Phillyvoice has an article about yet another Facebook community group splintering due to drama trauma. Why did journalist Kevin C. Shelly report this non-event as "news" when it isn't really new? Because in our modern era, online groups are something worth talking about. We want our own community groups to help to our community instead of hinder it. Collingswood's group seems to have split up over typical stuff. Usually, bad member behavior and a lessening of moderation by the group's administrators cause the rift. If rule-reminders aren't handed out regularly, behavior doesn't re-align with the goals of the group. Behavior grows more errant until a split occurs. A new group is formed with a curated membership, similar rules, and good moderation. We have one or two Facebook Community Groups here in H-Town. The most active is the Havertown Community Group (HCG), run by Administrators Kim Lacovara-Barr and Carrie Kauffman. The HCG has 3,770 members. Haverford Township has (by 2010 census) 35,878 residents. That means HCG's membership is roughly 10.5% of the population. (These numbers are estimates, as HCG members can come from surrounding towns). As far as Facebook groups go, these are some impressive numbers. It's very possible a group of this size can enact real change in H-Town. For example, one of the topics of conversation in the HCG right now may end up making a difference for all of us: The Red Plum Mailers. Townies are throwing around the idea of throwing the Red Plum Mailer people out of H-Town. Talk of a petition is brewing. (One can request Red Plum to remove her address from the list, but we've tried this and have seen no results. The mailers still end up on HavertowniesHQ's driveway). If enough interest is generated, perhaps the issue will be brought in front of the Commissioners or the Delco Board. That's powerful stuff. HCG's admins seem to be quite on top of things and will occasionally remind members to refer back to the rules. This is … [Read more...]