A Modest Proposal

[Spy Car]

Admirers of Johnathan Swift's satire will immediately recognize what's coming will be anything of the kind, but I've been wondering about something that would mean a good deal of work for others (and conveniently none for me), so here is my suggestion or question anyway.

What if there was a new sub-forum that dealt with sleep apnea community education? In that sub-forum there could be threads organized basically in line with the data that Sleepytime provides.

For example, a topic like "What is Flow Limitation and What does it Matter?" could be drawn out by our more educated members and exist as an on-going resource that would augment the great RobySue's Guide for Beginners.

Today Sleeptimegal asked what is RERA? Sharing knowledge on these sorts of topic would be invaluable IMO as one who seeks to empower his therapy.

Having a central place for such information organized by topic with an eye toward making Sleepyhead-type data comprehensible to users would be a boon to me. It is a resource that could build over time and would enhance the mission of the forum

I put the idea out there.

Best,

Bill

[srlevine1]

What if there was a new sub-forum that dealt with sleep apnea community education? In that sub-forum there could be threads organized basically in line with the data that Sleepytime provides.

For example, a topic like "What is Flow Limitation and What does it Matter?" could be drawn out by our more educated members and exist as an on-going resource that would augment the great RobySue's Guide for Beginners.

Today Sleeptimegal asked what is RERA? Sharing knowledge on these sorts of topic would be invaluable IMO as one who seeks to empower his therapy.

Having a central place for such information organized by topic with an eye toward making Sleepyhead-type data comprehensible to users would be a boon to me. It is a resource that could build over time and would enhance the mission of the forum

I put the idea out there.

Best,

Bill

Are you suggesting reinventing the wheel or simply improving the accessibility and quality of information on the Apnea Board WIKI? Perhaps a section in each topic that shows a Sleepyhead waveform and general interpretation guidelines? Remember -- the hardware and software are being upgraded ... so a fix is more likely in the future.

[chill]

Being a natural born pessimist, I don't see this being all that useful. There is already a search function and wiki that are wildly under used. People that don't use those are also not likely to search the sub-forum, if they even find it.

[Spy Car]

There is just very little information in the Wiki (unless I'm missing something).

Having an interactive area (threads with-in a new sub-forum) where knowledgeable people share their understanding and newcomers could ask questions with threads organized around explaining the significance of the data our machines can put out strikes me as positive.

For now, I try to read as many threads as possible and "glean"knowledge as I go along. But a central repository organized by topic that made reading Sleepyhead-type data more comprehensible would be valuable for me.

Bill

[srlevine1]

There is just very little information in the Wiki (unless I'm missing something).

Having an interactive area (threads with-in a new sub-forum) where knowledgeable people share their understanding and newcomers could ask questions with threads organized around explaining the significance of the data our machines can put out strikes me as positive.

For now, I try to read as many threads as possible and "glean"knowledge as I go along. But a central repository organized by topic that made reading Sleepyhead-type data more comprehensible would be valuable for me.

Bill

The problem with the threads is one of message discipline and I find all sorts of irrelevant comments that increases my reading time -- especially with threads that have valuable data but are spread over all creation. With a wiki you have a consistent format and moderation that keeps the quality high and all of the information in one place.

[chill]

I agree, a curated collection of information will be far more valuable.

[Spy Car]

The problem with the threads is one of message discipline and I find all sorts of irrelevant comments that increases my reading time -- especially with threads that have valuable data but are spread over all creation. With a wiki you have a consistent format and moderation that keeps the quality high and all of the information in one place.

I would argue that having a central sub-forum and threads dedicated to only one topic would maximize both thread discipline and would keep the information in one (easily found) place. And it would be interactive, unlike a Wiki, so hopefully contributors would feel positive feedback for their efforts (spurring them on), and others could ask pertinent questions.

As it is now good info is spread all over the place.

I wouldn't mind an excellent wiki, but we don't have a highly developed one now. If anything I think a discussion of topics would help a Wiki editor gather collective wisdom from on-point threads. Which would make it a win-win.

Bill

[Spy Car]

I agree, a curated collection of information will be far more valuable.

Threads by theme with contributions by multiple knowledgeable posters and questions that are thrashed out seems to be to be a great resource from which a curated collection could be based. Which is to say, I think such a discussion sub-forum would help in the building of a Wiki that does not exist now.

Bill

[OldVet]

I'm a new member and just getting my feet wet. Having said that, I just went through a couple week period where I've been trying to glean as much information as possible.

I think Spy Car is right on the money with his idea. I've been able to locate the data I want/need, but I think it could be made easier for the people who are new to CPAP therapy. I was pretty much left to fend for myself by the doc, who I never met or talked with. The DME supplier showed up at my door with a CPAP on 15 straight! Thank you, have a nice day!

This Board is truly a life saver. It's crazy less than a month in I'm running graphs/analysis in Sleepyhead and Encore Pro 2. I'm meeting my Doc on Monday. His head is going to spin with all the info. He'll get some free CME (Continuing Medical Education)!

I fully understand the mods/admins time is limited. I would gladly help but I'm still learning. My hunch is that there are multiple things the powers that be are working on at any given time.

I do think it's a great idea to have more subforums.

[Spy Car]

My idea didn't meet with a very positive response when first posted, but I'm giving it a *bump* in hopes that it gets a second consideration.

I think having a sub-forum with targeted and focused educational topics discussing things like the significance of the data points produced by Sleepyhead (by category) would be very useful to news users and would be a resource for Wiki editors as a repository of both collective wisdom and as an insight into the questions newbies

Having an interactive (but focused) area organized around tightly focused topics would be educational and would only advance the Wiki building IMO.

Best,

Bill