Group changes next week

Hello everyone,

It’s Steph from the Community team here. I’m back to offer a further update on upcoming changes to the group.

Next week, we’ll be looking to update the group with some of the changes we originally discussed in an earlier thread here. From the votes we received, most were in favour of developing the group. Although a few concerns were raised, I hope you feel we’ve addressed those and that any changes will be of overall benefit to all members of the group.

Although this post has a lot of information, please don't worry too much as we really don’t expect the changes to cause disruption to the group. You'll be able to start a discussion in the same way, with an added option of different sections for your posts.

We’ve now rolled out a similar structure across the majority of groups across the Community and we’re not seeing any new issues with members starting and continuing conversations.

Following your feedback, we’ll be looking to offer five sections altogether, starting with the following three main sections:

• New here, say hello – where new members to the group can introduce themselves and get support
• Diagnosis and treatment – where members can talk about their diagnosis and cancer treatment
• Chat – for conversations and supporting each other with everyday life

On the group page, you’ll still be able to see ‘all discussions’ from these three sections in a combined feed, just like you do now. If you prefer to browse the group this way, you’ll still be able to do so. We expect to see benefits to new members in providing a dedicated space for them to introduce themselves. Existing members should be able to more easily find discussions around diagnosis and treatment, whilst enjoying a space to continue longer chats and discuss everyday life, and give and get support.

There will be two additional sections in which you’ll be able to create a post, however, threads from these sections will not appear in the overall feed for the group.

• The Room – a place where you can feel safe to express your most difficult feelings, rant and use strong language if you need to
• End of life – a private space for conversations around end of life

The ‘private’ sections will allow members to express themselves and provide a space for more difficult conversations to take place. Threads from these sections will be hidden from the feed, so you will only see these threads if you choose to.

I hope you will like the new structure and please do let us know your thoughts, or ask questions if you have any. We're constantly working on the user experience on the site, as making the Community the best place for peer-to-peer cancer support is at the heart of everything we do. We are continually listening to feedback and making changes to the site which will improve the experience for all our members and make sure everyone can access the right support for them, when they need it.

If you have any questions or comments about the new group structure, we would love to hear from you. You can comment below; email at community@macmillan.org.uk.