Post your tech glitches, errors, issues, etc. here.

Anonymous

What changes are you making so that security breach notifications are addressed immediately?

Will you drop plans to request our medical data because they require a higher level of security with greater consequences if breached?

DivineMrsM

Mods, thanks for letting me know I have to check a box to receive the mass emails you send to members. I went to My Settings and hope I clicked on the right box.

I find having only 10 posts per page disrupts my train of thought in following a thread. It’s very choppy. I wanted to go back an re-read the reply the Mods gave me, but I cannot remember how far back it was. Many times, I like to go back and read someone’s reply over again to refresh my memory, but with the formatting of the 10 posts a page, it’s often too time consuming. Overall, it makes me less engaged with the forum. I guess that’s something I truly preferred with the old format. Especially if a thread gets numerous posts a day, it was so nice to read a good amount of replies before “we interrupt your train of thought to move to the next page “ came up. Now it seems like that’s all I do.

Anonymous

I thought I’d try the official sign out method. It hangs after clicking on My account resulting in no change. Must be what Beesie and Minus have experienced several times.

Guess I’ll just go with closing the Private tab.

AliceBastable

Just because an organization is a not-for-profit, it does not make them above reproach or morally superior in any way. Some of them are merely playthings for board members and incompetent, ego-driven CEOs. Trust me, I speak from experience, since I spent most of my working life in that world. I am proud to have had a major part in ending the career of a corrupt CEO, and bringing accountability back to the board. The people running BCO are checking all the boxes for bad leadership where the recent issues are concerned, and they need to be fixed or replaced.

celia088

alicebastable--"that pile of horse manure posted by BCO. Have they been hiring some unemployed ex-White House press secretaries to come up with their messages? Because it's that kind of evade-deflect-minimize-lie non-explanation."

That is EXACTLY what i also felt and thought when i read that Mod post with the breach "explanation".

serenitystat--"BCO is trying to downplay the data breach".

You are so right.That is absolutely what that Mod post sounded like. We all know that data breaches are really serious issues that can cause problems for us for years. Not funny at all and not to be taken lightly as the mods explanation sounded. Offensive!!

divinemrsm--I have mostly posted in the In Memoriam thread for the last bunch of years, since my breast cancer experience was early on in the 18 years i have been on this board. I was mostly helped for years in the now-defunct Chatroom (and also the Boards) which helped so many panicked breast cancer patients in real-time. I decided after my treatment and surgeries that i wanted to give back to BCO by straightening out the In Memoriam thread that was such a mess at the time. The Chatroom got dumped in earlier platform change and has never come back.

Beesie

Well, the recent breach has achieved one thing.... it's increased the activity on the discussion board! The increased number of clicks will look good to the Board and to investors, and we know that's how BCO sell this site when looking for donations.

Sadieservant, I've been thinking more about your comment that you "sometimes wonder what outcome folks are looking for".

I certainly don't want BCO to go under / out of business, but having been on this site for 16+ years, and having seen redesign after redesign that has raised the ire of membership and made the discussion board less and less user-friendly, one outcome I would like to see is a big organizational shake up, possibly with a change in leadership. The same leadership has been in place since I joined this site, and I honestly don't think they understand their community, nor have they ever cared to. Sad to say, but that seems to be true. If you look at the BCO webpages that talk about the redesign, BCO emphasize over and over that "you asked, we listened" and that the redesign changes are "inspired by the community". But how can that be the case when not a simple board member has come forward to say that they were asked anything about the redesign? And how can that be the case when so many aspects of the redesign don't meet the needs of the community but in fact make it considerably more difficult to use the discussion board and navigate the main BCO site? This thread is full of complaints from the community about the redesign and the direction of the site; other than for the strictly IT issues, is there any evidence that anyone at BCO cares and is listening?

Given all that, the outcome I want is for BCO to do what they say, i.e. listen to and act on the community concerns. As a first step, acknowledge that the concerns of the community are legitimate. And then start addressing these concerns, both in the short-term with regard to the look and feel and navigation of the site (both the discussion board and the main site) and over the long-term with regard to the strategy. BCO said that these changes are based on input from the community, but has anyone in the community ever asked BCO for the ability to download private medical reports so that BCO can provide personalized recommendations? Does anyone in the community think this is a good idea? If not, why is this BCO's long-term strategy?

