[DocJohn]

Please see the announcement here:

Reflections on Psych Central's Next 25: In the Helpful Hands of Healthline

What does this mean for the community?

Nothing, at least at first. It's business-as-usual here. I expect Healthline will continue to run the community as it is today, with changes done as they feel are needed -- hopefully for the better!

What is Healthline?

They are the most trafficked health website online today. I spent a few months figuring out who the best fit was for Psych Central, and the people behind Healthline came out on top.

Will you still be around?

Yes, indeed. I am staying on with Healthline for at least a year and will continue many of the same kinds of duties that I perform today.

Why did you sell Psych Central?

It's explained in the blog entry above. The work required to keep Psych Central became overwhelming and needed a larger organization that could help keep & grow the website into the future.

I have other questions.

I don't have a lot of information about the future nor Healthline's specific plans at this time. But I'm sure as we move forward, more information will become available over time.

[TunedOut]

Thank you for starting this community DocJohn! You obviously have put a lot of thought, love and energy into creating this forum and know it is time to move forward as you said above. Congratulations on your new plans!

[sarahsweets]

I don’t know how I feel about this. I hope they don’t shut down the forums

[eskielover]

It has been awesome to see PC grow & expand since I arrived in 2004 when I had just started using the internet.

I am sure this is a very wise decision as the complexities of the internet have grown exponentially over the years.

Glad you will still be around here. It has been an awesome journey. Thanks for the strong foundation you created for this house

[Nammu]

Congratulations.

I too hope there are not many changes to the forums.

[Mountaindewed]

Yay more Covid **** ups. I was wondering how things could get worse. And my mind kept thinking of PC. PC is basically all that is keeping me sane right now. And I’m still having a very hard time.

[Soupe du jour]

I'll look forward to following the transition to Healthline. I often read their articles in my news feed, and am generally happy with them.

I have been active on other mental health-related forums in the past, and even served as a volunteer moderator on one. Most looked like Psych Central. They, like Psych Central, eventually had a dated look, and unlike PC, have since died off. I imagine Healthline could rectify that quickly. I am happy when forums aren't fully closed or go the Facebook group route, like some. I am not a fan of Facebook, for very good reasons, I think.

I would assume Terms & Conditions of membership (and other rules) may possibly be stricter with Healthline than they've been here. Though I like many of Psych Central's comparatively lax rules, there are some I don't. My marketing background provides a perspective that some members here do not have. I'd surely assume that Healthline is aiming for a wider and more diverse active membership than PC. That likely won't suit everyone here now. Cultures change. Other offerings improve/widen. Yup, we gotta move forward with the times.

With the covid-19 pandemic, support groups are definitely looking different overnight, including former in-person groups. Mind-boggling!

I support any online resource and support provider that is forward-looking. New times have come!

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by Mountaindewed

Yay more Covid **** ups. I was wondering how things could get worse. And my mind kept thinking of PC. PC is basically all that is keeping me sane right now. And I’m still having a very hard time.

Aw, Md. It could be that Healthline will be really cool. They will probably combine articles on mental health with the forum.

[mugwort2]

For certain I hope healthline.com doesn't shut down the forums.

[susalie]

Hey doc! I don't know what to say or feel. I just started and I feel like I'm getting uprooted. But I'll wait and see.
Congratulations by the way! Since I've moved to the eastern shore, Doctors have been coming and going in my
life. So this is normal?

this really concerns me.

I have been a memberh here 8 years, and would hate (absolutely hate) healthline to ruin it- like change the layout, change the forum to a newsletter, etc etc.

I get emails from healthline in my inbox, too. I like reading their artickles

[sarahsweets]

Originally Posted by Soupe du jour

I would assume Terms & Conditions of membership (and other rules) may possibly be stricter with Healthline than they've been here. Though I like many of Psych Central's comparatively lax rules, there are some I don't. My marketing background provides a perspective that some members here do not have. I'd surely assume that Healthline is aiming for a wider and more diverse active membership than PC.

can you elaborate on this? I have only been here a year and a half or so so I am unfamiliar with how the forums have been over time. Why would things change with healthline to make it more diverse? I am just curious.

[*Beth*]

Some of the boards on PC are so slow that they're effectively dead. Maybe something will be done about that. Condensed boards or something.

I have no idea what "more diverse" means.

[lizardlady]

Change can be scary. Change during the pandemic is especially scary. I'm trying to have a positive attitude about this change. Like many others I hope the forums are left alone. I'm a single person living alone in the midst of Covid. PC is my only connection with the outside world some days.

Doc John, we go back to the days of your previous site. I'm afraid of what happened there happening at PC.

[Breaking Dawn]

I'm scared.

