What's with ASS-A (ASAA)?

[jedimark]

After my recent dealings with a certain apneasupport organizations forum, I'm am now very glad CPAPTalk is not run like they are.

I can respect every forum has their right to rules, but when they make new ones up as they go along, because they are against people like me trying to freely help others, I can no longer respect them as an organization. They are accusing myself and my software of enabling people to 'self treat" rather than "self monitor"..
I find this accusation incredibly insulting.

Most of us know the strict rear-retentiveness of that particular forum when it comes to any posts referencing self treatment. I certainly avoided doing this.

All I attempted to accomplish was clearing up some questions about my software. Not promote it. Just answer questions that were already raised.

First they deleted my posts.. finally got a moderator to respond, who clearly didn't know what to say, as no T&C was breached he could point to. I contacted again in disgust, and received a more friendly response from the site administrator, saying the mod made a mistake. They even created a new forum area for Self Monitoring with software, and gave me permission to post there. but straight away blocked my from posting again.

What a waste of time. (and rackspace!)

I have no desire to return there, as a result it will certainly not be an accurate place to find information for the SleepyHead project.. I would like to recommend that it would be best not to mention it at all over there, as they are very much opposed to the idea of helping people with free software.

Frustrating.. But their loss, not mine..

By the way, my personal views on "self treatment"?
1) I don't think it is very wise to go it alone, when a person has perfectly good access to medical support available.
2) A doctor who refuses or fails to do their part to educate both themselves and sleep apnea patients needs to turn in his/her medical license.
3) A sleep apnea patient who has been made aware of the seriousness, yet refuses to do what they can to educate themselves, deserves the misery.
4) In the end, it's the patients right to choose how they manage their treatment. A doctor is nothing more than a consultant. And doctor who thinks he's more than this is a tyrant.

If using my software to track their CPAP progress, helps someone improve their results, great! but nowhere does my software actively or even passively encourage going against a doctors advice.

People "self treat" using Encore Viewer & ResScan software as well. It's not like my software is singled out for this "unintended" purpose.

/Mark

[SleepyJohn]

Take no notice of any critics or detractors JediMark. I support your true humanitarian aims and efforts 100%, and i am sure that hundreds, if not thousands of us feel the same way.

It seems the medical profession has lost its way in the main and become a true profession as opposed to a true vocation. Everything is money centric, and caring and sympathy are lacking.

Compared with the marvellous efforts of an impoverished country like Cuba with its http://mondediplo.com/2006/08/11cuba Medical Brigades and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8059287.stm Operation Miracle, humanitarian efforts by the developed world pale into insignificance, Would that it were otherwise.

Please keep up the good work, you can rely on our support.

Anyone else agree?

[GumbyCT]

I can only say I am surprised that you are surprised.

You will get all of the support you need right here at THE Best Forum on the Internet.

Keep up the GREAT Work Mark.

[kaiya2465]

I agree 100% also. If it was not for this forum I would still be struggling. I had no doctor that would really communicate with me on my apap or my apnea. I now made it through a full night on it . I will see a new doc on the 13th & am hoping this time we can work together!!! To all the forum people that respond & help others learn, a real big Thank You!!! Good work keep it up.

[jedimark]

I can only say I am surprised that you are surprised.

You will get all of the support you need right here at THE Best Forum on the Internet.

Keep up the GREAT Work Mark.

Don't worry GumbyCT, I'm not forum shopping.. I'm quite happy here

Just trying to keep an eye on stuff. I should be glad.. One less place I have to be concerned about

[archangle]

I can only say I am surprised that you are surprised.

You will get all of the support you need right here at THE Best Forum on the Internet.

Keep up the GREAT Work Mark.

Don't worry GumbyCT, I'm not forum shopping.. I'm quite happy here

Just trying to keep an eye on stuff. I should be glad.. One less place I have to be concerned about

Too much of the medical profession today has the same moral attitude as the Catholic Church in the dark ages. Anyone trying to translate the bible into English and let the people read it on their own will be burned at the stake.

They claim it's for your own good, but in fact, it's mostly about money and power.

[kempo]

I am sure cpaptalk.com has saved me thousands of dollars and many hours of my time by helping me find out what I needed to know about my OSA, what equipment I needed to buy, how to keep up with the stats to make sure I am getting the correct therapy, and how to deal with the DME.