I've been here a long time. The outcome I am looking for is for BCO to go back to what they used to do well, which was the reason we all came here in the first place.

Anonymous

There certainly has been increased posting especially when the mods cross-posted multiple articles in a 2-hr period. We had pages of them.

I do not want BCO to handle private medical reports. It's been announced on the internet that BCO had a beginner-level security weak spot and is slooooowwww to respond to security threats. Having private medical reports would make them a higher-value target. Some of us would never upload our medical reports, but some would. Like COVID, one data breach does not lead to lifetime immunity. Constant Vigilance!

ThreeTree

Celia088 - I just want to add my agreement to your comments above, including what you've directed to other posters.

Alice - Great analogy about the former press secretaries having written some of this stuff! Sometimes I just cannot believe the hollow, glossed over, vague, and fluffed up, indirect and not to the point, writing that occurs with some of these organizations. Say what you mean and mean what you say!

As in one of my previous posts, and as Alice has mentioned, just because an organization is a non-profit, do not be fooled into thinking that they are necessarily ethical and that they approach all their business with "clean hands". Like I noted before, just as schools and youth programs can be hiding places for child abusers and pedophiles, non-profits can be hiding places for financial scammers, fraudsters, and those who do not have feelings and concern for others. Some non-profits are in super fancy office locations, with all the latest high tech equipment, have big fat salaries, catered lunches, etc., etc. Don't get me wrong, as I totally believe that people who do non-profit and charitable work should get market rate pay and have reasonable working conditions, but some of these places just take real advantage of that non-profit tax status and all the donations they receive. Anyone who simply assumes that because an organization is non-profit that they are "do-gooders" and above reproach, is naive. These organizations need t be watched just like any other. I am not specifically pointing a finger at BCO in this regard, as I do not know nearly enough about this operation to pass judgement overall, but no one should think that non-profit status alone confers and implies good works and good intentions on the part of the players.

Re what Beesie has said and I too have wondered in the past. Why doesn't BCO consult with the members about their needs, desires, and the what they see could be the future direction of the organization? I have not been here nearly as long as some, but in the 3-4 years that I have been here, I have never seen anything like a poll or survey of members in an attempt to get any sort of "feel" of where they are, what they would need and like, etc. The longer I've been on this site the greater the disconnect I have seen between the board and members. I get a sense that the "leadership" of this organization seems to think they know what is "best" for the members and that via talking amongst themselves and deciding amongst themselves, they will dream up ways to provide their "trusted guidance" for invalid and now "less than" "victims of breast cancer" or something like that. They seem to see us as damaged individuals who need their care and guidance. NOT!

I think it was TravelText who suggested an advisory board of members. I would second that idea, but I would go further and add frequent and routine polling and surveying of members regarding just how they see the organization and what their needs and desires are for future direction and more. BCO as it is now, just seems ridiculously out of touch with the very people they claim to "serve".

Sadiesservant

Hi Beesie,

I don’t want to spin this thread down a rabbit hole but thought I would clear up one potential misconception. I worked closely with the not for profit sector for 16 years, working in international development through a university. My role was to manage programs, making sure partners were sound and would deliver results. Since then, my job shifted to government where I continued to work with the sector. There are no rose coloured glasses here. I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly. 😊 My point was meant to say that no matter how deep their pockets, NFPs are always in a more precarious position than a corporation and things can change in a heartbeat. We had a recent example here in Canada where an NFP was almost decimated by a public scandal which was not entirely all of their doing. A lot of good work has been lost as a result.

As I indicated, I really appreciate those of you who are technically capable pointing out the issues and agree it’s important to make sure we are heard. (I think I was probably one of the first ones to post when they flipped the switch. If I recall, I think I called the new look an epic fail. LOL. This font/colour combo doesn’t work for my 60 year old eyes. Little did I know that things would implode after that!) My motivation for sticking with it is I just want to get back to a functional community. I need this place, particularly as my disease continues to progress. And I want to get back to supporting others by providing advice and guidance as you have done so admirably for so many years. I’ll help any way I can to get us there.

Beesie

Sadieservant, I think your point about non-profits should be directed at AliceBastable, and maybe Threetree, not me. I was not making any points about that.

