What this forum needs...

[Megatron]

I know Bill is going to love me for this thread so let me begin by saying I think this HT forum is amazing and adds so much value to the hair loss sufferer. If it wasn't for this forum I would have likely made an uninformed decision that I could have regretted the rest of my life.

 

That said, what I think this forum could use is a lot more activity in the patient results forum and less of the same repetitive questions about, "when is it ok to workout", "how long 'till I can go back to work", "sun exposure", "propecia side effects" etc...type questions that have beaten to death. Lately, after being away for days, I return to find only a handful of new posts under the same old, threads in the patients results forum.

 

Myself and azn_guy seem to be getting 1 or 2 short comments at most after our monthly updates. I know people are tracking my progress from the # of hits on my blog, but perhaps most people are either too shy or simply uninterested in giving their feedback. I'm not saying I want / expect an essay. But, it would be nice to hear people's honest feedback. But, this isn't about me. It would be great if somehow members could be encouraged to give more feedback.

 

It would also be great if more people posted pictures of their HTs. Actual experiences is what keeps this forum new & fresh. Otherwise, I think forum members will just get tired of the same old talk and eventually fade away.

 

Again, this isn't about me wanting more attention nor am I trying to complain. I honestly enjoy coming to this forum and as such, I want to see it flourish.

 

just my two cents

[wb280]

hi megatron, i second your opinion too. I am very thankful to this forum for the advice, information which provided me the confidence to choose a doctor and undergo the surgery. However, like u said, i noticed there aren't that many who are willing to post their results, but rather just view the profiles and results of those who had undergone the surgery.

 

For me, pre op, obviously i looked thru as many results as possible and after surgery, i did my part in uploading my blog and photos etc for others to comment and view. I hope more people can follow suit!

[1966kph]

hello megatron,wb280,whilst i hav'nt yet had a ht and probably like most browsed here as a guest for a year or more before becomeing a member,i think like the internet as a whole is just about information and once people have the info thats it they move along and get on with their lives,i sincerely hope that when i do eventually have my ht hopefully early next year that i will show the well deserved gratitude to this forum and its members in trying to educate me,without it i don't know what i would have done,i still may make a bad decision but the chances are far less so thanks to everyone here and everyone have a nice day....

[waveskier]

Yes you are correct. Newbies, self included tend to ask the same questions. I always do a search first but some of the data is so old from 2003 that I can't help but think maybe there may be more current info. Anyway this forum has been a life saver for me!

[wb280]

1966, i concur totally. Thats my pt. If pple are selfish and just use information and after that just get on with their lives, its a vicious cycle. There will be less good and bad examples for future guests and members to browse and in the end more people might make more wrong decisions

 

Yes, without the information provided by this hospital, i prob would ve listened to some doc bragging abt NEOGRAFT FUE and did it. Not saying its not good ( hell no, i am not starting the debate on that ) but being a potential NW5 or 6, i can only opt for FUT so as to preserve more follicles for future use...

 

My pt is, more people should learn to give help rather than seek help all the time

[Danielkiwi]

Great point megatron..In the end, it is the results that matter more than anything else..This rule should also apply to clinics....A lot of the clinics i call say that there is a waitlist of 2-3 months which means they are pretty busy..However, we dont see so many results from these clinics..this makes me wonder if they are only posting cherry picked results..I hope that is not that the case as the forum members also need to see results that are not 100% perfect....

[ukbloke]

To be fair to those who devised, run and moderate this site, the "Hair Loss Treatments" tab at the top of the page directs newbies to more or less all the common information they could ask for. I think Bill and HTD show great pateince and generousity when calmly and diplomatically answering (for the 50th time), the same queery posted by another newbie.

 

Maybe newbies need to be directed to "Hair loss Treatments" tab when they first join the forum. I know I found it very informative when I first came accross this very good site. keep the good work up chaps.

[mattj]

I think people seeking information just like to see their questions answered by real people who are addressing them personally. It gives a certain degree of comfort and satisfaction.

[waveskier]

I think people seeking information just like to see their questions answered by real people who are addressing them personally. It gives a certain degree of comfort and satisfaction.

 

Matt, BINGO! You got it.

 

Russ

[Sparky]

Yeah those main questions that worry people post HT should be addressed in a bunch of stickys so people dont have to search loads of topics to get an answer, or post a new topic and then wait with baited breath while your worrying about the answer.

[george739]

Hi Megatron,

 

I hear what your saying and wholly agree to a point, especially about encouragement for those who have had a hair transplant to post follow ups, but I have to say that as a newbie, I'd hate to see this forum's appeal specialized to such an extent that it would be just about those who have had surgery.

 

Only recently have I personally found the nerve to start posting on this forum (after a year of lurking, yep, a whole year…sad I know), the reasons why could be a whole new thread of its own, but while I totally understand why an experienced poster might feel a certain weariness of the same old questions being asked time and time again when people could simply search for their own specific query but I cant help think that this is exactly the allure of an Internet forum such as this. The insecurity my hair loss has caused me and the sense of helplessness that can come with hair loss is quite polarizing and I have found a certain respite in knowing that there were other guys out there who feel similar to me.

 

This is why I have continued to come back to this site time and time again.

 

I don't have first hand experience with a HT (yet!) but I know first hand that this whole f*&%king hair loss nightmare is a deep seated issue that most blokes would keep quiet about and not even tell their closet friends or family about. I actually enjoy seeing the same old familiar names reply and post their comments. It adds to the trust and confidence that's is built up in each individual poster, but also as a forum community.

