I'll keep this thread up for a bit while we're figuring things out... feel free to post questions, suggestions, or any feedback about the board here.
Or, instead of “copy”, we could link to those posts on FDMB and send people there. Just trying to figure out how we’ll explain to newbies how to test, dosing methods, etc…I can copy over the rest of the sticky posts and other relevant information. That seems like it would be pretty high priority.
No problem at all! Curious to get your thoughts on what else we should have here. Do you think there would be any issues if we had links to FDMB in the sticky posts here?Tim -
You can’t copy any of the templates, sticky notes, FAQs, etc. They are proprietary to FDMB. We’ve had issues with people plagiarizing the material.
This should be all set.On the FDMB, the Forums under More Topics are only visible to someone who is logged in. This allows some privacy for people. Is this possible with this version of the software?
I think you need to give consideration to what the purpose of the site is. If this is meant to be a back-up to FDMB, historically the "back-up board" was for a chat only purpose. There were none of the features available since the people using the back-up board were already members, had spreadsheets, etc. When we had outages, they were not prolonged. What's going on now is an exceptional situation. If this site continues to be active past the current emergency, then the site is in competition with FDMB.No problem at all! Curious to get your thoughts on what else we should have here. Do you think there would be any issues if we had links to FDMB in the sticky posts here?
Good point. I will try to disable or hide this site when the FDMB is back online and keep everything here on standby.I think you need to give consideration to what the purpose of the site is. If this is meant to be a back-up to FDMB, historically the "back-up board" was for a chat only purpose. There were none of the features available since the people using the back-up board were already members, had spreadsheets, etc. When we had outages, they were not prolonged. What's going on now is an exceptional situation. If this site continues to be active past the current emergency, then the site is in competition with FDMB.
That's actually a great idea and Tim I'll bet xenFORO has a solution for that, cause every board would run into this problem.@Tim & Pookey Is there any way to store pictures posted by members in threads in a separate directory/partition (my tech ignorance is showing!) and archive them or I don't know - even delete them after an x number of weeks/months. Like you said in Ivy's condo, all these pictures add up over time and consume too much space. We don't want to do these with photos in stickies though.
Yes, basically! On the backend you can link a separate database in the cloud which would get us a lot of inexpensive storage. The problem is the platform this site runs on, XenForo, to upgrade their built in storage is expensive.@Tim & Pookey Is there any way to store pictures posted by members in threads in a separate directory/partition (my tech ignorance is showing!) and archive them or I don't know - even delete them after an x number of weeks/months. Like you said in Ivy's condo, all these pictures add up over time and consume too much space. We don't want to do these with photos in stickies though.
This is something I’m looking at but on the front end. How cool would it be to have a photo gallery on the homepage or wherever with pics from people’s threads. Ranked by most liked/reacted and change out every day or couple days. I feel like pics get lost in the threads sometimes…@Tim & Pookey Is there any way to store pictures posted by members in threads in a separate directory/partition
Good thoughts! What to do with new members is tricky. Because if they go from here to FDMB and have a question they’ll get stuck. If they just post here in main we can set them up with whatever links to FDMB they need.This board should be kept as a back up just for Lantus users, at least for now. Maybe remove the other sections for now? I've been a member long enough to remember the old back up Lantus board. It wasn't used much when FDMB was working just fine.
Random thought - maybe require approval of new members? Just thinking about newbies who somehow hear about this board and try to join but are still in the very early stages of the diabetes journey. Maybe those people can be directed to the main FDMB or the FB group? I know there are other cat diabetes forums out there but the quality of advice may be questionable (I looked at Reddit once. It was such an unfriendly environment and I saw one dangerous advice about shooting a full dose at a BG of 40. And don't even get me started on YDC....)
Good point. Maybe there could be a checkbox when uploading to allow a photo to be used in an album or something like that. I’ll keep researching for now.I'd give some thought to photos. Many of the sticky notes include photos (e.g., microdosing). People will also post a video (e.g., their cat's unusual behavior that they want others to observe and comment on). Videos can use a great deal of space. If there's a photogallery, linking it to an outside spot may be a reasonable approach.
