New website is terrible
Hi ladies I know this is broken record stuff but I have to agree with the team that the new website is terrible. I can't find my way around at all.. It's hard work and it's disjointed. I'm not sure what you are working on with regards to fixing this but if it's just email notifications I think you are way off the mark. The issue is the layout and lack of a proper home page that clearly takes you to the right place.i would not want more email notifications leading me back to a bad site. They may take you directly to a relevant post but I can't find the regular information that I used to like to go back and read. You're dealing with people who are stressed out anyway so navigating this is terrible and I was such a huge advocate of the site prior to this. I'm not against change but I really feel you have missed the mark here and need to look at it from a different angle. I'm sure you are doing what you can to alleviate individual questions but I dare say you have lost a large % of regular contibutors, they wil look for easier ways to communicate and that's a real shame for the whole community and the cause. I'm sure this has been an expensive excercise and you're trying to get it right but sometimes you just can't fix it. Hope you will see this as constructive even though it's a negative post.. A wise business mentor of mine once said you can recover from a bad decision but you can't recover from indecision. Time to go back (format/layout wise) in my view. Good luck and thanks for listening. Lisa
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Hi Lisa
I fully agree with what you have said !!
BCNA are trying to fix it but their original consumer group obviously did not know how to explain what was important to their members or their techs had no idea how to prepare what was required.
I have struggled with the system but some things are re-appearing slowly.
THE MAIN THING IS THAT THE SYSTEM CANNOT WORK IF YOU USE THE GOOD OLD INTERNET EXPLORER. Try using Google Chrome in the meantime. BCNA - get onto this issue pronto !!!!
THE SECOND THING IS RE-INSTATING THE 'LIVE FEEDS' (please) which allows interested ladies to get in on older conversations which interest them
The next thing is the wide white spaces - crap - they have to work on it !
To newly diagnosed ladies - please persevere as this IS A GREAT WEBSITE - and you will make a heap of friends with ladies who are/have been going through the same as you. They are willing and able to help you through a difficult time in your life.
Lisa, if you have problems, please call the BCNA office on 1800 500 258 and speak with the ladies who may be able to assist you through the problem.
Keep in touch
Summer :-)
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Hi Lisa
Really well said. I could not agree more!
There is just too much that is wrong and the fixes are taking too long.
When you are going through a diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer you need to have good support NOW. You cannot put off your needs while IT people take months (it has been months now) to get a support network up and running again.
It is frustrating and so disappointing for those women who need support and for those who have tried so hard to be there for others.
Comments from BCNA do not acknowledge this and show understanding of what the problem is.
Summer is right. This network is great and if we can just get it back to being user friendly then we can get back to giving each other the type of support you cannot get anywhere else.
Deanne xxx
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I'm so pleased to hear that you are trying to resolve these issues. I thought it was just me being a newbie to the site as I've been finding it so hard navigating around the place too. Perhaps they could look at putting some "screen shots" into the help section while they fix it as I am finding this site very frustrating to say the least. Fingers crossed it can be rectified soon.
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This is so well written,and is EVERYTHING that I have been TRYING to convey for weeks!! The point about having a home page where you can see everything that you need on it,and you only have to touch a heading and it takes you straight there! This is the main thing that has everyone so confused,I feel.Crikey,what is so hard about that?I am actually sick of waiting for things to be fixed.BCNA is a great organisation,but surely our thoughts should be considered,after all,if it weren't for all of us,it wouldn't even exist!!!!!
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I wasn't going to complain but since so many others have I will add my voice.. I hate this new format too and find it difficult to use. It was so much better before the big change.
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Yes, Robyn, it does feel as though we are not being heard. This is a place where our voice used to count. Many of us have stayed quiet in hope that things would improve but that really has not happened. It is this feeling that no one actually asked us what was important to US before the changes were inflicted upon us. Many of us already feel helpless against a disease that has forever altered our lives. Now we also feel helpless on what used to be such a terrific support site.
