Too Many ED Posts.....

Certain parts of CC have become overrun with ED posts.  Used to be that these posts were tolerated if the poster was in active recovery and seeking support.   Now I believe that the rule... "Promotion of starvation diets or habits that exhibit signs of an eating disorder ("pro-ana", "pro-mia", etc.) is prohibited"  is no longer being upheld vigorously enough and several boards, notably 'Health & Support', 'Young Calorie Counters' and 'Maintenance', are just becoming talking-shops for people who are already underweight, undereating, swapping symptoms, swapping tips and tricks for avoiding eating, and have no intention of any kind of recovery.

It's reaching offensive/disturbing/dangerous levels and is becoming offputting for CC members who do not have an eating disorder, in my opinion.  They will check out some posts and conclude that CC is not for them... it's only for people with eating disorders.  They will walk away rather than post their problem.  And that would be a huge pity and do a huge disservice to what is a very good resource for 'healthy and sustainable weight management'.

I'd like the mods to be a lot tougher in reinforcing the rules and lock down these ED threads more quickly.  Get the website back to where it was.

i agree

as yet another girl recovering from an ED, i considar myself to be actively recovering.  i see too many posts of ppl who i do not believe want to recover as well as those who are promoting what they beleive to be healthy lifestyles, when they are anything but.

i think its very very sad, especially the young children posting, i really dont understand and i hope that their parents r their schools catch on to their thoguhts+actions quickly.

omg that thread was pathetic rebecca. the size 0 size 2 deal.

thanks for saying this gi-jane.

I know wg! I was actually thinking about some other members when I posted that comment, but now that you bring that to my attention......

when someone says that all women can be a size 0-2 and then refers to the holocaust as a good example of weight loss I would definitely say they had pro-ana ideas!!!

As a relatively new member (March, 2009), I was taken in by some of the ED posts, since I had no personal experience with the disease.  I now simply avoid the Health & Support forums, and try to avoid the ED postings in Hot Topics if I recognize them soon enough. I find that I just don't have the information to help the folks who are really looking for help, and I have no patience for the others.

I don't know how GI-Jane continues to offer the sane, mature advice she does, over and over again.  Thanks, Jane!

Although there have been a high rate of ED related posts lately, overall this website is not an 'eating disorder site' and I think it's unfair to Calorie Count to say that. The large majority of people on this website are NOT suffering from an eating disorder - they are here to maintain or lose weight. Remember there are well over 1,000,000 Calorie Count members and certainly not all are active posters on the forums.

However, Calorie Count does not turn away those who have eating disorders but are in active recovery. So yes, there are threads which talk about eating disorders, and they are not against posting guidelines.

As moderators, we try our best to read every thread and moderate when necessary within the guidelines set forth by the site owners and administrators. When the guidelines are violated, we take action. Trust me, this is a very active job, requiring much of our VOLUNTARY time, and nothing is not thought of very carefully before acting.

That being said, we do miss things sometimes and this is where we depend on the readers to use the "report violation" button to let us know when something is against PGs. As soon as one of us logs in, we attend to any violations. If there is a delay in response it usually means it is being decided on by more than one moderator whether it truly needs moderation. If it's against PGs usually the threads get locked (sometimes deleted in extreme cases) but if it isn't there isn't much we can do but try to get involved in the dialogue ourselves (which we nearly always do!)

We really do our best, but we are human afterall!

The H&S forum is a forum for any Health & Support related topics. Sometimes it does get a bit ED heavy but that comes in cycles. And as readers you can always help by not responding to the threads which you find objectionable and becoming a more active member in the forum raising other "non-ED" topics at will.

Anyway, I think active discussion about these topics are good and healthy and hopefully it drives the message of what is and is not welcome on Calorie Count! I will certainly alert the site administrators to this discussion and hopefully ultimately you all will remain faithful CCers! We need you guys!

I would like to second what nycgirl has stated already.

when a post is in violation of CC guidelines please flag it so that we are made aware that it is offensive. We try our best to provide information that clearly discourages unhealthy behaviors but we cannot prevent people from posting.

As a former ED sufferer I am well aware of the anxiety and psychological turmoil that arises when trying to recover. Unfortunately some people are not in the right frame of mind to accept the advice that is given to them but the beautiful thing about this community is that we are just that, a community. We provide advice and ultimately it is up to the poster to follow the advice.

We would love to hear suggestions for remedying the situation because complaining about the content and nature of some of the concerns that ED recoverers have isn't going to make it go away and since we do want to promote healthy weight management it's important that we acknowledge their needs as well. The posts that are clearly in violation are usually locked, but if you suspect a violation then please send a PM to any of the moderators of that thread and flag it.

