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Sorry have just seen Alison's latest post while I was typing mine and yes - like it or lump it was not far off the mark.So glad I typed my post before I saw it.

I'm just so very glad that I have an alternative VERY supportive and knowledgeable group I can talk to. A group where we can see each other and arrange meet ups. The users on these boards have supported me through some very difficult times - thankfully at the moment life is relatively calm and peaceful. But having gained so much knowledge and experience I thought it may be helpful to others who are where I was.But there you go. I certainly won't be paying for the privilege of using the boards.

ALison - thank you for the time taken to respond.I know my responces to such matters are often fairly aggressive but when I feel passionate about something I seem compelled to fight for it. In my work life this is seen as a strength not a threat as without passion you are less likely to ever succeed.So from a more positive angle, can I please ask something of you as the spokesperson on this matter:You undertook a survey on board use and members requirements. There is clearly a need for "a" private board. In appreciation for the time taken by the board members to complete the survey and provide you the intelligence to make knowledgeable decisions about the future of the boards, can you please publish some data that fell out of the survey, after all, it is the board members data. EG and specifically on this point - how many board members/regular posters, v number of responces to survey v how many people asked for mostly private boards. I just find it difficult to believe that this strategy is the majority voice of the people here. There is so mcuh resistence in this thread. SO who wants these sweeping changes and why?I come from an industry around software redevelopment where best practice with any such venture will alawys demand 2 stages of pre-development: Business/Community Objectives for the change - what are you hoping to achieve in this change, what are the tangibles and quantifiable deliverable objectives, what does success look like User Analysis - the requirements of the users and the impact the change will have on them - ideally you are looking for enhancements to the user experiencePrior to any software launch, best practice also depicts the following: Pilot/Dry run - technical run through by non tech developers to ensure the product is bug ree and meets teh business/community objectives User Acceptance testing - (the trail run Jellies proposes) - which uses a diverse small selection of users who agree to trail the software and highlight bugs or areas of degredation in service or where the priduct simply does not fulfil its needIf you are contracting our your development these points would have been in your Tender docs or Statement of Work.Since you are expecting people to pay for this service via the inclusion only by membership, I feel they should be provided teh assurance that AUK and its new chairman will have followed this business ethic and best practice in the developemnt of their software. Your borad etc will want to be sure the money is being spent wisely.I am so sorry but I feel very very sad for future adopters looking for support, I feel this tactic is signing the death nell to AUK boards and driving people like me to seek an alternative. Dont you want to feel proud of the increasingly great work we are all doing here and have it sitting under your name???

As a returner, under a new username, and not posting in a long time, and for my tuppence worth, AUK - with all due respect for what you do in other areas, this has to be probably the worst situation regarding online forums I have ever seen.As someone who works in Social Media, Message Boards and the like this is taking far too long, and the fact that you will be charging people a lot of money, when they NEED support, is ridiculous. Take a look at new family social, and see how for a very small fee the forums can be private for all concerned.I think you have missed the whole point, and as I say, with huge respect for the other work you do, this is a shambles, and very unprofessional when you have people who have offered you help and assistance free of charge to help build a safe and secure environment for everyone involved in this process.

I first joined this forum almost 10 years ago and even then these boards were pretty archaic. My kids have actually grown up whilst waiting for decent up to date appropriate boards!It used to be quite a bother waiting and hoping for a better service. I long gave up hope of this happening and sought alternative support.

I can't believe the hate being piled on to AUK here.They have announced an update to the message boards and have tried to give people what they said they wanted - some private boards and some public.No announcement or decision has been made as to which board will be which yet everyone is up in arms.These boards cost money to operate, monitor, host, maintain, update, etc. Most other boards you go to will sell you to advertisers. For some pretty obvious reasons that is not possible for AUK.Think for a minute of the difficult line AUK have to tread in providing private boards. The best way to ensure people are who they say they are is to check against their membership info. Or are people really suggesting that they institute an entirely new "membership" system just for the private boards?

