A few things that really irk me about the existing one...
A) who elected the admins and mods? Are they representative of the 4500 members of the group or just a vocal minority that wants to have elevated position?
B) Those admins and moderators don't even consistently enforce adherence to the "Group Rules"...
A few things that really irk me about the existing one...
A) who elected the admins and mods? Are they representative of the 4500 members of the group or just a vocal minority that wants to have elevated position?
B) Those admins and moderators don't even consistently enforce adherence to the "Group Rules"...
-2: "Be Relevant" why are there so many posts around adult events that aren't specific to education and caregiving for K-8 kids?
-3: "No insults"...I see plenty of that going around!
-4: "Be Courteous. Create a welcoming environment. Use appropriate language and community standards for communication. No tone policing allowed and graciousness is expected" Absolutely laughable that this is a rule.
-5: "No Hate Speech or Bullying" The vocal few love to get into semantic arguments about what constitutes bullying, so I'll leave that alone, but the description of this one goes on to say "degrading comments about things like race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender or identity will not be tolerated." I've seen plenty of that be tolerated. Just because you use the spelling "whyte" in expressing your disdain and stereotyping an entire racial population of Evanston doesn't mean you're not making degrading comments.
-7: "Respect Privacy and Maintain Trust (Exceptions)" First, what are these "exceptions"? Second, the description says "What's shared in this group stays here". I realize I'm breaking that "rule" by making this post, but you also have some of the most vocal people on there saying things like "I HOPE a parent is screenshotting this to use it against you". The description also goes on to say "NEVER doxx, share anyone’s medical history, mental health status, **negative personal information** from elsewhere on the internet" -- oh, you mean like Lady Dog Whistledown didn't pull in negative personal info in from elsewhere on the internet?
-9: "Receiving Feedback - If you are the recipient of critical feedback and feel uncomfortable, stay calm and ask for clarification. Do not dismiss, belittle or mock." It is quite literally part of the playbook the shoutymcshouty pants posse to dismiss, belittle, and mock people they think have said something offensive, even if unintended.
Impact vs. intent doesn't give you carte blanche to be an asshole to people, full stop. But that's a big reason why, among 4500 members in that group, we have so little meaningful dialogue or community to show for it -- and why people seek anonymity where it's offered. For 99% of people it's not because we want to transact in racism, ableism, or otherwise attack or belittle marginalized communities. It's because so many people's concerns are disqualified or dismissed without being reasonably heard. It's amazing when you look at the admins, their "rules" they don't really bother enforcing, and their seemingly unwavering support for current/recent boards and admins, you realize the similarities between the two in how they selectively respect rules and guidelines.
Having never been a member of the FB group, what I don’t understand is why people continue to post there, let alone engage in pointless arguments with what sounds like the group of trolls serving as admins.
Also, if it’s not a D65 affiliated group, what is stopping someone from starting a splinter group?
I think it's exactly as Megan explained. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as just starting a new group. I think there actually is one. But there would have to be a more effective means of bringing people over from the one in question. So then you have this problem that certain people seem to have larger megaphones to an audience of 4500 people with a vested interest in D65. I think that number amounts to about 1/2 of the votes cast in the 2023 election!
Additionally, many who would otherwise comment there have come here for a similar purpose. Only real difference is we just have a comment section vs. having dedicated forums and threads not necessarily tied to a specific post Tom published.
A few things that really irk me about the existing one...
A) who elected the admins and mods? Are they representative of the 4500 members of the group or just a vocal minority that wants to have elevated position?
B) Those admins and moderators don't even consistently enforce adherence to the "Group Rules"...
-2: "Be Relevant" why are there so many posts around adult events that aren't specific to education and caregiving for K-8 kids?
-3: "No insults"...I see plenty of that going around!
-4: "Be Courteous. Create a welcoming environment. Use appropriate language and community standards for communication. No tone policing allowed and graciousness is expected" Absolutely laughable that this is a rule.
-5: "No Hate Speech or Bullying" The vocal few love to get into semantic arguments about what constitutes bullying, so I'll leave that alone, but the description of this one goes on to say "degrading comments about things like race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender or identity will not be tolerated." I've seen plenty of that be tolerated. Just because you use the spelling "whyte" in expressing your disdain and stereotyping an entire racial population of Evanston doesn't mean you're not making degrading comments.
-7: "Respect Privacy and Maintain Trust (Exceptions)" First, what are these "exceptions"? Second, the description says "What's shared in this group stays here". I realize I'm breaking that "rule" by making this post, but you also have some of the most vocal people on there saying things like "I HOPE a parent is screenshotting this to use it against you". The description also goes on to say "NEVER doxx, share anyone’s medical history, mental health status, **negative personal information** from elsewhere on the internet" -- oh, you mean like Lady Dog Whistledown didn't pull in negative personal info in from elsewhere on the internet?
-9: "Receiving Feedback - If you are the recipient of critical feedback and feel uncomfortable, stay calm and ask for clarification. Do not dismiss, belittle or mock." It is quite literally part of the playbook the shoutymcshouty pants posse to dismiss, belittle, and mock people they think have said something offensive, even if unintended.
Impact vs. intent doesn't give you carte blanche to be an asshole to people, full stop. But that's a big reason why, among 4500 members in that group, we have so little meaningful dialogue or community to show for it -- and why people seek anonymity where it's offered. For 99% of people it's not because we want to transact in racism, ableism, or otherwise attack or belittle marginalized communities. It's because so many people's concerns are disqualified or dismissed without being reasonably heard. It's amazing when you look at the admins, their "rules" they don't really bother enforcing, and their seemingly unwavering support for current/recent boards and admins, you realize the similarities between the two in how they selectively respect rules and guidelines.
Having never been a member of the FB group, what I don’t understand is why people continue to post there, let alone engage in pointless arguments with what sounds like the group of trolls serving as admins.
Also, if it’s not a D65 affiliated group, what is stopping someone from starting a splinter group?
I think it's exactly as Megan explained. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as just starting a new group. I think there actually is one. But there would have to be a more effective means of bringing people over from the one in question. So then you have this problem that certain people seem to have larger megaphones to an audience of 4500 people with a vested interest in D65. I think that number amounts to about 1/2 of the votes cast in the 2023 election!
Additionally, many who would otherwise comment there have come here for a similar purpose. Only real difference is we just have a comment section vs. having dedicated forums and threads not necessarily tied to a specific post Tom published.