I apologize for any bad feelings and discouragement that you have all felt while reading these posts and we will continue to do our best to ensure that they are attended to.

I know it's not ideal, but if yall are upset with the ED-related posts, then stay away from the Health & support, Young calorie counters, and weight gain forums. Frankly, my personal needs don't apply to all of the forums, and when I read forums such as weight gain it's simply bc I'm bored. I would imagine some of you don't fit into the weight gain forum, so just stay away from it. Again, it's not ideal but it seems to be the only solution at the moment.

I think it's hard to determine whether someone is in active recovery or not. I know when I'm recovering something emotional, I likely have relapses. I would imagine it's kind of the same for an ED-recovery - just because they still struggle with ED issues doesn't mean that they aren't in active recovery.

Recovery is a process...those in it will have their ups and downs. I see the health and support forum as a way to encourage and support those who are struggling. A little encouragement goes a long way. It's funny how sometimes a compliment on CC can really make my day. And I hope that if I encourage someone who's struggling, then perhaps they'll have more hope. 

I think it's wrong when someone says "I eat 800 calories a day and love the way I look" - they obviously have no intent of recovery. But if someone says "I want to get better but the ED voice tells me to keep starving myself," then they do want to recover, they just are lost and confused.

With that being said, it does irk me when someone has a weight goal of under BMI of 18.5. Those topics should definitely be deleted. But then again it also irks me when someone has a weight goal of over a BMI of 25 (not including those with very low BF%). Hypocritical much? 

I think a lot of the problem could stem from the fact that some of the mods themselves are ED sufferers or ex-sufferers.   Whilst appreciating that this gives them a rounded view and yes, that they are 'only human' there is a big difference in the perception of what is normal from someone with that medical history than someone without..... and a bigger tendency to give the benefit of the doubt as a result.

I would ask that the mods play it with a straight bat and consider the majority of members rather than always accommodating the minority.  'If in doubt, lock it out'

 

 

Original Post by gi-jane:

I think a lot of the problem could stem from the fact that some of the mods themselves are ED sufferers or ex-sufferers.   Whilst appreciating that this gives them a rounded view and yes, that they are 'only human' there is a big difference in the perception of what is normal from someone with that medical history than someone without..... and a bigger tendency to give the benefit of the doubt as a result.

I would ask that the mods play it with a straight bat and consider the majority of members rather than always accommodating the minority.  'If in doubt, lock it out'

 

 

 I have to agree with gi-jane here.  I don't go into the weight gain/health and support forums purposely b/c I know those are the ideal places for people with ED to discuss and I don't have a problem with that.

What I do have a problem with is the PRO ED posts that seem to be popping up left and right in the weight loss forums.  Posts about how everyone can be a size 0 and a 2 and using the holocaust as a good reason why everyone can be that.  Or the random babble and fad diety crap avoid 9 different food groups troll posts from "b_e" that just feed the ED posts even more.

That being said, I love this site.  I'm just staying in the lounge mostly right now.

There are guidelines...the definition of a guideline is to have a rule to follow using your best judgement.  Moderators do the best that they are able to at the time that they are able to.  Often we are able to work collaboratively, just as often we're the only one on the boards making a decision, sometimes mods disagree, shocking I know, sometimes we're tired and just don't have the right words to approach a poster.  Ultimately it is up to our members to set the tone of the boards.  If a post is against guidelines and you feel that it is going to continue in a detrimental manner, report it for violation, that is the fastest way to get mod attention at any given time.  If a post is something that you can weigh in on and want to, then by all means do.  Sometimes you are actually able to get through to someone in ED recovery or on the slippery slope.  Although our members do not have the ability to lock or delete posts, many of you are just as if not more articulate as our volunteer moderators.  Speak up and post or use your violation flags please.

(For those of you that it interests, I've never had an ed and in fact have always been just a few pounds heavy, and I'm posting on my first coffee break of the day)

Sara

Volunteer Moderator

Volunteer - a person who performs a service willingly and without pay.  For those who still don't quite understand, this means that we're online at various times of the day or night with our own computers however wonderful or bad they might be -moderating via blackberry is not easy - checking the boards on work breaks, lunch hours, before going to sleep, on waking up or whenever we can squeeze in the time.

