Please read: Talking Point updates

[KatherineW]

Hi everyone,

Following feedback we’ve had from users - in our most recent annual survey, user testing project, and via the forum itself - we’re going to be updating Talking Point next Monday, 22 July. The forum will be unavailable for a few hours first thing that morning, whilst our technical team work hard to make sure everything is running smoothly.

We are not making any fundamental changes to the way Talking Point works. Rather we are updating the look and feel of the forum, with the aim of making it clearer and easier for everyone to use.

One of the main changes we’re making is adding more sub-forums, on a wider range of topics. We’re doing this because at the moment, the busiest forum by far on Talking Point is Support for people with dementia and their carers. This is where the vast majority of conversations take place, which means that searching this forum for specific topics can be quite a challenge.

It also means that this forum currently contains discussions about many different aspects of dementia – from posts from members who are adjusting to a new diagnosis, to discussions about coping with end of life care.

We are also going to divide the Resources forum into a number of sub-forums which focus on different types of resources – including helpful websites, books, films and music, and healthcare and nutrition.

We hope that having new sub-forums on a wider range of topics will make it easier for people to find the information and types of discussions that they are looking for. We have tried to arrange the topic areas as sensitively and intuitively as we can, taking into account the different kinds of conversations that may be taking place.

As part of the update process, we will be closing the Support for people with dementia and their carers and Resources forums, a few weeks after the changes have gone live. Active discussions from these areas will be moved over to one of the new sub-forums, and people who have started discussions will be consulted about these moves. When the old forums are closed to new posts, all of the content within them will still be visible, so no information will be lost .

These are the key changes that are taking place. There will be other, smaller changes as well, which we’ll outline as soon as the updates go live next week.

I'll attach a screen shot of the new forum home page along with a 'quick read' version of the above, very shortly.

If anyone has any questions about these updates, please feel free to

- post them here

- PM myself or Serena

- Email talkingpoint@alzheimers.org.uk.

Thanks ,

 

[KatherineW]

To recap...

What is happening?

We will be making some changes to Talking Point soon, particularly to the way the forum is structured.

Why is this happening?

We are making these changes in response to feedback from our users, and to make Talking Point easier to use.

When is this happening?

The updates will be added to Talking Point first thing in the morning on Monday 22 July.

---

Here's a screenshot of part of the new Talking Point homepage, to give you an idea of the new look:

 

[CeliaW]

Can I just say that, on the TP app that I use on my phone, there is an excellent extra section called ""Participated"

If that could be in the main site as well that would be brilliant

I don't know if you could move the coding for it from the app to the website but am sure your techies will find a way.

Many thanks for all the hard work on this excellent resource

Celia

 

[Starvin]

A "like " button would be good as you can let people know you support them without the trouble of always commenting

 

[KatherineW]

Thanks Celia and Starvin for your suggestions. We will certainly bear them both in mind for future updates.

 

[grove]

Advice Please

Hello Katherine , Need some advice please ( regarding the downtime 22 /7/13 ) A few months ago met & made a newish local friend ( her Husband had been to the M Clinic & has memory problems ) Was able to offer her support & a listening ear & today was explaining ( via E Mail ) about T P & J seems interested , Question : With the downtime * on 22/7/13 is it best for J to register after the new work has been done ? ( sorry for the long ramble ! ) Am not sure how much time she is able to spend on the P C & she might have looked on T P all ready , thought would just ask what too do for the best . Thank you so much for your help


Can I just add I like the new look mini forums especially the Health & Nutrition this subject is very important & am sure T P 'ers will find it very useful


Thank you so much to you & your team for all your hard work keeping T P going & running smoothly


Best Wishes to you all


Kind Regards

Grove x

 

[jenniferpa]

Grove - it really isn't going to make any difference if she registers before or after the changeover. Yes, the forum will look a bit different but everyone will log in and have access in just the same way.

Are you worried that if she starts a thread, she won't be able to find it again?

 

[grove]

Thank you for your help Jenniferpa & no was not worried about her starting a thread & not finding it again . Guess was just trying to make life easier for J that was all ! ( did e mail J today & warned her about the downtime & the date is was taking place )


from Grove x

 

[KatherineW]

Hi Grove

It's great to hear that you've been spreading the word about TP, and I hope your friend will find it helpful.

As Jennifer said, it won't make too much difference when your friend registers, but if you want to keep things simple for her, perhaps registering after Monday's updates might be an idea.

I'm also pleased that you like the sound of some of the new sub-forums, and I hope you'll find the new structure useful.

Best wishes,

 

[grove]

Thank you Katherine for your helpful reply & I have the lovely Syliva & Dhiren T P flyers that I take round too local G P 's , Pharmacy etc too spread the word ! I think if you find some thing that works & is helpful you are more likely too pass the good news onto others

Looking forward too the new look T P


Best Wishes

Grove x

 

[KatherineW]

Reminder re. downtime on Monday morning

Hi everyone,

Just to remind you that Talking Point will be unavailable for a few hours first thing on Monday morning (22nd July), whilst our technical team update the forum. Apologies in advance for any inconvenience this will cause.

As soon as the updates have been installed, we'll post more information about the changes.

Thanks,

 

[KatherineW]

Hi everyone

Welcome to the new look Talking Point.

The main changes are outlined in the following posts, but if you have any questions or there is anything you’re not sure about, please post below or email talkingpoint@alzheimers.org.uk, and a member of the Talking Point team will get back to you as soon as possible.

1. New sub-forums

2. New drop-down menus and links to Alzheimer's Society resources

3. Members' personal menu options have moved

4. Moved buttons

5. Re-worded commands

Many thanks,

 

[KatherineW]

!. New sub-forums

We’ve added some new sub-forums on a wider range of topics, with the aim of making it easier to find the types of conversations that you might be looking for. We will also be closing the ‘Support for people with dementia and their carers’ and ‘Resources’ forums in a few weeks. (See here for why we have done this).

Please do post where you feel most comfortable, bearing in mind the way that each forum is described. Don’t worry if you’re not sure where to post, as we can always help to move discussions if needed.

 

[KatherineW]

2. New drop-down menus and links to Alzheimer's Society resources

Links to Alzheimer’s Society’s website (including factsheets), helpline and local service information can now all be found in a new drop-down menu, as shown below. We have also made the drop-down menus more consistent across the forum, so whichever page you are on, you should see the same options.

 

[KatherineW]

3. Members' personal menu options have moved

Members’ personal menu options (‘My profile’, ‘My posts’ and ‘My contacts and inbox’) can now all be found in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

 

[KatherineW]

4. Moved buttons

We have moved some buttons (‘Post new thread’, ‘post a comment’) from the left hand side of the screen to the right, as our user testing project last year showed that this was where people expected to find these sorts of options.

 

[KatherineW]

5. Re-worded commands

We have re-worded some commands with the aim of making them clearer (jargon was another issue identified by user-testing).

‘Reply with quote’ has changed to ‘Respond to member’ and ‘Reply to thread’ has changed to ‘Post a comment’.

To respond to a discussion, just click on the ‘Post a comment’ button at the top right or bottom right of the page.

To quote another member’s post in your post, click on ‘Respond to member’.

 

[lin1]

Factsheets

Where are they, their used to be a link be top right of each page, now its gone

 

[Noorza]

It has all changed this morning.

 

[Izzy]

Not sure if it's the quickest way but there's a link at the top to Alz Soc resources. If you click on that you'll see link to Alz Soc website. There's a link to fact sheets there.