When one is the administrator or moderator of a Facebook group, one should approach the role in a professional manner. One should in an ideal setting, share posts that are relevant and hopefully of interest to the group membership. Material that does not fall within the focus of the group should be omitted. In doing so it is incumbent upon the group management to encourage other members to do the same. One should absolutely promote and facilitate public engagement.
What one should not do is use the group to promote your own personal agenda, political, religious, social or otherwise. It is a sad fact however, the management of many a Facebook group will fall short of these common sense standards and frequently use their group inappropriately as a kind of virtual ‘soap box.’
I live in the English Midlands, situated between the two cities of Derby and Nottingham. I am therefore the member of several regional groups, both at city, town and county level. I use these groups to promote my blog, posting reviews and articles that are I hope of interest to the membership. My posts are naturally chosen to fit within each group, there is little point posting a contemporary social piece within a group whose primary focus is Tudor England for example. All posts made must be relevant and germane to the group itself.
I have of late stumbled across a Facebook group based within the Derby postcode, which pretty much breaks all the rules as I outline previous. Here we have the group management posting incessantly their personal and rather warped political views. Perhaps most shockingly of all however, is that much of the material originating from the group owner is of a disgustingly homophobic mature.
It also clear that the management and some of the members are not persons of education. Spelling the name of a British group using American spelling is an indicator of this, as they spell centre as center. One member not understanding the meaning of the word homophobia but apparently having some concept of phobia, thought it meant a fear of houses. The idiocy is sadly strong in this particular group.
There is little point in my continued membership and my posts are frequently declined. Perhaps I am not racist or homophobic enough, for my own posts to appeal to the group management and that is surely a good thing. Nor do I wish to be associated with such a disreputable group, as such involvement may reflect badly upon my own professional reputation.
Daniel Bran Griffith - The Chattering Magpie 