Original Post by gi-jane:

I think a lot of the problem could stem from the fact that some of the mods themselves are ED sufferers or ex-sufferers.   Whilst appreciating that this gives them a rounded view and yes, that they are 'only human' there is a big difference in the perception of what is normal from someone with that medical history than someone without..... and a bigger tendency to give the benefit of the doubt as a result.

I would ask that the mods play it with a straight bat and consider the majority of members rather than always accommodating the minority.  'If in doubt, lock it out'

 

 

 Jane, we still have rules to follow as moderators.  We can't just go locking everything that offends someone.  If that were the case, we'd be locking everything.  Some of the eating disorder posts are not all black and white.  From a CC'ers perspective I understand how you might think so.  But from a moderator's perspective it isn't always so.  We still want to give the poster the benefit of the doubt.  If we think we can help them, we'd like to try.  but I think that we do a pretty good job of shutting down the ones that are too far gone.

Of course, if you disagree, you are free to do that.  But just know that we aren't going to please everyone.  You think we under-moderate.  Other's think we over-moderate.  We are never going to please everyone, but I think we usually do a darn good job of trying to find some sort of happy medium.

As always, if you don't think that we are addressing your concerns properly, feel free to contact the site administrators at the very bottom of your screen by clicking the "contact" button.

For those of you who do read the ED related posts.  Please do not just throw out "you're not healthy" or something similar on the thread.  Just flag it for violation unless you have something pertinent to the thread.  When you start posting accusations, it derails the thread, leaving a trail of off topic and defensive posts to be evualated and perhaps deleted, creating more work for the moderators that we do have.

I know you're frustrated, so am I, but your frustration on these post really does create more of a workload while not doing much if anything to assuage your frustrations.  With help from our members either from educational posts or simply bringing threads to our attention, we can probably get the boards back on track.

bumping this b/c it seems to be a problem again...

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I definitely agree with this.  As someone who only joined CC in the last few months, let me say that initially I was overwhelmed at the number of posters who seemed to be using this site as a means of bragging about how little they ate and how dangerously thin they are.  At first, I had the impression that that's what this site was about.  

I don't know what's to be done about it, though.  I've seen many intelligent and compassionate people post responses to these kinds of posts with all the right advice and it doesn't seem to get through.  Should such posters be banned?  

Should such posters be banned?

as a non-moderator, my answer would be only if they are persistent and flagrant.

Should the threads of triggering posts be locked and then removed altogether?

Yes.

ED is hard. In spite of being suppressed in recovery, the ED voice will win out every now and then. So, in order to support these good people that are facing a very difficult task, we should not ban them.

For those that have no intention of admitting that there is a problem with a bmi of under 18, there are lots of places where they can go to get the affirmation they keep asking for - and they know where to go, yet are posting here. They do so because they seem determined to prove that what they are doing is healthy and good.

 

I do find ED posts to be disturbing, especially the teens. They are not fully formed physically or mentally and they are doing so much damage to themselves.

Surely people with such a skewed image of themselves do not belong on a site that is not designed for or prepared to deal with ED. They could so easily fuel their illness with comments made by people dealing with everyday issues of weight loss & health.

Surely there are sites that are better suited to address their issues. Why not direct these folks to the right place?

Original Post by feljones:

I do find ED posts to be disturbing, especially the teens. They are not fully formed physically or mentally and they are doing so much damage to themselves.

Surely people with such a skewed image of themselves do not belong on a site that is not designed for or prepared to deal with ED. They could so easily fuel their illness with comments made by people dealing with everyday issues of weight loss & health.

Surely there are sites that are better suited to address their issues. Why not direct these folks to the right place?

I agree 100%.  You said it perfectly.

They are directed to appropriate places. That they don't just do that is likely a function of the ed.

I find this especially frustrating as I am trying to gain weight, and the 'weight gain' forums are over-run with ED rather than what I'm trying to acheive: lifting weights, eating more protein, and eating well. I find it hard to post my questions as I don't think they'll be well received or even acknowledged in the weight gain forum, but I think they're also slightly irrelevant in the 'fitness' forum - although this is where I tend to post them as I know I'll get well-informed and valuable answers.

Original Post by runjenrun:

I find this especially frustrating as I am trying to gain weight, and the 'weight gain' forums are over-run with ED rather than what I'm trying to acheive: lifting weights, eating more protein, and eating well. I find it hard to post my questions as I don't think they'll be well received or even acknowledged in the weight gain forum, but I think they're also slightly irrelevant in the 'fitness' forum - although this is where I tend to post them as I know I'll get well-informed and valuable answers.

 If you're trying to gain weight the healthy way and you're already a healthy weight, then I think you'll be well-received in the fitness forum.