Great idea! Right now it's based off messages and reactions received and progressively scales. Doesn't seem like I can easily bypass this for individual users without disabling the scale feature (which is nice). So I gave them a separate tag of "Trusted Advisor". Let me know what you think of the name... other options could be "FDMB Hero" or "Dose Whisperer"...Tim, Can Angela, Bhooma, Chris, Elise, and any other "experts" I might have left out receive the "well-known" member designation? Many of us know them, but if someone new comes into the group, they might feel more comfortable receive dosing advice from them if they know that they are trusted advisors.
I'm not sure about Elise. She was in the FB group. Maybe she's not here.Great idea! Right now it's based off messages and reactions received and progressively scales. Doesn't seem like I can easily bypass this for individual users without disabling the scale feature (which is nice). So I gave them a separate tag of "Trusted Advisor". Let me know what you think of the name... other options could be "FDMB Hero" or "Dose Whisperer"...
Is Elise here?
Please be aware: There are not any "dose advisers" or "experts" on the FDMB. The FDMB is an open board subject to peer review where laypersons with varied degrees of knowledge and experience are free to share their own thoughts and opinions through explanation and by making suggestions.
Agree with Wendy. I’m still on holiday but trying to poke my head inMarje & Gracie is also a mod, but she's on holiday and I hope we'll be back to normal on FDMB before she gets back!
I'd rather we not fuss with different tags for people. FDMB changed people to Well Known after a certain time period and number of posts. New people can look at the date joined or date of diagnosis to get an idea how much experience people have. We also don't like the idea of designating people as advisors. Part of that is indeed the legal implications. A quote from FDMB:
I did try to copy and they don't copy well.Tim -
You can’t copy any of the templates, sticky notes, FAQs, etc. They are proprietary to FDMB. We’ve had issues with people plagiarizing the material.
I agree with techy back up. The situation we are in right now has the potential to be a lot longer than we want to see. If Tim can be in contact with the main person who runs the site, we have a back-up person at the helm at all times. I am not wanting to inflame this unfortunate situation we are experiencing. But every venture needs plan B.Good point. I will try to disable or hide this site when the FDMB is back online and keep everything here on standby.
I do not want to compete with the FDMB or fragment this community.
Maybe it would help to share my motivation - personally I enjoy the tech side of things like this but never really had a use case. So, I thought if I could help the amazing people here and learn a new platform it would be a win-win. I owe you all so much for helping me with Pookey - the last thing I want to do is do something wrong by this community.
Could use “Community/Other Topics” for that, or “The Meme Den”.How about a section for other pets? Other members have pets besides their cat(s), right? It wouldn't be for health related stuff, just general sharing stories and pictures of pets etc.
Thank you for sharing such a well-articulated post. I completely agree that the priority should always be making sure cat parents, especially those newly facing a diagnosis, have access to clear, trustworthy, and easy-to-navigate information, whether it’s on this board or the main board. That’s great feedback on the new user improvements too.There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a backup website or even a website that could be seen as a 'competitor' to FDMB. In fact, competition can lead to better outcomes for users — in this case, cat parents with diabetic cats who need reliable information and support.
Currently, the FDMB website has several issues that could significantly impact user experience, especially for new users who are already overwhelmed by their cat's diagnosis.
For example, many articles and links on the FDMB homepage are outdated or broken, with some content last updated in 2012.
The website design itself feels like it is from 2002, which is not ideal for first impressions.
A lot of the explainers are chaotically written and hard on the eyes to read.
Moreover, critical explanations of the Tight Regulation (TR) method are primarily presented in mg/dL, making them difficult for European users who use mmol/L to understand.
I personally had a really hard time understanding things because of this, and on top of the stress of my cat's diagnosis, it took a lot of effort to fully understand everything.
