Acne.org Products
1. That website and all similar websites, use extremely unreliable data. For example, 30,000 daily views, the actual number is in hundreds of thousands.
2. The chart doesn't even show dates.
3. Historically drops and peaks in traffic haven't been related to message board upgrades or changes. They have always been related to changes made to Googles algorithms.
Actually, since March 12th when we reorganised the forum, traffic specifically to the forums has increased.
Did you really merge Redmarks and scarring? This is so confusing and so hard to use anymore. I can't search through tons of PIH posts to find indented acne scarring info and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Completely frustrating. The scarring board was the board with the most posts so now its ridiculous to try and follow.
I hope you change it back. I don't understand why you'd change the board so radically. I can't even with this.
The scar forum now has 34,000 topics! It's too messed up to use anymore.
I really want to try and understand your concern. But I have to be honest, at the moment I don't understand the issue.
The scars forum had almost 25,000+ topics before the merge, the scar topics far outweigh red mark topics.
Now, perhaps 1 in 5 topics are regarding red marks. Does this really disable you to view the topics specific to scars?
You also have a great search, which will help you find specific topics.
You can also subscribe to specific topics of interest and receive updates when these topics are updated. The merge doesn't disable you from following topics.
Please don't think we see scars or the scars forum as unimportant. That isn't the case. We do however believe the two subjects are so closely related, that they belong together.
Exactly, it *already* had so many topics so merging it makes no sense. Smaller forums should be merged together to create more space bc they're not tht active. Merging two very active topics is just making things confusing, not efficient IMO.
There's such a big difference between scars and red marks, but so many ppl call redmarks scars and that's where it gets confusing. It's hard to tell if a topic is scarring or PIH. It's confusing.
Merging hypertrophic and depressed scaring would be fine bc the topics are easy to discern by title and there aren't so many hypertrophic scar topics.
The red marks forum merged with strophic is confusing and its a problem because the remark forum was one of the more active forums too.
Redmarks are not scarring so I don't think they should be in the same forum.
The red marks forum was only small, I think it had around 4,000 posts total and wasn't terribly active.
There's such a big difference between scars and red marks, but so many ppl call redmarks scars and that's where it gets confusing. It's hard to tell if a topic is scarring or PIH. It's confusing.
real maverick,
Do you suffer from acne scars? I would bet you can't even begin to relate to having your face scarred for life, knowing there is no cure or method to get "rid" of scars. Based on the forum description of the "mark" board, it is possible to get rid of scars. You guys have successfully destroyed the best resource & community on the Internet for acne scar sufferers. You have invalidated the therapuetic value all of us shared on the scar board. Being that acne.org doesn't sell any products that could benefit a scar sufferer, I am forced to conclude that you are intentionally trying to drive acne scar discussion off this site as there is no benefit to acne.org.
Tell me this -- why keep the roscacea and facial redness board? Why not lump hyperpigmentation (curable/treatable) with roscacea and facial redness? Why would you treat it the same as scars? There were as many people posting to the roscacea board about hyperpigmentaiton as the scar board.
Thank you for successfully transforming the scar board into a home remedy, hollistic healing board! Much appreciated. I don't have the time or desire to weed through all the nonsense being discussed in that forum now. It is bad enough that society treats scar sufferers differently. Why in the world would acne.org, of all places, group "scars" with "red marks", as if they are the same thing and invalidate our feelings around that board?
Okay. My post was a bit over the top and sarcastic in some areas. I apologize for that. I haven't posted in months and actually thought/hoped the board would return to normal on its own. Unless you were an active participant on the forum and someone following scar treatments, you probably can't see how much the board has changed over the last few months. Can we please have our scar board back? I understand grouping hypertrophic with atrophic scars but why hyperpigmentation? Manuka honey, essential oils, urine, lemon juice, creams, topicals, etc. will do nothing for scars. I once believed in these home remedies, and know they don't work for real scars. It is confusing for new people looking for solutions and aggravates the knowledgeable ones. Please give us our scar board back.
