DCUK AKA The Forum of Flog owner says "you need to listen to others"

When you have hung around the diabetes.co.uk diabetes forum, also known as the forum of flog, you get to see it all over the years. Every form of human life has passed through its doors. From highly educated and knowledgeable diabetics (most have left) to a qualified medical Doctor moderator (long gone). We have seen obvious wind up artistes protected by moronic mods and we have seen Stalinist mods banned for banning Doctors. In short, its best described as a sort of Monty Python's Flying Circus of the diabetes world. Highly amusing at times but not to be taken too seriously. The place claims to have over 160,000 members, but long time observers know only a tiny fraction of that number have stayed, or post on a regular basis.

One thing the flog could never ever be accused of is listening to it’s members. For years the slightest criticism  of the management, moderators or members known as “the protected ones” has almost universally lead to banning, thread locking and post deletion. That being said, I was aghast, nay, poleaxed, to read today this statement from the forum owner. “It’s key to remember you need to listen to others” I believe I can truly say I have seen it all regarding the flog, but I have thought that before. Clearly at the “gullible diabetes community”  there is no limit to the lunacy and Chutzpah. I find myself asking, has Mr. Panesar ever taken the time to have a look at his forum and if so, is he ever going to start listening to his forum members.



Hat tip to Baruney for the link http://startups.co.uk/the-entrepreneur-arjun-panesar-diabetes-co-uk/

Mr Panesar said..."Financially, we’re aiming at turning over £8m a year."

Eddie...What is our predicted turnover for the next 12 months running this place? It's just that I've put a large down payment on a rather modest 8 bedroom house in sandbanks,Dorset and I've only got 28 days to complete the sale and stump up the rest of the cash!

Paul1976 wrote:Mr Panesar said..."Financially, we’re aiming at turning over £8m a year."

Eddie...What is our predicted turnover for the next 12 months running this place? It's just that I've put a large down payment on a rather modest 8 bedroom house in sandbanks,Dorset and I've only got 28 days to complete the sale and stump up the rest of the cash!

Financially, we’re aiming at turning over £100m in our second year year, in reality zilch. Jeez that guy is a dreamer, 8 mill from the flog. I checked it out earlier and the only ads running, a free cookbook for give us your life story details (to be sold on to big pharma) according to the Coventry Telegraph "One of the ways the website makes money is by charging to put organisations such as pharmaceutical companies doing medical trials in touch with forum members who have diabetes" And win a free BG meter, the competition no one ever lost according to "I've got loads a meters" Sid Bonkers.

What a coincidence you going to live at Sandbanks, Mo moved down there over the weekend. He got a stellar deal on a five bedroom beach-side house, a snip at 6.5 mill. Between you and me I think Mo is getting a bit too up-market for us.

Please note. Since the Coventry Telegraph article appeared on various forums and blogs (mostly ours) Mr Panesar has stated he was misquoted, and called for a retraction from the News Paper, allegedly. Has anyone seen a retraction?

Link to the misquote here http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/gps-give-medical-advice-havent-9766465

You've got to admit he's got lovely teeth though - I like the guy.

Anyroad I digress. If you really want to know the turnover go to Companies house and it's a quid per report. I could but I'm saving my quid for a mars bar. Already got the threats so looking forward to being banned in...

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Arjun Panesar wrote:The biggest achievement we have made and what we’re really proud of, is the fact Diabetes.co.uk is improving the health of people who have diabetes, and as a consequence we’re saving health services money.

No thanks to the members then  The biggest contribution to cost savings for the NHS comes from the low carbers who are being driven away or banned from the forum.

Perhaps LC doesn't fit into his business model, your not going to get many volunteers for drug trials from those that follow a low carb diet.

Looks like he's saying "do you want fries with that?"

graham64 wrote:

Arjun Panesar wrote:The biggest achievement we have made and what we’re really proud of, is the fact Diabetes.co.uk is improving the health of people who have diabetes, and as a consequence we’re saving health services money.

No thanks to the members then  The biggest contribution to cost savings for the NHS comes from the low carbers who are being driven away or banned from the forum.

Perhaps LC doesn't fit into his business model, your not going to get many volunteers for drug trials from those that follow a low carb diet.

The members supply 99% of the content and support for free, the moderators work for free. A forum and the software can be got for free, although it is obvious DCUK has invested in the forum software. The flog management pays lip service to the low carb lifestyle for diabetics, they have no choice, as almost all the success stories on the forum are down to low carb. Also, all around the world some of the most eminent Doctors and Scientists are now promoting a low carb lifestyle for diabetics. Sugar and highly processed carbohydrate food is now seen as the new tobacco. In short, people have seen the light. Big pharma has been fined $billions in recent years for bribery and corruption, falsification of trial data and other forms of dishonesty. All ponzi schemes come to an end.

