As many of you have noticed there’s been an interruption to service today with a new-look site that replaced the existing one. It was a big moment for HealthUnlocked - the changes come as a result of nine months of channeling feedback from 150,000 of our members who have come to us suggesting even better ways of communicating, sharing information and supporting each other.
Many today have been dealing with some of the early niggles and bugs and being very helpful with your feedback. We know how much many of you depend on this community. Heartfelt apologies if it has been a bit frustrating for some.
We guarantee:
- The new features will significantly improve what you can do in HU in future
- Other improvements will appear over the next weeks and months
- We won’t stop until we’ve ironed out any bumps
We ask for your help over the next few days:
- To let us know any issues you can spot at support@healthunlocked.com
- To bear with us. We’ll get there!
We’re a small team of people dedicated to making HealthUnlocked the best network around for managing your health online. Thanks for your understanding and being here to help us achieve that - it’s a group effort.
Apologies if I’m unable to answer individual comments here as we now have over 200 communities across the platform to communicate with.
Matt Jameson Evans
?HealthUnlocked Co-founder
Written by
matt
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26 Replies
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Hmmmm. Speaking tomorrow Matt. You haven't made users happy today ...
As a regular blogger to this site and didn't see anything wrong with it, why you have changed it is beyond my understanding, whatever has happened to tags and archive? If the site stays the way it is I shall no longer use it, as I feel it has been ruined to satisfy the needs of the few...and you have dessimated our nice friendly community...I find this so sad. from one very unhappy prolific blogger, why fix what isn't broken ?
Totally agree. It is now one of the most user unfriendly sites I have ever experienced. I think many people will have abandoned the attempt never to return. It would be hilarious if it wasn't so sad.
I liked the recommend button at first, but having tried it I think there's a flaw in that it doesn't show you who recommended the comments. I'd like that to be rectified.
I think the site will be fine. Just a matter of getting used to the new way of doing things.
My heart goes out to the HU team. I worked in PR for 20 years and this sort of thing is their worst nightmare. Just trying to see it from their side too.
xxxx love Annie
in reply to
Hi Gwyn,
I echo everything you said. I used to get great comfort coming on this site reading the blogs and questions as I never felt alone on this journey and I learnt so much from you amazing ladies. I am not daft and am capable of working things out but it seems more complicated and harder to get your head around. It doesn't have the same friendly feel, just my thoughts. I won't be coming on the site as much as I used to as before I could have a quick flick. Such a shame. Gill xx
Please don't leave us. It takes a bit of getting used to - and there have been some glitches. I'd hate to think we'd lose our friends because the site looks/behaves differently.
Hard to adapt when you're feeling poorly too. I'm sure we'll soon get the hang of it. xxx Love Annie
Hi Annie, don't know if you will get this reply as it won't be in the right place and no email saying I sent it!!! How can this be an improvement!! It's so disjointed just like me! I was going to post my weird bit of news but don't feel it's the same any more. Thought we were all one on here and here for each other. But heh, I shall keep on fighting my corner and looking at new things. I wish you and all the other brave lovely ladies the very best of luck. Love Gill xx
Dearest Eira Gwyn, as to other comments, please don't stop using the site. It really has improved already and I'm sure the problems will be ironed out soon.
I couldn'lt find you in the directory. I wanted to send you a PM. I've just created a PM that you can send to a whole group. I don't think that was available in the previous system - or perhaps it wasn't clear how it worked. Anyway I've sent a PM to 5 people in a group. I'm so delighted. Sometimes you don't want to ask a personal question or make a personal statement even to the community and you want to know who is reading your stuff. I'm so relieved we have this facility.
xxxx love Annie Actually xx
in reply to
Gwyn, I totally understand your frustration having spent all day trying to get into the site, finally having to change my browser to do so. Having said that, I think once we find our way around it it really doesn't look so very different from how it was before (so why change it?) bar the recommend button. The old site was a bit annoying too - remember the times when we tried to reply to something and our replies kept disappearing. Please don't you disappear. That would be too sad.