I'd just like to echo the concerns about merging the red marks and scars forums. True acne scar victims suffer a particular kind of torment that people with red marks don't. Not trying to be over-dramatic, but it is very difficult to find doctors and treatments to help us. Having a board solely dedicated to true acne scars provides a tremendous resource that we can't get anywhere else. It becomes watered down and convoluted when irrelevant topics are added to the mix. It is 100% different and the treatments are 100% different than people with red marks. We are and always will be a separate group.
That being said, I am incredibly grateful for this site. It has been invaluable to me. So thank you.
I agree with both *Inspired*, michi31, and others. It's not a good idea to marge scars and red marks. They are completely different issues involved in different treatments and resources. It really doesn't make sense to put them together, too confusing. If acne.org truly cares about being helpful to org users, then you should change back. Before you changed the structure, it was very helpful and that is the reason why I joined your site. Thank you.
Lets discuss this. Please take the time to read my post in full and debate my points.
I've just taken a snapshot of the scars/red marks forum. Marked in red are topics about scars, topics that specifically talk about scars even in the title.
1. Every topic is about scars, except for 1, which actually maybe about scars but I didn't read it to find out.
2. Regardless of whether the 2 forums are merged or not, all those posts marked in red, would have been posted in the scars forum. Because these people believe they have scars.
3. Whether or not they are scars or in your opinion red marks, these members believe they're scars and so they would have posted in the scars forum regardless.
4. This has been an age old problem, those with scars get angry at those who post in the scars forum. But it's always happened.
5. While treatments for both are different, as you can see, 99% of the discussion is still about scars. It's not as though the forum is suddenly flooded with posts about red marks.
It appears some of you are angry that we believe red marks and scars are the same thing. That is not the case.
Discuss! 
I think old scar members posting to the scar board in the last 24 hours or so have caused traffic and posts to that board. Please take a snapshot of actual replies to that forum over the last 96 hours. It's ridiculous. Most of us have been holding back. Many long time members have dropped off that board. There's very little useful information being shared. I understand that you don't see it but we do. As of a couple days ago, the top dicussion on the board was "urine" for mark treatment. Really?
At the time of merging, for every 10 posts to the scar forum, there was 1 post to the red marks forum.
I truly want to understand but nobody is addressing any of the points I made and nobody is providing any kind of evidence that things have really changed in the scars forum.
In the past I'd periodically read the scars forum and it was always a mix of those with scars and those who believed they have scars. That still appears to be the case now, except for the odd post about red marks but they're few and far between.
At the time of merging, for every 10 posts to the scar forum, there was 1 post to the red marks forum.
I truly want to understand but nobody is addressing any of the points I made and nobody is providing any kind of evidence that things have really changed in the scars forum.
In the past I'd periodically read the scars forum and it was always a mix of those with scars and those who believed they have scars. That still appears to be the case now, except for the odd post about red marks but they're few and far between.
There is absolutely no way that's true.
Snap shot of the forum on January 20, 2013, before the merge:
http://www.acne.org/messageboard /" rel="external nofollow"> http://web.archive.org/web/20130117102628/http://www.acne.org/messageboard/
There was pretty much one post to the red marks forum for every 3 posts to the scar board.
I think we've already stated how we feel about the change. Are you really asking us to go through every post and explain how it's different today? It's obvious that you're simply against giving us the scar board back. Why is that?
ADD-ON:
How do you get a ratio of 1:10 out of this?
---------------
Scars
- 23,285 topics
- 181,439 replies
---------------
Red Marks
- 9,916 topics
- 55,305 replies
1 red topic to every 2.35 scar topics
1 red reply to every 3.28 scar replies
I think we've already stated how we feel about the change. Are you really asking us to go through every post and explain how it's different today? It's obvious that you're simply against giving us the scar board back. Why is that?
