Lately, it seems as though YN has been slowly undergoing a change...and, if you ask me, not a good one.

Youth Noise used to be about the youth. Member input used to be valued. The site used to care more about the wants and needs voiced by the youth than about the stereotypical perceptions of youth today.

I would have voiced this concern at Youth Advisory Board, but there has not been a meeting since November, and I have not received notification of one in the near future. (I believe this is the first indication of the youth voices not being heard.)

In my opinion, YN is making poor use of their most valuable resource, their members. Youth Noise is a site that is filled with individuals who want to work for positive change in their communities...why not give them the chance to start by making a positive difference on the site? I know I would not have been the only one who would have jumped at the chance to create a Cause Action Campaign; it is not necessary to hire a staff member to do something an enthusiastic YNer could do.

In fact, having such increased presence of YN staff brings me back to my point about not listening to the wants and needs of the members. I will again go with the example of the Cause Action Campaigns (simply because it's a completely new concept). I understand that AIDS and safe sex are important issues...but I'm sure if YNers were polled about issues that were important to them, two VERY different causes would have been selected.

Please, I mean no disrespect by this thread. If anything, the YN staff does too much for the site. I simply think that it's time for them to delegate more of the responsibility back to the members.

Let's let members have more of a voice in their site...after all, if we can't "Be Heard" here, where can we?

(Thank you to Ikki for her input and title suggestion.)

Well, Khary, the form letter made me feel needed.

Go YV; I agree!

Perhaps we just felt undervalued as board users. The site use to revolve much around the boards. Now there are other things the site is expanding to, like CitJos for example. I think that perhaps we felt that the boards no longer represented as much as before. Now, I don't have anything against CitJos, I love that idea and I was asked to join(I haven't written anything yet). But I think this was one of the many issues we had. Not that we don't want the CitJos, it was merely an example. Just that perhaps we felt pushed aside and unimportant. I understand that the site needs to concentrate in other things because there are other things going on not just the boards. I just wanted to bring this point up. Now I know that I used the term "we" but I am not saying everyone on the boards agrees or shares this opinion. I simply assumed that this was so from what I have observed.

So you were really just looking for a form letter?

We apologize for _____________. Though we did _____________ and felt that we were correct in doing so, we resolve to do ____________ in the future. If this is insufficiently vague and placatory, please do not hesitate to let us know.

I’m a pre-law student. I love arguing. However, I am getting really tired about arguing about this with the YN staff. My intention in beginning this thread was not to sit and bicker back and forth about what YN is and isn’t doing. Bottom line, despite what is currently being offered, board members still feel frustrated with the current direction of the site.

I would have been 100% satisfied with a response that looks something like this:

“We’re very sorry that the board users do not feel adequately represented on this site. While we do feel as though we have provided many opportunities for involvement, we will do our best to make sure future decisions are considerate of all YNers. If anyone has feedback as to specific changes we can make to ensure that board members still feel valued by the site, please do not hesitate to let us know.”

^^That’s really all I am looking for.

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Tam meant surveys and these are done through SurveyMonkey. In the past they have been highlighted when we have them up which is only once or twice a year because they are comprehensive. Since time elements are involved they can't stay up continuosly. We don't have one running right now. Wink

Thank you for clarifying, Lissa. By the way, if possible, I recommend you send out a notice of the next one in one of your newsletters.

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Tam meant surveys and these are done through SurveyMonkey.

Oh my bad Tam, I was way off indeed. Now that I remember I took one of those surveys the last time it was offered. I could be mistaken once again, but weren't you guys offering to donate one dollar to a Save Darfur organization for every person that took the survey? If so, that's the one I took.

Tam meant surveys and these are done through SurveyMonkey. In the past they have been highlighted when we have them up which is only once or twice a year because they are comprehensive. Since time elements are involved they can't stay up continuosly. We don't have one running right now.

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I've never seen a survey.

I could be way off here, but I think she meant a poll.

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Some of our surveys are specifically designed to hear opinion that benefits the site at large, so PLEASE take the surveys!

