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John created a StayLDS FB group, which sort of caught me off guard. I was not really sure what to do with it. The thought has crossed my mind a few times in the past, but there were always three main problems with FB in my mind: 1. StayLDS.com (phpBB etc.) offers anonymity (very important!) to users. FaceBook is generally going to have real identities and more exposure (possibly unintended).
2. FaceBook groups do not have the same vital content controls and flexibility we depend on with the phpBB software. There isn’t an automated “Justification Text” filter with registration, and we can’t prohibit posts or move them out of public view to our “Parking Lot.” We can’t edit other people’s posts, and on and on — Lots of tools missing.
3. Fragmenting the community and the conversations. Adding more locations for conversation fragments the focus. Where do people go to be a part of the group? One place? Both places? We will have the same conversations happening at both simultaneously, etc.
MY PROPOSAL:FaceBook is a valuable tool for exposure and connection. I would like to use this FB group for two things:
1. Let people connect via FaceBook via our community. This adds a nice more-real-world personal connection for people who would like that. People can connect on a more personal level with others in their area perhaps. They have control over how public they are, or having their real name associated with their StayLDS pseudonym.
2. Post links to good threads in the forums.
If we admins/mods like a discussion and want to draw attention to it, post a link to it in the FB group. I would like to keep it focused on advertising the site and moving people to the forums for conversation, and not become a replacement. We can’t control who posts or responds, or what they say. I think we can delete other people’s comments if we are “Admins” though.
3. I guess let pretty much anyone into the group that asks. I don’t really want to spend a ton more time administering another giant set of users. If someone ends up being a troublemaker, just boot them out I guess. I wouldn’t plan on spending any significant time coaching people on posts. The group is public either way, so the “marketing” value happens regardless.
I am going to make the following change:
Change Privacy to “Open.” Content and members are public. It is currently set to “Closed” (members public, content private).
Please chime in on what you think, good idea? bad idea? Don’t care either way?
All those in favor, please signify by the raising of the hand. Those opposed? Make a similar sign.
I am wary, for all the reasons you listed. I know I won’t be participating on the Facebook page, due mainly to time constraints, and I don’t want to give up content and flow control. In the end, whatever everyone else wants to do is fine with me – but I am wary.
I am going to test to see what happens. Posting a link the “Correlation” thread to see how things play out. Sorry to be jumping the gun a bit, before getting feedback from everyone. The FB group is moving quicker than this thread, with a life of its own. It is really nice of John and others to promote it. So I am kind of moving forward with some of the above plan in reaction. We can make changes later, if needed. I won’t be participating on the FB end either. Don’t want to associate my real name. I’ll go take a look at it though. Do we really want to make it “open”? I think that can pose more problems than it’s worth. I would keep it closed. I’ll have to check it out if I ever get a sec. He did the same with OM (or someone did), and it does seem to have poached some of the folks from OM – made OM less interesting for content. But I almost think the FB thing for StayLDS could be really good. I just worry about how public it is. At least the name sounds pro-church, so hopefully the content will follow suit. Reminding people that the group is visible to the public would be really really good. I really want to funnel people to the website (forums) if they want to say things they wouldn’t want the whole world seeing. I’d rather not have the FB group become the new focus. I hope people can simply join or like a group called “StayLDS” safely without catching a lot of attention for controversy. And people don’t have to reveal their pseudonyms on the site to be a member of the FB group. I am really cool either way if people don’t want to belong to the FB group. If it becomes too much of an administrative or moderation hassle, let’s just pull the plug on it. I’m not into having more drama or having it drain a lot of time=energy.
I created a Facebook account called “Mo Heretc” and my blogs updates Facebook when I create a new post. I have been amazed at the increase in pageviews over the past few months. It’s really helped increase traffic. (I decided to sign up for Twitter too.) A thought occurred to me. Seetting FB StayLDS.com to “OPEN” will very likely keep the conversations a lot more civil. Most people interested in the concept are going to have traditional / orthodox family and friends. Anyone really spewing a lot of rage and vitriol on a regular basis will quickly stand out from the crowd. We can eliminate those people as not really being at a point in their life where they are ready for reconciliation. They’re still in a deconstruction and purging phase of their journey. We’re not that community. Yes Brian, I also think it may. It will be interesting to follow, …to see how the traditional members that stumble upon it interact. I just realized that it could become a start for some of the orthodox memebership to gain awareness of some of the struggles — and hopefully nurture charity. The key in my mind is to keep the tone positive and sincere, with respect and hopefully little anger. With the right tone I could see it as a place for some of my closer family and friends to become more acquainted with the struggles that so many members are facing — and more importantly see that they are most effectively dealt with using charity instead of judgment.
To me, the entire success or failure will be about the tone. I just don’t have time to be involved there – at least if I want to continue to be involved actively here, and I want to remain actively involved here.
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