When I first joined Facebook, I didn't look for many friends. In fact, my newsfeed would've been mostly empty, if it wasn't for the fact that I somehow became part of some groups. I don't remember how I actively joined them, or when, but I was part of something. Although I now have a fairly substantial friend list, some days it seems that I get more posts from these groups than some of my friends. I have yet to post anything to these groups, but I have commented on many posts, even offering my own opinions and help beyond a regular comment. I have gotten quite a few responses and likes and such as well. However, something went down this past Monday that almost caused the group to break up. That afternoon, one of the more prominent moderators posted that the group was falling apart, and they managed to post some of the behind-the-scenes details before the situation escalated. Apparently, one moderator decided to add some questions for new members to be asked before being allowed to join the private group. (How I got into a private group without even realizing it, I don't know.) Anyway, another moderator took the questions down, partially because they might not have been explicitly relevant to the group. The questions were added to help weed out those whose views did not sit too well with one, or perhaps more, of the moderators, even thought the group's rules prohibited the expression of such views, when done in a hateful or deliberate manner. The founding administrator of the group didn't like this. They first demoted some of the moderators to regular members, and later removed them from the group. The demoted members posted their evidence of what was happening, both on the original page and then on a partner page for a different group, whose membership partially overlapped. The founder of the first group began to kick other members out, mostly newer one. The original kicked moderators then started a competing group with a similar interest for those kicked out. I was watching the competing views fight on the sidelines, without doing anything. Primarily, it was because my wifi was failing me. My store shares a wifi connection with another. Many afternoons, the connection gets so bad that I can barely do anything online. This Monday was one of the worst occasions. Usually, I have a slight delay in posting with some games being impossible to download. That afternoon, I wasn't even able to get more than a post or two before facing delays. Commenting would have been impossible. Then again, I didn't want to get kicked out of whatever group was left standing after the dust settled. If I said the wrong thing, I may have been kicked out of one group or prevented from joining the other. Remember, the initial group was private. I wouldn't have been able to see their posts. Some of the information that gets posted was the main reason why I liked the group. At the time, it was the only way to get that info. Now, I might have other avenues, but this group is still a major source. Finally, I wasn't sure which side I was on. Yes, one side did have the higher moral ground, but both used tactics that I considered a little underhanded. In fact, I was leaning slightly more to the page's founder, regardless of who may have been actually more "right." At the time, I couldn't be sure who was who, as many of those involved used handles while some of the background messages used real names. I wasn't able to keep the sides straight. I ultimately just logged off and put my computer away for the last hour of the workday. By the time I was able to log back in, hours later, the situation had been resolved. The page founder had been "let go" from the group by the dint of some of the remaining administrators. Kicked members were allowed to return, although the second group and its page remained. Ideas were being raised about what to do with this second group, which I have yet to look into. From what I can tell, I was never kicked out of the group, even though I may have been one of those who joined after the date where others were being kicked out for arbitrary reasons. Much of what happened is still beyond me, but I'm glad I didn't say anything there. I'm normally non-confrontational, but when I get involved in something of this nature, I can go all out. I've been commenting as I have before, without problems. Still, I will be looking out if things start to heat up again.
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