Is Scope Disability Friendly anymore?

I agree with parts of what rubin has said & some of the responses he's received, which, to my mind, reinforces that having discussions openly can be helpful in understanding how everyone feels.

I certainly have found the forum quieter in recent months, &, tho I look on the forum, often don't feel like posting. The forum has changed, which it will keep on doing as our membership changes, tho we certainly have lost some valuable members.

There's a time for raising matters with the Scope team (about individual concerns), whom I agree do a difficult job, & perhaps there's also a time to discuss what matters to us all publicly. We do need to get back that positivity/energy. Fortunately some members miss some posts where sadly some exchanges are not always pleasant.

I agree that the vast majority of our members post with the best of intentions, but with vulnerable members/those in a vulnerable position, safeguarding should be paramount. Transparency also matters in other areas. Threads do get closed I've also noticed, &, sorry to say, it has sometimes seemed like that a 'House rule' hasn't been broken by several members contributing, just easier to close/disappear.

I will continue to support Scope, but hope something is done to make this online community for all disabled people that important bit better.

I wouldn't go as far as saying this place is toxic, but it does feel very different to when I first joined back in 2019. Though my health and abilities have declined considerably as well, so perhaps I'm projecting some of that on to external things.

I try to keep out of 'forum politics' because it's just not worth the stress. Keeping stress levels down is my number one priority nowadays. I much prefer to answer questions based on facts which I hope is of practical use to other members. I don't see many of the political threads being useful, as I doubt anyone on here has changed their political stance from reading a forum post, so the same arguments just go round and round endlessly.

I also see a lot of double standards and hypocrisy on here. But I also see that on other websites and have had it from 'real life' relatives for decades. I do wonder how people don't realise they're doing it. And of course it makes me wonder whether I do it without realising as well.

Just on a final note, I often see that two people feel attacked on here because they've both misunderstood each other. I honestly don't know how the mods are meant to decide who is 'right' in those situations, and am glad that I don't have to make those decisions myself.

That's strange, I still have mine. Maybe it's some kind of glitch?

It's terrible how some people are towards other people on here, Catherine, I've seen a lot of people on here get treated badly when they haven't done anything to deserve it. It's best to just put the trouble makers on ignore.

What is obvious to one member is not always obvious to someone else.

When grievances are carried over from a previous thread it can be very difficult to keep track of what is going on.

While I accept we all set our own boundaries we cannot expect other members to know what those boundaries are.

Once a thread has been posted it is no longer in the ownership of the member that started it it belongs to the forum. Therefore telling another member not to comment on their threads is excluding them when they might have a very valid comment to make.

Unfortunately as with life there will be some members we like more than others but this should not mean we cannot engage with each other.