[pagandeva2000]

I can see the fine line between medical/legal advice and venting to share my experience. What I think has been done here in most cases is that people have suggested where folks can go for further guidance, meaning their doctors or lawyers. I have no issues with any of the mods, they are all great to me. Dealing with a large volume of people and not getting paid shows dedication to the site and to the profession. Can't complain about that.

I do also notice that when I google things related to nursing, somewhere on the first few pages, allnurses inevitably shows up citing one of the threads here. I think this site is a wonderful lounge (in fact, I am at work in my clinic during a quiet moment hanging with you guys now {don't tell}), great resources, are able to vent, share, cry and laugh together. Much love to you all!

[cardiacRN2006]

Originally Posted by Kylee45

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 didn't see that. A PP said it should be open to health care professionals, but not just to RN's specifically.

I'll go back and re-read...

[TheCommuter]

Originally Posted by motorcycle mama

I also resent it when I see a post get edited or a thread closed that I spent a lot of time on (and apparently at the discretion of one person.)

I simply wanted to add that no thread is ever closed at the discretion of one single individual. Rather, the decision to close a thread or edit a post is discussed extensively "behind closed doors" with multiple staff members until a consensus can be made that is agreed upon. Although one person may wish to see a thread closed, their wish will not be granted if other persons do not want the thread to suffer the same fate.

Keep the honest posts going! We appreciate your ideas, questions, comments, and support. After all, these forums would be pointless without the membership!

[NurseCherlove]

One thing I just gotta mention...About a year or so ago, I started a thread that ended up becoming quite heated, controversial, and lengthy (absolutely nada to do with medical advice BTW). This thread went on for *several* pages and then quite suddenly one of the mods decided that she would move the thread to the break room, a forum where only paid members are allowed to post.

Additionally, she did this very soon after making a very rude, judgemental post directed towards me. So, there it was, with her public derogation of me and then her deliberate removal of my ability to respond (I am not a paid member as you'll notice). Sure, I could have opted to become a paid member and proceed to respond; however, she knew that chances of that happening were likely slim since I had been an established member for some time prior to that.

So, my concluding comments...obviously that was incredibly TACKY. Also, I thought it was pretty tasteless for this mod to "allow" the thread to go on and on for several pages and then decide capriciously to move it when she felt it should be moved. My point being that it should not have taken several pages to suddenly become "break room appropriate" just because she did not like where the thread was going or whatever.

Anyway, there are obviously reasons why people act the way they act and I have my own theories as to why that incident occurred. Probably best to keep that one to myself

Otherwise....Love All Nurses!

[nyapa]

Originally Posted by NurseCherlove

One thing I just gotta mention...About a year or so ago, I started a thread that ended up becoming quite heated, controversial, and lengthy (absolutely nada to do with medical advice BTW). This thread went on for *several* pages and then quite suddenly one of the mods decided that she would move the thread to the break room, a forum where only paid members are allowed to post.

Actually prior to becoming a paid member (I like the word 'premium' - sounds like a 'premium' cut of meat LOL) I have had the same experience happen. That is very upsetting. You start a post, then suddenly you can't contribute to it. Its almost like a form of exclusion.

I love AN enough to become a paid member, perhaps this issue should be looked at for those colleagues who are not.

Maybe the person who started the thread, can remain in the thread, while other nonpaying members are no longer able to access it?

[MLOS]

Originally Posted by epiphany

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.

I believe the comment about Allnurses.com being "not a democracy" was not meant in reference to the varied opinions expressed on the site, but regarding the fact that this site is a business with, to the best of my knowledge, one owner. This is the owner's business, to run as he sees fit. While the owner does seem to be receptive to constructive input from registered users, the opinion of one or 1,000 users of the site will always have to be balanced against the overall goals of the business. The economics of the internet are not complicated: traffic = advertising = profitability. Though I might wish it were different, the fact is that the owner has no financial incentive to make this website less accessible to the public.

Originally Posted by pagandeva2000

I do also notice that when I google things related to nursing, somewhere on the first few pages, allnurses inevitably shows up citing one of the threads here.

Case in point. Inclusion in search engines increases the visibility of this site making it more marketable to advertisers. Increased visibility will in all likelihood increase the number of posts from non-nurses ... recent examples I can think of quickly include high school students, attorneys, and various others wishing to discuss very specific details of their health care.

I would predict that it will eventually have a signficant impact on the overall content and usage of this site.

[WitchyRN]

I think generally, the mods do a good job. Like it or not, we live in a highly litigious society and you can bet that sooner or later, someone will cry that they received incorrect info if the medical advice threads were allowed to stay open.

Allnurses is not alone in this policy, BTW. I post on another message board(a travel/tourism forum)and every now and then there will be someone asking for some sort of medical advice, even though it is in no way a nursing/medical forum. The mods there are always quick to point out that medical advice should not be given and that the person asking the question should talk to a doctor/NP etc.

There are also a lot of unstable people out there and those just looking to pick a fight. I think our mods are good at weeding out the wackos, IMO.

[Faeriewand]

I think most of the decisions by the Mods are great. There was one thread where a poster was being downright mean telling the OP that she should not become a nurse! The mod edited out those horrible comments (after warning him) She did not shut down the thread, just took out the one posters posts. But some decisions are completely mystifying. The Mod starts a thread on pet peeves about some posts here. Then we all post what our pet peeves are in relation to the posts we read (bad spelling, bad grammer etc) and she closes the thread because we weren't talking about her pet peeves. No reason to close that thread! Really, once you close a thread who is going to read it?

I was reading a thread where the op stated that AN was too highly moderated and was asking if there was another website. this was closed. I pm'd the mod as to why and she wrote back to explain how it violated the TOS. It really helped me understand and I was grateful she took the time to do so.

I'd rather be here at AN than on any other forum that is not moderated. Gotta have my daily dose of AN!

[stillpressingon]

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.

[Tweety]

Originally Posted by Kylee45

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).

I disagree with that sentiment as well. I think that's why Brian put the "all" in Allnurses.com.....

In the end those who aren't nurses or nursing students generally don't stick around. They ask their questions, or lurk awhile, and then disappear. The overwhelming mass of us on allnurses are involved in the profession of nursing one way or another, once upon a time were.