Many other cat owners, who may not care as much about their cats as we do, might not take the time to do this.
This can discourage those who are not fully committed from learning how to properly treat their cats.
A new website could serve as a modern, user-friendly example without being a direct competitor.
It can demonstrate what a clean, updated, and accessible website for diabetic cat care could look like.
Over time, the improvements made on this site could even be migrated back to the existing FDMB platform, benefiting all users.
Ultimately, the goal is not competition for competition’s sake, but rather ensuring that cat owners — especially those who are overwhelmed and less informed — have the best possible user experience and access to accurate, understandable information.
I know a lot of people put a lot of work into the FDMB, helping many people and their cats, which is truly honorable.
However, should the intent not be to create and maintain the best possible website and explanations, with a clean design, to help as many pet owners and cats as possible at the end of the day?
There are so many things that can be done to support FDMB. For instance, a modern shopping page could be created with affiliate links for pet-related products, such as food and toys, which members already purchase by themselves.
By directing purchases through this ecosystem, all commission earnings could go into a non-profit organization’s fund dedicated to supporting FDMB and other things.
For example, Chewy.com offers a 4% commission rate.
This alone could generate hundreds of dollars, and when combined with other affiliate programs, potentially thousands of dollars each year.
We never know what our total spending power is on a monthly basis or how much money this could generate via commissions, but it could potentially amount to thousands of dollars.
These funds could even be used to develop software or further improve the website if needed.
Affiliate programs:
19 Best Cat Affiliate Programs in 2025 (Top Offers)
If the owners of FDMB would be open to this we could all make this a reality since you own all the internet traffic of course.
Many great points which we Mods have been trying to push for some time. Unfortunately, we do not have the ability to update links on the home page but we try to keep the ones in the forum updated. If, any time, a member finds a broken link in the forum, we ask that one of the Mods be notified so we can fix those.There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a backup website or even a website that could be seen as a 'competitor' to FDMB. In fact, competition can lead to better outcomes for users — in this case, cat parents with diabetic cats who need reliable information and support.
Currently, the FDMB website has several issues that could significantly impact user experience, especially for new users who are already overwhelmed by their cat's diagnosis.
For example, many articles and links on the FDMB homepage are outdated or broken, with some content last updated in 2012.
The website design itself feels like it is from 2002, which is not ideal for first impressions.
A lot of the explainers are chaotically written and hard on the eyes to read.
Moreover, critical explanations of the Tight Regulation (TR) method are primarily presented in mg/dL, making them difficult for European users who use mmol/L to understand.
I personally had a really hard time understanding things because of this, and on top of the stress of my cat's diagnosis, it took a lot of effort to fully understand everything.
Many other cat owners, who may not care as much about their cats as we do, might not take the time to do this.
This can discourage those who are not fully committed from learning how to properly treat their cats.
A new website could serve as a modern, user-friendly example without being a direct competitor.
It can demonstrate what a clean, updated, and accessible website for diabetic cat care could look like.
Over time, the improvements made on this site could even be migrated back to the existing FDMB platform, benefiting all users.
Ultimately, the goal is not competition for competition’s sake, but rather ensuring that cat owners — especially those who are overwhelmed and less informed — have the best possible user experience and access to accurate, understandable information.
I know a lot of people put a lot of work into the FDMB, helping many people and their cats, which is truly honorable.
However, should the intent not be to create and maintain the best possible website and explanations, with a clean design, to help as many pet owners and cats as possible at the end of the day?
There are so many things that can be done to support FDMB. For instance, a modern shopping page could be created with affiliate links for pet-related products, such as food and toys, which members already purchase by themselves.
By directing purchases through this ecosystem, all commission earnings could go into a non-profit organization’s fund dedicated to supporting FDMB and other things.
For example, Chewy.com offers a 4% commission rate.
This alone could generate hundreds of dollars, and when combined with other affiliate programs, potentially thousands of dollars each year.