hi sajahI dont see this at leveraging hate - that's a pretty strong word and its not what I feel.Its fear and frustration you are reading - people come to reply on these boards as a lifeline to many. There has been a call for enhancements for years and many require private boards for true open and honest help.No-one is disputing the excellent work that AUK do and the huge support available. The problem is that is standard across so so many software updates, its about inappropriate communication. AUK are only following the same mistakes that many huge corporates have trodden. People are natually scared of change when they cant see what is coming and how it will affect them. Successful software rollouts rely on decent communications to keep users assured that the change will be a benefit to them, and if its not meant to be to benefit them then that should be communicated to them too so they can make alternative plans.Personally I think having looked for alternatives recently, that the format of these boards as is is excellent. Of course it could do with enhancements and updating and certainly there is a need for privacy. I personally think only the prospective adopters bit should be open the the general public, all other areas should be membership only but not necessarily financial membership, more like validated membership.The changes being proposed as currently stated sound like something no-one has asked for and is undesireable to most. Maybe we are all wrong, so then tell us!! Even those who wanted this wont find it useful if practically no-one else is in there. Of course people will feel bereaved and be driven away. Complaining is a valid way of giving notice of leaving. Any company or charity not listening to the complaints dont deserve to be in post as this feedback is vital for continued success and for keeping people on side. I havent read a single post here that didnt provide something constructive that AUK can use to improve the boards.

I understand the need to cover costs.However...Unlike the Helpline - which charges via the cost of the call - the people who answer queries and provide support are largely volunteers, those who reply and PM. In some cases the Adoption UK team make a note that they've PM'd, but in most cases it is other posters who provide whatever answer there is.Charging for the use of the boards will result in a number of those volunteers leaving, taking their expertise and time - and I think the boards will lose some of their value.I wonder how many members of Adoption UK came via the boards? Membership would be of little value to me, nor could I afford it, as I live overseas on a low income (I am from the UK, now work for an in-country NGO on a local salary). There is no equivalent where I live, although as an adopter I face many similar issues. I try to 'pay' for the use I get of the boards by replying to and supporting others. Obviously, as I'm not in the UK, I am not one of Adoption UK's target beneficiaries - but I try to provide some value to others here.

I think hate is a bit of an extreme statement. I have the utmost respect for AUK, but other charities are able to be faster and more up to date quicker than AUK.AUK is a fantastic charity and I do not doubt their intentions are good, it's just that they need to be a little quicker with their web strategy, and the cost to users!

HiJust to let you all know I am in the process of organising a Survey Monkey survey to gauge peoples thoughts/ feelings about AUK's preferred options for the changes to the message boards (particularly the mostly private board bit).I would love to receive as many responses as possible with the full range of ; love the idea/hate it/would willingly pay/would not pay a penny/ need these boards/would not worry me if they did not exist anymore etc.When it is ready to go, I will post to ask that those of you who would like to complete it, pm me to get the details.Alternatively, if AUK online team would like to publicise it, that would be great. A true democracy in action.Jellies

Wow Jellies that's fantastic. Let us know when it's up and running as I will certainly do it.Not sure Auk will bother to even read it, but it's certainly worth a try and is something they should have done in the first place, but then again since I am not a paid up member, they won't be interested in what I think will they?

Damn my post has pushed it to 4 pages.Can anyone reading this, please go back to the bottom of page 3 and read Jellies latest post about her survey on what us users want.

EXCELLENT jellies, please can you publish the results once you have themxx

if AUK are still following, maybe they could subtly provide some info to Jellies into what elements of the current boards layout will become private only and what parts not, so the data captured can be relevant and useful in steering AUKs Project plan for the redevelopment:-)

I have pm'd the online community team to ask if I may post the link to the survey on the message boards.Obviously I will await a response but in the meantime, I will pm anyone who has asked me too with the link.Just to be clear, I have no axe to grind at all but would just like to know what all message board users think about the proposals re the message boards.My disclaimer is: I am not a professional survey(er), I have run it past a few folk from here and elsewhere to check for bias and it is for AUK's information as much as ours.Happy survey monkeyingJellies

I am sure adoptionuk would be very interested in this survey, on the end of the day WE messageboard users are making it to what it is: a valued resource, a place where you can talk to other adopters, a place where you meet friends, find support and understanding.

