Thinking of setting up an Irish Non Drinkers forum/support group site.

Based on the recent enough events of the boards admins deciding that support group type posting might have a negative effect on the site I think it might be time for me to put my skillset to use and start up an Irish non-drinkers forum.

I use a great American site at the moment, www.soberrecovery.com but there is definitely a cultural barrier and while there would be a few Irish people that use the site, I think it would be great to have a site that focuses mainly on the aspects of getting sober specifically in Ireland. Of course I will have to put some time and money into this and won't be putting advertising etc for ethical reasons so I'm just wondering what you other non drinkers think of the idea?

Is it a waste of time? Is this forum enough? If I do go ahead with the site in the next week or two, what should I call it? Irish Non Drinkers? Or Irish sobriety, something like that?
I'd of course be doing the seo and design myself so before I put my time into something I'd like some input from some other people who might be able to get something from it.

One problem I faced when I got sober was taking the first few steps involved in quitting drinking. When you google it there are very few Irish resources that pop up besides perhaps the AA site and I'd like people to see a proper support forum pop up in google when they've decided to do something about their drinking or just if they need to vent their problems.
I'm sure I'd get a lot out of such a forum myself too!

Let me know what you think guys.

Sunnyisland

Would it cost you much to set up ? as its getting the people to stick with the forum ? would it be AA based or whatever tools work for different people.like meds /willpower.spritualual.I have never being on your site but I have dropped in to MYWAYOUT.ORG which seems to be very busy and maybe could be a template to follow,I am just saying these things and not in a criticising way as I think it is a great idea and fair play to you.or maybe we could talk here again to the mods/admins to see will they reverse there decision ?

cue

There is a need for it. I think that it is inevitable that people will start to look online for help, even in Ireland. I meet more and more people who come to the rooms via an online suggestion these days, and the AA structure in Ireland is lagging behind with new technology so there is a gap here.
My experience with online recovery based forums is that they are difficult to manage and need constant attention (sounds familiar ). You would want to be clear in how you moderate it. One forum I joined sent me emails trying to guilt-trip me into being more active! I deleted them from my list. I like step12.com. They are very welcoming while also being strong on traditions and that is important to me.
It might not be a bad idea to ask for help from some of the stateside forums as they have a lot more experience with it?
Good luck with it!

Hey guys thanks for the replies!

@ realies: I would rather have AA in it's own section and other programs in another section due to the bickering that would surely commence

@ cue: The moderation workload is something that I'm definitely taking into account - I know from other forums that deal with drug/alcohol problems the type of problems that can arise.

On a name, what do you guys think of soberireland.com? I don't want the word sober to put people off though, because I know the last thing someone with a drink problem wants to hear is that they're probably going to have to get sober. Hmmm. I'll try have the shell of the site up by next weekend anyway as long as I can decide on a name.

Thanks again for the input guys, I appreciate it!

mikemac

soberireland.com

I like it
Simple and easy to remember

Good luck with the project

Sunnyisland

Soberireland.com, Thats straight to the point or should that be pint.Once again fair play to you for taking the time & effort to start this up,wishing you all the best.

hubba

I like soberireland.com too.

Simple, easy to remember and kind of striking too because when you think about it the words 'sober' and 'Ireland' have probably never been put together as a realistic proposal, ever. And the two words are obvious ones to search for in a search engine if you want to be sober in Ireland.

IMO there's no point in trying to somehow hide that sobriety isn't the main focus though I get your point on the word sobriety frightening some folk.

However, I don't think it would stop someone entering the site, no matter how far from sobriety they thought they were. People looking for a way out of booze hell (if that is where they find themselves) can be incredibly brave.

cue

The best group name that I ever came across was "Clean Livers"

_lietome_

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Sunnyisland

_little_ wrote: »

AbstinanceIreland.com? "sober" has certain connotations to it, like "sober" is somehow a persona.

Imo the word abstinence might frighten some people of as the thoughts of being abstinent or stopping drinking at the start is very daunting indeed and some people may just want to moderate or cut down on there drinking.


What about clean living Ireland ? no on second thoughts

_lietome_

This post has been deleted.

I bought the name soberireland.com a few days ago for two years so I'm gonna go with that. I like the simplicity of it, feels nice to type it

Thanks for the suggestions though guys, I'm happy that you're taking an interest. I'll buy the vbulletin software tonight and hopefully it won't be too much hassle to set up. A friend of mine donated half the money needed to me which was a massive help!

Thanks again guys

_lietome_

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hubba

Well done, great initiative and I look forward to seeing it.

Sunnyisland

Well done & good luck.

Satanta

Well done! I like the name and the idea. I very much look forward to using the site. There is tons of stuff you could do with it. Information section linking to treatment centres, addiction counselling, links to meetings using Google maps and so on.

derealbadger

wish you all the best with it send me a pm when its up so i can join up

Thanks for the responses guys

Well the shell of the site is up @ http://www.soberireland.com
I'll be finishing the last few tweaks next week, heading away for the rest of the weekend tonight. The basics are finished though, let me know what you think.

mikemac

Signed up

Design and colour look good, clear and easy to read

Lord TSC

Well done on starting the site. I'd be vaugly interested in signing up but I'm a bit worried about the fact it seems to be a support site. I get that's exactly what you, and many others, want, but since I've never drank, it's not really what I'm looking for I don't need advice or support to stop drinking; I'd rather just talk about stuff with non-drinkers.

Am I making myself clear there? Not sure if I am. I think what I'm saying is that perhaps instead of aiming the site purely at those who want to stop drinking or are looking for support in such endevours, aim it at all non-drinkers (inc. those who have never drank and don't have a "problem" they wish to solve). The whole "who wish to stop drinking" just kind of puts me off ever so slightly....

Since it's a forum, there could be sections dedicated to advice and contact details of those who want help, but there could also be other sections for just more general discussion on non-drinking lifestyles or just life in general.

Just my two cents

derealbadger

iv joined up

Satanta

Good job.... /signs up

Site is up and running! (I think)
Let me know if you see any problems. I'm going to have to create some forum charters/rules over the weekend and I'll hopefully get the ball rolling either later tonight or tomorrow in the newcomers forum with my own story!

If any of you guys would like to post your stories in the newcomers forum feel free in the mean time

Like I said in an earlier post, it's not about the amount of traffic or posts or site popularity etc, it's all about helping anyone who wants help so that's the type of attitude I'd like the site to espouse. If even one person gets something out of the site then I'm a happy man

derealbadger

im under pressure this weekend but ill sit down next week and put up my story

derealbadger

derealbadger wrote: »

im under pressure this weekend but ill sit down next week and put up my story

There's no rush man, I've been mad busy myself the last few weeks. Thanks to Rich, if you're here, for posting. I'll get posting myself during the week!

The site will be there for a long time so there's no big hurry