This is one of the most difficult postings that Ive ever done, and if someone had told me last week that it would be necessary, I wouldnt have believed them. Yesterday was a horrific day on this page, and one that we will not be repeating--ever. The day began with 5,135 members, reached 5,159 members, and is now at 5,083 members. It will probably decline more over the next day or so. If so, then so be it. This page was started one day about 4 1/2 years ago when several of us from another Texas-based page got totally, thoroughly, and completely fed up with trolls and spammers on another page and with an admin who wasnt managing the page. We wanted a page where we could discuss Texas-based content--music, food, weather, history, and interesting places in the state to visit--without the drama and BS that we were seeing elsewhere. It has gone without saying that members would treat one another with dignity and respect; that was just understood. Many of the folks who have been around since the early days have become friends, even if we live in different parts of the state and have never seen one another in real-time. It has been a great page, and Ive enjoyed working on it. A few months ago, this little page started growing, and it grew and grew and grew. I didnt understand at first what was happening, so I posted a question about it. Members responded by telling me that it was recommended to them by Facebook. I was okay with that, and I interpreted the growth of the membership as an indication that other people wanted the same things that the little core group who have been here since the beginning wanted--a nice Texas-based page where people treated one another with dignity and respect and where we could discuss Texas. I still think that many of the new folks wanted that; some, however, evidently did not. From some of the mess that I saw yesterday, it looks as if many of the newer members decided to replicate the same behaviors that are prevalent on other pages--which are the same behaviors that this page was started to avoid. Some of yesterdays mess began innocently enough, but progressed into something very ugly and disruptive. A few of the survey-based postings were okay, but then it became too much--but the posters wouldnt stop. The notifications began crashing peoples phones and computers, and some of the remedies for stopping the notifications didnt work. And the posters still continued. Then the name-calling started. I still didnt understand exactly what was happening, but I knew that in that moment, this page had become just like all of the others. I asked myself why I had bothered with it at all, and I seriously considered taking down the whole damned page. Fortunately, I decided to walk away from the computer before I took it that far. Many members, however, left because of the constant notifications that they couldnt stop and because of the general BS happening on the page. Before the evening was over, I removed a few more. The name-calling and disruptive BS wasnt okay before, its not okay today, and wont be okay tomorrow or next week either. When I woke up this morning, my first thought was, OMG, what am I going to do about this? and I felt totally sick about the whole thing. Then I saw all of the messages from people who have been around from the beginning. I needed that. For those who sent messages, thank you for the reminders of whats important. It has made the decisions much easier. One of the mistakes that Ive made is that I was defining troll too narrowly. Trolls, I learned, are people who engage in or promote disruptive behavior. This page was already defined as a troll-free site, so the first decision was easy--people who engage in or promote disruptive behavior will not be staying here. Ive also decided that I am not going to be approving new members for the time being. We need time to heal and to regroup after yesterday, and its occurred to me that at least a few of the people who were blocked from the group might try to get back in with a new profile. It means, however, that some of the people who were fed up and left will have a tough time getting back in, but I think that will sort itself out in time. I will also be investigating the possibility of changing the settings for the page. Although I know that many of the new people who came to the page through FB recommendations are good, caring people who support the focus of this page, many others did not come with that intent. If possible, I want to make the page so that it is no longer promoted by FB and so that new memberships come through recommendations of existing members. I may also be adding one or more new admins. If so, the new admin(s) will be people who have been here from the early days and will support the intended focus of the page. Some people will object to some or all of this, and thats okay. They may decide that they dont want to be here anymore. Thats okay, too. This little page is not for everybody, but then it was not created for everybody.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 17:50:59 +0000
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