Personally I think Auk have made a grave error of judgement by only surveying the paid up members. There are many "users" of the boards who have been contributing to the boards for years and supporting adopters out of the goodness of their hearts. For Auk to not bother asking them their views is very sad and shows a lack of foresight IMO.For years we have been asking for “one” private, paid up, board but were always told by Auk that this was not possible. How come then that suddenly they are able to make “most” of the boards private? It just doesn't add up!What they should have done is introduce a tiered system, where everyone who uses the boards has to pay a nominal sum of say £20/year. This would stop trolls or Bfamily members from coming on, as they would be unlikely to pay the fee to do so, and I'm sure that most of us could afford this reasonable fee. Then, if they had a “more secure private board” for those who need to chat more securely, they could have a separate charge for those who need this facility. That way Auk would be able to raise the revenue they need, as a lot of users at present aren't paying anything, myself included.To try and force people to become fully paid up members to access a facility that has always been free is nothing short of blackmail IMO, and I really feel it will lead to the demise of the boards if Auk go ahead with this plan.If all the members are chatting privately behind “the wall”, will they bother to reply to the newcomers repetitive posts, I don't think so. Also a lot of newcomers don't post much at the early stages of their journey, but the do read a lot to educate themselves on all aspects of adoption, both good and bad. They read the discussions of the experienced adopters and learn a huge amount from them. If all these discussions are going on behind the wall, then the newcomers will miss out on this vital resource and will be left chatting to other newcomers with no real advice and will probably wander away through boredom quite frankly.Having spoken to a lot of long time posters recently, there is very much a feeling that they are not being appreciated and a lot of people have been asking about how to join SLTW's Face book group. I am not a member yet, having detested FB, but if Auk goes ahead with it's privatisation of the majority of the boards, then I will be applying to join and taking myself off to FB, as will the others who are asking about it. If this happens then Auk will lose valuable experience from these users and will be left with very divided boards of those who don't know anything, with the experience inaccessible to them until they have children placed and pay for the privilege of scaling the wall.PPIAS was set up “by Adopters for Adopters” run from Philly's chicken shed, but Auk as it stands now is a business that is more concerned about making money than supporting what their users/members want. It is run by people with little or no experience of adoption, who NEVER join in at all, or add to the discussions on the boards apart from locking them if they become a bit heated. They treat us like school children and slap our wrists if we dare to criticise. Is it any wonder us users/members are becoming disheartened and are looking at alternative sites to join. I am off to complete Jellies survey and give my point of view, but as a lowly user of these boards, I'm not expecting Auk to even read the results of the survey.

I agree with you, JMK.I was a fully paid up member for 10 years until this year when I was unable to afford it.Only ever wanted one private board. AUK said no. Actually, they said they couldn't do it - despite the technology already being available because they use it for the Armed Forces' secure site that they have.None of the other AUK things are required by me now - e.g. training courses, conferences, magazine, lending library, adoption-related stationery etc. I only use the boards.I do not use FB, don't trust it. So that option would not be open to me.Therefore, if AUK are not listening to me, when I have given of myself for so many years, I have to ask what is the point in staying on here?AUK: are you listening to any of this? We are all writing to you, not just on this thread but on a number of others across this board.Rather than just coming on to lock up threads, why don't you read what people are saying and take on board their views and comments? You will lose a lot of goodwill if you don't.(And that's not a threat, it's a statement of fact).

Apologies for the delay in responding to the continuing dialogue about the future of the message boards and for not making things as clear as they should be. We were already very aware of how essential these are to all of you and this just reinforces it! We really want to stress, however, that NOTHING has yet been agreed on how access to the message boards will be configured in the future and this is still very much a work in progress. This is a major investment in time and money for Adoption UK and its members, and we are hugely committed to making sure the new website is as good as it can be. The other thing to bear in mind is that the new website will be much more agile and the arrangements of the message boards on launch are open to change if there is a need.Our new website providers are highly experienced and well-respected and we are supporting them in conducting research and focus groups using recognised and effective research methods, both externally and internally.We will continue with the ongoing research and discussion and, of course, factor in the feedback we receive from you. We are happy to publicise Jellies’ survey, subject to our usual rules around this, as an adjunct to the official customer research and user-testing, though we do not officially endorse it.Please cut and paste this link into your browser address bar to take Jellies' survey:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CZJHLDDIt can already be seen, however, that there is a wide range of opinions and it may be that ultimately some users will be disappointed with the outcome. Be assured that we will look for the solution that best meets as many needs as possible.In the meantime please don’t panic if you do not hear more from us on how the project is shaping up – we will update you whenever there are concrete updates.Thanks to everyone for engaging so passionately on the topic.All the bestAlison Frecknall and the Online Team

Thank you to Alison and the online team for posting the link to the survey I have compiled.In the 96 hours or so that it has been available some 80 folk have responded. Still time to respond. I intend to close the survey next Thursday late evening so that I can post the results before our half term break (off camping with my boys - groan groan groan).As I said previously I am no professional survey(er) and the limitations/shortcomings of the survey are becoming more evident as time goes on - nevertheless, I am hopeful that the general view about the proposals re the message boards will be taken into account when the website designers make final recommendations and decisions.Jellies