Arjun Panesar can talk the flog up all he likes but it is dying on the vine, it's going the way of the dodo. Ask yourself this question. If you had a business that realistically turned over millions and be profitable, would you allow it to be run and controlled by the muppets that now moderate it, not in a million years. When I joined the forum it has two thousand members, yet banner advertising was from major world wide corporations such as Banks and Credit card companies, now it's for a free cookery book, theirs, and win a free BG meter. Would you spend your money paying to advertise on the flog, somehow I kinda doubt it. Advertising is key for success on a forum or blog and the flog has gone backwards and going nowhere fast.

Seven years ago good low carb information was thin on the ground, now there are a million and one fantastic resources of information out there for free. Who would pay, when you can get the latest information, and countless great low carb recipes as fast as you can click a mouse. When someone gets diagnosed a diabetic, and has any sense of self preservation, they look for information fast, and the right information is very quickly found these days.

So, if the flog is such a deadbeat why do I and others talk about it so much you may be thinking, it is because of what the place once was, a fantastic forum run by intelligent and highly knowledgeable mods. Mods whose only agenda was to help others to a safer place. People like Fergus, Dennis, Timo and Doctor Katharine Morrison. There was non of the them and us, non of the banning and deletion of members posts on a whim of an idiot. Slowly but surely the lunatics took over the asylum, what could have been one of the best forums in world, has been reduced to it present state. One day Mr. Panesar may realise what the place could have been. The opportunities to build a good and profitable long term business did exist, but you can't build a sound business on the back of spin, threats, fear and duplicity and that is what the forum has become.

What chance of this forum taking off and becoming large and well known, my honest opinion, not a chance. As Indy said awhile back, forums have had there day. So many people are running their own blogs these days, those that want a voice have got it. Those that want sound information to control their diabetes can find it, and all of it for free. Meanwhile we are ticking over and although very small, we are getting a lot of reads, our low carb message is getting through, to ever more people, and we all work for love, not profit.

Eddie wrote:
Seven years ago good low carb information was thin on the ground, now there are a million and one fantastic resources of information out there for free. Who would pay, when you can get the latest information, and countless great low carb recipes as fast as you can click a mouse. When someone gets diagnosed a diabetic, and has any sense of self preservation, they look for information fast, and the right information is very quickly found these days.

True. However "it's all anecdotes" to medical professionals - which means "it hasn't been paid for".

A while back I saw a paper which was published by DUK and sponsored by the Sugar Bureau, and was based on around 30 subjects. That is "evidence" unlike the hundreds, nay thousands, of tales from well controlled diabetics.

When I used to post there it appeared to be a good source of valid information. Now I'm not sure it isn't worse than DUK's own "official" forum. Certainly an order of magnitude worse than the ADA forum, in which (unless it's changed significantly since I last used it) almost no-one followed the official ADA diet.

chris c wrote:

Eddie wrote:
Seven years ago good low carb information was thin on the ground, now there are a million and one fantastic resources of information out there for free. Who would pay, when you can get the latest information, and countless great low carb recipes as fast as you can click a mouse. When someone gets diagnosed a diabetic, and has any sense of self preservation, they look for information fast, and the right information is very quickly found these days.

True. However "it's all anecdotes" to medical professionals - which means "it hasn't been paid for".

A while back I saw a paper which was published by DUK and sponsored by the Sugar Bureau, and was based on around 30 subjects. That is "evidence" unlike the hundreds, nay thousands, of tales from well controlled diabetics.

When I used to post there it appeared to be a good source of valid information. Now I'm not sure it isn't worse than DUK's own "official" forum. Certainly an order of magnitude worse than the ADA forum, in which (unless it's changed significantly since I last used it) almost no-one followed the official ADA diet.

Chris I am sure you know many of DUK's main sponsors are from big pharma. If DUK promoted a diet that would reduce sponsors revenue it would cost them big time. They have no option to continue to push the diet of slow death to diabetics. I suspect keeping people on the payroll and the perks maintained is the priority for DUK rather than the well-being of diabetics. The day is coming when a class action lawsuit will be announced against the likes of DUK. What will be their defence "we were only following orders" they cannot use science because the science does not stack up. It is a fact the likes of DUK have sent millions to an early grave and bankrupting healthcare systems. One day the great ponzi scheme will come to an end, and it is going to get very ugly.