Welcome Back...Again!

We're almost afraid to say this too loud, but we're thrilled to report that the boards are up and running! Everyone is welcome to post, reply, and dig into all the new features with gusto.

Just in case there are more slowdowns, we're also keeping our temporary boards open on our Test and Learn server. So, please feel free to head on over there if you feel stressed here for any reason.

Remember that not all of the improvements that you all suggested made it in this time, but keep your eyes open for those fixes to be rolled out over the coming few weeks.

All of us want to offer such a huge thank-you to all of you. You've been an amazing source of energy and support for us, and we are just so grateful. The way so many of you have reached out to your fellow members, oftentimes members from other WebMD boards that you didn't even know, through this anxious time has been inspirational to all of us.

We're glad to be back and see you all back with us!

The WebMD Community Staff

Tuesday Evening Update

Here is what we have at this point:

Our engineers are continuing to work at tracking down the unforeseen issues leading to the boards still being, for the most part, unavailable.

We ask that even if it appears the boards are available to posting, something that's occurred a few times today, you refrain from posting on them until we give the go-ahead. This is for a couple of reasons:

• One, anything you post there is likely to be lost.
• Two, posting there can slow down the efforts of engineers to resolve all of this.

Please spread that word on that to all your WebMD friends if you have the opportunity.

In the meantime, we have set up temporary boards for our communities and those can always be found in the Test and Learn area.

We really appreciate the understanding and patience so many of you have shown despite what we recognize to be a frustrating situation. And as nice as it's been getting to know some of you we may otherwise not have 'met', we really look forward to the time our boards are available again for all of you.

The WebMD Community Staff

Monday Late Night Update

Nothing too dramatic to report other than our engineers are still working diligently but they need more time. At this point it's looking like the boards will remain Read-Only (can read them but not post) until at least Tuesday morning.

We'll continue to be here to offer support and answers.

Many thanks for your understanding.

The WebMD Community Staff

Monday Afternoon Status Update

Hello everyone,

Here's where we are with our launch. The message boards are going to be in Read-Only until this evening. We wish we had different news to share but that is the current situation. Our engineers have a few more pieces that they want to optimize and improve upon but they're having too much trouble doing that with so many of us in the boards. So they've requested that we go to Read-Only (this means that you can read the boards but you can't post new messages) until later Monday night in order to give them the time that they need to work.

It makes sense to us. We know that you'd like the boards working well, as quickly as possible, and we feel the same way.

You're welcome to keep posting in the Launch Pad board...We moderators aren't leaving and will be there night and day. Or you can go out, do various errands, send support and good wishes our way ;-) and come visit us again in a bit.

Many thanks to you all. We appreciate your patience throughout this launch, and we're grateful for your understanding.

The WebMD Community Staff

Monday 8/27 Noon Status

Our engineers tell us that the boards are up and running and looking good (but, of course, the more adventurous among you already knew that!

Please feel free to leave the safety of the Launch & Pad life raft.....float over to the New World....and then send word back (maybe a green leaf in the mouth of a dove?) that you found land and are posting successfully.

Thank you!

Update: Late Saturday Evening

Hi there members!

If you've been using (or trying to use) your favorite message boards today you've noticed that they are slow and slower to respond. This is because we have such a large, wonderful, robust community and it takes quite a bit of time for our servers to synch back up and pull together the information they need to run efficiently after a large launch like the one we completed Friday evening.

At this time, it may be best to let the boards rest a bit so they can continue building their cache on the servers. While you're waiting, we still have our Launch Pad board up, and it's running fine. You can meet your friends there and continue chatting in the Find Your Community string that has already been started for individual communities or, if your board isn't represented, start one of your own.

Our mods are going to continue testing the new boards, and we'll keep you updated on the progress of getting them back up to speed.

We appreciate your continued patience as we navigate these issues.

Thank you all so much for the help you have given us!

The WebMD Community Staff

Late Morning Update

Here's the latest on the launch. The message boards are now completely down and will be for at least several hours as the engineers take the next steps to get us ready. While that's happening, the Launch Pad message board will be active and lively and you'll be able to find your fellow refugees here. You can also hang out here at our Community News Blog for updates.

User vtkdawso had a good idea that we post an FAQ at the top of the board because a lot of the same questions are being asked. We'll do that shortly. And several users - i.e. the back pain and epilepsy communities - have started their own threads; that's great as well.

Also, for people who have joined us over the last hour or two, here's a portion of a message we posted early this morning:

When we launch, there are some great new features coming including better navigation, better search, and member home pages. And there are also going to be some problems that you helped us identify during our beta - we've already made a few of those changes and you'll see them when the new boards go live. We expect some of the rest to start appearing over the next 8 or 10 days. So bear with us over the month of August as we make the improvements (your feedback was incredibly helpful, btw).