[sarahsweets]

Originally Posted by lizardlady

Change can be scary. Change during the pandemic is especially scary. I'm trying to have a positive attitude about this change. Like many others I hope the forums are left alone. I'm a single person living alone in the midst of Covid. PC is my only connection with the outside world some days.

Doc John, we go back to the days of your previous site. I'm afraid of what happened there happening at PC.

Can you tell me about that ? If not here then in pm?

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by lizardlady

Change can be scary. Change during the pandemic is especially scary. I'm trying to have a positive attitude about this change. Like many others I hope the forums are left alone. I'm a single person living alone in the midst of Covid. PC is my only connection with the outside world some days.

Doc John, we go back to the days of your previous site. I'm afraid of what happened there happening at PC.

Hi liz, what happened on the previous site?

[~Christina]

DocJohn,

I want to Thank you for all the amazing years you have offered to so many people.

You have put your heart, soul , blood,sweat , money and tears into such a wonderful site.

Glad your sticking around..

I for one am interested in any changes Heath line might make, I do not see them wrecking such a wonderful place to find support, welcoming people from around the world.

Thank you for taking time to consider who you feel will be the best for keeping this wonderful place running.

Much love DocJohn

[Breaking Dawn]

Thank you @~Christina! Beautifully said!

[Breaking Dawn]

Thank you, @DocJohn! I'm scared, but I'm very grateful to you for what we have here!!

Originally Posted by sarahsweets

I don’t know how I feel about this. I hope they don’t shut down the forums

DocJohn wrote in his post that Healthline taking over will not affect the community "...at first," and that if it does affect the community ever it will be hopefully for the better.

@DocJohn a lot of people seem worried here that the community / forum will go away under Healthline. I wonder if addressing this directly here / even reiterating what you have said could help reassure them.

[lizardlady]

Folks, I regret my comment about Doc John's previous site. I can't edit out now though. I'm sorry I upset people.

I'm not sure this is within site guidelines, but want go try and ease people's concern. Long after Doc John was no longer associated with that site there was a huge amount of drama involving a lot of members. It resulted in about half the members, myself included, left the site. It was disturbing and traumatic for me. My thoughts went to that as soon as I read Doc John's announcement about the sale. I'm still uneasy, old demons are lose and messing with my emotions.
HOWEVER, there are major differences from what happened back then. Doc John said he is going to be around for a year. I have faith he will keep us safe. We have an awesome group of admins and mods. They too will keep us safe. And PC is a strong, supportive site. I believe members will not allow what happened at that other place to happen here.

Again, I'm sorry for mentioning it in the first place. I'm really sorry I upset people.

Like I said in my first post, change is frightening. I'm nervous about the change. BUT we will get through this together. We have a kind, caring community here. We will help each other with the transition.

[Soupe du jour]

Originally Posted by sarahsweets

can you elaborate on this? I have only been here a year and a half or so so I am unfamiliar with how the forums have been over time. Why would things change with healthline to make it more diverse? I am just curious.

Some forums have a comparatively small community of regulars, in my view. It might be nice for the communities to grow more, have additional perspectives and experiences shared, and opportunities to expand online friendships. If Healthline keeps a forum, more participants can equal a great variety of topics/questions. That in my book would be greater diversity. It's not a "bad" thing.

If you go to the main Forum index, you can see that at any given time there are often more than a 100 viewing certain forums. And yet, there are far far from even 50 visiting on a regular basis. Obviously, there are always lurkers who never want to officially join, but getting more participants from those views is a nice thing and usually the website owner's goal. Healthline surely has a much further reach than PC does. Chances are, there would be more visitors. Whether or not some current members of PC would like the extra (new) people, is TBD. And let me be clear (opening phrase a la Kamala): Diversity is not just about countries. Again, what I'm describing relates more to ways of thinking, experiences, needs, and much more.

I am pretty sure Healthline won't keep future forums looking exactly as they currently do. I realize that may not suit all current members here, but c'est la vie. We must all move with the times.

I think DocJohn likely made a very good choice on this. As I wrote earlier, I also like Healthline's approach and purpose.

[MuseumGhost]

It's such an uncertain time we're in, right now. We all need reassurance, especially in times like these. I hope this is understood.

I hope you will keep us posted. I know I depend on this place very heavily, when things get rough for me, or I am simply feeling alone and alienated. It's a safe place. I feel I can be open without fear of being shunned, ignored, or harshly judged. And that's vital to getting better.

I'm glad you'll be around for a spell, Dr. John. That provides consistency and safety during a transition.

Thank you, and please stay in touch!

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by lizardlady

...We have a kind, caring community here. We will help each other with the transition.

Thanks for explaining, liz No need to apologize, though....what you've shared is very important; it helps mistakes from being repeated.

I'm a bit anxious, but also excited! Healthline has some terrific articles and info. If the forums are a bit different, I have a feeling the format will only improve. We'll all be okay