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Our model at Scarleteen right from the start has been to provide information and content based primarily on what you ask us for and what you express you want and need.
That remains the way we like to do things around here, and we depend on you to keep us filled in and in-touch. So, what you think is not only important to us, it's critical so we can do a good job providing information that's relevant to you. Like any other service, organization or collective, there are some things we can't do or where we just aren't the right people to do it. We do have limitations, either because of funding or time, the limits of the media we use or the limits of our own expertise, experience or education. But even in cases where something just can't be done, it's always good to ask and always good for us to think about it, and more times than not, we can provide what our users ask for. If and when we can't provide something, we also can usually give you a referral to someone else who can.
We are most interested in comments and suggestions from the population that we aim and are created to serve: from young people under the age of 25.
If you're over 25, we welcome your suggestions, however we often find that what older people think is best for younger people is in conflict with what our younger users are asking for themselves. Over-25s need to understand that their opinions will always come second here, as responses to them often will, and ask you please put and consider the younger people here first yourself.
We ask suggestions NOT be sent via our Twitter account. It's too tough to talk about anything in any depth or with clarity in 140 characters on the fly. While sometimes it's fine to leave suggestions on our message boards and to discuss these issues there, we prefer the options listed above and find they work better for everyone. That's mostly because when we're working the boards, our primary aim is to take care of users in immediate need of help or information with their lives or their health. We prefer to tend to general or content suggestions in spaces and at times when users in need are not left hanging and when we're not in the thick of counseling someone. Thanks!
Just like with the guidelines for the rest of the site and our services, comments left here or elsewhere that are not constructive, which are spam or any kind of threat, personal attack or harassment will not be published or provided a response.
However you get in touch with us, we'll get back in touch with you soon. However you provide a suggestion, we may have some questions for you to be sure we understand what you're asking for, so do check back into your email, this page, your phone or Facebook again after you've posted so we can follow up!
We appreciate your input and participation, and as always, thank all our readers for the essential part they play in helping us to create content and services that young people around the world can use and find useful.
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ThanksFri, 2010-07-30 03:45
Toxxic Babe
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I'm so glad i stumbled upon this site. i have wondered for a long time about why my body works the way it works, wondering if there was something wrong with me. it makes me very happy that this site is out there for all the girls looking for answers. Keep on keeping on.
Much love <3
Thanx for kind work...Sat, 2010-08-14 13:14
ravi.singhkol
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I am very thankful to the site manager for the knowledge they supply with accuracy..It is truly excellent.Keep on the good work to help persons like us who are new in this field....
ImingMon, 2010-10-11 00:23
tortot555
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I think there should be an online chat section where people can talk like a conversation and exchange questions and answers.
IMs/chatTue, 2010-10-12 07:50
Heather Corinna
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tortot555: This has come up in the past, however it is not likely something we will be adding any time soon. Sorry about that.
The message boards are very conversational, particularly since when we have exchanges there, the wait time between responses is often very minimal, almost to the point of being in real-time. Our message boards also appear to have long been the format for this our users like most and feel most comfortable with. They're incredibly busy.
We also have the text service that is very much conversational. The Sexpert Advice section is yet another for questions and answers.
Because we have all three of those ways to have discussions/get unique, individual answers already, and because both staffing and funding those is a challenge as it is, we really can't add a chat section soon. We don't feel we need it, and users rarely ask for it, but to even seriously consider it, we'd have to have the funds and the staff to support it, which we don't.
immidiate helpWed, 2010-10-20 21:12
sarabby.
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i thiink there should be an instant help messaging system. i'm not sure how anyone could possibly do that, but i think somewhere and somehow in this world there should be one without talking on the phone with someone- because if your like me, i'm shy and i cant stand talkinng on the phone with someone i don't know, and i get nerrvous.... i think there should be another way of having a 'hotline' thing. sorry for the wrong words, but i'm not sure what else to call it.
We have two ways that you canThu, 2010-10-21 05:22
Heather Corinna
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We have two ways that you can get that kind of help without a phone call.
There are our message boards, where often posts get answered within an hour or so, sometimes even less, and where we stay in conversation with our users there for as long as they need, from hours to days, to weeks to even months. Those are here: http://www.scarleteen.com/cgi-bin/forum/ultimatebb.cgi
There is also our text-in service, where you can get help/we can have a conversation via text message. Information on that is here: http://www.scarleteen.com/text_scarleteen
Friends with benefits.Thu, 2010-10-28 16:27
zag94
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It would be nice to have more on how relationships work. I recently separated with my girl friend, but we are still really good friends and like eachother alot. We started off as best friends, and now we are that again, but still have "benefits" here and there. We are planning on having sex soon, and i'm wondering, is it a good idea to lose your virginity to your best friend?
zag94: It sounds like you'reFri, 2010-10-29 02:21
Heather Corinna
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zag94: It sounds like you're looking for something fairly specific. Might these pieces help you out?
