Prostate Cancer Survivors

 

YANA - YOU ARE NOT ALONE NOW

PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT SITE

 

 

This forum is for the discussion of anything to do with Prostate Cancer.
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Re: What would Terry think of YANA now?

Hi Lyn I taken on board most of what you have written.

In years gone bye Terry used to provide regular snippets of information that he sourced from published papers available on the net. Sometimes his postings were challenging to accepted medical convention at the time. But you know what, we certainly had many lively discussions on the topic at hand.

Terry also used to provide regular advice as to updates in the member survivor stories and links as well. He would also highlight interesting issues in the updates. Terry was very proactive in the day to day affairs of this site. Sadly that no longer occurs.

I guess what I am trying to say is that this site used to hum. It was the norm to see a goodly number of posts on a variety of topics each day. If you doubt what I am saying, scroll back through the forum archive and see for your yourself.

Re: What would Terry think of YANA now?

Hello John,

Thank you for your message. I think Terry would be very pleased that the YANA website has continued to grow and provide valuable information to more than 20,000 visitors every month. We now have almost 1500 Survivor Stories on file, and more than half of those stories continue to be actively updated.

The vast majority of messages that are posted on this Discussion Forum provide meaningful insights and recommendations to our subscribers. Very infrequently, there will be a posting that is clearly an advertisement, and I promptly delete those messages and block the IP address for that sender. That happened just a few days ago. If this were to become a chronic problem, I would set this Discussion Forum to be "moderated", which means that every message would need to be reviewed and approved by me before it was broadcast to all of our subscribers. In my opinion, it simply isn't a problem for us at this time, and I would prefer not to slow down the communication process while every message awaited my approval.

You characterized some of the messages as "nonsense and blatant advertising". You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but as Jon R. correctly observed, most people are sincere about seeking guidance from this site and the more experienced YANA members.

Conversely, I think that Terry would not have appreciated any message that simply complained about something, without offering any suggestions for improvement.

If you wish to discuss this further, I would be happy to do so privately (meaning not through this Discussion Forum). Please feel free to contact me at "mfreedkin@yahoo.com".

Best Regards,

Mark Freedkin
YANA Administrator
Irvine, California (USA)

Re: What would Terry think of YANA now?

Mark I have elaborated on my critique in my reply to Jon and Lyn.

Mark, you yourself would have to acknowledge that for whatever reason there is an apparent divergence between Terry's and you, in the day to day running of this site. Now I am not for one minute suggesting that you need to reinvent yourself as Terry, but Terry's input was fundamental to topical discussion on this forum.

OK, so if you accept that there is some merit in my critique, what are some constructive suggestions? Mark you have many long standing members on this forum, that if asked, would I feel be able to provide just a little of what Terry used to.

Mark I never once saw a post from Terry that ended with Terry Herbert YANA Administrator. Everyone on here new Terry. He had no need of titles. I think you need some help Mark to restore YANA back to it's halcyon days. What do you think?

Re: What would Terry think of YANA now?

John: (1) There can be little doubt but what Terry is dearly missed.

(2) You have been a valuable contributor to this forum.

Jon and Lyn: I think you two have captured a few of the key values of this site in your remarks.

Mark: You have done an outstanding job with YANA to date. You have personally helped me on more than one occasion, and I much appreciate your on-going contribution

Now then let's get on with the task at hand.

Re: What would Terry think of YANA now?

Hi to All, I agree with John Bonneville, I feel YANA is now different, lost something?. I am a long time survivor of PCa (fingers crossed) now just on 11 years and I check out the Forum each day sometimes twice or more. It is a great website no question. What I have noticed, and I maybe wrong, the Forum comes in bits and pieces ie there will be nothing for days then all of a sudden a number of questions from people seeking answers. If my memory serves me correctly Terry was finding it to much to read and check each entry and a new fast way was needed to do the same thing so hence the new system (maybe I am wrong)of direct entry to the forum. That in itself loses the personal touch of Terry H.

It is a big job no doubt but the site has lost something and that is Terry's personal touch, a man who will always be remembered. Terry always had the time to offer that bit of personal feeling and give us all hope.

Joe H

Re: What would Terry think of YANA now?

Hello Joe,

Thank you for your message.

You are correct that Terry contributed to the Discussion Forum far more actively than I am able to do. However, the automation which you mentioned only pertains to the updates to the Survivor Stories, not the Discussion Forum. I still review every one of those updates as they arrive, but that only takes a few minutes each day. As part of that review, I do correct any minor typing or cosmetic formatting errors, and I infrequently add a comment or a reference to another page for additional information.

However, I do not possess the vast technical knowledge or experience that Terry had, so I am unable to contribute the same way he did on this Discussion Forum. I wish I could do everything that Terry did, but that is simply not realistic.

Instead, I will continue to honor Terry's legacy by keeping the YANA site running to the best of my ability. I appreciate all of the continued support from all of the contributors. This is an open forum, which means that anyone is free to post whatever messages they wish, and we are all mature enough to know what is appropriate and what isn't. If something inappropriate does get posted, I will manually delete that message and (if necessary) block the sender.

In the meantime, I would encourage every member of this Discussion Forum to continue to contribute with thoughtful and insightful comments and feedback, especially to the new subscribers who have recently been diagnosed. That's the whole purpose of this.

If anyone has any suggestions for how we can all work together more effectively, I am happy to receive those suggestions privately.

Best Regards,
Mark Freedkin

Re: What would Terry think of YANA now?

Mark you need to read how members feel on here, not privately. otherwise the status quo will prevail. Let us lay our issues out in the open and have a full and frank discussion on where YANA was and were we want it to go. Us long serving PCa warriors who regularly contribute to this forum are also stakeholders and you need to acknowledge that. Terry's legacy I feel , is best perpetuated by a cooperative effort from all of us. You need to acknowledge that the forum is not what it used to be. That saddens me and no doubt others as well. I do hope other members do come forward and voice their opinions. Hopefully by doing so, you will become more informed as to how members really think and feel about YANA since Terry's passing.

You have already made a good start Mark. I see you have dropped the YANA Administrator appendage from your last post. Well done.

john
Also from Australia

Re: What would Terry think of YANA now?

It was very sad/tragic to lose a personality like Terry's but 'things change'. I think that Mark does a wonderful job and I am in awe of John's knowledge of this complex subject and impressed at John's willingness to share and help. I never expected YANA to continue after Terry but it cruises along helping many from all over the world emotionally and information wise.

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