At long last.....thank you lil
After receiving little input from mods on my previous efforts to get the ball rolling here this thread comes at an interesting time. Some time ago I prepared a letter which I intended to send to our mods. After much mulling over, for several reasons I decided not to send it, and to instead just quietly retreat away - thus my recent absence. So, now the topic has been raised and some good responses received, here’s that letter with a few changes made to reflect a broader audience.
I refer a lot of people to this forum (Aus DD), but nowadays, after looking over the front page, most don't seem to feel inclined to sign up, and when they do, they often only post once or twice. Some of these people would have been great assets to this place- well qualified and/or experienced, yet instead of signing up here, they often go to other forums and focus their efforts there.
So, I think we need to address a range of issues, including the direction both this forum (and perhaps BL as a whole) is taking.
First and foremost, Harm Reduction needs to become the focus again, and not merely drug related news articles and 2 line meaningless posts that currently form the basis of many Aus DD threads.
News articles are still important, only they need to form a lesser percentage of forum content. Threads with no HR value need to be discouraged. From the casual cruiser and potential signup’s perspective, these sorts of posts depict a less than reliable forum, and certainly not one representative of safer drug use practices. Even the phrase
harm reduction only appears twice on the front page and that's in small print.
Media: In my humble opinion, consideration should be given towards grouping all news articles under 2 or 3 titles. The exception would be warnings on specific drugs such as PMA, and perhaps some research based articles where the thread title would not necessarily start with NEWS:
Another possibility is that general news articles about drugs be posted in the DiTM. A sticky could be created in Aus DD with links to relevant threads in DiTM, with additional related posts added to as they are posted. A further idea involves grouping news reports in Aus DD but creating a new thread each month. To avoid the fragmentation of stories, links to related posts/ threads could be included at the bottom of a story.
As things currently stand, in respect to drug related news, I really think when the first five or so threads are news articles, many would be readers/contributors see those and move on. It’s simply not what they are seeking. Once upon a time most regular posters were prepared to generate interesting threads, complete with references and/or explanations. Why is it that other forums attract these posters when Aus DD no longer does, or barely does? What happened?
I could write pages on this - and probably already have, but it seems it mostly falls on deaf ears. It's not to suggest this place should be only for the elite drug users, supporters, critics etc that have 10 or more letters after their names. Not at all, but there needs to be a few of these people present IMO, simply because many forum cruisers are looking for well presented information, not just a
"I take five every time I drop, or my MDMA is always pure" mentality which is currently seen to prevail. Around the time I took on the position as a mod, there was a concerted effort to steer things away from that type of post/thread.
In saying that, changing times must be reflected in the way any forum grows. Still, it might be worthwhile revisiting past times to see what sort of posts and topics correlated with the most sign ups – I’m talking about Aus DD posters here - that's if these posts haven't all been deleted due to space saving.
Which brings me to that. It appears I’m not alone in my concern of the spring clean deleting of older posts. On Blacklight, it’s clear others share this concern, but thankfully the ADD archive has now been mirrored. I know this topic is more for admin, and I’m sure hoptis and team have well discussed the options available. Still, it is obvious some of BL’s best are unhappy with this situation and are spending more time elsewhere.
Perhaps the lack of sign ups recently is simply due to the fact BL, in general, isn't competitively motivated. This is definitely more relevant today than 10 years ago when we first kicked off. DD forums have to be competitive, as new forums are springing up everywhere and others have improved dramatically in the last 12 months or so. The competitive edge is gained not only through site layout, but also post quality and the all important mentor thing.
As has been said previously, if you want to bring in new members, you have to continue to appeal to a wide readership, and you must look to constantly expanding that readership, which means regularly introducing new ideas and material, and leading by (continued) example through posting good stuff. I’ll just add here that madmick has made some excellent posts lately. Quality posts with references; just what’s needed.
Another issue, also very important to attracting potential members is non-judgment. Recently there have been instances (no names) where such opinions have been expressed by those who should instead keep their thoughts for off site or private discussion. I’ll say no more here, but I’d suggest everyone have a think about this. None of us are perfect and emotions often get the better of us, so that also needs to be taken into account if guidelines on this are to be changed or created – which I believe should happen.
So aside from the above points, I’d like to make some suggestions on a few possibilities for thread topics.
As has been mentioned recently by face__, how about something in depth on addiction? Aside from listing professional services, perhaps we could also look at what drugs became too much for you and how did you beat them? Let’s try to find some success stories that can help others in similar situations.
If we are to have a social thread, let’s make it something worthwhile. I can’t see anything of value in the current social thread/s. IMO, if this stuff needs to be said, take it facebook etc. Note: I haven’t looked over recent edits so perhaps things have been improved.
Let’s endeavour to show a different face to the usual stereotype and promote the responsible drug user/ supporter.
What about a drug users kitchen thread. No, not how to cook up drugs
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
, but instead, a what do you cook thread with recipes on everything from a dinner party banquet to preparation and recovery meals; something that focuses on nutrition and drug use. Few things serve to normalise responsible drug use better than demonstrating how users that are aware of, and prioritize their nutritional needs.
We also need more on sensible HR. Threads/posts advising large doses really degrades the whole feel of the place. We should also be looking at the upcoming festival season and how we might best address that with some sensible age old but still relevant HR advice. I’d really like to see any quality HR threads tagged as such, to be evaluated by user or moderator vote, or both. We don’t need a 1-10 rating, simply a bright blue star or similar for those threads that are constructive and display a high HR content. Therefore, concise guidelines as to what does or does not constitute a worthy thread need to be established, but only after careful thought.
I’d like to also add that I believe the codeine extraction etc threads are really out of place. Full on source and synthesis discussion would possibly be less consequential than those discussions have been. CWE is such a simple process it could be thoroughly addressed in a single post. As it is, we have BLers and ex Blers who perhaps wouldn’t be in their current situations if not for the ongoing rants on dosage- effects, ease of availability, etc. From a mods perspective, shouldn’t the merits of a thread have a strong bearing on it's lifetime? If so, then the codeine threads should have been closed long ago imho.
So, that’s about my bloomin’ lot. My Harm Reduction - Where do we go from here? post didn’t seem to “wiggle the worm” at all, so I hope this thread does create the changes so desperately needed here. I’ve tried not to aim this directly at anyone in particular, and the immense appreciation I have for what the mods do here has been stated many times. It’s just, for some time now I’ve seen a great need to fire up the burners and get things moving again. Even if I’m not to be such a regular contributor anymore, I'd like nothing more than to to see the HR of bluelight once again become the focus.
From a less Jaded than faded p_d