• Supermodel: Creating & Nurturing Your Own Best Relationship Models
• Hello, Sailor! How to Build, Board and Navigate a Healthy Relationship
• Safer Sex...for Your Heart
• Ready or Not? The Scarleteen Sex Readiness Checklist
• Would friends-with-benefits work for me?
If not, you can put this question into the queue for Sexpert Advice, or come on over to the message boards, and we can talk with you about this there!
You should make it clearFri, 2010-12-17 15:43
Compidonkiwonk (not verified)
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You should make it clear where your website is based. I thought maybe it's in the U.S.A. but I'm not sure and there seems to be nothing to even indicate where it's located - which means if someone is from the UK and it's actually a US website and they need advice, most of the advice may be completely useless (e.g. "phone [insert US number]")
We list our address (which isMon, 2010-12-20 09:32
Heather Corinna
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We list our address (which is in Seattle, in the US) on our about page.
However, we are an internationally-serving website (with international staff), so do tend to make clear when something is based in a given country, be it this one or any other. If you ever see a spot where that was murky, or we didn't please let us know where that was, and we'll be sure to correct it. By all means, I've no doubt we've made an error and done that sometimes.
In our direct services, if and when a user lets us know where we are, we make a point to refer them to services they want and need which are local to them. As well, most of the information given on the site, on the whole, is not location or population-specific, but again, if you or any other readers find something that seems to be without making clear that it is, please let us know!
Thank you for putting thisSun, 2011-01-16 13:19
Melena Morgan (not verified)
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Thank you for putting this site out there, having answers for everything!!! Its helped me with alot, id recommend it to everyone.
Text MessagingMon, 2011-01-24 06:06
Mae_94
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Currently you say that the text messaging is only available in the US... However I'm sure a lot of users like myself are not located in the US and would also like to use this way of communication. Will you be making this available in other countries? If so, will it be any time soon?
Mae: it's the technology ofWed, 2011-01-26 08:55
Heather Corinna
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Mae: it's the technology of mobile services that currently limits us from expanding the service, to my understanding. In other words, we would love the service to serve as many nations as possible, but when I have asked around about this (my knowledge of mobile tech and how it works is very limited), the answer I've gotten is that the technology simply wouldn't allow that yet.
You can be sure that if and when we get a different answer to that question, and so long as funding isn't an issue, we'll expand the service!
Could we have an article onMon, 2011-02-21 19:02
AnonymousUK2011 (not verified)
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Could we have an article on anal sex please?
I see lots of girls on forums asking about anal sex when they obviously don't really want it but do it for their boyfriends, nothing new there, but considering anal sex can be so painful and risky (slightly higher risk than other sex acts, but also lots of people seem to think you don't need to use condoms etc. with anal sex) if they are going to do it then it'd be good to have a teen-friendly article to point them to discussing how to avoid pain, pleasure from anal sex, how to stay safe, how to prepare etc. Can you help us out, please?
We can help out, as weFri, 2011-02-25 09:59
Heather Corinna
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We can help out, as we already have quite a few.
I'd suggest starting with the following links, or you can just use tags to find more:
• http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advice/anal_sex_lowdown
• http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advice/why_is_anal_sex_so_wrong
• http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advice/what_anal_sex_is_and_is_not
• http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advice/blaming_the_wrong_butthole
Finally comfortable with myself!Sun, 2011-02-27 22:43
NatureLover (not verified)
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Oh my goodness, for so long I've been wanting to ask so many questions about my body and I'm so appreciated that there are some pretty amazing girls out there even courageous enough to ask them because with out them I wouldn't have found this site. And I most definitly wouldn't have been comfortable with myself without this site! I just want to say I am so happy to finally say I am happy with my body. I am on birth control and I don't plan on having sex for a while we've known each other since grade 7 and started dating a year ago we've only been out and official with the relationship for six months now and we are more then happy. And I am happy now because I found this amazing site to guide me! I am SO thankful for it and it's help!
I just want to say thank youSat, 2011-05-28 18:47
anonn (not verified)
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I just want to say thank you so much for what an amazing, informative website. I love scarleteen and I am so happy about the fact that I can get reliable, intelligent, and correct information. Thank you for all you do, I really can't even describe how much you have helped me. <3
Search boxFri, 2011-07-15 09:03
mudpuddles
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I have just been on this site for one day and I am just captivated by its valuable and very entertaining messages and advice. I have already spent a few hours looking at it! However, just one annoying point I found about this site, its that there is no "search box". It is quite hard for me to find things. The index "Get around" does help me quite a bit but it is very vague. I want to find specific things and I think that a search box would be just the thing for this website! It is convenient for users and they can search up the specific things that they are searching for! This way it would also reduce the amount of questions that come from users asking for types of articles, e.g. AnonymousUK2011 who asked for an article of anal sex, which u already had! Anyways, thanks for reading this suggestion and for your time. :D
So sorry you had such a hardTue, 2011-07-19 16:01
Heather Corinna
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So sorry you had such a hard time finding it! There is one, on the lower left corner of every page, and there's also a link to the search on the left hand sidebar.