To your statement, "My motivation for sticking with it is I just want to get back to a functional community", I would agree. I think that's what we all want. The problem is that I don't see BCO moving in that direction. The site is finally loading quickly but other than that, most of the problems that have come up since the launch of the redesign are worse, not better. Or the problems may appear to be resolved for a while, but then pop up again. Something isn't working here, and I think some of it starts with the direction and attention from the top, or should I say, the lack of direction and attention from the top.

Sadiesservant

Sorry Beesie. I am so sleep deprived on steroids that it’s hard to focus. It was more of a general comment as several mentioned not being taken in by NFPs. You were just handy as you referenced my post. Point taken. 😊

AliceBastable

One thing I noticed at the NFPs where I worked, and that might be the case here, is that the people at the top aren't willing to admit they don't have expertise in all areas needed to make an organization function well. This also seems to happen in for-profit entities that started as Mom & Pop businesses that grew in size but not in adapting to modern business norms. As an example, the largest NFP I was at had grown fairly quickly in a short time, but the people in the top positions had no real experience, as they'd been promoted from positions like art curators and archivists. But between egos and a reluctance to spend money on consultants, they were making decisions on things like computer systems. They relied heavily on a few staff members who claimed to be "good at computer stuff," but there was no way to check that. As a result, when the organization finally got large enough to need IT people, those people had to spend about a year untangling the mess the self-styled experts had made, before being able to move forward. This situation feels similar, in that the top people contracted with a design and implementation group without having anyone internal who was savvy enough to vet those contractors - and now they're too stubborn to admit the whole thing was a fiasco, because that would be admitting their own shortcomings. It's business screw-up 101, but they think they're being clever and none of us could possibly figure out what happened. 🙄

LW422

I have to ask... are the moderators bumping a lot of threads to make it appear that the site has more activity?? It's actually kind of "one more annoying thing."

Anonymous

Whew! Thought it was just me that found it annoying.

New rule: Posts by mods can’t take up more than 1/3 of the page. Slow your roll or give us more rows per page.

Moderators

Actually, Lw422, sharing Research News and Podcast episodes is something we have been routinely doing for many years, in the hopes it can get helpful information to those who need it. Thank you for your concern.

—The Mods

Anonymous

Sharing, yes, but not at this rate with all the cross posting.

Thanks for your concern.

Miriandra

Still not able to post images:

Well, I tried to post a screenshot (above) of a post with white spaces instead of the images I pasted in, but that image isn't loading here either. It shows up fine while I'm typing the message, and it shows up in the Preview mode, but does not show up in the final post.

Below, I'm trying to insert the picture using the toolbar function:

Ok, looks like the toolbar works. I saw the second image after the edit. Now that I'm editing again, the image has changed to a question box. We'll see if it restores the image or if it's gone.

Cowgirl13

Alice, you totally nailed it and your description was so clear. Thank you.

celia088

Mods:

I would like to know what Dr. Marisa C. Weiss MD thinks about the serious mess that this site has become, and also about the security breach with a 5 month delay in responding to security sites and not informing members about it. She is the FOUNDER OF BCO.ORG, and the director of breast radiation oncology and director of breast health outreach at Lankenau Hospital in the Philadelphia area. She is well-known in her field and in the media. I can't imagine that she would be pleased with the technical team's work so far, or the degenerating reputation of BCO.org. I wonder if she is in agreement with what the future plans for this site are, which has been somewhat explained by the mods to us.

Or is she just a figurehead at BCO.org?

ETA: I have been on BCO 18 years and have never been asked by the leadership what my opinion is about anything regarding this site.

TB90

I just signed in, no problem. I know that I am an IT moron so I don’t use most features and don’t spend much time surfing websites. I look for what I need and get out. I have noticed changes but even with my aging eyesight, can read everything from my small phone with ease. I might or might not love all the graphics but never have expected to on any website I go to. Numbers have decreased but there were serious issues here prior to these changes and numbers were already way down. I have a few other explanations as to why this may have been occurring. Make the best use of this site as the vast majority of users have done. Or go elsewhere. The relentless complaining is producing nothing helpful. None of us have entitlement despite how long we have been here. This is an option. Use it and accept it and hope for improvements or find alternatives. Like we do with friends, employment, doctors and grocery stores. Just be so thankful you have free choice and options.

