Discussion doesn't mean chit-chat

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GeorgeSalt
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Discussion doesn't mean chit-chat

Post by GeorgeSalt »

I'll raise it again here as it's getting nowhere on Facebook.

Me:
Admin... rushing to shut down discussions in this group is not creating discussion on the forum. It's just killing the discussions. Please consider reviewing you strategy as this doesn't feel like a community.

CAMpRA Admin response:
Please understand, and as we have said many times before we are about campaigning for Aires. We are NOT a discussion group, I repeat NOT a discussion group. If it is a discussion you want then you are on the wrong group.

How can we help each other campaign effectively when discussions are shut-down within 2hrs of staring? If someone raises location X as possibly suitable for an aire, there is no chance for someone with local knowledge to contribute if the thread has already been closed.

Is this group about effective campaigning, or is it just about spamming generic emails with a spray-and-pray attitude towards success?

Most people that are using the Facebook Group are *not* using this forum. The Directors of CAMpRA may not like having to use Facebook to get reach, but it's something most motorhomers are clearly more comfortable using.
Steve
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Re: Discussion doesn't mean chit-chat

Post by Steve »

Hi George, our admin team attempt to keep posts focused on the campaign, comments are only turned off if a posts drifts off topic as is common practice on Facebook or turns into an argument with lots of comments are having to be removed probaly before you read them.

The other instance may be if a question in the post has been answered.

We realise that all members do not use the forum but posts get lost on Facebook, we attempt to track them by tagging as a topic but users very rarely check in the topics.

We decline lots of duplicate posts as members do not check current posts before posting a new topic.

All of this is very time consuming with 25,000 members and on occasions I am sure that we get it wrong, however we have lost many more valuable bits of information as recommendations and suggestions made in comments get missed and lost, the only way to follow progress and update topics is on the forum.

We have even set up a chat room to allow members to have open discussions and our campaign groups do a lot of work in the background.

Our strict policies may not suit everyone but our campaign is continuing to grow and achieve the aims of the group.
We have weekly leadership meetings and an ongoing messenger group where all these things are discussed so we do listen to members views, hence my taking time to explain this to you. We just hope that you will try to see why comments are turned off on some posts.

Steve
Leadership Team
Steve - CAMpRA Leadership Team
GeorgeSalt
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Re: Discussion doesn't mean chit-chat

Post by GeorgeSalt »

But if they're turned off within a couple of hours after half-a-dozen posts, it's a bit of a lottery as to whether or not someone with useful information on the topic has a chance to make a comment. A typical post is that someone's been to X and thought it would be nice town for an Aire and has already fired off an email. Because there's limited discussion permitted you rarely see someone asking for local information on who should be contacted, or information on what might already be happening.

If you're struggling to cope with a moderately sized Facebook group, appoint some experienced Mods, set-up your Admin tools such as keyword alerts, etc. There must be some amongst the people in the group with experience of moderating larger FB groups than CAMpRA. It's not as if there's a huge number of daily posts, even allowing for the ones you're disallowing. By all means vet threads before posting, but once they're up let the conversation flow.
Steve
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Re: Discussion doesn't mean chit-chat

Post by Steve »

George we have a moderation team and we have set group moderation rules that are applied.
We are an action group not a chat group and if there are too many general comments then readers only read the last few.
As a Facebook user how many times does the same question or comment get asked and answered in a simple post? And useful comments get lost.

What happens In reality is that members with specific local information on a post will pm or email us.

We need to continue to encourage members to use the forum as this is not a scary place and is a great tool.
Please also remember that the majority of our Facebook group are followers not active campaigners and we have a lot of local authorities, officials and media who follow our group.
Steve - CAMpRA Leadership Team
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