The responses are now harder to follow as the most recent appears first. When you are trying to follow a conversation you need to start at the beginning, same as when you read a book or anything else! It is very frustrating having to read blogs from the bottom to top! I also liked the old layout as you could quickly see both questions and blogs on the same page, and then select any new ones quickly. At the moment I am having problems getting into the main website, as it seems to open into a page with no options! I agree with Gwyn, this new layout could put many people off, including myself, as if it is too complicated to access, when you are feeling ill, you don't bother!
I'm sorry to read you're having so many problems with the site. I'm sure they will be sorted out very soon. Please don't be put off. It would be awful to loose our community now we've all made friends with one another. xx Annie
Yes that happened to me. In the end I clicked on Communities rather than home and I could read the posts and comment on them. I haven't been able to upload my own post yet.
Early days and teething problems I'm sure. xxx love Annie
I agree with everything that has been said- if the site stays like this I doubt if I will use it so often.I don't seem to be able to set my conversations to members only.
I don't know any other site including the large American Inspire where the conversation has to be read from bottom to top.navigation could be much easier.
I think it will become easier to use. There are one or two improvements I can see already. The messaging facility allows you to set up a group and have a private conversation and that's something I've felt was lacking before. I like the 'recommend' button as we can vote for comments that are helpful or we enjoy reading.
I'm sure once the glitches are ironed out it will be better. Just a shame to have launched it in this poorly state.
Can't wait for the email notification to be restored, and I wouldn't mind being able to upload a new photo as I've gone all blurry!!
Hope all is well with you. xxxx love Annie
Find it a total waste of time, difficult to load, read, etc.. Major problem is that is won't work on IE7, so HU is telling me which browser to use... Why didn't you let us know in advance???
Chrystyn, I bet that's something they can sort out straight away. I'm not sure whether the problems I'm experiencing are due to my accessing the site via Google Chrome or because there are still glitches. Bear with them. Please don't leave us!!!! Love Annie
Getting used to it, don,t like the posts (blogs) and questions being seperate and not shown on same page therefore probably lumping them all together under one heading of posts may be better
Erroir 404 msg when trying to open a post.
Scrolling up rather than down to read thread is annoying.
I'm so sorry the upgrade has been so problematic. Users don't find change easy so it's a shame the site has been launched whilst it has so many flaws. I can imagine how frightful this must be for you all in the Health Unlocked team. Sending you all hugs and a cup of tea. xxxx
OMG. I am not going nuts. It looks as though I've just had a rambling conversation with myself. I clicked on 'reply to this' to a number of your comments and all my replies have been clumped together at the end. Help!!!!!
I rather agree with Mary that it would be funny if it wasn't so bad. xxx
Well what can I say? I have had so many problems trying to even access the site. Finally I have managed to access it, but oh so many issues that need sorting. I think that just to hurl the changes upon everyone like this is poor service to say the least. Many depend on the forum for support at times when they are feeling particularly poorly and low. The last thing they need are problems getting in touch with one another. That said, maybe in the long run it will be better...time will tell.
Angie has tried to post but her comments seem to have got lost somewhere and while showing on her own feed are not there for all to read. She pointed out in that comment that there are two arrows at the start of a new blog which allows the user to change comments from oldest to new/newest to old etc. This makes it possible to read the blogs in a way with which we are more familiar.
I think there are many improvements already. Having worked in a PR team with a web services team I know just how hard it is to introduce an upgrade. People don't like change, they become upset if they can't find their way round and it is frustrating to have the new site with so many glitches. I think it might be glitches only appear once the site has gone live. Bear with HU. They are a fantastic bunch of people who have brought us an amazing forum. Where would we be without it.
I'm sure it will be better in the next hours/days.
It seems not everyone can even reply to posts. Angie is still having problems. If this reply appears ok its only because I changed my browser from IE to Firefox. When using the site with Explorer I can't even read my own post or your reply. Very confusing for many people I am sure.
Tried exploring the new-look site and can see some benefits, but tried searching for old posts by tags and couldn't find them grouped anywhere. I typed in 'poems' and saw a lot of MyOvacome ones but wanted, as an exercise, to find Gwyn's poems.......gave up in the end, I seemed to be going round in circles.
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from one very unhappy prolific blogger, why fix what isn't broken ? 
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