To all Beepers and non-Beepers alike (remember I'm a Beeper)

I am increasingly concerned that the quality and usefulness of these boards is being consistently eroded over time. As a BP-II, I have all but stopped keeping an eye on the BP forum as it is sometimes quite literally splashed with the kind of bile and vitriol that less charitable folk might call the rantings of madmen. This means that the diamonds of genuine insight and discovery are hard to spot in the rough.

In my opinion, this may in part be a reflection of the mental health of the contributors its plausible that during a dysphoric episode, the frenzy of racing thought or paranoia can manifest itself in the written word as well as in realtime interactions. However, Ive noticed similar angry, irrational and highly personal lines of attack starting to creep into Friends & Family (F&F) of late.

I believe there is a fundamental weakness in the way in which the boards are structured. Currently, there's a mele of thoughts, gripes, grief, tips, appeals for help and outpourings that cover the entire spectrum of mental illness. People often vent their spleen randomly under the heading of Advice or give/ask for advice in the Discussion threads.

Also, it seems like the same old topics are coming up time after time. The point of this forum is that it's not a live chat room - it's there as a permanent repository of shared experience and accumulated learning, therefore we should all take more care with how we file our thoughts and feelings to make them accessible to others. Topic headings such as Do you ever ..? are poor signposts to what might be valid and highly relevant content.

I appreciate the need for catharsis (especially for F&F) but perhaps this should be confined to a section unto itself for free-form expression. People often go into incredibly personal and specific levels of detail in their postings. Im not saying this is inherently wrong but that kind of granularity means the post will only be relevant to a tiny minority. If people wish to establish a lengthy dialogue of a high personalised nature, perhaps this should be done via direct messaging rather than in the public spotlight of the discussion board.

Similarly, humorous postings intended to lift the spirits and nurture a sense of solidarity could equally have their own section where they may not offend the crisis-stricken with their perceived lack of gravity or respect. And vice versa does a complete newbie to mental health reeling from the fresh diagnosis of their 12 year old child as Bipolar need to be greeted at the gates of the BP board with suicide threats from a lifelong sufferer?

Heres a contentious one should Beepers be posting on the F&F forum? I think if you are a BP who can clarify or advise or provide a balanced insight from first hand experience that will help F&F members, your contribution is immensely salient, but I fear there will be a gradual migration of Beeper trolls and attention-seekers banished from their own pages onto the relatively unpolluted F&F board over time, further diluting the value and purpose of the forum.

Am I allowed to say, as a BP, that dealing with mental illness is exhausting but dealing with people dealing with mental illness shouldnt have to be so fraught. Also, please bear in mind that many people on these boards are troubled, irrational and in a highly delicate state anger is often hurt and upset turned inward so please dont be too quick to judge or condemn.

This site really operates according to the Garbage In, Garbage Out principle. We all have a duty to one anothers health and safety to maintain the cleanliness and quality of this open source community. Heaven knows were consistently let down by the mental health system, friends, families, employers, the media somewhere among us lies the formula for alchemy and if we dont come together in the spirit of discovery and progress, it may remain buried indefinitely.

Should I file this under Discussion or Rant...? ;o)