If that were the case, I'd tell you that's the way it is, lock the thread and forbid you from opening another about this matter. However, I'm discussing it so that I can understand and if I can figure out what the real issue is here, we can try to do something about it.
There are a very small minority complaining about the change, we cannot switch things back and forth just because a small percentage of people dont approve. However, if good and valid reasons can be provided, then it's something we can look in to fixing.
Please at least show me some screenshots of what you consider to be a mess and why. I need to understand whats wrong before I can fix it.
When you merge a forum, it's a couple of clicks. Unfortunately there is no "un-merge" button, so the only option is to go through page per page and manually move thread by thread. So it is important we fully understand the problems you're having.
Yes, they are different, however they're not strictly acne. But I agree we do need a place to discuss scars and red marks, but I don't believe we need more than one forum to discuss.
You make it seem like scars and red marks aren't an important part of acne.org because they're not acne. Does anyone know of a better acne scar forum or PIH forum?
The forums were combined partially because people with redness were posting in the scar forum anyway? This could easily be fixed by naming the scar forum REAL SCARRING NOT RED SPOTS or PERMANENT CRATERS NOT LITTLE RED DOTS WHERE A PIMPLE WAS. Call the redness forum IMAGINARY SCARS NOT PERMANENT HOLES or REDNESS NOT PITS ON YOUR SKIN. They could also be called PERMANENT SCARRING and TEMPORARY REDNESS. Sadly, this would be less ridiculous then combining them if you want to easily try to find decent, organized information and also gain a thorough understanding of treatments for PIH . It just isn't an ideal structure for finding good information on PIH.
There is no need for all this negativity, it's not nice and it's not helping anybody. We are on your side, I promise.
Acne.org was setup for Dan to share his regimen, which is his step-by-step guide that cleared his acne and cleared the skin of thousands of others around the world. Check out the success stories, his regimen has changed so many lives: http://www.acne.org/regimen-success.html
The Regimen come first, not the forums or the reviews section or the galleries. The website has expanded so that you guys can share your own regimens, get the support you need and ultimately find your solution.
Everybody working at Acne.org is either an acne sufferer or an ex acne sufferer and we work here because we care and believe in Dans mission, it's a cause I'm incredibly proud to be a part of. It's extremely close to my heart and I would NOT be here right now if acne.org's focus was selling products and making money.
The only reason Dan started selling products, was to try and provide users of The Regimen with better value products. Ask yourself, how many companies offer alternative products? How many allow you to discuss other products? I'd be willing to bet there are zero. But Dan does because his focus is helping get people clear skin, not selling products.
These huge advertisements you talk about, are for guests and can be closed by clicking the "x". The reason you don't see them now, is because you're logged in and they don't display to members. They're not even advertisements, we're trying to create awareness of The Regimen, something we truly believe in.
If this was about profits, the "advert" would be linking to the store, which would be selling all kinds of rubbish that doesn't work. But every single product in the store has a function within The Regimen, and was produced to the highest possible quality and is sold at the lowest price possible.
So much aggression displayed over the decision to merge two forums, and such strong opinions doubting the ethics of this site owner - It just blows me away. If someone gets so upset over changes to a website than I can only imagine the level of anxiety and stress just living life must create. Changes occur in all aspects of our lives and how can it be possible for every change to benefit everyone? But change should never be taken on as a personal attack. If it negatively impacts you, there are a few options that you can make. 1. Accept the change and modify your behaviour to suit. 2. Make a complaint and suggest changes. 3. Don't accept the change and move on. I was brought up by my parents to understand that the world does not revolve around me and I think its something that we need to be reminded of now and again. If you don't like something, it does not give you permission to be aggressive and insulting.
@ FabianL I'm a moderator of this site and my JOB is to run my own business. I VOLUNTEER my time to help this site run smoothly and I dedicate many hours a week in doing so. But thank you for reminding me that my job is to move threads posted in wrong forums. Thank you.