Long-term Users Thread

[ACM]

It dawned on me as I read through lots of posts on campaigning and health concerns that there is no central thread for people who are really long term users of e-cigs to post their views on how these devices have impacted on their health and smoking habits. There are plenty of loose comments sprinkled throughout the forum, but no section that puts it all in one place.

It would be nice to create a thread where people who've been vaping since the beginning (2002, I believe) to discuss any issues or concerns (or lack thereof) that they have.

For it to be useful, only vapers who have been using e-cigs for a couple of years, at least, should contribute. I don't know if it would be helpful for it to be open to questions from noobs. I kind of see this thread as being more of a "testimonial only" thing, closed as far as posting is concerned to posters who don't meet the criteria of being long term vapers, but open to all to read.

Thoughts?

 

[Automaton]

I think that's a great idea. We may not get people all the way back from 2002 since, as I understand it, e-cigs didn't start making it to the US until a few years later, though I'm not sure about other countries. And the range of flavorings we have now has been in the last couple years.

But I really like this idea. Maybe also with a poll with a range of options of how long-time users feel their health is doing after vaping for 2+ years.

 

[Bovinia]

Set up sort of like the Ask the Vets thread? I like that idea ACM.

 

[ACM]

Set up sort of like the Ask the Vets thread? I like that idea ACM.

Yeah, sort of like that but more about how people feel about their health and how they're doing with the whole not smoking thing after a couple of years and not about technical or PV preference questions. With no official long-term medical studies available, long-term testimonials seem like they'd help clear the air on many concerns and misconceptions about vaping.

Any comments from people who've been vaping since e-cigs hit the US would be sufficient; contributions from people in other countries who've been vaping longer would be even better.

Glad you like the idea!

 

[JerryRM]

I don't think that there are many members left on the forum who have been vaping for two years or longer. You may get a better response, if you lower that requirement to one year or longer.

 

[AJMoore]

Presto: Ask The Veterans

 

[ACM]

Presto: Ask The Veterans

Yeah, it could be handled there, but the problem is that the kind of comments I'm thinking about would get buried in more general questions about devices and accessories. I was thinking a dedicated thread would be cleaner and easier to read.

It might not be a good idea if there aren't many people around anymore who've been vaping for that long. But if that's the case, it begs the question, "Why?" Did they get bored with the forum or did they quit vaping? If it's the latter, then why did they quit? That answer alone could be worth having a thread to post in.

 

[JerryRM]

It might not be a good idea if there aren't many people around anymore who've been vaping for that long. But if that's the case, it begs the question, "Why?" Did they get bored with the forum or did they quit vaping? If it's the latter, then why did they quit? That answer alone would be could having a thread to post in.

Good question, maybe a bit of both ??

 

[rolygate]

The first question that pops up is, we have a forum for this already, it's the Veterans Forum. Not sure if you have seen that, it's only viewable by those who have been here 1 year +.

It would be easy to create a sub-forum in that, titled Long-Term Health Questions or something. But maybe you meant a public board for this?

It seems to me that 2 years would be a useful time limit, one year may not reveal any health issues or whatever else you might want to see flagged up - but as one person already said, there aren't many people who qualify. If you think one year is sufficient then the Vets board handles that in any case.

 

[ACM]

The first question that pops up is, we have a forum for this already, it's the Veterans Forum. Not sure if you have seen that, it's only viewable by those who have been here 1 year +.

It would be easy to create a sub-forum in that, titled Long-Term Health Questions or something. But maybe you meant a public board for this?

It seems to me that 2 years would be a useful time limit, one year may not reveal any health issues or whatever else you might want to see flagged up - but as one person already said, there aren't many people who qualify. If you think one year is sufficient then the Vets board handles that in any case.

I've visited the Vets forum, and it's full of a lot of great info. I think two years would be better, but who knows how many people would fit that criteria. A sub-forum in Vets, titled Long-Term Health Questions, could be sufficient. The only reason I though a new thread or something was warranted was because the Vets forum is more general, and I kind of thought a specialized thread - probably in the Health section - might be better.