 

I agree more detailed and more regular updates from guys who have gone through HT's would be a benefit as well as regularly updated (monthly?) picture posts and answers to questions would benefit the site and all who visit, perhaps there is a way to encourage members to give feedback on updates/posts/questions etc?

 

But please, always allow space for the Newbie question, as perhaps these Newbies will one day, as in my case, one day be the experienced poster with the fabulously detailed and regularly updated picture blog following my own successful and multi trillion billion follicled HT!!.

 

Many thanks to all that contribute to this forum.

It really has been a ray of light for me, especially as mentioned above, when you answer the newbie question as if it has not been already previously answered 20 times beforehand in another post.

 

G739

[TakingThePlunge]

The core of any discussion forum is its members. Our forum and social network provide multiple avenues for patients to post and share their results and we encourage all members to do so.

 

While I know that it can become monotonous to feel like we are rehashing the same topics week after week, I find that each time a question is answered, there is often a personal perspective that adds to the collective knowledge base. For me, I find this much more valuable an experience than simply having a list of sticky topics full of facts or archived discussions.

 

Frankly, I am surprised by the number of guys that are reluctant to post their before and after pics when it is so easy to mask or crop your face out entirely. Anonymity is easy to accomplish. Then again, I understand that every man or woman deals with hair loss differently and, for some, it is a very private matter that they are not comfortable exposing publicly even when they have no chance of being identified.

 

I stumbled across this site the same way everyone else did. I found camaraderie here as well as a lot of help. Like many of you who have been around for a while, I began to see Bill as an old friend although we'd never met.

 

When I had my first hair transplant, there was no doubt in my mind that I would start a patient website and give back to the community. I felt as though it were an obligation. I've not been so diligent in recording my second transplant simply because there hasn't been much to showcase thus far and also for the simple reason that I no longer think about my hair every day.

 

There will always be lurkers but I agree that the more participation we have, the better off this community will be. I encourage anyone reading this who has not yet done so to take a moment and create a Hair Restoration Website or join our Social Network and create a blog.

 

Bald for one and one for bald!...or something...

[ukbloke]

I agree a forum is by and for its members, the point I was making not very well is that the hair loss treatments tab at the top of the page should help most newbies to have most of their initial questions answered and then maybe seek more input from others about an issue particular to them. I for example am interested in what norwood 5a will look like some 2 weeks after a HT and if it is unoticable, hence I tend to focus on such HT blogs. The one thing I've learnt from other peoples' HT blogs is that people heal, grow and react differently to their HT experience.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Great discussion guys. To add to what David said, this community provides its members with multiple opportunities including asking their own questions to garner personal feedback, encouragement and support, sharing their experience with hair loss and for those who undergo hair transplant surgery, sharing their experience and results with others.

 

Like Megatron said in his intial post, I truly encourage anyone who's undergone hair transplant surgery to join our community and share their experience and pictures.

 

While there are hundreds of shared experiences and results on this forum and our patient websites, I do agree that new experience and results have been lacking lately. But I suspect as several new members here already pointed out, that as they become more involved, find physicians and undergo hair transplantation, that they will begin documenting their results. After all, this is a high traffic forum with dozens of members posting daily and hundreds of guests viewing this forum at any given moment in the day.

 

Also, new members do continually create patient websites and don't always remember to come share their experiences and photos on our forum. Thus, I encourage members of this community to visit the patient websites and post comments encouraging them not only on their journey, but to come share their experiences here as well. Members are also encouraged to share their results directly on their social profiles by creating blogs and photo albums. Don't forget to comment on those member profiles who have taken time to update their profiles, create blogs and photo albums.

 

After all, the publishers of this community can only do so much. It's the members of this forum who make this community flourish :-).

 

I do want to mention that we do encourage all new members to ask their questions, even if it's been asked before. Reading topics is great, but it just isn't the same as getting that personal attention and interaction.

 

All the Best in restoring your hair and sharing your results with our community,

 

Bill

[Pat - Community Publisher]

As has been said previously, it's the involvement of hair loss sufferers and patients sharing info and experiences that really makes this a true community. We've worked to provide numerous resources - patient web sites, blogs, albums, posts, private messages, comments, etc - to enable visitors to share and interact. But ultimately it's up to the visitor to use these resources.

 

I really appreciate the sense of responsibility and generosity that some of our members have in knowing that they benefited from what others shared and so when their surgery came they decided to "pay it forward" and share their experience and results. The more this sharing happens the more community we create.

 

One of my greatest concerns over time has been trying to get a wide range of patients and clinics to share their results - the good, the bad and the ugly. Too often in the past only a handful of clinics actively posted their results (their very best standout results), while many clinics did not post at all. In recent years we've succeeded in getting virtually every clinic recommended on this community to share at least one patient result each month on the Results Posted by Leading Hair Restoration Clinics forum. This has helped.

 

We'd also like to see a wide variety of patients from all leading clinics posting their own results and experiences - not just patients of clinics who are better at encouraging their patients to post. We have made progress on this but there is plenty of room for improvement.

 

Ultimately it's voluntary posts and photos that are made without any inducements that I think provide the most valuable feedback to this community.

 

I join the above members in encouraging all who have benefited from those who have shared to "pay it forward" to those will come after them.