Forum Undergoing Name Change & Reformatting

[EchelonHunt]

This forum is currently undergoing reconstruction, please be patient!

Wait, why is this happening?

As most of you who were here from the beginning may know, this forum was originally created to be a safe space for Non-Binary folks to discuss matters as our voices were silenced due to military moderators on Susan’s who believed binary transgender people were superior, more important to NBs.

There was also the issue of acceptance of NB folks and their diversity in which they transition or may not transition. A select few binary transgender folks over at Susan’s began to “encourage” NB folks to pursue full-transition, at the cost of their life and losing their family.

I created this forum and called it Non-Binary Support Forum and somewhere along the line, someone mentioned adding Trans Folk to the title, I can’t remember who but it doesn’t matter. It happened. And along the way, I made the mistake of having this forum mirror Susan’s Place, which is predominantly transgender focused.

So, what's wrong with that?

I believe the forum fell into the trap becoming too transgender focused. There are abundance of transgender support groups and forums aside from Susan’s Place, and there are many more on FaceBook. I don’t want this forum to become one of the same of the hundreds of transgender support forums that are already out there on The World Wide Web. There is already a severe lack of Non-Binary support forums just solely supporting NB folks.

It also feels like the forum had been turned into a hub for ex-Susan’s Place members to hang out at, this forum is leaving behind it’s history of Susan’s Place, as a result, I wanted to reformat the forum to be more NB friendly and much less focus on transgender folks, those transgender sections (like Transsexual, FTM, MTF, etc.) are pretty much barren anyway.

It is my wish to bring this forum back to its original intention. I firmly believe that new members come here, expecting to find abundance of NB resources and help and then they see that the forum is overwhelmingly transgender focused, thus leaving or remaining guests.

What will change?

The logo will be changed to say Non-Binary Support Forum.

Instead of there being a Community Discussion with categories of Non-Binary, Transgender, Transsexual, MTF, FTM etc. Community Discussion will have categories of Non-Binary, Gender, Social, Medical (Transition) & Visibility*. There will be a new board that will be titled Transition/Medical Resources, containing Transgender and will contain sub-categories of the sticky threads I have complied together for FTM and intend to create for MTF. The Transition resources section will be locked as they are just that, resources. Members rarely comment in these sections, at least, not to the frequency of Non-Binary section, as it is which I feel won’t be a huge loss.

Writer’s Desk will be condensed into one section with subcategories. Again, these sections are rarely being used now so it’s taking up unnecessary space on the main forum page.

*This new section I will be adding, Visibility is something I hd thought of last night and would love to do. I have wanted to do Youtube interviews with NB folks on Youtube, such as Milo Stewart & Noah, Britta L, Skye ID, Chandler Wilson, just to name a few. It would give my channel and their channel visibility and also added visibility by sharing the interviews in the Visibility on the forum. I will also be doing Youtube videos, touching on NB topics, both general and controversial, I may ask the aforementioned NB individuals for their input.

The news station will be undergoing a huge revamp. I intend to have there be discussion threads for certain topics (e.g. Politics, Bathroom Bills, etc.) to reduce the amount of comments left on articles that are posted everyday. In my honest opinion, it is much better and cohesive to have the conversation running in one entire thread rather than comments all over the place.

But I am transgender! By removing "Trans Folk", you are excluding me!

Nobody is being excluded. Heck, I am non-binary AND trans. There is nothing to say that transgender people cannot reside here, even with the name change. You are our allies, after all.

The focus of the forum is simply being shifted from transgender to non-binary.

The fact of the matter is quite simple; Transgender people have plenty of support available online whereas non-binary people don't. This forum change will ensure they have support here.

I want to leave.

I understand if people want to leave over this change. I won't stop you, you are your own person.

If you wish to leave, please refrain from asking me to delete your account, the forum policies have been updated to reflect this. If you wish to delete your account, you may click Profile, Settings option and click Disable Account.  

As a final note...

I feel that this is a positive step in the right direction in helping this forum flourish. By throwing away all past associations with Susan's Place, hence the reformatting and bringing back the original intention of this forum, bringing the non-binary focus back, we can finally begin to thrive as our own entity instead of being a mirror of Susan's Place.  

The forum will be under-going reconstruction until I have finished reorganising things around. Please be patient, I think the new change will be worth it.

