I like my gout support services to be easy to use.
When you are using GoutPal, I hope you find what you are looking for quickly and easily. The information about different aspects of gout is divided between symptoms, treatment, and diet. Each of those has its own forum, where you can clarify the information on GoutPal.com, or share your personal questions, experiences, and opinions.
If you cannot use any of my gout support services, then this forum is the place to ask how to use GoutPal, and to suggest improvements or additions to my services.
Before you post anything here, please take a moment to read the gout support services forum description.
I will add some general guidelines for posting to the forums soon, but if you are not sure about anything, please just ask.
Soon, you will be able to start new discussions about using GoutPal’s gout support services. For now, you can reply to existing discussions, so please use the reply box below.
Please wait before asking about using the forums. As you can see, I’m in the middle of regenerating them. If you have gout problems, just ask wherever you can, and I will answer as soon as I can. If you have forum problems, please wait until September 2012, to give me time to finish upgrading.
So, to get us started: What do you think about my gout support services? Can you use the GoutPal.com website OK?
Keith,
Is there trouble with the Forum?
I don’t think there is anything fundamentally wrong with the new gout forums, as they are being used by Hans, Gerwyn, and one or two others. On average, there is over one new post per day, so not busy, but definitely working. Are you subscribed to the forum update service? I believe this is important, so I’ve put a link and subscription form after every post, as below.
I believe that the instructions & help need to be clearer, and I will do this as I get time.
I’m also aware that the history is now very fragmented. I have kept the old Simple:Press forum messages in place, though I am slowly moving the useful contributions into this new format. I realize that the problems with that forum software pushed many people away, so it will take time to rebuild enthusiasm. The past few weeks have proved that technically, this new layout is faster. As soon as remnants of the old forum are out of sight and out of mind, I’m certain that things will be better.
Having said that, I have experienced technical issues with my hosting company, and I am moving to a new one soon. At the moment, I am comparing two different providers to try and assess reliability before I move. Are your issues with the gout forum to do with access, or to do with using it?
It seems that you have access to the gout support forum, as you have posted this contribution, but I am not sure what the exact issues are. I have moved your message about using the gout forum to this discussion, as I believe it is more appropriate. However, without a little bit more information about the problem, I am not sure what to do next.
Please could you describe your problem in a bit more detail. I’m sorry to trouble you for this information, but at the moment I feel a bit like trying to help someone with gout when I have no clue about their uric acid levels, gout history, current medications, or whether they are in pain or not.
This is sad. This use to be the best place to go for info on Gout. Now it’s hard to navagate. Very fustrating. I don’t understand why you had to lock up the old forums. I really miss being able read zips posts and reply to him and others. This place is a shell of what it once was. a friend of a friend posted on face book how bad her gout was hurting her. i was reluctant to give her this web site just because of the trouble in have getting around on here. If you realize this is turning people away why not retund to a set up that’s worked in the past. Limpy
Thank you for your continuing support, limpy.
The old Simple:Press forum is dead for reasons I’ve mentioned many times before. If someone wants to pay their support costs, and upgrade my web server to cope with it’s slow speed, then I will consider that as an option.
I believe my Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from April 2011 ( https://gout-pal.com/goutpal-on-the-mend/2011/04/ ) is almost cured, but I am awaiting a psychologist review to confirm this, and hopefully clear the odd concentration lapses that still remain. It is a pity that this has delayed improvements to my gout support services, but they will continue to get better.
I am aware that a few people want a traditional forum, and that is on the cards. Had it not been for my PTSD coupled with my wives recent unfair dismissal, and an inappropriate eviction notice, this would probably be active by now. I’d like to think it will happen in a few weeks, but you should not be surprised if it takes a year. The stress of employment tribunals and house moving is not as serious as my diminishing PTSD, but it is still a distraction.
Gouties everywhere should know that I will always put their problems above anything else. I am proud to have counseled thousands of gout sufferers over the years. If your friend cannot cope with this website, I also give help on my Facebook GoutPal page, and my Google+ GoutPal page. Other people have praised the new easy to use “Ask Now” format, but it clearly does not suit everyone.
In order to try to please more people, I will be extending the choices. I am committed to make the “Ask Now” features even easier to use. I am planning to introduce a personal gout planning service where members can track individual problems to completion. I will reintroduce a traditional style forum just as soon as I’ve finished testing it.