Anonymous

tb90,

Since I am one of those relentless complainers, I'll reply. I hardly ever posted on this thread until March, so I can tolerate minor issues. I'm terrible at QC because of it.

We just learned of the data breach. As a self-described IT moron, your opinion on it is irrelevant. Many people want to use the features that you aren't. Why do you feel they should settle for the dysfunction when it worked before?

Why do you bother following this thread? I never did until March. If hoping things will improve on their own is enough for you, you should just block the thread as it doesn't help you.

BCO is still in the middle of making changes. If you're ok with more of the same, fine.

This is the thread to post glitches and errors. If you want to tell people how to settle with failure, then please start a new topic.

Thanks for your concern.

ThreeTree

tb90 - Yes, "elsewhere" is a possibility, but I don't want to go elsewhere. I would like to see this organization get back on it's feet and see the site restored to it's former functionality and usefulness. This was a great resource and I think it has the potential, with some work, to continue to be so. Suggesting that others simply go elsewhere because of existing problems is no help to BCO or it's members.

Moderators

Thank you, All. All opinions are relevant, when shared constructively.

We are 100% committed to providing a safe, supportive, vibrant community, with improved features and functionality. It takes time, but it is happening.

Anonymous

Mods,

I'm glad you are committed to providing a "safe, supportive, vibrant community as it was before".

But this week we, on this thread, just learned our data was not safe as it was in the cloud unsecured and that BCO ignored multiple notifications about the data breach for 5 months. The data may have been exposed since 2017.

You haven't answered my question on how you plan to respond quickly to security threat notifications in the future. Is that on anyone's radar at BCO?

You have been evaluating platforms. Does your tech team have the knowledge and experience to prevent the technical failures that occurred and still remain from the redesign implemented on March 1st?

Beyond the technical issues, the design is not at all easier to read or navigate for your target audience. This was one of the stated goals of the redesign. I love functional minimalism, but the redesign is weak on the functional part. Just because I can sign in doesn't mean other people can't continue to have access problems.

I want this site back to where I'm not wondering what's wrong with this site.

Anonymous

Oh, you removed the “as it was before “.

april1964

Do you know how I can delete my account? It takes sooooo for the content to load that I don’t want to be part of this anymore. I tried doing a “delete account” search but nothing helpful came up. Tia!

Anonymous

april1964 - I think you need to PM the mods. There's a link in their signature line. I'm sorry to see you go.

MinusTwo

April - we will miss you.

I too hate most that's going on with BCO. But as I've said before, I chose to be a part of BCO for the friendships & the memories & the assistance I got from all the wonderful members. And I fancied that I might actually have been helping some new members understand their diagnosis & problems in terms of my personal experience. I never intended to share my medical records, and if I'm researching cancer - BCO is only an extremely small part of my reading - which only includes medical facilities like Mayo Clinic & John's Hopkins & Dana Farber & MD Anderson & Stanford. I have also chosen NOT to be a part of any other on-line chat-rooms or forums or groups - like Facebook or LInked In or Twitter, etc. So without BCO, I won't be interacting on line with anyone except my long time friends via email. So I will hang around a little longer so see if this hot mess can be turned around.

Depressing, discouraging, frustrating, alarming - YES - but as someone else said before, the Mods are taking the brunt of all the criticism and are probably "ALMOST" as upset as we are - but they have no control either. And it appears unlikely that the powers that be are responsive to the MOD's advice anymore than they are to suggestions from long time members. Sigh!!

Moderators

We are addressing each of these points in regard to technology, safety, functionality and design. As we've said many times and hope you all know to be true, we're 100% committed to providing a safe, supportive, vibrant community. We are working toward improved features and better functionality with a new discussion forum platform. We only ask for your understanding - and thank you to those who are expressing this - that it takes time to do this work while managing the existing site. As mods, we are trying to stay focused on supporting the breast cancer-related issues and needs of people across this wonderful community. We appreciate the comments and concerns raised on this thread as they relate to reporting technology glitches and functionality issues. Thank you.

moth

one thing I think is an annoying glitch is that going to next or prev page loads it right at the top, above even the OPs post ( which is often already a long post). I'd prefer to arrive just below the OPs post, where the post pages are & the 1st response on that page

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