We never know what our total spending power is on a monthly basis or how much money this could generate via commissions, but it could potentially amount to thousands of dollars.
These funds could even be used to develop software or further improve the website if needed.
Affiliate programs:
19 Best Cat Affiliate Programs in 2025 (Top Offers)
If the owners of FDMB would be open to this we could all make this a reality since you own all the internet traffic of course.
We’ve already asked him about a backup admin. When a new member joins, they are sent an automatic welcoming message with basic info and links. If we can get a backup board agreed upon permanently with the Webmaster, as we used to have with Rebecca, we will update the message that goes out to new members. We can also pin a message on the main board for info on any interim backup board.More of a feedback for those who are able to be in contact with Robert - designate a second Admin as a back up for FDMB. I'm not sure how FDMB is set up but if possible, auto send a welcome email to all newbies as they join with basic info and links to back up boards in case FDMB doesn't work (are there back up boards for ProZinc, etc?). Once FDMB is back running smoothly, add a sticky or announcement with links to back up boards and also note this on the main FelineDiabetes.com home page since sometimes newbies find that first.
This board doesn't need to hide or be disabled when FDMB is running again. Just put up a sticky / announcement to let people know to post all FD questions on FDMB since they won't get any responses here. The old back up board was left as is and there have been a few times where Lantus users would post non-FD things / social stuff there privately for one reason or another. I think there were only two sections on the old back up board, Lantus Land and Community.
Yes! I own www.sugarcatcentral.com, but currently don’t have it linked to this board! There has been some thought given to the name of this board so still working through that…@Tim & Pookey ,
You should consider purchasing www.sugarcat.org. It is a great domain name—easy to remember and well-suited for a non-profit, given the .org extension.
Or: www.sugarcatcentral.org
The current domain is quite long and difficult to remember.
Edit:
And redirect https://felinediabetes.org/fdmb// to www.sugarcat.org / www.sugarcatcentral.org
Edit: Never mind, I see that you have already purchased www.sugarcatcentral.com![]()
There is a former group which was a spinoff from this group. They had a website but now are on FB and use “sugarcats”. They give very dangerous advice and we often get members in FDMB here because they’ve gotten such poor advice there so I don’t think we want long-term association with that name.@Tim & Pookey ,
You should consider purchasing www.sugarcat.org. It is a great domain name—easy to remember and well-suited for a non-profit, given the .org extension.
Or: www.sugarcatcentral.org
The current domain is quite long and difficult to remember.
Edit:
And redirect https://felinediabetes.org/fdmb// to www.sugarcat.org / www.sugarcatcentral.org
Edit: Never mind, I see that you have already purchased www.sugarcatcentral.com![]()
For what it’s worth - I can’t find that group you’re mentioning, but I agree we don’t want any association like that. I have no attachment to the current name, it was just something I got from ChatGPT.There is a former group which was a spinoff from this group. They had a website but now are on FB and use “sugarcats”. They give very dangerous advice and we often get members in FDMB here because they’ve gotten such poor advice there so I don’t think we want long-term association with that name.
I believe their website is gone. I just checked FB, and they’ve changed the name to “Feline Diabetes Support Group”. They have pirated our spreadsheet format and many of our stickys.For what it’s worth - I can’t find that group you’re mentioning, but I agree we don’t want any association like that. I have no attachment to the current name, it was just something I got from ChatGPT.
There was a FB group called "Sugar Cats" but it was archived several years ago. They were separate from the Feline Diabetes Support Group but had several duplicate Admin/Mods. FB also has Diabetic Cat Help Tight Regulation Protocol that is associated with the other message board (DCH) that sent quite a few of its members to the FDMB due to their dangerous advice like not intervening with high carb food/Karo/syrup even if your cat dropped below 50 (2.8)I believe their website is gone. I just checked FB, and they’ve changed the name to “Feline Diabetes Support Group”. They have pirated our spreadsheet format and many of our stickys.