We're also requesting your help. Those of you who have become regulars on the Launch Pad board are going to be the people most familiar with this new look and feel when we go live. While we'll have our moderators working around the clock over the next few days, we would appreciate you jumping in when you can. Assure your fellow board friends that while the changes can be startling at first (change always is, isn't it?) that you guys have already been using them, and maybe even supply some tips you've learned about the new features. And reassure them that the bumpy parts of the new boards are being worked on now and will get better as we go.

More as the afternoon progresses!

Morning Update

Good morning early risers! We're starting the next phase of our launch and wanted to bring you all up to speed. As you probably know, the boards went to read-only last night and all of us have congregated at the Launch Pad message board until our own boards go live again. Starting around 9 or 10 this morning (ET), the boards will go completely down for at least several hours as the engineers take the next steps to get us ready. While that's happening, the Launch Pad board will be active and lively and you'll be able to find your fellow refugees here. LOL. You can also hang out here at our "Community News" blog for updates.

Those of you at the Launch Pad board last night may have seen a message we posted about the launch but its worth mentioning again. When we launch, there are some great new features coming including better navigation, better search, and member home pages. And there are also going to be some problems that you helped us identify during our beta. We've already made a few of those changes and you'll see them when the new boards go live. We expect some of the rest to start appearing over the next 8 or 10 days. So bear with us over the month of August as we make the improvements (your feedback was incredibly helpful, btw).

We're also requesting your help. Those of you who have become regulars on the Launch Pad board are going to be the people most familiar with this new look and feel when we go live. While we'll have our moderators working around the clock over the next few days, we would appreciate you jumping in when you can. Assure your fellow board friends that while the changes can be startling at first (change always is, isn't it?) that you guys have already been using them, and maybe even supply some tips you've learned about the new features. And reassure them that the bumpy parts of the new boards are being worked on now and will get better as we go.

More as the morning progresses!

The Countdown Has Begun!

We've been discussing new changes on the boards with you all over on the Test and Learn Board and we're excited to announce that they will be implemented starting tonight.

At around 5 p.m. this evening (Thursday, Aug. 23rd) your message boards will be read-only so that we can roll out your new community features. We expect the process to be completed by sometime tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 24th.

While your favorite WebMD message boards are unavailable, our Community Launch Pad board will be available so that you can not only test out a few of the upcoming features but also continue to connect with your WebMD friends.

We will also be posting periodic updates right here on the blog, so be sure to stop in to get the latest information on what's going on.

Our moderators will be available to answer your questions on the Launch Pad board and right here at the Blog, too.

10, 9, 8, 7....

Thanks for counting down with us!

Threads -- And We Don't Mean Clothes!

Okay, here is what our current threaded view looks like on WebMD boards:



And HERE is what the new threads will look like when you open them:



Check out those new features!

Let's take them one-by-one:

Your Image

The image you choose for your Persona page will now show up on your posts! And, if you don't want to upload your own image, we'll have a selection of avatars you can choose:



Rate Post

You will now also be able to rate the posts of your choice if you feel the content has been helpful to you.

If you hover over each of the five stars, you'll see that you can choose from 1) helpful, 2) very helpful, 3) extremely helpful, 4) bookmark worthy, and 5) best ever.

You simply click the star of your choice to rate the post. Each member will only be able to rate each post once. This is to prevent misuse of the tool.

Please keep in mind that rating is not a way of determining the most popular members on the board. Or, even the most popular posts. It's to show that you found the post helpful so that others might be able to find it and use the information as well.

You probably won't have reason to rate every single post on a board. (And who would have time to do that, anyway?)

Here are examples of some posts that might be rate-worthy:

* Motivational Posts
* Great Recipes
* Excellent Polls
* Good, Sage Advice
* A Story That May Help Others
* A Great Question & Good Member Responses

And, here are examples of post you probably would NOT want to rate:

* Just Saying "Hi"
* Roll Calls
* Here Are My Stats (weight loss, pregnancy calendar, child's birthdays)
* General Chit-Chat
* Off-Topic Posts

Remember, you don't have to be logged in to read posts on our boards, but you will need to be logged in to post, reply, or rate a post.

Some members on the boards have expressed worry that they will feel "judged" by the ratings. Everyone has a lovely and unique voice on our boards and ALL of your posts are appreciated. Some of your posts may not be rated and some of them may. If our moderators see any evidence that this rating system is being used by anyone to cause pain to another person, they will step in and take care of the problem.

You will not have to compose like a professional writer. You simply need to continue posting the way you always have, sharing that unique voice. If everyone starts trying to compose an award-winning dissertation, things are going to get pretty darned boring around our boards.

Be yourself. Love yourself. Don't be discouraged. Before long, this rating thing will be old hat and everyone will used to it. Change takes time to adjust to.

Share This

You'll also notice a Share This button at the bottom of each post. When you click the words, an "Email a Friend" window will pop up, and you can send the link to that post to someone you feel might like it.

Add to Favorites

When you click into the Add to Favorites button at the bottom of a post, you'll get a little box popup that will allow you to choose which of your personal folders you'd like to save it in. This is what it will look like:



You will have already created your folders inside your Persona page. When you add your Favorites, they will be viewable to you on the private view of your Persona.

