a rewarding few years until the Zuckerberg takeover of cyberspace.

 

[welshguy49]

Have you considered setting up a facebook page to direct people here? 

[Marina]

Thanks for the thought, which I appreciate! I don’t think there’s any point in setting up an FB Page or Group. Much as I hate FB, I run a Page and am also admin of a couple of groups, so that side of it isn’t unfamiliar to me. With Pages, what many people don’t realise is that only about 10% of a Pages’s posts are shown in followers’ feeds - unless you pay to "boost" your post (a single post, not all posts), the more you pay, the more people your post is shown to. With Groups, there are already a gazillion MS groups.

 

Either way, whether a Page or a Group, it would need a lot of members or visitors to drive enough people to here, which would mean needing to drive people to the FB Page or Group first.

 

Also, one of the reasons people love FB is that they have all their Pages and Groups on one huge website.

 

If you go to my profile and click on the “About Me” tab, you’ll find a history of how this forum came to be and how it grew into what it became. That was written some years ago and things have since changed due to the likes of FB. Here’s an older topic about the forum becoming quieter and FB:

 

 

[welshguy49]

Ah okay fair enough Marina  I'd not considered what money grabbers Facebook are.

[Happymama]

Bore Da, Welshguy!  

 

 

[welshguy49]

Hi Happymama it's noswaith dda for good evening or bore da for good morning but full marks for trying :-)