Posted by Joey on November 1, 2001, at 1:55:16
In reply to How do you decide what to trust?, posted by Dr. Bob on October 30, 2001, at 1:56:11
> > Hello. I just joined this board, and I usually trust people whose semantic or language "cues" seem credible or authentic. For me, I usually trust those who are to-the-point, consistent in their thoughts, or who really resonate to what I wrote.
From an ethical point of view, I try very hard to use the pronoun "I" as much as possible to get accross that it's just my own, personal point of view. And in the world of psychiatric medication, I have never found this to me more true; namely, that everyone has different bodily reactions to medications, as well as ways of dealing with their own psychosis. I have personally found it helpful to be in this group because one, it's structured very well; two, I have found people who are going through the same things I am, even if they don't seem to know what to do--just the fact that they're out there helps; three, I have found it easy to trust some of the voices coming across on this board and was introduced to some ideas I hadn't even thought of.
I think that as long as people are aware of the risks encountered when non-professionals are expressing their opinions about serious matters, I think it's okay; however, I don't think it would hurt to also advise non-professional writers on boards like these that, due to the serious nature of these groups, that they respect the medical histories and complexities facing others.
Hope things go well in Washington. And thanks for creating this board. It personally helped me out.I'm supposed to say something [in Washington next week] about: (1) how aware patients in online support groups are of the various online ethics and quality initiatives, (2) to what extent those initiatives influence their use of online resources, (3) what other methods they use to decide whom to trust, and (4) the ethics of facilitating such groups.
> >
> > Any comments on any of the above? (Remember, these are comments I might present.)
>
> Or, looking at it another way, I'd be curious:
>
> 1. From the perspective of someone looking for information, how do you decide what information to trust? What leads you to trust a web site? Another group member?
>
> 2. From the perspective of someone providing information, do you just pass it on, or do you try to present it in a certain way?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Bob
poster:Joey
thread:82639
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011025/msgs/82837.html