Jooly’s Joint: www.mswebpals.org

By Sandy Burnfield, Consultant in Child and Family Psychiatry, Hampshire, UK.

When I went on-line in 1997, Jooly’s Joint (JJ) was the only site for people with MS I could find. Five years later it is still there and has matured into one of the most useful international sites there is on the Net for people with MS, as well as family and friends.

So what makes this such a cool site? I think it is because it is managed and cared for by just one person – a young British woman, Julie Howell, who has MS herself.

Julie provides many and varied ways for people to use the site, without becoming dominant or intrusive – on the contrary she keeps in the background and encourages others to explore JJ in their own way and to share experiences of MS together.

The JJ site is responsibly run, providing accurate information and links to genuine evidence-based websites where issues can be explored in more depth.

The site is well laid out and easy to use with separate pages on key subjects. There are pages with links designed for people with MS, for people who live or care for us, as well as a newsdesk, bookstore, and a fun page where people can enter competitions, download a screen saver or buy JJ T-shirts.

There are several other ways that JJ offers help and support to people who have MS, including a chat room, and a place for people to make webpals or show each other their pictures.

I spent some time in the chat room – this was busy, international and supportive – messages were easy and quick to send to the group.

This is not a site for wish-fulfilling fantasists or those with a chip on their shoulder – thank goodness – there are too many of these sites already!

Jooly’s Joint is a friendly, informative, and positive site for people involved with MS. Take a look for yourself at www.mswebpals.org