Report Post

Another great new tool we're offering to our members is a way to report posts that you feel are inappropriate. You'll only be able to report a post once. The report tool will alert our moderator staff quickly that a post may be a problem.

Once a certain number of members have reported the post, it will be hidden from the board.

A moderator will take a look and decide if the post violates WebMD's Terms of Use. If it does, it will be permanently removed. If it doesn't, the mod will add it back to the board.

Once the moderator has approved the post, it cannot be hidden again. This keeps posts or members from being targeted by trolls.

So, how does it look and sound so far? Tell us what you think!

And, keep up with the blog. Over the weekend, we'll be showing you how to edit your Persona page as well as some of the nifty new tools you'll get when posting and replying to messages.

Your WebMD Message Boards -- Bigger, Badder, Better

If you like your message boards now, you're going to LOVE the upgraded version!

The look is a bit different from what we have now. It may take a little getting used to, but the boards work essentially the same...EXCEPT you now have awesome new tools to complete your WebMD 2.0 experience.

Look below to get a glimpse of what your new message boards will look like when you click in!




You'll also notice that the board toppers are just a little different. Be sure to keep up with the new related links box. This will change out as we have updated information to share with you.


Next, we'll check out a thread and examine the new features we find there.

For Your Eyes Only -- The Private Persona

The private view of your WebMD Persona is for your eyes only!

This view contains your Favorites folders, your personal Tag Cloud, and a list of your most recent posts.

Here is a breakdown of the private features on your WebMD Persona:



Personal Tag Cloud

You may have noticed the new tag clouds WebMD is using on our Wellness pages, such as Children's Health, Men's Health and Women's Health.

Above, you will see a representation of the personal tag cloud that you can now populate on your own private Persona page here in the WebMD community.

Now, when you post a message on one of our boards, you'll be able to tag your post with either a selection of pre-populated tag words (keywords) or choose some of your own that describe your post.

When you have used a certain number of tag words, your personal tag cloud will appear on your Persona page. These words will be weighted so that the larger words are the ones that have been tagged the most and the smaller ones have been tagged less. You can click on the tag words to search that word.

As you tag more, your cloud will change to reflect your interests.



My Favorites

Right now, when you choose favorites on WebMD, you can only choose the boards for email digests.

In the WebMD 2.0 world soon to come, we have expanded the horizons of Favorites. You'll be able to create up to five folders that you name yourself and bookmark all of your favorite community links right into those folders!

For instance, if you're a member of the Parenting: Newborn to 3 Months message board, you can create a folder JUST for great posts you find on that board. Maybe they are posts that contain great advice. Perhaps it's a poll you want to go back to. It could even be just posts by a special friend on the board.

In posts to come, we'll go over how you'll create those folders and add your favorite links.



Recent Posts

You may be familiar with our current "More Posts By" function on message boards that allows you to click and see the last 10 posts a member has made under that nickname. Now, those most recent posts will be listed on your Persona page so that you can easily go back to messages you've posted. As you make new posts, your Most Recent queue will be updated automatically.

Are you ready to create your own Persona yet? Don't worry, it won't be long!

Your Adoring Public

When another member clicks on your WebMD member nickname from a post on our message boards, they will see your Persona. But, they won't see everything.

Here is how the public view of your WebMD Persona breaks down.



Photos/Images

As you can see right at the top of the page, WebMD Community members will soon be able to add their own photos and images to illustrate their Persona pages. There will be a size limit and a brand new set of guidelines to help you choose the right image. You may want to include a photo of yourself or even a family photo. Or if you like your privacy, you can use another photo or image that has meaning for you.

If you don't have a photo or image you'd like to use, we'll have a selection of images you can choose from as well.

As with your words, your images also must stay within the confines of WebMD's Terms of Use. So, when you upload your photo it won't show immediately. The image will go into a moderated queue, where it will be accepted or declined by someone on our staff. If it is declined, you will receive an email explaining why.

If you are going to use photos of family or friends, you'll probably want to make sure they don't mind being seen on WebMD!

Your Personal Tagline

You also now have the option of naming your Persona anything you like. For instance, if you are a member of the Type 2 Diabetes community, you may want to call your Persona "My Diabetes Journey". You may even want to use your favorite quote. Be creative. Choose something that speaks to you or describes you.

Under the tagline, there is also an area that displays your member nickname, Location (You don't have to put your real city/state here.), and a few auto-generated tidbits: Number of Posts, Member Since, and Last Here.






Your Profile

The profile that shows up in the center of the Persona page is very similar to the current WebMD member profile. If you have already filled out your WebMD profile on our current boards, your profile will automatically transfer to your new Persona page. If you haven't filled one out yet, we encourage you to do it soon!

This is a great place to tell others in your community a little bit about yourself, your health challenges, your hobbies, and more.

In the next post, we'll explore the parts of your private WebMD Persona.