[presuppose]

I am with you MLOS, that this should be a site open only to health care professionals. And I will have to agree that even in 'venting' posts, we must be extremely careful not to step out into sensitive, litigious areas.

[Quickbeam]

I don't think the mods overreact. I recently reported a thread I found extremely disturbing (a person had come here looking for personal care advice for his incontinence) and the thread was allowed to stay open. I also smile when I see people start their post with: "I'm not looking for medical advice...." and proceed to do just that.

Last year there was post that alarmed the snot out of me...some woman who was looking to score an adopted baby and posted about how she'd be a great mom, etc. I was so grateful that the mods shut it down.

I think the mods do a great job. It's a slippery slope to "ask-a-nurse".

[epiphany]

Originally Posted by caroladybelle

In addition, Allnurses.com does not belong to the subscribers. It belongs to Brian and is not a democracy. We are here at his discretion, paid subscriber or not.

You made some valid points. But your last comment above seems countergrain- your views and opinions are strong and rightfully so, but if this is not a democracy, your views shouldn't matter either. What I'm trying to say is views do matter and this not a complete democracy. It is in fact probably the existence of such a lot of opinionated people with a lot of things to say in a single forum that makes this forum so popular.

Furthermore, the fact that moderators are picked out from the subscribers and work for free (or for a sense of power, don't matter either way) makes this forum somewhat self-moderating. Unless "Brian" hand picks moderators who will toe the line, and the moderators are so grateful they will police this forum tightly. No offense meant - I like most of the moderators personally.

FURTHER furthermore, for those who want this forum closed to the public, I don't that's ever going to happen. It seems to me there are lot of commercial value to this forum due it's accessibility.

I just brought this up partly to know who's running the show here, and what waters we are swimming in.

[TheCommuter]

Originally Posted by epiphany

My question to the moderators is - is there some kind legal backlash that you are concerned about?

The TOS (terms of service) provides the answer to this question.

Although I cannot speak for any other persons on this forum with adequacy, I'll definitely speak up on my own behalf when I say that I appreciate your honesty regarding these manners. My eyes have been opened to a myriad of differing viewpoints while browsing through this thread, so thank all of you for being truthful.

[cardiacRN2006]

Originally Posted by motorcycle mama

I understand the need for moderation. I also do not want to see this site turned into an ask-a-nurse or do-my-nursing-homework-for-me line.

.

But those threads (do my homework for me) aren't moderated. Students still put up their assignments, and people try to tell them to think it out on their own, but invariably, someone WILL come online and do the work for them.

Sorry, but it's a big pet peeve of mine. They they come online and complain that they can't pass HESI or NCLEX...and it's because we've done all the work for them.

[earle58]

over the yrs, i have noticed some not great decisions by different mods.
but overall, it has worked out quite well.
if this forum were truly run democratically, i shudder to think what quality/caliber of input would remain.
brian runs this bb, mandating and balancing civility vs censorship.
and of course, there are legal considerations.
that's a given.

sometimes i wish mods would collectively make a decision, rather than leave it to 1 (usually inexperienced) person.
but, it has improved tremendously, over the yrs.

it's all good.

leslie

[ER_baby12]

I guess to me asking a question online is the same as someone calling in to the hospital and asking you the nurse for med advice. We absolutly do not give advice out over the phone and we certainly should not do it over the internet. We cannot assess anybody over the phone or through the internet so I think it's a good thing that medical advice should not be asked or responded to here.

[Elvish]

I like reading this thread. I'm learning a lot from it and it's constructive.

We mods are human. We do make mistakes. When we realize it, we try to right it.

We don't get paid for it. And we don't mind, because we like what we do.

And unless an issue is blatant - say, porn - we don't act alone. We ask each other for input and often defer to other more experienced mods.

Thanks to all posting here for your honesty.

[nyapa]

Originally Posted by TheCommuter

The TOS (terms of service) provides the answer to this question.

I was just going to back you up on this. I have seen threads closed for other reasons, not just personal health reasons. The fact is, AN does have to protect itself legally, plus prevent discord on the site.

I am not against this page being a general forum.

1. Where do future nurses come from? The general public.

2. How can they find out about us? Pages like AN

3. Who can give them support in helping them gain access to nursing school?
We can.

4. Who can prevent them from making a wrong decision, by giving informatinn so they can make an informed decision about entry into nursing?
We can.

5. And how do we educate the public about the roles and concerns of nurses?
AN

We need more nurses...

[Ms Kylee]

I love this board! I have had some posts edited by Moderators due to my very bad language. I was grateful for their wisdom, and their input. I was also grateful that when I asked the Mod privately why this was done, I was given an answer in a very professional way, not "Well, stupid, you're not supposed to swear here". From this correspondence with the mod, I learned to watch my language (which is difficult since I grew up in a house where every other word out of someone's mouth was a swear word).

On the other hand, it was a good thing that this was pointed out to me, because now I can really watch my language while at work too.

The Moderators here are great, and they do a great job.

That said, I have to disagree with the poster that said only Registered Nurses should have access. Not all of us are Registered Nurses... and there still are ones studying to be LPN's.
I have learned a lot from this board, made some great friends, and have seen things in a different light. I would hate to be denied access because I don't have the RN after my name (and it is many years off at this point).