However, we've been working on some design changes for the future, and they include moving the search box up to the top center of the page, which I think is going to make it a lot easier to find. :)
Perhaps a mini-search bar?Thu, 2011-07-28 02:55
Leigh-Bee (not verified)
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I know that you guys do a lot and this kind of stuff is probably difficult, but I just went through 40 + pages of questions you guys get, and I still didn't find what I was looking for. I didn't want to just ask you guys, in case you had already answered that.
Anyway, I was thinking, would it be too much to ask for a mini search bar for the questions? Or maybe some categories or something?
Did you try using the tags toFri, 2011-07-29 10:59
Heather Corinna
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Did you try using the tags to narrow down what you were looking for? Or, going to the topics in the blue bar on the top right, use the index of questions and answers and blog posts sorted by topic that show up on the right hand size of the article indexes?
If you did, and that still didn't work for you, nor did using the search function, can you perhaps be a little more specific about why those three ways of searching didn't work out? That could help us figure out what's missing and potentially how to refine all of this.
Thanks!
MessagesFri, 2011-08-05 17:14
Landa84
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I find navigating to actually post a question extremely difficult, every thing i clicked opened someone elses post , no where could i find how to ask you a question
Landa: on what part of theFri, 2011-08-05 19:49
Heather Corinna
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Landa: on what part of the site are you trying to post a question? The message boards, or the sexpert advice section?
That Heather is one hell ofWed, 2011-09-28 22:43
James987655 (not verified)
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That Heather is one hell of an idiot. I just got done reading some responses from her and to waste less of my time I'll mention one: she claims all men who don't want to have analplay have reasons that all boil down to homophobia. She continues on about men being homophobic. What clucks of an ignorant hen, I myself am straight and open to those ideas, but it is just something that is uncomfortable/painful and stressing emotionally, I am not a homophobe nor do I (nor anyone I've ever heard of/met in my life) thinks that can turn you gay as she honestly seemed to believe people think. This site is pretty much a joke, there are much better sources on the web.
James: in the future, pleaseSat, 2011-10-01 11:52
Heather Corinna
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James: in the future, please avoid name-calling here, either of me or of anyone. I always want to respond to critical suggestions and comments, but it's very hard to do that when someone leads with ad-hominem attacks. I'm glad to engage critique respectfully, but think it's fair to ask they be made in the same way. I also take real issue with what appear to be false claims being made about myself or my work.
What you are claiming you found here is quite a surprise to me: that anyone who doesn't want to engage their anus must be homophobic nor that engaging in anal sex or being homophobic can "make someone gay" (WHAT?). I'd very much like to see where you have seen those claims made by me or where you have interpreted pieces that way. Were there anywhere here in which statements were made about anything "making" someone a given orientation, or in nonsupport of the myriad -- and always valid, no matter what they are -- reasons someone might not want to do something sexual, we would be very concerned, because those are both things we have always long protested and which I, personally, most certainly do not think.
Here are some links that typify how I, specifically, have talked here and elsewhere about these issues, and how we tend to here at Scarleteen:
• http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advice/meet_your_prostate
• http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advice/why_is_anal_sex_so_wrong
• http://www.scarleteen.com/article/body/with_pleasure_a_view_of_whole_sex...
• http://www.scarleteen.com/article/gaydar/the_bees_and_the_bees_a_homosex...
• http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advice/should_i_be_concerned_about_his...
• http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advice/three_on_getting_to_the_bottom_...
• http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advice/im_a_guy_interested_in_receptiv...
• http://www.scarleteen.com/article/body/lets_get_metaphysical_the_etiquet...
Again, if you have seen otherwise, and what you are claiming has been said is indeed here and written by myself or any staff, please do share those links. Thank you.
(If you might also, or instead, be saying, you do not believe anyone has homophobic feelings about or responses to the idea of men having anal-receptive sex, I'm not going to argue with you about hat you yourself have experienced, obviously. That said, many people have voiced or encountered people with those beliefs, and you can probably recognize that as someone who is not gay or who takes part in receptive anal sex yourself, you might not be in the position to hear them as much as others in one or both of those groups. As well, each of our own peer groups are rarely representative of the world at large.)
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