Thank you for reading,

Kind regards,

Jacey

[Shan]

Sounds like a good plan to me Jacey. I don't see why anyone would want to leave either, after all we have all become friends and have a great interest in one another's lives.

[Kira]

I am not feeling great about the change. I mean, I accept that gender is a spectrum, I am just over one side. Not completely, but enough for everyone to consider me binary. That means the site is not supposed to support me I guess. I wonder where is the cut off? How close does one have to be to the middle of the spectrum to be on the inside?

Really trying to seperate Trans issues for nb issues is going to prove ridiculous. Nb is an area that occupies the middle ground, but if you accept that it's a spectrum, then it is entirely made up of middle ground.

It doesn't make any sense other than to put off more femme or more masculine Trans poeple.

I won't disappear, but I am a little less engaged now.

[Valerie]

I don't think Jacey's intent is to make anyone feel alienated, I think their intent is mostly just to have this forum more nonbinary trans focused, and resources for those who are nonbinary.

[Shan]

Apr 13, 2016 2:42:59 GMT 8 Kira said:

I am not feeling great about the change. I mean, I accept that gender is a spectrum, I am just over one side. Not completely, but enough for everyone to consider me binary. That means the site is not supposed to support me I guess. I wonder where is the cut off? How close does one have to be to the middle of the spectrum to be on the inside?

Really trying to seperate Trans issues for nb issues is going to prove ridiculous. Nb is an area that occupies the middle ground, but if you accept that it's a spectrum, then it is entirely made up of middle ground.

It doesn't make any sense other than to put off more femme or more masculine Trans poeple.

I won't disappear, but I am a little less engaged now.

Yeah, I'll have to take back my previous comment and concede that you are right about that Kira. I liked it when things were simpler and the banner indicated an openness to trans folk. If binary MtF or FtM folks are suddenly unwelcome then that would exclude some of the members that are already here and we need to realize that some NB types may well become more binary with the passing of time. 

[EchelonHunt]

Apr 13, 2016 3:19:56 GMT 8 Valerie said:

I don't think Jacey's intent is to make anyone feel alienated, I think their intent is mostly just to have this forum more nonbinary trans focused, and resources for those who are nonbinary.

Valerie is correct. Please read their post, Kira.

Apr 13, 2016 2:42:59 GMT 8 Kira said:

I am not feeling great about the change. I mean, I accept that gender is a spectrum, I am just over one side. Not completely, but enough for everyone to consider me binary. That means the site is not supposed to support me I guess. I wonder where is the cut off? How close does one have to be to the middle of the spectrum to be on the inside?

Really trying to seperate Trans issues for nb issues is going to prove ridiculous. Nb is an area that occupies the middle ground, but if you accept that it's a spectrum, then it is entirely made up of middle ground.

It doesn't make any sense other than to put off more femme or more masculine Trans poeple.

I won't disappear, but I am a little less engaged now.

As stated in this thread, nobody is being excluded. I made a Clarification post.

[Kira]

I did read their post. I did realise when I joined that it had a non binary focus. It was obvious. Now to remove the Trans... Yeah. Ok. If that's what you want.

[Dani]

I'm not sure what many of these classifications mean, binary/non-binary etc. For me binary means ones and zeros 'or' no shades just black and white. If this is extended toward gender then 'male and female', and I do not see how anyone would be here if they are cis male/female. So anyone here would fall into some type of catagory in a myriad of forms, types, mixtures...who knows how many. Considering that each would be in phase shift between one 'something' and another 'something' well then everyone would be in some type of trans-ition. Me (laughs), I'm not really sure where I fall into and it does not matter to me in the least. Hey whatever you want to do is fine with me as long as I can come in browse around a bit, maybe post a pic once in awhile, read some interesting stuff, so go for whatever you want. :-) Dani    As long as I'm here....here is a nice Spring Day pic in the front yard, freshly showered hair tangle but who cares its SPRING.  Hope ya all are good with whatever happens as I like reading your posts.

[Trinity]

Many of us were either minimalixed or steered towards binary full transition based on a binary male or female system an ideology.

That has cost trans lives.

Many of our insurance policies are written with binary all or nothing rle clauses and denial of surgery.

Like mine. I cant have bottom surgery cause i am not trans enough. I put my job and family first. I have to lie and be binary even to get a mammogram and my cancer risk is probably well over 30%

So there is a need for a place to deal with that.

