Discussion Topic
INTERACTING WITH OTHER MEMBERS
Posted on 12/30/08, 11:37 am
My purpose here is not to tell you how to interact, but to inform you of some things you may encounter that you do not expect. Also, my participation is primarily in the DEPRESSION section and that is where I form most of my 'opinions'. Know that there are MANY, MANY GROUPS on DS, and they are dedicated to as many topics OTHER than depression. My comments lean toward my experience in the DEPRESSION section.
Anyone with Internet access can be a member of DS. There are members with anything from minor short-term depression to severely disabled (both physically and mentally) with everything in between.
There are researchers, patients, curiosity seekers, trolls, teens, elderly, destitute, homeless ... if you can imagine it, some of them are probably here. There are people who have not left their homes in decades, hoarders, cutters, people with severe OCD, and people with milder cases of same. If you can imagine it, it is probably here.
In my OPINION, 99% of them want help and/or want to give help. If nothing else is dominant, kindness is.
Anyone with Internet access can be a member of DS. There are members with anything from minor short-term depression to severely disabled (both physically and mentally) with everything in between.
There are researchers, patients, curiosity seekers, trolls, teens, elderly, destitute, homeless ... if you can imagine it, some of them are probably here. There are people who have not left their homes in decades, hoarders, cutters, people with severe OCD, and people with milder cases of same. If you can imagine it, it is probably here.
In my OPINION, 99% of them want help and/or want to give help. If nothing else is dominant, kindness is.
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Reply #1 12/30/08 11:37pm
I reply to hundreds of posts almost daily. Some are very intense and involved. I receive a hug occasionally,.. very gracious, . kind, considerate,.. it says "Thank you". and that is it. I have no clue what they are thanking me for. It is very nice to say "Thank you for your reply in (topic, group)" This is a nice courtesy to keep in mind. -
Reply #2 07/29/09 8:45pm
If you get harrassed in a PM (private message) here is what to do:
One would think they should simply FORWARD it to DS administration and they will take care of it. NOT SO. First, there is no publicized DS member name (except for Doug, the founder and he doesn't bother with this kind of thing). Also .... forwards can be easily edited (one can add or remove content from the original message), so a member should report the abuse directly to DS, via the report abuse form.
And MOST important:
Also, one should also be sure to not delete the offending message from their DS inbox because DS can look in your inbox and see the PM itself. At that point, they can take appropriate action.
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Reply #3 07/30/09 1:13am
Unfortunately, the IGNORE feature is limited. Read about its limitations in the HELP section:
www.dailystrength.org/help/faq -
Reply #4 09/18/09 8:41pm
I do not want to single out any particular group, but I would like to mention one where YOU, the new member, will benefit.
There is a condition known as DID/MPD. These are people who, due to usually severe trauma, have more than one identity/personality. We have 20 or so here on DS that I know of. These people have, of course, their core identity but also can present as any one of several other "people" or better known as ALTERS. One such person can have up to a dozen or more alters. Usually, the person cannot control the emergence of an alter. The person may be an adult, and the alter a 5 year old. Different alters, different genders and ages. You MAY run across a post that appears to be typed by a very young child. It will be obvious. You can probably safely assume this is a DID whose alter has emerged.
I am not an expert, and can only give you my experience. Either stay uninvolved, which is certainly YOUR perogative, or engage with very mild dialogue. By that, I mean engage just as you would when you meet such a youngster in real life. Kind, light hearted, and accepting. If they type baby talk/type, you type back adult type (do not mimic their spelling/grammar) but remain on their level.
Do not antagonize the alter. Sometimes just listening helps. If they should express violence or something else alarming, there is very little you can do except ask them who their "little friends" are. These imply 'other alters", and ask to speak with one of them. The other alter may be in a better mood and will prevail over the first alter. It is hard to know what to do in such a case, so you may want to not engage, but see other DS members engage and maybe ask how "we" handle it. -
Reply #5 10/03/09 4:04pm
Sometimes people with certain disabilities which ARE NOT APPARENT, are misinterpreted due to their disability, and shunned/beat on/ill received.
I would like to suggest that before replying to an 'odd' post, check out the poster's profile and see if there are disabilities which may cause them to have a difficult time communicating. This will give insight to best interpreting what they meant to say, but it did not come out quite right.
There are some disabilities effecting communication which cause the speaker to be highly misunderstood .... and while the disability may or may NOT explain/justify an offensive post, it may give some deserved insight. -
Reply #6 10/10/09 8:42am
DS and its members have to deal with what we call TROLLS. These are people who, for some reason get something out of starting trouble on a website. They are either mentally ill, under the influence, immature, or just simply mean. They will post something highly offensive, intended to start trouble. This is known as 'flaming'. Responding to such a thing is hard NOT to do, but is a mistake. That is exactly what the troll wants to happen. The very best thing to do is IGNORE it. Few people do, and the troll has a delightful experience watching people fall apart. Trolls usually appear on DS as a newcomer because they soon get kicked off. Some just come right back with a new user name. The problem is not huge on DS, but it does happen. Please try to not respond, and report the post to DS.
There are often posts that are offensive and angry but are not by a troll. They are legitimate posts by an upset legitimate member. Since DS is a support site, we try to help them feel better. These too can get out of hand, and there may be those that are better ignored and possibly reported. Over time, you should be able to know how to deal with a post with regard to trolling or "anguish/frustration'.
Welcome