I'll let the ECF powers that be decide if such a thread would be useful or necessary. It might end up being like the locked thread for medical professionals, which I seem to recall has only 1 post since it was created a while ago.

 

[AngusATAT]

It might end up being like the locked thread for medical professionals, which I seem to recall has only 1 post since it was created a while ago.

That's because it's only been opened to qualified members very recently. It's not locked, but it is restricted only to those members in the medical field who have given us their qualifications.

 

[rolygate]

If the board was a public one, perhaps in the Health section, then it would soon be overloaded with posts from all (and I include myself in that), and contributions from those who are qualified to offer an opinion would be buried. However we could set it so that only those with 2 years' membership could post, or some such value for example. Or, those with 2 years membership could start a thread maybe.

If the board was in the Vets section then it would be useful to Vets but no one else. I think it is a good idea - we should certainly be asking questions about the implications of long-term ecig use - but the details of how to run it need some discussion.

As to the Medics board, it was only opened last week. There are several posts already. It was put in place some time back in order that suitably-qualified people would apply, but there was no point in opening it with only two or three people. There are about a dozen members now though, and more applying all the time. The access qualification is strict in order to keep it private. It looks as if it will be as successful as all the other new forums we've started although on a smaller scale. Many of the new boards were panned when they opened but are very busy now - like the Reviews of Suppliers board and the Ask The Vets board for instance. We don't expect the Medics board to be a success on that sort of scale but it will perform a valuable function.

It is ECF's job to do what nobody else does or is capable of doing, and we are often successful at that. In fact, the problem is we've never failed, which raises the pressure a bit...

 

[AngusATAT]

It is ECF's job to do what nobody else does or is capable of doing

This is true. Since I began working here, I can now bench press a Buick.

 

[ACM]

That's because it's only been opened to qualified members very recently. It's not locked, but it is restricted only to those members in the medical field who have given us their qualifications.

Gotcha. I tend to be fairly obtuse about the workings of forum and such.

 

[ACM]

It is ECF's job to do what nobody else does or is capable of doing, and we are often successful at that. In fact, the problem is we've never failed, which raises the pressure a bit...

This forum has been very successful, and of all the ones I've browsed, it's by far the most informative and helpful AND the one with the most courteous contributors. It's a pleasure participating in discussions and it's been a lot of fun, too. I hope my suggestion can work and add value to the ECF. And if it's decided that it's not going to be useful enough, so be it. I certainly appreciate that the site admins are willing to give it some thought.

 

[JerryRM]

How about setting it up similar to the "Ask the Veterans" thread ? Then only those with the specific requirements of one or two years vaping experience could post, but all members would have access to reading it.

 

[JerryRM]

This is true. Since I began working here, I can now bench press a Buick.

....with one hand !!!!

 

[AngusATAT]

How about setting it up similar to the "Ask the Veterans" thread ? Then only those with the specific requirements of one or two years vaping experience could post, but all members would have access to reading it.

Because the forum software can't tell who has been vaping for a certain amount of time. It can only tell who has been a member here for a certain amount of time.

Basically, it would be exactly the same as the ATV forum... which we already have.

 

[JerryRM]

True Angus, but posting in it would be restricted to veterans and I would assume that most, if not all veterans have been vaping for a year or more. The ATV forum is for general questions, but a notice could be put on this forum that questions are limited to long term vaping effects and all other questions should be posted in the ATV forum. I have no doubt, that someone will ask an off topic question, but those questions could either be discarded or moved to the ATV.

 

[jj2]

True Angus, but posting in it would be restricted to veterans and I would assume that most, if not all veterans have been vaping for a year or more. The ATV forum is for general questions, but a notice could be put on this forum that questions are limited to long term vaping effects and all other questions should be posted in the ATV forum. I have no doubt, that someone will ask an off topic question, but those questions could either be discarded or moved to the ATV.

Probably the best option---even if Jerry thought of it.

And right now there isn't many two year members but it won't be long before that changes.