The culture of AN

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Singing in my Heart is taking a break from All Nurses. This is not the first time one of our esteemed posters has felt the need to do this. I would like to suggest to the moderators the option to flag a post "against the culture of All Nurses." This way the moderator could be on alert to which threads/posts/posters are driving members away from the site. If members keep flagging posts that are appropriate for this site, they will lose this privilege.

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I am also sad that so many members that I respect are leaving the site. I've been a member since 2008 ( re-registered a few times) and miss several people such as : Cherrybreeze, Candukesgirl, Leslie D, Grntea, Tweety, and several others.

Unfortunately, every one has a right to his or her opinion and the right to agree or disagree. Everyone should remain respectful. I'm not sure that flagging certain posts will help. I think the moderators already do a great job with making sure everyone follows TOS guidelines. Members need to not read the threads that may potentially upset them. For instance, I know for myself that I hate reading those LPN versus RN threads. To keep myself from getting into a heated debate, I chose not to open them up and read them.

I don't what else can be done. I guess you have to take the good with the bad. As for me, I have a major AN addiction. It would have to take alot for me to leave.

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Specializes in ER.

I just read the thread that seems to have affected Singing in my Heart so deeply.

I think he overreacted. Someone took him to task for pushing a nursing student to do something that might have gotten that student in hot water with his program. One person got a bit snarky in the midst of the debate. A lot of people supported him. It was a good springboard for discussion about how nursing programs are conducted, and interactions between nurses and students.

Do we really want All Nurses to become a tattle-tale fest? Is that the type of culture we want to foster? Or should the site encourage lively debate?

I've started a few threads. I got criticized and agreed with. Welcome to the world. If we put our opinion out there, some people are going to disagree, and maybe even attack our views.

We do have to have a somewhat thick skin and self-disciplinel. We can step away from individual threads if they are making us feel bad. We can also walk away from the site if it's undermining our self confidence.

I hope Singing is just taking a break and not leaving forever. His contributions here are by and large positive. But, his dramatic exit seemed a little overwrought to me.

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^^This^^^

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Specializes in hospice.

While I understand the sentiment, I think such a flag would only add more ammo for those who cannot stand to read any viewpoint but their own.

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Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

I understand why the OP would suggest an "against the AN culture" option.

I just don't like the idea of a third party "sanitizing" the threads to make them less controversial.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

I totally agree with Emergent. I don't think anyone was out of line in that thread. And I think that some people were completely dismissing students' very real concerns WRT tasks that are not within their scope. I think Music overrreacted, although I would have to assume that thread was not the entirety of his disgruntlement, but rather the culmination. Or maybe he was having a bad day, and that struck him as particularly obnoxious, where if it had happened on a different day, it would have rolled off his back.

I am strongly opposed to any heavier moderation than what we already have here (which is already way heavier than I'm used to on message board communities).

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Agreed. I don't think we need to increase the level of moderation that already exists here. People are free to take a break from the forums, and to post or not to post. Also, there is this nice little "ignore" feature in the event that there is a particular poster who is pushing your buttons.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

There already a report function. You can also place other members on ignore. More moderation isn't always the answer. Acting like a professional adult and realizing that not everyone is going to agree with or support you is needed throughout the current society

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I would like to suggest to the moderators the option to flag a post "against the culture of All Nurses." This way the moderator could be on alert to which threads/posts/posters are driving members away from the site. If members keep flagging posts that are appropriate for this site, they will lose this privilege.
This system has been in place since Allnurses.com was founded in 1996.

Do you see the small yellowish triangle that appears on the lower left hand corner of every post? That triangle is the 'report' icon that members click to report posts and threads they believe are questionable and/or violate our terms of service. The moderation team is alerted when members click the yellow triangle.

People report and flag multiple posts/threads at all hours of the day. These reported posts appear in a forum that is hidden from the membership's view while the moderation team discusses the manner in which we should address the report.

Sometimes we do not take action because the post or thread contained no violations of the terms of service whatsoever. Sometimes we take action.

I am also sure you have seen redirects posted in certain contentious threads by our community manager (tnbutterfly) as well as some of the site admins (traumaRus, NRSKarenRN) and a few of the mods (Esme12, Meriwhen and myself). The redirect will usually be in the form of a directive to stop the personal attacks and stick to the subject at hand.

I simply wanted to clarify our system of doing things. If anyone has any further questions, feel free to ask in the Admin help desk where the conversation will remain private and not be seen by other members. Or feel free to send a private message to an admin or moderator of your choice.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.

As I indicated in a different thread, I have learned to step away i.e not respond or just not read threads that get too negative. There has been a big upswing in the number of personal attacks on posters rather than the appropriate comment on a post that can develop into lively debate instead of name calling.

While it is upsetting that this seems to happen more often, I don't think moderating it out of existence is the way to go. This is an international forum with a lot of members with conflicting views. I don't know how to quantify what the culture of AN would even be, and I sure don't want somebody else making the decision on what is appropriate to a culture of a diverse group.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

I've been with AN for a lot of years, and I can tell you that the "culture" is cyclical in nature.....a lot like life in general. This is by far NOT the worst spell we've been through, although I can certainly appreciate what members are saying about the negativity they perceive as being dominant at this point in time. IMHO the negative just draws more attention than the positive, and that too is how it is in everyday life.

It's not all bad. And we'll get through this "down" cycle. We may lose some members, which unfortunately happens sometimes, and it's sad to see them go. But I've seen folks come back after years away from the site and start contributing again. We are also gaining membership every day, which is indicative of a site that's alive and well and continuing to grow. :)

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