What are the key ingredients of the RO community?
We have lots of different roles in our little community. There's Staff like me who help to make sure everything is working okay and other staff like @Bree-RO who help keep people safe at night, Mods like @Chessca_H , Builders like @roseisnotaplant members like @scared01 and literally thousands of people who read lots of posts, but are pretty shy about talking- which is okay 🙂
I want to know how you see yourself in the community no matter who you are or what you do here.
So here are my questions for you 🙂
What do you get out of being a part of the RO community?
This could be anything from feeling good, staying safe, learning things, getting experience for a job, making friends, anything at all 🙂
What are the things you enjoy doing to give back to the community?
This could be anything from talking to others, offering support, catching spammers, sharing cool stuff you have discovered or learned, anything at all!
And here's one last extra question:
What do you need more of?
This could be anything from more support when things are tough, to know more about who people are here on the forums and what they do, more conversations about stuff that matters to you, or more responsibility for helping out.
And to make these easier to copy, here's the questions again without the explanations:
What do you get out of being a part of the RO community?
What are the things you enjoy doing to give back to the community?
What do you need more of?
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Comments
Hi Ben! Some really great questions 🙂
What do you get out of being a part of the RO community?
I really enjoy engaging with different people from all different backgrounds and situations! Sometimes it can be really intense, especially when some of us are going through difficult times, and other times it can just be silly stuff bonding over our favourite movies. Either way, I find the experience really valuable!
What are the things you enjoy doing to give back to the community?
I really enjoy offering help and advice to people who are currently experiencing the same things I have in the past...e.g. uni stress, relationship troubles. It's really great to know that your past struggles have built the foundation for you to help others in the future.
What do you need more of?
Some other Builders have mentioned this but I would find some further training in handling high-distress situations where OP might be at risk of hurting themselves or others really helpful. I understand that we should definitely refer the situation to mods when appropriate, but it would also be really great to have some more tools when this situation arises and mods are not immediately present.
What do you get out of being a part of the RO community?
I don't know where to start, I've been a member for 3.5 years and I'm constantly coming back. I love how supportive everyone is and is willing to listen to me without judgement. I like chilling out on the games when I'm distressed as they are a great distraction. I also feel like I've made friends here. I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for ReachOut
What are the things you enjoy doing to give back to the community?
I love playing the games as I mentioned before. Also when you work with people to come up with solutions or strategies on moving forward.
What do you need more of?
I want to have more regular infobuses. (I know you just said that @Ben-RO)
Also sometimes the guidelines aren't followed and it's not always picked up or ignored and you report it but nothing happens. (sorry about my whine)
@redhead you're right, we could be better at getting to those breaches quicker and more consistently. Thank you for sharing, I'll check in with the crew about this 🙂
Awesome idea @Ben-RO!
What do you get out of being a part of the RO community?
I feel good from being a part of the RO community, I learn new things and I just love chatting with people! 🙂
What are the things you enjoy doing to give back to the community?
I really like to talk to others and offer my support. It has really felt like an online family on Reach Out and I'm really grateful for that. I also like to post fun and 'light' threads to just chat about things like costumes, tv shows and things like that. It's so interesting to see what everyone says!
What do you need more of?
I can't think of anything at the moment because as I'm in a Builder role I find it really flexible and fits in really well with my uni and work schedule 🙂
Hi @Ben-RO.
What do you get out of being a part of the RO community?
I get support for myself when I feel like I need to vent or solve a problem that is on my mind or when I'm struggling with my perfectionism and GAD.
I get a good feeling when I help others and I like knowing that I can and do make a small (maybe big) impact on people's lives just by talking on here.
What are the things you enjoy doing to give back to the community?
I enjoy talking to people about their hobbies and goals and really encouraging them to keep at it. I like to let people know that they are important and unique no matter who they are and that that is a good thing.
What do you need more of?
I like more creative topic threads on all different topics and how to tackle problems we all may face. Advice on how to handle particular situations and personal stories are nice to read and talk about.
What do you get out of being a part of the RO community?
I love being part of the RO community because everyone is so supportive and caring. It makes me happy to know that I'm able to support others or have a chat. I also get to learn about more about communicating and writing posts that convey the correct message.
What are the things you enjoy doing to give back to the community?
I think I've mixed this a bit with the first question. I enjoy offering support and helping others 
What do you need more of?
I think I need more guidance on how to tackle posts or if I am helping anyone- I always feel as though I'm not really helping or saying the right thing. (I really want to help, but sometimes I just don't know what to say - i don't want to make it seem as though I don't care). If that makes any sense..
Hi, @Ben-RO,
Question 1
I feel more open to talking about things that are going on and I am able to talk to someone without telling anyone face to face. Being part of the community I have found really helpful as I don't feel that I could tell someone I know about how I have been feeling because I fear that people won't listen to me or they will judge me. But here I can say anything and people won't judge me.
Question 2
I go onto other peoples threads to help them with what they are going through and I try to complement the people that have helped me. also, I like to find information to help others that I know who are struggling.
