Anyone got any tips tricks comments criticisms or put downs about getting some buy in from Melissa, the Beyond Type 1 SVP Operations? Professor @SherryAnn what grade would you give me?
Dear Chris,
Thank you for sharing your thoughtful perspective on the unique value of the TuDiabetes forum’s format and its rich history. We truly appreciate the deep care you have for this community and its members. As we move forward, Beyond Type 1’s focus is on the evolution of our community and consolidating our platforms to offer members a more integrated experience. Because these platforms are central to our mission and future growth, the organization is not looking to divest the TuDiabetes domain or forum.
We invite you to continue sharing your story and expertise with us in these vibrant spaces. Thank you again for your many contributions to the community.
Missy
On Thu, Jan 29, 2026 at 11:12 PM Chris Wynn wrote:
Melissa:
Thank you for your email. Just like social media where we share differently depending on if we’re posting to X or Facebook the Beyond Type 1 Mighty Networks forum serves a different purpose than the TuDiabetes Discourse forum. The two forums don’t complete, they work together to provide places for people who are looking for a place they feel safe
I can see the advantages of the Mighty Networks platform for Beyond Type 1 like easier integration with your CRM and less maintenance all for a lower cost. The Beyond Type 1 community members that are still using the TuDiabetes forum 3 months after the closure announcement prefer the long form format with a rich history. Please give me the opportunity to talk to you or your team about divesting the TuDiabetes form so I and other forum members can keep it operating.
Sincerely,
Chris Wynn
On Thu, Jan 29, 2026 at 7:28 AM Melissa Leiting wrote:
Dear Chris,
Thank you so much for reaching out and for your deeply kind words regarding the history of the TuDiabetes forum. For nearly two decades, this space has been an incredible home where people with diabetes have built lasting friendships and supported one another. We truly appreciate your dedication to the mission of ensuring no one touched by diabetes feels alone.
As Beyond Type 1 has grown, so have the ways we connect and support our community. We have made the strategic decision to consolidate our platforms into the Beyond Type 1 and Beyond Type 2 community apps. These apps have already been around for nearly a decade and currently host over 60,000 members. This transition is about growth and continuity; our goal is to provide more robust tools, direct access to resources, and even more engagement opportunities while keeping the same supportive spirit that has always defined TuDiabetes.
We want to reassure you that we are focusing all our resources on expanding opportunities for our members within these consolidated spaces. We are excited to welcome you into these vibrant, growing communities. Joining is simple:
I am a member of the community of people who participate on Beyond Type 1’s TuDiabetes forum. Thank you for hosting and supporting the TuDiabetes forum for many years. Now that Beyond Type 1’s support of the community has come to an end I would like to fund, operate and maintain the TuDiabetes forum. When the forum was originally transferred to Beyond Type 1 in 2017 the forum’s mission was to ensure no one touched by diabetes felt alone. I will continue that mission. Can we please have a quick conversation about making a plan to keep the forum available to the community?
I have to admit I only scanned the email back-and-forth. The responses are classic corporate-speak. I could never stand it and, fortunately, I never had to put up with it; the companies I worked for simply moved my office to the elevator and, thick headed though I am, I translated that as an opportunity to leave.
That is the elevator.
It’s a traditionally unclear corporate response, but this web site shows the intention:
I assume there was a CNAME “forum.estudiabetes.org”, but it’s gone now. Having a CNAME that refers to a web site outside corporate control is a big no-no; subdomains are the apparent responsibility of the superior domain so a liability. That’s certainly what I would say would say, and I’m a diabeticcomputer programmer, not a lawyer.
Transferring a domain name, i.e. tudiabetes.org, to a separate organisation without a clear contract and payment probably falls into the same no-no lawyer bucket.
Yeah. There are at least two put-downs in that thread, neither from you. Live with it.
General comment; I try to respond to people by the name they call themselves by, not the one in the corporate email. (Hey, my name was JohnBo for quite a long time.)
Chris,
You have fought the good fight, but at this point I do not think you should continue your efforts to try to change the minds of the folks at Beyond Type 1. While I give you an A+ for effort and dedication and a strong A for your ability to write eloquently and passionately, I would only give you an A- / B+ for persuasive writing. Why?
As I used to tell my students, people are like any other animal on Earth. No one can be persuaded to do anything unless there is a benefit in it for him or her. Even our altruistic actions result in a benefit of feeling good about ourselves for something we have done for others. In reading your correspondence with Missy, I am not sure that you really have recognized WHY Beyond Type 1 is unwilling to sponsor TuDiabetes as a separate forum. In other words, why should they do so? What is in it for them?
In her last message to you, Missy spells out why Beyond Type 1 will not continue the forum. She writes, "Beyond Type 1’s focus is on the evolution of our community and consolidating our platforms to offer members a more integrated experience. Because these platforms are central to our mission and future growth, the organization is not looking to divest the TuDiabetes domain or forum.” In reading between the lines, that statement tells me they want to “consolidate our platforms” for one reason: money. By doing that, they will save money, pure and simple. What would be their benefit for financing the continuation of TuDiabetes? Nothing. They would just have to spend money to maintain the forum, so they have convinced themselves that by letting everyone access their “consolidated” platforms, they will sufficiently serve our needs. We may disagree with that belief for various reasons, but they truthfully do not care. In their eyes, their benefit of saving money far outweighs the needs of the folks who use TuDiabetes and disagree with that assessment.
So where do we go from here? Many very familiar names have moved their latest discussions to FuDiabetes. The discourse seems to be the same, the rules of engagement seem to be similar so far, and I believe that we can have the same freedoms to share information and support that we had in TuDiabetes.
I thank you for trying to keep TuDiabetes going, but I and many others have just moved on. The loss is not for us since we can go elsewhere with our discourse; the loss is for Beyond Type 1 since I and others probably will not be visiting their site anytime soon.
I agree with @SherryAnn’s conclusion and sentiment. We, as a community, are at an inflection point. Communities constantly evolve and are never in complete agreement. Fortunately, we have a familiar place to land if we each make that choice.
We now have to act (read, post, edit, express connection, help others) and continuously build the community that helps us.
Thanks for fighting the good fight but we aren’t a rounding error in their thoughts. I look forward to seeing you on the other side which for me will (pardon me Judith) will always have a second name FUBeyondType1.
Yeah, I saw I botched that when I posted the topic. Doh.
That’s generous considering the evidence of my failure to persuade. Thank you. Persuasion is definitely the part I’m struggling with. I totally agree that we’re looking at cost as the driving reason for the shut down. Was I not clear enough that I was offering to relieve BT1 of all obligations by taking over funding and operating the site?
Don’t answer that, I get that you’ve moved on from TuDiabetes and I’m just making that harder by dragging it out. I appreciate your thoughtful comments. I’m okay with the site shutting down too even if I’d rather it not.
Story time: I was at a relative’s funeral many years ago where someone got up to talk about how when they were in college the deceased was a leader of a group on a trip to Israel. This would have been in the very early 1970’s. They got there and were figuring out how to see the sights and the person speaking said the leader suggested they call and try to get a meeting with, I can’t remember the name, one of the government ministers. The guy called all week and eventually the group met with the minister.
If the meeting was due to persistence, persuasion or a miracle, I dunno. Makes me believe there’s no harm in trying to talk to BT1.
You’re welcome and I feel that way too.
Brothers and sisters of TuDiabetes love boldly, give generously, and never grow weary in doing good.