Thank you cpaptalk.com and forum members!

[nanwilson]

I have a question for you....have you registered or gotten a patent for your program????? I'm not quite sure how one goes about this when you've written your own program, surely if not registered, it could be stolen by someone and registered in their name. Am I barking up a dead tree or would this be valid in your case?
Trying to help
Nan

[archangle]

I have a question for you....have you registered or gotten a patent for your program????? I'm not quite sure how one goes about this when you've written your own program, surely if not registered, it could be stolen by someone and registered in their name. Am I barking up a dead tree or would this be valid in your case?
Trying to help
Nan

The program is "open source". This means it's "copyrighted," but under terms such that others can take it and add to it with certain restrictions. If you add to it, you have to allow others to use your additions for free.

Simplified legal summary above, the real situation is a little more complicated.

SleepyHead in particular is under the GPL license.

Software is usually copyrighted, not patented. Software patents are evil, more complicated, and cost money and lawyers.

[Janknitz]

I don't know why, but I still post over there--mainly because I hate to see clueless newbies kept in the dark. I will often refer to "free open source software" to access data and if the OP asks for more info I send them here in a pm.

It burns me that I can't post links to my blog that can help newbies avoid being taken advantage of by DMEs--too much time to spell it out to every newbie.

[nanwilson]

I have a question for you....have you registered or gotten a patent for your program????? I'm not quite sure how one goes about this when you've written your own program, surely if not registered, it could be stolen by someone and registered in their name. Am I barking up a dead tree or would this be valid in your case?
Trying to help
Nan

The program is "open source". This means it's "copyrighted," but under terms such that others can take it and add to it with certain restrictions. If you add to it, you have to allow others to use your additions for free.

Simplified legal summary above, the real situation is a little more complicated.

SleepyHead in particular is under the GPL license.

Software is usually copyrighted, not patented. Software patents are evil, more complicated, and cost money and lawyers.

Thanks Archangle...I wasn't sure on the procedure...but hey, I'm just an old lady

[archangle]

Thanks Archangle...I wasn't sure on the procedure...but hey, I'm just an old lady

Unless you're mentally twisted, software copyrights, patents and such make no sense to you.

[mayondair]

I don't know why, but I still post over there--mainly because I hate to see clueless newbies kept in the dark. I will often refer to "free open source software" to access data and if the OP asks for more info I send them here in a pm.

It burns me that I can't post links to my blog that can help newbies avoid being taken advantage of by DMEs--too much time to spell it out to every newbie.

I agree Janknitz, I feel sorry for the clueless there. I often give someone a heads up about your blog in a PM.

[Slinky]

I was once locked out of apneasupport.com because of something I said. One moderator actually stalked me around the web, picked up that I was a monitor on a different unrelated health topic forum, etc. I didn't mean to break their rules and I was FURIOUS about being stalked around the web and e-mailed several of their moderators about it.

I was reinstated and when I was I told them that if I again outstepped their bonds or they had anything else to say to me it had better be by someone other than the stalker. I then blocked that stalker moderator from contacting me in that forum, via PM or e-mail. I've done fine there ever since.

They are a good bunch at apneasupport. But one moderator doesn't always know what the other moderator is doing and sometimes there are misunderstandings that they aren't able to clear up until they have a group confab. I'm not sure what your sig is there but if it has a link to your website or software that might have been your last/most recent "offense". Or the last moderator to delete your post(s) may not have been made aware of the "ruling" about you yet.

Cut them some slack. They aren't all bad by any means and they do have certain constraints they have to abide by to continue their relationship w/the "powers that be". After cpaptalk they are the second best apnea support forum on the web that I have found. And frankly, sometimes its the best forum for those newbies who are anxious to "play" w/their "new toy" w/o having a clue yet to what they are doing. Sometimes a little knowledge can be dangerous and as we all know playing around w/your settings when you havent a clue what you are doing or why, while it won't kill you, could be responsible for not getting good therapy and thereby finally just giving up and quitting.

[chunkyfrog]

I want to bookmark Jedi's blog.
I'm about to look for a link. . .
Thank goodness there are good people like jedimark.