Before we attempt to debate everything you say sometime tomorrow, I would just like to make this comment:

I've never seen a survey.

In an attempt to answer what you would like addressed…

1. Articles and videos featured on the homepage are usually only highlighted for 1 day, so a 4-day highlighting is usually unheard of and it seems that actually special treatment was given on these two occasions and yet still, there is discontent.
2. There is no room on the homepage for a poll but there is one on every channel. (we have been trying to work around this but have not found a solution as of yet.) These are not hidden in the site. Not all the poll results are designed to “benefit the site” itself. Many of the polls are simply (and hopefully) informative about perspective and opinion relating to causes and issues. Some of our surveys are specifically designed to hear opinion that benefits the site at large, so PLEASE take the surveys!
3. We have asked time and time again for NoiseMakers to contribute polls and we have gotten minimal response (in three years, three polls!). Meagan is welcome to write a new poll for the religion channel but please don’t be offended when it is refreshed in our refreshment schedule.
4. In redesigning the site, as already said, we have made an effort to infuse the staff with youth and they have been very challenged to listen to all NoiseMakers and to senior staff and to direct the site in a direction where it is felt will accommodate all viewpoints. We made a deliberate attempt to make the site more personal and the problem, it seems, with this is that it ends up feeling more slanted. We are in desperate need of more conservative contributors and have been pursuing this continuously but the result is surprisingly challenging and slow moving. We have brought in about 100 new CitiJos and we are hopeful that they will be replacing most of the youth producer’s content with their own, new blood, new NoiseMakers, and hopefully a much more balanced perspective. Also, we have had conservative youth on the staff and their efforts have been highlighted perpetually, but we all agree that a couple of voices is not enough. Again, I want to tell you that the youth staff have only been seeding the channels and CAPs in order for the next stage to take effect. You will start seeing many more articles written from non-staff members from here on in.
5. Also, in the plan for expanding the capabilities on the homepage, we are planning to highlight board posts daily. This should hopefully be in effect by mid to end of March.
6. The site is continuously being updated so that the users can post their own material without going through staff. We FINALLY got the article submission tool live so that NoiseMakers can submit their own articles without going through staff. This addition is an enormous breakthrough for YN. We have also worked long and hard to create the project profile page so NoiseMakers can post and feature their projects without staff assistance. (And, BTW, we are continuing to enliven these features and make them more user friendly). We’ve worked on making the personal profile pages more user friendly and engaging and are continuing to add features. Please believe me when I say that we are constantly working on all these things but they do take time. Remember, we are not Yahoo or Google, we are a nonprofit with limited staff and limited funding and every change and new tool takes more time than any of us can imagine.
7. If, as you say, “most” of the members have to put up with content they disagree with, then, it seems that we are doing a better job of being balanced than I thought. Most of the members should have to put up with differing points of view because that is what YN is supposed to be offering –views diverse from all over the world. We are working to build this and bring in as many different views a there are cultures, races, etc. and you will only being seeing more of this, not less.
8. No one is happy that the members who use the boards feel undervalued. This is NOT what anyone wants. We would love a way for you to feel included enough to jump into other parts of the site, as well as welcome newbies in an inviting, inclusive way to the boards. We want an integrated site and we would like everyone to do their best to create this. You are still considered a vital part of YouthNoise, and what you say does matter. We will listen and truly do our best to “understand” but we ask the same of you. And, inviting you to contact me was in no way an attempt to “patronize” or make any one of you feel like a child at school. It was a genuine outreach to establish a connection and open discussion and bring you in, not send you further away. I’m sorry if it did not achieve its goal.

In conclusion, I, too, am glad for this thread. It brings up some very important issues that we are seriously taking into consideration and will try to work with as a whole (rather than “pocketed”) community.

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Although I was not privy to this conversation, I helped YV look up the websites.

Yes, he did! Thank you Shade.

Although I was not privy to this conversation, I helped YV look up the websites.

Meagan, you're the best ynattorney ever.

