Have the courage to make the change, the strength to see you through it, and faith that everything will turn out for the best.
You might think that quote is about partners. Or, maybe about sex addicts. It could be about either, but this time it is about The Sisterhood. Over the years there have been many, many changes. The website has changed colors and themes and layouts. Features like chat boxes, Skype group meetings, Zoom group meetings, private coaching and a few others I can’t even remember have come and gone for various reasons. But one thing has always remained as the foundation of the Sisterhood…and that is the Forums.
The Forums are where we have all, including myself, poured our hearts and souls out to the compassionate and supportive ears of our Sisters. The Forums have barely changed over the last almost 15 years. It has been the foundation of The Sisterhood.
But…and there is often a ‘but’, the Forums are now undergoing some changes too. First, the amount of information is massive and my databases are overflowing. I am still struggling to merge two forums databases and combine all the posts from this .org site with the first .com site. This makes it difficult to manage the website and I keep slimming it down to maintain stability. Second, social media has changed the comfort level of discussions about sex addiction and information, both good and bad, so these discussions are easily available. And last, there just doesn’t seem to be the interaction in the forums that there was years ago. I still have many subscribers, but they prefer to quietly search and read rather than engage.
And there is so much to read! Even I can get carried away and spend hours following a thread that I have read many times before, and often an idea or comment will take me in another, new direction. There are thousands of stories and topics that relate so exquisitely with each of our unique situations, and wisdom from these women can change our chaos into calm. That is what the Forums have to offer. It is timeless and will stay here as long as women need it.
So, what has changed in the Forums? Not really a whole lot. The format is still the same and subscriptions will still be required to protect the sensitive information that is shared here. Subscribers can still comment and I will answer any questions that any Sister has. The search function has been updated and fine tuned to make it much easier to find what you are looking for. Just be forewarned…if you put in a generic word or phrase into the search box you will be rewarded with hundreds of pages of information. So, try to be as specific as possible.
At the suggestion of several of the Sisters I have removed most of the social portions of the Forums. Membership lists are no longer available and the private, cloaked email system called Private Messaging between subscribers has been removed. NOTE: you will often see members screen names with an @ in front of them. That is a remnant of the Private Messaging system. Putting that @ in front of their name would email that person a link to the post or comment where they were mentioned. The Zoom meetings are no longer available as everyone, myself included was just too busy to participate. And coordinating time zones was a nightmare.
The Forums is still an extremely private, quiet, safe place for you to enter whenever you need to find the answers and support you need at your own pace and in your own way. You can search for exactly what you need to read and take as much or as little time as you have. You can ask me questions in the ‘Ask JoAnn’ forum and I will give you my very best advice and direction. You can comment on any post, no matter how old it is, and I will read your comment and answer. I am always available by email and usually answer within 24 hours.
The Sisterhood Forums are still offering the same support, resources, comfort…and sometimes a few laughs, as it always has. It has just matured a little bit. ~ JoAnn
