Buddy List?

[RGG]

I went to a member's profile and saw that there was an option to add them to your 'buddy list' - what is that??

Rx

 

[Laura]

Have no clue. Don't think anybody's ever done it.

 

[Vulcan59]

Hi Rx,

More info on Buddy List - http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Buddy_list :)

 

[RGG]

Hi Rx,

More info on Buddy List - http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Buddy_list :)

Ok thx!

A Buddy List displays all of the members on the forum whom you have added as a “buddy”. This list will also show their online status and contact information if available. If your administrator has enabled the buddy list, you can work with your buddy list from your profile.

Um... how would this work in our forum setting? Does anyone use it that could give an opinion of its usefulness? While I like the idea of being someone's buddy and having them myself, the last thing the forum needs are cliques established- would that be a concern? Sorry for the many questions but I'm a member of only 1 forum- this one! I'm not really sure of all of the ins and outs these things.

 

[RGG]

Actually, I've been thinking lately that a "buddy system" on the forum might be helpful for those members who are at risk of dropping out of the support network due to depression or other traumatic events. This just recently happened to me in fact and a polite inquiry or discreet show of support from a "buddy" might have helped me reconnect sooner. Is there a way that those of us who feel at risk could sign up to have a buddy check in if we go missing from the forum after a period of time? Could the 'buddy list' be used in this way?

 

[Leòmhann]

:) Rx hi, soon after joining the forum I added many forum members for whom I felt an affinity to my own buddy list ... as far as I can tell, what it offers is mainly an insight into your frame of mind / awareness at the time of adding the buddies to your list

 

[mkrnhr]

Actually, I've been thinking lately that a "buddy system" on the forum might be helpful for those members who are at risk of dropping out of the support network due to depression or other traumatic events. This just recently happened to me in fact and a polite inquiry or discreet show of support from a "buddy" might have helped me reconnect sooner. Is there a way that those of us who feel at risk could sign up to have a buddy check in if we go missing from the forum after a period of time? Could the 'buddy list' be used in this way?

No need for a buddy system for that, if someone needs to talk about depression or traumatic events, there is the swamp section for that.

 

[Vulcan59]

The intent of the Buddy List was for

Buddies/Ignore List

Inevitably, there will be times when members get along great and times when personalities clash. SMF provides a way to handle both instances. The buddy list allows members to keep track of users they enjoy talking to, while the ignore list hides users they do not want to see. - Source

which seems to suggest/encourage offline or even contact via PM's. Since this forum encourages networking and open discussions, the Buddy List here is only useful to know if a particular member was online or not. :)

 

[Psalehesost]

In short, this feature came with the forum software, so it's there, even though it's not really so relevant to our needs.

 

[Vulcan59]

In short, this feature came with the forum software, so it's there, even though it's not really so relevant to our needs.

This feature can be disabled if admin decides that it is not useful to our aims/needs. :)

 

[RGG]

:) Rx hi, soon after joining the forum I added many forum members for whom I felt an affinity to my own buddy list ... as far as I can tell, what it offers is mainly an insight into your frame of mind / awareness at the time of adding the buddies to your list

;D

We also don't need to digress into competitions of how many " buddies" we each have similar to "likes" on Facebook.

Actually, I've been thinking lately that a "buddy system" on the forum might be helpful for those members who are at risk of dropping out of the support network due to depression or other traumatic events. This just recently happened to me in fact and a polite inquiry or discreet show of support from a "buddy" might have helped me reconnect sooner. Is there a way that those of us who feel at risk could sign up to have a buddy check in if we go missing from the forum after a period of time? Could the 'buddy list' be used in this way?

No need for a buddy system for that, if someone needs to talk about depression or traumatic events, there is the swamp section for that.

Writing only came after the depression for me. In the midst of it, I was in pure self- soothing/dissasociative mode and had to work very hard on my own to get out of it since no one around me knew (I have just moved and no one knows me here yet) and this forum was the only community I belonged to at the time.

I still think my idea has potential for community building among its members. I would be happy to check in with a forum member or buddy who has put themselves on a "watch list" if they've gone awhile without posting.

 

[Beau]

Writing only came after the depression for me. In the midst of it, I was in pure self- soothing/dissasociative mode and had to work very hard on my own to get out of it since no one around me knew (I have just moved and no one knows me here yet) and this forum was the only community I belonged to at the time.

I still think my idea has potential for community building among its members. I would be happy to check in with a forum member or buddy who has put themselves on a "watch list" if they've gone awhile without posting.

I think such a system is still a prime place where predation, abuse, negative feedback loops, etc. can be fostered. Checking in with an individual instead of a group always leaves the possibility for abuse. Why the desire to do that in place of the network?

 

[RGG]

Writing only came after the depression for me. In the midst of it, I was in pure self- soothing/dissasociative mode and had to work very hard on my own to get out of it since no one around me knew (I have just moved and no one knows me here yet) and this forum was the only community I belonged to at the time.

I still think my idea has potential for community building among its members. I would be happy to check in with a forum member or buddy who has put themselves on a "watch list" if they've gone awhile without posting.

I think such a system is still a prime place where predation, abuse, negative feedback loops, etc. can be fostered. Checking in with an individual instead of a group always leaves the possibility for abuse. Why the desire to do that in place of the network?

Absolutely true and I'm not sure how you could have that kind of protection when people are contacting each other personally. Hmmm....maybe it's an idea for those in the FOTCM then? Or maybe not one individual checks in but a team of members instead- that would add better protection for all involved.

 

[Beau]

Absolutely true and I'm not sure how you could have that kind of protection when people are contacting each other personally. Hmmm....maybe it's an idea for those in the FOTCM then? Or maybe not one individual checks in but a team of members instead- that would add better protection for all involved.

I'm still confused why that would be done instead of checking in on the forum.

 

[RGG]

Absolutely true and I'm not sure how you could have that kind of protection when people are contacting each other personally. Hmmm....maybe it's an idea for those in the FOTCM then? Or maybe not one individual checks in but a team of members instead- that would add better protection for all involved.

I'm still confused why that would be done instead of checking in on the forum.

I was just thinking that maybe this type of outreach would be helpful to those who were incapable for whatever reason (too sick, too depressed, in the middle of a traumatic period) and can't post and update on the forum. It occurred to me that maybe this buddy list could support this kind of help but I do see the pitfalls associated.

Was just an idea on how members of the forum might work together to create a more cohesive community ,sense of belonging and support here. I've been in a similar situation myself and would have appreciated the outreach at the time because I was too depressed to even LOOK at the forum. I know how hard the struggle is to get back on your feet and connect again and if there was a way to safely support someone in that effort in order to make things easier to reconnect and get back on the road to healing I would be happy to help.