I was thinking that if the YN Staff wants to know what we like they should look at the "1000 things we love about YNLissa!" thread. Now THERE is a person who is passionate about working with youth. She demonstrates it with actions not just with words.

On a side note here: Great job Meg. I agree with you.

A few of us have gotten together to discuss this, and with all due respect, there are still some issues that we would like to have addressed.

Meagan really did appreciate the video she selected being featured on the homepage. YV appreciated it when Darfur was featured there as well. However, these two were only highlighted for roughly four days; after this, it was back to articles written by YN staff members. At the time this was written, the front pages consisted of articles and videos written and created by YN Staff-- the exact members that were recently hired to rejuvenite the site.

We appreciate the thought that went into revamping the YN staff with younger members. However, it almost seems as though this has made the site less member friendly. When it was mostly adults, it seemed as though they requested more input from the YNers and valued everyone’s input more. Now however, it seems as though the young staff, because they are closer in age and clearly know more about what it is like to be a youth today, do not place the same value on member input. They give the impression that they have matters under control and have little to no need for any of the members.

Polls can be a wonderful tool as far as gauging how a group feels about certain issues. However, in order for them to be effective, they need to be accessible to all members. Tucking away polls into low traffic areas of the site is doing an injustice to each and every member of the site; YN ought to accurately reflect the wants and needs of all members, not just the ones who just so happen to visit a certain area of the site. Also, after checking through all of the channels, it is difficult to really see how the poll results are able to be used to benefit the site. (While we are on the subject, is there any way to change the poll on the religion channel? The attempt to make it sound witty is appreciated, but it has crossed the line. The pop culture quote of “Jesus is my homeboy,” really is not representative of the Christian faith and, frankly, is pretty offensive. It would be appreciated if that could be looked at. Meagan would be willing to write a new poll for the religion channel if necessary.)

Members who predominantly visit Youth Noise to use the boards feel undervalued. This was reinforced by a staff member’s response on a particular thread. The boards are a fundamental part of the site, and to say otherwise would be ignorant. The following are some other, smaller and less popular, youth activism sites for various needs (notice what they all lack):
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/index.htm
http://www.youthactivism.com/Home.php
http://www.freechild.org//index.htm
http://www.oyfp.org/
http://www.yesworld.org/aboutyes.html
http://www.youthactivismworld.org/
http://www.networkforgood.org/
http://www.standnow.org/

Unfortunately, most members of this site are forced to “put up with content [they] disagree with” out of sheer lack of opportunity. Recently, a collective group attempted to “stand up through words and action” when they decided they did not like the approach taken by the Safe Sex campaign. It is still unclear as to how that issue was resolved. A few specific points made by members were taken into consideration, but only the ones that still supported the direction of the campaign.

We appreciate YN’s attempt to allay our complaints by allowing us the opportunity to talk to programmers about how to get involved, but it should not come to that. This approach requires members to seek outside help as to how they can benefit the site. Instead, it should be understood that a site such as this would be filled with members wanting to participate and those opportunities should be made as easily accessible as possible.

Something the staff of Youth Noise would do well to learn, is that, while at times they do hear what members are saying...there is a difference between being heard and being understood.

(Thank you to YV for looking up the websites and to Ikki for her input.)

Please lord tell me that Tam did not just tell me that I of all people am responsible for perpetuating an injustice or a lie.

I have to agree with Shade on this one.

Yeah they do. But generally, who goes to subjects they're not interested in? Few. And the people who are interested in, oh say... safe sex, will go to those topics, and vote on the polls. Oh yeah! We really care about this issue!! And then yn will think lots of people care about it, when in reality, it's only the ones who go there. And the rest of us don't know what's going on when a campaign comes up like that, completely out of the blue, and it's supposedly an issue we all care about.

If you click on Causes on the top nav bar and go to any of the Cause Channels, each of these pages should have a poll.

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I remember there used to be polls on the homepage but I haven't seen them recently.

I have seen polls on other parts of this site. But I must admit I miss the polls on the front page. I would always respond to them because they were right there in my face. I think it's easier to get feedback like that, when something is available at hand.