Summary

The Small Town Community Chat Facebook Page has established a set of "Rules of Engagement" that members must follow, including restrictions on selling, mandates for kindness, privacy considerations, a discussion schedule, openness to political posts, and strict adherence to AP Style, with the admin actively using Twitter to shame rule-breakers.

Abstract

The Small Town Community Chat Facebook Page welcomes new members with a comprehensive set of community guidelines. The rules prohibit selling items or excessive advertising, with a once-per-week posting allowance for businesses and a strict policy against negative responses to reviews. Kindness and courtesy are required, with unkind posts being publicly shamed on Twitter by the admin. Privacy is ostensibly not respected, as posts can be used for Twitter shaming. The page follows a thematic discussion schedule, including "Mediacom is Out" Mondays, Lost Pet Tuesdays, Wacky Wednesdays, Recommendation Thursdays, "What was that fucking noise" Fridays, recreational activity Saturdays, and "Sunday Fun Day." Political posts are encouraged and exempt from the kindness rule, fostering heated debates. AP Style is enforced for all posts and comments, with non-compliant content being removed. The admin's approach to moderation is unique, using Twitter shaming as a tool for enforcement and seeking viral content.

Opinions

The admin is focused on maintaining a friendly and respectful environment but uses public shaming on Twitter as a disciplinary measure.
Businesses are allowed some promotion, but there is zero tolerance for negative reactions to criticism.
The community is encouraged to engage in scheduled discussions, which may seem restrictive but fosters a sense of structure and routine.
Political discourse is not only allowed but expected to be contentious, suggesting a tolerance for conflict in this area.
The enforcement of AP Style indicates a high standard for written communication within the group.
The admin's actions suggest a desire for online notoriety or recognition through the use of Twitter shaming and the pursuit of viral content.

Welcome to Your Community Chat Facebook Page

Please read the Rules of Engagement

Welcome to the Small Town Community Chat Facebook Page. We’re glad to have you. Please read the following, “Rules of Engagement” before posting or commenting or you will be permanently banned from the group and “Twitter Shamed” by the Admin.

1. No selling.

This is not a sales page. Please do not post items for sale or advertise garage sales on this page.

Businesses may post once per week. Community members are allowed to comment with reviews of your business. Any disagreements posted in response to a less than favorable review will be removed and you will be banned from the group — but not before the admin takes screen shots of your rant for Twitter shaming — she’s trying to go viral.

2. Be kind and courteous.

If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. That includes comments, posts, and discussions. Unkind posts will be left up for 24 hours so the admin can take screen shots of your unkind rants for Twitter shaming.

This does not apply to business reviews. Honesty is the best policy, after all. If you have an unfavorable review of a business please share. That’s what community is all about.

3. Respect everyone’s privacy.

Actually, no. Once you are in this group, anything you say can and will be held against you. Think before you post or let the Twitter shaming commence.

4. Adhere to the following discussion schedule.

Monday

Here on our community page, Monday is “Mediacom is Out” Monday. One person shall post about the Mediacom outage and everyone else can comment with their personal experience of said Mediacom outage.

Complain at great length about Mediacom being out, yet again, on a Monday. You are, after all, trying to work or at a minimum, surf the Internet. You needn’t explain how you are able to post about the Mediacom outage during the outage.

Discuss Internet options that aren’t Mediacom. Anyone posting about Mediacom outside of the designated thread will be Twitter shamed by the Admin.

Tuesday

Lost Pet Tuesdays. Is your pet lost? Was your pet lost at one time? Did you find a lost pet? Post about it on Tuesday.

Community members are invited to comment on your post with a picture of an animal accompanying the question, “Is this your pet?” Pet queries need not be the same breed or species as the pet in question.

Wacky Wednesdays

The first Wednesday of the month is “Why are the sirens going? Wednesday.” At 1:00pm the Civil Defense Sirens go off — this is the time to make your post — “Why are the Sirens going off?”

Community members are invited to speculate — it could be a tornado warning, even if the sky is cloudless and blue. Maybe it’s an air raid or the Zombie Apocalypse. The possibilities are endless.

All remaining Wednesdays are a crap shoot. Post about annoying things your neighbors are doing, alarming lawn ornaments, or a fender bender you saw by the side of the road, etc. Discuss.

Thursdays

Thursdays are for recommendations. Start the conversation by asking for recommendations about services in town. Join the conversation by recommending someone who can fill the need.

Feel free to comment on each recommended service provider with why you do or do not agree with the recommendation. Reasons can be anything from politics to business practice to something the unfavorable the business owner said to you 30 years ago.

Fridays

What was that fucking noise, Fridays. Did you hear a boom? A howl? A strange and mysterious wretching? Share your observation on Fridays, describe it in great detail and ask others if they heard the mystery sound. Community members are invited to share and speculate on said noise in the comments of your post.

Saturdays

Since Saturday is a recreational day, post about your recreational activities on Saturday. Or better yet, post about how others’ recreational activities interfere with your choice of Saturday activities.

Start a conversation — invite community members to chime in with their thoughts on said recreational activities. The more absurd the better! Please! The Admin needs material for her viral Twitter rants!

Sunday Fun Day!

On Sundays, our community page welcomes posts of all kinds. As long as you are not selling anything. Keep in mind that it is “Sunday Fun Day.” The admin will analyze said posts for evidence of sobriety. Less absurd posts will be deleted and never spoken of again.

Those posts clearly made while in a drunken stupor will be broadcast across the Twittersphere by the Admin in order to achieve a following to rival the President himself.

5. Political posts are always welcome!

We are a democracy after all. Please post your political views and rants at any time during the week. All political posts are exempt from rule number 2.

Comment with your viewpoint and emphatically defend it. If every one agrees and one person chimes in with an alternative viewpoint, attack them with the ferocity of rabid dogs. This is the stuff that goes viral on Twitter.

6. We follow AP Style.

Any post or comment that does not strictly adhere to AP style will be deleted by the admin immediately.

Welcome to our group! We’re so glad you’re here.