Want advice on the board? You must answer this?

[Deleted User]

zappster1966 wrote: »

Well, I disagree. It grates.

Combine that with a new DWP security directive which bans employees from posting as such on chatrooms, forums etc ... and which threatens serious misconduct charges, instant dismissal ... and I'm offski. It's just too much grief.

Good fortune to the many regulars on the Benefits board.

Thats a great shame but understandable,thanks for the advice you have given in the past and best wishes for the future.

Oldernotwiser

woodbine wrote: »

Of course we must remember that MSE has nothing to gain from the benefits board,or is that me being cynical?

What does MSE have to gain from any board?

OrkneyStar

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

What does MSE have to gain from any board?

Surely part of money saving expert is maximising income ?
By (correctly) accessing benefits you are maximising your income ?
Also be claiming benefits you are entitled to you are increasing your chances of being able to keep up with other essential commitments ?
Just my thoughts.
Anything which ensures people are obtaining the benefits they are entitled to (and not more or less) is only a good thing. (Whether they should be entitled to the benefits is a discussion for Money Savers Arms-Discussion Time of course!).

Former_MSE_Andrea

Hi guys

The list of questions sounds a great idea, it would make it much easier for the regulars answering questions to point people in that direction.

If one of you would like to do it just pop me a pm when it's done and I'll take a look and make it sticky if it looks like it really could help people.

You probably already know we try to keep sticky threads to a minimum of 5 to 7 on all boards so people can find the new threads easily but I think there are one or two on here that can be unstickied or combined with these ones.

Again, the same goes for the ones you've suggested dmg24, in the same way we'll need to see what's in them first but if they can be combined into the same thread as somebozo's so we're still minimising stickies then that would be great. Do have a look at the current stickies though, eg Fran's, so you're not duplicating and possibly wasting your time.

On some of the other points, this kind of question would be passed on to one of the MSE Team by the BGs anyway so it's always best to either post it on the Site Feedback board where we would see it quicker (although wouldn't necessarily manage to answer very quickly and do remember we have weekends at MSE Towers too!) or pop one of us a pm about it (we've only seen this because someone sent the link to abuse@).

About AEs - to reiterate, we remove the posting privileges of alter egos if they're causing issues. We're quite happy for someone to use a different username to their usual one if it's for privacy reasons only.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

Get back to me with some links when you're ready.

Andrea

dmg24

Thanks Andrea, but you seem to be missing some pretty strong feedback here.

The great majority of the current stickies are completely out of date, and therefore have very little purpose. My feedback on the current stickies is as follows (though I appreciate others will have different opinions):

Sticky: tax credit overpayments new report published

Posted in 2005, now is more of a discussion and few people actually receive any help.

Sticky: Quick Benefits Check

Another old thread (2006), links are out of date. I know it is started by Martin, but apart from the link to entitledto (which could be included in Bozo’s thread), the thread is pretty much dead. Even when people do post on there, it usually makes more sense to start a new thread.

Sticky: 5 minute benefit check up Article Discussion Area

As above.

Sticky: Welcome! Fraud, Discussion and Benefits

Does this say anything that Martin’s thread (below) does not? If so, can an extra line not be added to Martin’s thread?

Sticky: Its about helping people get their entitlement! Not about benefits policy!

Possibly the only current one that we do still refer people to!

Sticky: FAQ's Benefits, Tax Credits & Jobseeking
Sticky: *USEFUL LINKS*

Completely out of date (last updated two years ago). Also, an FAQ should not be a list of links. People need concise answers to the basic questions, not a link to another website or somewhere else on MSE to dredge through.

The idea of adding on beginners guides to the various benefits after Bozo's questions is not going to get people to read them. People click on the Benefits board wanting to know about e.g. JSA, and therefore they want to see a thread saying 'JSA', not 'A quick bit of info after the questions that I might want to answer if the quick bit of info does not answer my question'.

Out of the current stickies, I strongly feel that the only one of any value is Martin's introduction to the board. If all of the others were updated and made more user friendly, that would be fantastic. However, that cannot be done without some input from the owners of those threads.

I am still more than willing to help put some guides together, and I am sure that others are also. However, I am not willing to put my time and effort into something that is going to be stuck somewhere no one will see it.

In summary (and before I go and eat some more chocolate), my suggestion for the stickies would be as follows:

* It's about helping people get their benefits entitlement! Not about benefits policy!
* Welcome to the board, including linky to entitledto and Bozo's Questions (Phrased as he wishes )
* Jobseekers Allowance and Income Support
* Housing Benefit and Local Housing Allowance
* Disability Benefits
* Tax Credits

Less stickies than we have now!

SomeBozo

Andrea, I concur with all dmgs points.

Bozo

Oldernotwiser

OrkneyStar wrote: »

Surely part of money saving expert is maximising income ?
By (correctly) accessing benefits you are maximising your income ?
Also be claiming benefits you are entitled to you are increasing your chances of being able to keep up with other essential commitments ?
Just my thoughts.
Anything which ensures people are obtaining the benefits they are entitled to (and not more or less) is only a good thing. (Whether they should be entitled to the benefits is a discussion for Money Savers Arms-Discussion Time of course!).

I didn't mean MSE members and I don't think Woodbine meant that either; I meant MSE the website. (Apolgies Woodbine if you meant something different.)

bestpud

dmg24 wrote: »

Thanks Andrea, but you seem to be missing some pretty strong feedback here.

The great majority of the current stickies are completely out of date, and therefore have very little purpose. My feedback on the current stickies is as follows (though I appreciate others will have different opinions):



The idea of adding on beginners guides to the various benefits after Bozo's questions is not going to get people to read them. People click on the Benefits board wanting to know about e.g. JSA, and therefore they want to see a thread saying 'JSA', not 'A quick bit of info after the questions that I might want to answer if the quick bit of info does not answer my question'.

Out of the current stickies, I strongly feel that the only one of any value is Martin's introduction to the board. If all of the others were updated and made more user friendly, that would be fantastic. However, that cannot be done without some input from the owners of those threads.

I am still more than willing to help put some guides together, and I am sure that others are also. However, I am not willing to put my time and effort into something that is going to be stuck somewhere no one will see it.

In summary (and before I go and eat some more chocolate), my suggestion for the stickies would be as follows:

* It's about helping people get their benefits entitlement! Not about benefits policy!
* Welcome to the board, including linky to entitledto and Bozo's Questions (Phrased as he wishes )
* Jobseekers Allowance and Income Support
* Housing Benefit and Local Housing Allowance
* Disability Benefits
* Tax Credits

Less stickies than we have now!

Looks good to me. Covers all the major stuff and will be easy to spot.

OrkneyStar

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I didn't mean MSE members and I don't think Woodbine meant that either; I meant MSE the website. (Apolgies Woodbine if you meant something different.)

Am confused now .
Not sure if we are talking at crossed purposes or not, but to save taking this way off topic I am happy to remain confused on that one lol!

Ulala_2

Wouldn't it be better if the Benefits related threads were in the one place ? At the moment they're scattered here, Disability & Dosh, Redundancy etc etc. It's all a bit of a muddle.