Please start really hearing us BCNA!
Deanne xxx
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I agree with you all. The 'new format' is definitely not user friendly. I am not that great at navigating net sites..but found the old format so much easier. I felt 'connected' and was able to find information and get help as I needed. I haven't been using the site as much as I am finding it 'too hard'. I think it is very sad that a lot of us feel disconnected from our 'support line'..which was an invaluable tool for us going through both physical and emotional turmoil at times. It is a long, hard journey and I felt a lot of support from the ladies on this site. What a shame if that is not as easily available to others who are just starting their journey. All best wishes to everyone. Chris.x
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Yes Deanne,no one asked us!! I am so tired of being told ' we are working on it'.Just this post alone shows that no one likes the new format.I wish that everyone who is staying away would get on here and voice their true opinion.Perhaps when that happens it will show just how this has affected so many people!!!Come on ladies,we want this blog to survive:):)
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I also have to agree with all these comments. I use to be almost addicted to this site, but now I rarely go on. I have a peep every 2 to 3 weeks, get frustrated with the format and then leave it again. Being 4 1/2 years through this journey, with chemo and full reconstruction completed, I felt I had a lot to offer others just starting this process, but I'm sorry to say, I have been lost. The old site was user friendly, and I liked live feed, and the full page of current topics being discussed.
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Ditto to all of the above
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Why can staff from BCNA not respond with answers to some of the suggestions that people have made. If we cannot go back to the old network format why can't BCNA explain this once and for all. Why is there not more consultation with the members about what we identify as our main concerns? I think there are disadvantages to the idea that we should address our concerns in emails and private messages. A more public display of consultation means that everyone gets the same info without the need for repeating things over and over. There are things said in this post and the comments on it that have been said from week 1 of the change. This is why we feel like our voices are not being listened to. BCNA you have handled this SO POORLY. :-(
Deanne
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I couldn't agree more! This is JUST so disappointing. I am an iPad user and the site is so hugely problematic for me that I have almost given up using it. I can log on but then cannot access my mail or seemed emails. I used to be able to search the site while I was having treatments, with the iPad on my lap, but I can no longer do this. This means that I have been totally disconnected from my major online support base and I have given up trying. I know that I am not alone here and I am not a newby. How sad for those who are new to this ghastly diagnosis and the major local support group is not easily accessible to them. I have worked in organisations where similar IT changes have been made but there has been a lot more open negotiation, discussion and responsiveness to suggestions and feedback. It is not impossible to address our concerns. They are dire for many! Please fix this.
Emily
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Hi. I'm so glad I'm not the only one finding this new site unusable. I have joined the uk forum out of need. The layout is so much easier as was this one before.
Can the template be changed ASAP to make the the layout more like the density of the uk forum/: at least that would help see more content and navigate even if most of it (on pc iphone iPad: safari/ crome) bcna staff don't seem to fully understand the layout issue from conversations I've had hence why I'm drawing reference to the uk example that works. really hope you can fix the issue soon.
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Hi all. You're all right about this. I facilitate a couple of groups, have had all the same problems (plus a few more, because I don't even know now if people have emailed the group). I've raised pretty well everything you've said with the BCNA people on a number of occasions, sometimes bluntly. I haven't heard anything back for a while, and I suspect no one knows how to fix this except to go back to the drawing board. Or just resurrect the old site. It wasn't broken, probably just needed to be friendly to mobile devices. To be fair to BCNA, they did have focus groups, but the site design should have been piloted, or run alongside the old site, before things were too advanced. That way the functionality could have been fixed at an early stage. Yes it's a disaster, and I feel very sorry for the BCNA ladies who are our contacts. They are copping a heap for something which is not their fault. Heaven knows how it gets fixed without a huge cost. And while we're on this, you used to be able to preview your message before posting. Not any more!! Hope there are no mistakes in this one! Best wishes,
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Yep totally agree with all said, I'm not very tech savy and I struggle
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