Many new features are on the way, so please be patient. Perhaps you could help me with a prioritized list of what matters to you, then I can give better emphasis. I’ll do anything I can to encourage you to post about gout rather than posting about what a complete mess I’m making. 🙂
Keith, I must agree with Limpy and as you know, I have commented on your new forums as well, however, I am not here to warm up old hash-over’s. I, myself, was not as well aware of your own personal tribulations. I apologize and do hope that you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I know what Limpy means, wants and what we need: The OLD (original) forum was like an AA meetings group/ People came together to pour out their hearts, troubles, and frustrations. They were heard, counseled, empathized with, and above all: being understood. YOU made THAT possible. And YOU got many gouties to chime in and help. WE were a FAMILY. We believed each other. We trusted each other. And that’s how we helped and healed each other. I AM ONE OF YOUR SUCCESS STORIES!!! I haven’t had a gout attack in nearly two years and have been able to keep my UA levels near 5+/- 1 mg/dL
That’s no longer the case. The HUMAN element is no longer present. The accumulated gout knowledge has been organized, categorized, classified into COLD facts. The sick, weak gout baby can no longer suck the warm, nourishing milk from the mother’s tits, but instead is being told to get his/her cold, with vitamin D fortified, 2% milk out of the fridge him/herself.
Keith, YOU were that universal mother who cared and nourished us sick, gouty babies. To my knowledge, there is NO other PERSON on this globe who has done for gouties what you have done. And yes, you still are trying to help, however, I am not so sure if the “milk” you are trying to feed to the gouties goes down their throat, if at all, as easily, as comfortably as the early “milk”.
Thank you for your encouragement Hans. That is exactly what I needed to read, and I will respond to it as quickly as I can.
I will get this back to human scale, but I need an injection of New Mexico good humor if I’m to tolerate limp dicks who do nothing but kvetch.
That human enough? 🙂
I promise to be a better tit in future
i agree with you hansinnm, i started out on here last January, and thanks to this site my uric is under 310 from over 600. My rheumatologist (thank god i found her) has just witten a follow up report to my GP saying how well i am doing….and to quote her “given that there was such a struggle to get this controlled” she will do another follow up review ” as i spoke to her saying that i double dosed to get up to 600mg without Docs knowledge as THIS SITE said i had to get it to low levels below that of the “doctor textbook” range….so i said can i have another review in a year as my doc didnt know what it was for about 6 years !! I am now only getting uric acid dissolving attacks which are not anywhere near as bad as the full on gout attacks……my lumps on my elbow, hand and ankle have gone or reducing ..and my knees are working at 80% compared to 50%………….THIS IS THANKS TO THIS SITE AND THE OLD FORUMS….BIG THANKS TO KEITH….please can we get our old styleee forum back ??
Because Simple:Press forum software is very difficult to manage, requires support to be paid for, and consumes massive web-server resources, I am reluctant to bring it back. However, I will not deny gout sufferers if they really need it. I need $447 per year to cover costs. Those who are prepared to pay towards this should make a commitment here, stating how much they are willing to pay. If $447 is pledged, I will contact you individually to collect the money. then switch it back on. If someone would like to write a compelling article that encourages other people to join in and pay for the old forum, I will publish it on the main GoutPal.com website, which is much more widely read.
I should point out that I will be unlikely to contribute to the old style forum, as I am committing my time to provide other ways to help gout sufferers which I believe are more productive.
I was willing to contribute $100, hoping that there would be enough “old” gouties to contribute the rest, however, Keith, with your statement as to where you stand regarding the old/original forum I doubt very much that enough money will be pledged. I think, you very much have rendered this issue academic/mute.
Hans, your generosity never fails to astonish me – time, effort, and now, money.
It was precisely for the benefit of generous people like you that I made that point. I do not want to mislead you.
I have made it very clear in several places and at several times that Simple:Press is rubbish, and I will move away from it. We are using an alternative right here and now to discuss this boring issue. I am committed to make this alternative better – I have some ideas for features, and I would appreciate ideas from other people.
Elsewhere, this discussion/forum/chat/call-it-what-you-will software is driving an interesting discussion from a newcomer Marc, and a long-time contributor, hawkeyez. Both these cover aspects of gout that spark my curiosity and imagination. Neither include moans about any difficulties encountered whilst posting.
Every member of this forum should know that I will move heaven and earth to help fellow gout sufferers, and I will move heaven and earth to provide better gout support facilities. All that members need to do is explain their difficulties. They do not need to suggest improvements, though that is always welcome. What they should never do is moan like a limp dick.
That is the third message of similar content that he has posted since August. Never any explanation of specific difficulties. Never any follow-up to my responses. Just plain rudeness.
How on earth does that help fellow gout sufferers? I now strongly suspect he is working for, or owns, a competitors website. We’ve had it before. Wont these people realize that I will work with anybody who has the best interests of gout sufferers at heart. I am happy to help promote other good quality resources. They clearly have only their own interests at heart.
I accept that this selfish ranting is on the same low level as his. But at least my selfish ranting is better written. 😉
One final point that I should have made earlier. In response to ” If you realize this is turning people away why not retund to a set up that’s worked in the past. Limpy”
I assume you mean “return”, not “refund”
Since moving away from Simple:Press, visitor numbers to GoutPal Interactive have increased by over one third, and are now over one quarter million per year.
What happened, Keith? Among your tribulations did you also have a mastectomy since you promised one tit only?
🙄 ❗