Question 3
I would like more people like you to be on the threads or just someone who is a professional because sometimes peoples do give really good help but I need some professional help without talking to them in person.
Pariscat16 wrote:
Question 3
I would like more people like you to be on the threads or just someone who is a professional because sometimes peoples do give really good help but I need some professional help without talking to them in person.
Great suggestion @Pariscat16 i wonder if we could have more Infobuses or a place to ask experts questions about particular issues? We have had a bit of a go at this in the past, it's a little tricky to work out, but i am keen to see what i can do for you 🙂 With that being said, at least at this stage we want to be part of the solution not all of it, so we want to help people link up with experts as well as talking to us at the same time. So if you'd like we could suggest some people who are online professionals?
first off this isnt a small community @Ben-RO
Question 1
there are a few things I get about being in the RO community. There are some very understanding people here. I can come on here, rant (within reason) rave, be happy, sad overwhelmed or whatever else MH has to offfer but I can do it here without judgement. People here really understand and are mpathetic even of they havent been through what ive been through. Not sure how many have been through cancer and the treatments involved but this community really stuck by me and helped me through one of the toughest things ive had to go through, one of the scariest things ive had to go through yet the community stuck by me.
I love the peer support here and it has allowed me to grow as well. Learn to really listen and think and come up with suggestions or ideas that I think might help and if I cant then I will offer my hand to hold or a shoulder to cry on to help them get through their tough times too.
I have found that im able to speak to people better and to have more confidence in speaking to those who are in need or are having a rough time.
I also like the light threads too where we can just chat and have fun.
Question 2
I really enjoy just being in the community. Being surrounded by people who care is a really big help. The thing I most enjoy is being able to be a peer supporter and help others who are in need or have tricky situations.
Questions 3
hmm I think the only thing really that I can think of is just abit more support and taught learning more skills to identify when threads are going to be too much for me, learning how to step out even if im the only one supporting and also learning distress tolerance skills for both myself and also how to implement those/suggest them to other memebers as well
What do you get out of being a part of the RO community?
I guess feeling good about helping and supporting someone or people in need. Also, learning more about peer support through experience posting on these forums have tremendously helped me gain experience providing peer support for my future career.
What are the things you enjoy doing to give back to the community?
Offering support for those in need, particularly if the issue at hand is something I've actually experienced before 🙂
What do you need more of?
Perhaps more support when offering support for those who are really acutely distressed to the point they might harm themselves or others. I know that these posts are typically left to mods or ReachOut staff members but I really want to help these people out as I may want to become a mod in the near future. I'm just concerned on whether my response might trigger them in some way or whether my response would be helpful to them.
What do you get out of being a part of the RO community?
Knowing that if I am going through a tough time the community always has my back and will always be a safe, non-judgemental space that helps me to have a more positive outlook on life! 
Supporting others and being part of something as awesome as RO also makes me feel really good!! 
What are the things you enjoy doing to give back to the community?
I love supporting, chatting to and sharing things with other people on RO. I also love joining in on all the chats and games we have!
What do you need more of?
I'm actually not too sure Keen to hear what other people suggest so we can try to implement it 
Aww thank you so much everyone! This thread is making me smile quite a bit 🙂
What do you need more of?
Perhaps more support when offering support for those who are really acutely distressed to the point they might harm themselves or others. I know that these posts are typically left to mods or ReachOut staff members but I really want to help these people out as I may want to become a mod in the near future. I'm just concerned on whether my response might trigger them in some way or whether my response would be helpful to them.
@Esperanza67 that's a reaaaally good point! It's something i really want to focus on improving for you all over the coming months. For the record though, you're all amazing at the support you provide and the support you all provide is in no way triggering. There's much more to this conversation though that we need to work through with you all. Because we need to show how it's not triggering as well as helping people confident that they are providing the right kind of support- or at least as confident as they can be, because it's actually pretty natural to feel a little worried about your reply. Worrying is part of the wiring we have in the circuitry of our brains that relates to caring and empathising with people so it does just happen... and it's about being comfortable with just a bit of discomfort, knowing the causes, and that you're doing great. If that makes sense?
Hey @Ben-RO I really like this idea!!!!
So awesomeeeeeee
What do you get out of being a part of the RO community?
I love the atmosphere here! I love how I can come here when I'm down and air my feelings without people judging me. I also love that I can support people in their struggles and help others the way RO helped me when I needed it the most.
What are the things you enjoy doing to give back to the community?
I love giving people support and advice, I share my story to help others in any way I can, and it's something I will link in if I can. This was something that I personally found very beneficial when the builders and mods linked what I was struggling with to something similar they overcame - it helped me see that I'm not alone and that it can be worked through.
I like posting GIFS, photos, talking about my cats, being ME!
What do you need more of?
Honestly, I don't know. For me I'm getting what I need.
I am curious to see what others write so I can better help 🙂
Hey @Bee,
Do you mind if I use a bit of your answer in my article '6 reasons why you should use our forums'?
EDIT: I just saw I've already used one from you - so ignore this post!!
