MSRC Message Boards

You can access all the boards without needing to register, however, if you choose to register it will bring advantages in how you can use the boards. It will also save you entering lots of detail every time you make a post as once you log in for that session you will always be identified until you choose to log out.

If you are registering you must have cookies enabled in your internet browser.

If any of this seems too confusing you are welcome to call us here at MSRC or send us an e-mail and we will try to talk you through any problems.

When you first click on the Message Board Logo link below you will be taken to a page where you will see a link at the top that says ‘register your free account’. By clicking on there you will then be given the choice of a Global or Local account. We recommend that you register for a Global account as that will also give you access to thousands of other boards around the world.

Once you have selected which account to register you just need to complete the various fields and then they will send you an e-mail to validate your account. You then need to click on the link they provide in the e-mail and you are in.

Thereafter, every time you visit you can just select 'log in' at the top of the message board page and it will know who you are.

There are then loads of options you will be able to use as time goes by, including placing a photo of yourself in your profile, so that every time you post a message your picture will be there for all to see.

Some of these extras you will pick up as you go along but we have also set up a forum section where the clever ones can help us all get more out of our message board experience.

When you get to the message board you will notice that there are Forums covering different activities on the board. Within each forum you will be able to join a topic or set up a new line of discussion. We would ask that you put appropriate posts in the appropriate forum and that you make sure that any new topic you start is in fact new!

In the ‘All About MS’ Forum some of the clever fonts and flashing bits have been removed as these can be disturbing for some users. We would ask that you respect this although this does not mean that the usual banter and humour within these subjects needs to change. Banter and humour is one thing but straightforward Jokes should go in the ‘huMourouS stuff’ forum.

That is hopefully enough instruction for now and the rest will come with practice and help from MSRC or others in the ‘Computer Help & Tips on using this board' forum.

Finally, please remember that these boards have no outside controls and no restrictions. As we are fond of saying - MSRC is The HOME of The FREE. However, with freedom comes responsibility so please avoid anything that will deliberately upset or offend just for the sake of it. No subject is too big, too small, too embarrassing or too obscure to be discussed here. What you write is what will appear. What this board becomes is what you make it.

Welcome to new visitors and old friends.

Enjoy and visit often.

For the Message Boards Click the Box Above!

Interactive websites can help people with long-term health conditions, say researchers at University College London. They said people benefited from sites which linked them to people with the same condition or supported them in other ways.

The team examined 24 studies involving 3,739 people who all had chronic conditions. It found interactive sites were of greater benefit to people than those with information alone, or not using sites at all. They made people feel better informed and more socially supported.

Overall, people who used such sites appeared to see improvements in the way they looked after their health and in their clinical condition. They also had improved self-efficacy - a person's belief in their ability to carry out potentially beneficial actions.

Dr Elizabeth Murray, who led the team, said: "People with chronic disease often want more information about their illness and the various treatment options available. They may also seek advice and support to help them make behaviour changes necessary to manage and live with the disease, such as changes in diet or exercise.

"Computer-based programs which combine health information with, for example, online peer support may be one way of meeting these needs and of helping people to achieve better health."

© Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre (MSRC)