What is nonbinary? Not being full time? A state of mind? An attitude? A presentation? A body?  A lifestyle?

I nearly cracked up because i was told somewhere transition to full time was inevitabe.

Told there is no gender construct. Told i would lose everything including my family. The binary trans narrative.

They were wrong.

Some folk are fleeing that narrative. They come here to escape it.

I may lose friends for saying it. But thats what this to me is really about.

Spin it if you want but thats whats going on here.

There are plenty of full transition nbs. Living full time, part time, whatever.

Social pressure to be all or nothing has wreacked havoc on us.

Nuff said. I tried to stay out of this.

Trinity.

[EchelonHunt]

I'm understand people may feel triggered at the removal of "Trans Folk", all I can do is apologise and explain that it was not to be intended in the way that transfolk are no longer welcomed.

Dani makes good points and Dani, I do hope you continue to browse and comment as you always have, you are welcome to, just as anyone else here is. Nice photograph too, spring and yourself together is like a match in heaven!

Trinity raises valid points as well.

That non-binary is the middle ground, something that is between two opposing forces (male & female - if that's what Kira meant, if it's not, I apologise), is the kind of thinking we want to get away from.

For some, being non-binary is the end result, it's not a starting point and it's not a halfway point between male or female.

Take me for example, I started out AFAB, identified very strongly as binary male since 18, going full-transition to male and along the way, I found I don't identify as male and found my comfort in being non-binary. I'm still going full-transition, it's critical for me to alleviate dysphoria.

Only then, I can be free to be a non-binary male-bodied person who just so happens to look like a girl. I have my cake and I'm eating it.

Many, if not, all of us here have the same goal or have already reached it: the freedom to be ourselves.

Let's unite on that goal together as one community and offer support to anyone and everyone.

Non-Binary Support Forum is all-inclusive. There was a member who joined up recently who is cis, I allow cisgender folks to join as well. Because why not?

Everyone is welcome. Nobody is excluded.



Hugs and love to everyone, you're all cherished here.

[star]

I hate labels.....and the boxes they are on......

I`m glad I found my place outside everything and now experience the wonderfulness
of that same everything coming together with me.

That was also the feeling of warmth on the wide "transfolk" part in the header.

Putting a "boxed" label on that will differ....
In such a way that the population will change over time....

It will become less diverse....as a whole

Creating it`s own universe with less and less diverse outside contacts

I made it a personal thing..grasping the essence of staying in between.
Still don`t got it all after a lot of time and thinking but it keeps being
interesting, but the header alone will turn a lot of peeps away who might
Will try the same, creating a community with a wider grasp of things than all
the "boxed" communities.

I think this community .i.s. wider than that, I think you all are wider than that.

TLDR: bad label.

[Shan]

Jacey, 
    Clarifying your mindset regarding the changes and how it shouldn't exclude binaries is refreshing, Trinity, Star and Dani's thoughts are appreciated as well. One thing to take into consideration is the fact that this change was so sudden and done without considering any input from the original crew, that it suddenly felt as if a segment of the membership was being dissed. I know that this is your site and it has been a great place to meet, but from my perspective looking in on what was happening, there was a gut feeling that certain people who work hard along with you at keeping the site vibrant and also available to binary TG folks were feeling suddenly marginalized and maybe a bit disrespected. I had thought that the earlier banner had been sufficient stating that this is a Non-Binary and Trans Folk forum when one considers that being NB doesn't require any form of surgical or hormonal transition, whereas moving toward a binary most certainly does. So the banner change to "Non-Binary" only was a clear signal that the site had suddenly become exclusive and frankly that and the rest of the sudden changes triggered a lot of angst in myself and others. Just my two bits worth, meanwhile I'm not going anywhere.

[Mellysia]

I've been back and forth from this forum and the other many times. I've seen people come and go and honestly for me, non-binary, binary, etc I don't even care what label people use or what the forum banner says anymore. If changing a forum and banner is that much of a hit to the brain then so be it. Other than that there is no change in the people or how they see you or treat you. They will help you regardless and love you just the same. Every community is boxed whether people want to see it or not. There will always be a label that people don't like. There will always, and I mean always, be something that makes someone's face contort in the weirdest ways. Forget about the name of the forum. Forget about the digital boxes with names in them. Remember who the people are. Remember where the people are. Remember why you're here and find more things you have in common, not what makes you feel marginalized.