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SPECIAL GR: 25 Feb - Review of how GR's are going
Hello to all our awesome forum users! 🙂
Over the last 6 months or so, there have been many changes in how we approach GR's. We have introduced Slow-Mo GR's, and have scheduled GR's every 2 weeks rather than weekly. We appreciate that these changes have taken a while to get used to, so on behalf of all of the mods and staff, a massive THANK YOU to everyone for working with us during these changes!
Join us on Monday 25 February at 7:30pm AEDT, as we reflect on the impact of these previous changes, as well as brainstorm new ideas for running GR's. Everyone is welcome - whether you've just joined up, or whether you've been a member since forever.
Look forward to seeing you on the night! Any questions, please feel free to ask below!
Welcome to tonight's GR, we'are chatting about our Getting Real Chats and would love your feedback 🙂
If at all you find this conversation distressing or you feel like you need to talk to someone, about an issue then it's time to get some help! You can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or use their webchat and email services found on their respective sites. The links can be found here. If you are new here then welcome! Have a quick peek at our community guidelines you can find them here!
To kick things off tonight
1. Have you ever participated (by answering questions or reading afterwards) in a GR? How did you feel?
I am just going to tag some members who are online who might be interested in jumping in
@Booknerd @SpencerH13 @Cheeseburger @DirtWitch @Saltwaterdreamtime @indieinsanus @aebarrie12 @redhead @trashconverters
Have you ever participated (by answering questions or reading afterwards) in a GR? How did you feel?
One of my favourite parts of the forums month is participating in the GRs, especially the live ones! It makes me feel super connected to our community and I love reading everyone's responses. I often go back and read over the GR threads after they happen too- I learn so much from everyone's insights and experiences
Have you ever participated (by answering questions or reading afterwards) in a GR? How did you feel?
No, I have never participated in a GR. In fact I have never posted on this site before. What does GR even stand for? Gherkin relish? Gettin' rowdy?
😉 😛
hahahaha @lokifish I absolutely expected that from you! 😛
Have you ever participated (by answering questions or reading afterwards) in a GR? How did you feel?
I have participated in quite a few GR's by now 😛
How I feel after a chat often depends on the chat itself, but mainly I feel tired, I find it tiring to be socially connected for long periods in such an intense way. But I also feel connected to the forums through the GR.
Have you ever participated (by answering questions or reading afterwards) in a GR? How did you feel?
I never read them (unfortunately) because I don't have the attention span to read through all the responses.
I can't speak for the past, though I know from my first ever posts that I was quite active in GR's when I first joined the forums but then my attention levels dropped and now GR's are really hard to participate in because I'm either feeling like shit or just can't pay attention long enough. Plus I think my engagement dropped when I had to run the GR's and I got maybe a bit annoyed with it all? But yeah, I have terrible attention and that greatly affects my participation in GRs.
Curious to hear everyone else's thoughts! If you're reading along let us know what you think (even if you've never participated in a GR before!)
Ok, next question:
Do you prefer Slow-Mo GRs (over a week) or regular GRs (one night only)? Why?
Do you prefer Slow-Mo GRs (over a week) or regular GRs (one night only)? Why?
My favourite is definitely the live chat, but at the same time I also know it is very high energy for members to keep up with as well (eg: have to be online at the right time and sometimes when there are tons of posts it can be hard to keep up). At the same time, sometimes the live chat is the best way to really get to know each other well too.
On the other hand, the slowmos have the added benefit of being over a week, meaning more people have the opportunity to be involved and are not time constrained. It also means it is less time pressured for our mods and builders who ran the GRs too! However, I always miss that sense of connection I get with the live GRs and sometimes they dn't get as many posts.
Pros and cons to both, however both really contribute a huge amount to getting the community chatting about important issues in the one space
Do you prefer Slow-Mo GRs (over a week) or regular GRs (one night only)? Why?
I don't really have a preference, some topics are better suited to a Slow-Mo and others to a regular GR.
I think I like the slow-mo more as we get more time to think about the question and respond
Very true @Bee and @lokifish - it seems like there are two really important things to remember when planning the GRs. One is the duration and opportunity to have input outside of a set time. And the second is about the time it takes to think and respond.
Maybe there are two key questions that can contribute to the choice of topic for a Slomo vs a live GR:
1. Is this a conversation that would get more input if we have it over a week?
2. Do the questions we ask require more time to think and respond?
To follow on from the last question...
Late last year, we changed from weekly to fortnightly GRs: Which do you prefer? Why?
Late last year, we changed from weekly to fortnightly GRs: Which do you prefer? Why?
Good question! I am not 100% sure- I feel like there may have been more engagement when it was weekly because members of the community knew to expect a chat every Monday and it was easier to predict. At the same time, I know there is so much time and love from our mods and builders that go into planning each GR and weekly can be super exhausting.
Just throwing ideas around here: I wonder if there is another way of working that even built in an additional option for the "off weeks" (a third GR that is quick to answer and has one question), an example is for the parents forum we do a fortnightly "top tips tuesday" where members list their top tips on one topic question. Maybe there is a way of having a topic based chat on the off weeks, so that members know that every Monday there will start a discussion, but requires far less time and mental resource?
hey guys, sorry I'm late! hopefully i can still provide some of my thoughts
good to see you again @N1ghtW1ng !
I'm going to be honest and say that I don't think I'm the sort of person that's really compatible with the GR structure. I like to participate in RO when I have energy, so attending a weekly structured two hour chat is something that's really challenging for me.
I think something else that really isn't anyone's fault is that our amazing mods and builders put tons of working into designing really thoughtful topics and questions, but people may not feel like attending 1) because of the time commitment, and 2) because I think a lot of people like to use RO when they have a specific need or question. I think this is also influenced by how we have the everyday life/games thread whenever do people want to hang out, which means in theory they don't feel the need to attend GRs as often.
I'm sorry to say that I can't really offer a solution to all this, just my two cents that sometimes GRs aren't for everyone! I think a lot of the ways people benefit from RO don't always include attending GRs, and that's not a reflection on how the GRs themselves are run but just the nature of the sessions.
1. About having the energy to log on, and this is something that came up a few times today as a really important point to consider. So many members are juggling so many time commitments, that this is something we need to look at for future
2. And the second is around the needs or purpose for members logging in- There are such a huge number of ways our community members use the forums, and it really is a unique journey based on the needs of the individual
Great points!
@DirtWitchthanks for sharing - super insightful! 😄
I totally see what you're saying, and I guess that's where slow mo GRs are a sort of intermediary between everyday life chats and regular GRs. It's also totally okay if people find that the structure doesn't work for them! I guess the point of this chat is to figure out the types of resources/conversations that will help people 🙂