It’s rather a shame that those of us who choose to eschew Facebook miss out on many things locally. Sometimes, it’s as if we don’t exist. Over the summer, however, the wheels nearly came off Facebook’s local group page.
If it weren’t so serious, it would’ve been fun to watch, such was the sport locally on Facebook over the summer. We’re talking about the near implosion of the Facebook group page called the “Fans of the Old Ruthin Blog” and the establishment of a splinter group, the so-called “Ruthin Moaners”. All in all, over the summer, the Facebook wheels seemed to be coming off.
There were two factions: those who wanted a warts-and-all approach to the Fans group page, one that reported on the more unpleasant underbelly of the town. And those who were fed up with the negativity and side-swiping the Fans group page attracted. There was claim and counter claim and possibly even some defamation. Just who was right and who had been wronged was difficult to unpick (or unclick).
If you’re unfamiliar with Facebook groups, welcome to the world where facts no longer exist. Instead, everything is just a point of view, a post-modern screen-based bouillabaisse. The Fans of the Old Ruthin Blog group page has actually long been a hotbed of dissent. Sometimes, it’s the ugly side of social media. On the other hand, when performing well, it stimulated a good level of debate. There
was also a third way: at other times, you couldn’t move around the page without tripping over posts about lost or found cats!
With recent acres of newsprint and hours of radio & TV documentaries, you’d think, post-Cambridge Analytica, that people would be dropping Facebook quicker than hot Welsh cakes. There
doesn’t appear to be any evidence of this in Ruthin.
Matters came to a head in early June on the very day of the Top of Town festival. On the Fans’ group page, there came a post and picture that accused our mayor of scrawling a rather unsavoury four letter word on an overdue parked car. That car was causing a blockage and threatening the festival.
An administrator immediately removed the comment and picture. The mayor later brushed the incident off as a joke.
Some felt uncomfortable following this removal and, indeed, that of other comments earlier in the summer. They questioned the page administrators in cleansing comments all too quickly. But most of the Fans closed ranks and supported the mayor.
The Fans may have been frustrated at the difficulties that Saturday caused by this one parked vehicle but, very ironically, some of the Fans have long been critical of those who actually do enforce car parking—the parking wardens.
Whatever your point of view, the ensuing arguments on Facebook regarding the mayor say more about us as residents than about the mayor and his actions. All too often, we’ve become a vindictive
society. Facebook is our worst selves.
In fact, groups such as the Fans are bigger than all of us, because they are all of us (obviously not
me: I’m not on any of ’em but used to be able to read the Fans group before it was “closed” to public view).
Maybe technology can change the world but in this case perhaps its not always for the best. The internet certainly is no longer the plaything as I remember it in the early 1990s when it was for geeks
and nerds only. Back then, any mention of it on any serious current affairs TV or radio programme would be greeted by chuckles and sniggers. Who’s laughing now?
The Fans group page is almost an organism in its own right. In short, the Fans page reflects who we’ve become.
My late father was a shopkeeper and he once told me that in business you didn’t want to upset any customers, actual or potential. He also volunteered tirelessly for a political party and he very much had his views but he wisely kept them apart from his business. On contentious issues, it was simply best to say nothing, not in public circles, and certainly not on record. A lesson for the
Fans group page, perhaps?
As for Ruthin Moaners, this just seems to play into the hands of those people who live outside our town and who consider Ruthin to be full of complainers. And, yes, there are those who think
Ruthin does nothing but whine. Facebook probably hasn’t helped this perception.
Just sayin’.
“Just sayin’” is a phrase often seen on social media. Tacked on to the end of a comment, it basically tries to absolve the writer of any responsibility for any hurt, offence or even abuse caused
If it weren’t so serious, it would’ve been fun to watch, such was the sport locally on Facebook over the summer. We’re talking about the near implosion of the Facebook group page called the “Fans of the Old Ruthin Blog” and the establishment of a splinter group, the so-called “Ruthin Moaners”. All in all, over the summer, the Facebook wheels seemed to be coming off.
There were two factions: those who wanted a warts-and-all approach to the Fans group page, one that reported on the more unpleasant underbelly of the town. And those who were fed up with the negativity and side-swiping the Fans group page attracted. There was claim and counter claim and possibly even some defamation. Just who was right and who had been wronged was difficult to unpick (or unclick).
was also a third way: at other times, you couldn’t move around the page without tripping over posts about lost or found cats!
doesn’t appear to be any evidence of this in Ruthin.
Matters came to a head in early June on the very day of the Top of Town festival. On the Fans’ group page, there came a post and picture that accused our mayor of scrawling a rather unsavoury four letter word on an overdue parked car. That car was causing a blockage and threatening the festival.
An administrator immediately removed the comment and picture. The mayor later brushed the incident off as a joke.
Some felt uncomfortable following this removal and, indeed, that of other comments earlier in the summer. They questioned the page administrators in cleansing comments all too quickly. But most of the Fans closed ranks and supported the mayor.
The Fans may have been frustrated at the difficulties that Saturday caused by this one parked vehicle but, very ironically, some of the Fans have long been critical of those who actually do enforce car parking—the parking wardens.
Whatever your point of view, the ensuing arguments on Facebook regarding the mayor say more about us as residents than about the mayor and his actions. All too often, we’ve become a vindictive
society. Facebook is our worst selves.
In fact, groups such as the Fans are bigger than all of us, because they are all of us (obviously not
me: I’m not on any of ’em but used to be able to read the Fans group before it was “closed” to public view).
Maybe technology can change the world but in this case perhaps its not always for the best. The internet certainly is no longer the plaything as I remember it in the early 1990s when it was for geeks
and nerds only. Back then, any mention of it on any serious current affairs TV or radio programme would be greeted by chuckles and sniggers. Who’s laughing now?
The Fans group page is almost an organism in its own right. In short, the Fans page reflects who we’ve become.
My late father was a shopkeeper and he once told me that in business you didn’t want to upset any customers, actual or potential. He also volunteered tirelessly for a political party and he very much had his views but he wisely kept them apart from his business. On contentious issues, it was simply best to say nothing, not in public circles, and certainly not on record. A lesson for the
Fans group page, perhaps?
As for Ruthin Moaners, this just seems to play into the hands of those people who live outside our town and who consider Ruthin to be full of complainers. And, yes, there are those who think
Ruthin does nothing but whine. Facebook probably hasn’t helped this perception.
Just sayin’.
“Just sayin’” is a phrase often seen on social media. Tacked on to the end of a comment, it basically tries to absolve the writer of any responsibility for any hurt, offence or even abuse caused