After publishing The Blogging Charter and receiving mixed feedback, I now present The 10 Commandments of Facebook. Whilst The Blogging Charter was tongue in cheek, this one isn't. I actually believe it's long overdue and every commandment is a direct result of things I've seen and read on facebook.
1. I am the the Lord your Facebook who brought you out of the land of isolation.
2. Observe the fb etiquette, keep it light and entertaining or informative and helpful.
3. Thou shalt not take offense easily and always give someone the benefit of the doubt. Not everyone expresses themselves perfectly in writing.
4. If you think someone is being unfair, racist, a biggot; ask them what they meant before jumping down their throats (so to speak).
5. Thou shalt give them time to reply - not everyone checks fb every day.
6. A story about someone else, retold by the injured party, is out of context and necessarily subjective. Show your support by all means but don't turn it into a witch hunt of someone who may not even know they made a faux pas, may be devastated if they did know and, had they been told at the time, might have apologised there and then.
7. Thou shalt be generous with your 'like' s as you would have others be generous to you. It only takes a moment and makes people feel they're not talking to themselves.
8. If you really feel an angry retort is called for (and it sometimes is), try and keep it to the point without getting personal and nasty. There's a fine line between e.g. 'I found your comment very narrow minded' and, 'You are a narrow-minded, racist, biggot and you probably smell too!' Or, 'I don't think that's funny, actually' and, 'I don't think that's funny, arse-hole!'
9. Be kind to people who constantly need to show and tell the world how wonderful their lives are, how fantastic their children are, how amazing their homes are, how much their family and friends love them, how well they are dong in their studies or careers and how they are always jetting off to the next foreign location. They have their reasons.
10. I leave this one open for you to add your own 10th commandment. All suggestions gratefully received in the comments below.
Love these. No 10 could be a gentle reminder that a status is not a note or blog or essay
ReplyDeleteGood one Gillian :).
DeleteVery funny - I know a few people who I need to share this with...
ReplyDeletePlease feel free to share, I'm not above publicity :).
DeleteThanks for sharing this with me. I must get off FB so I don't get involved in all the nonsense, I think!!
DeleteNo no, just be diligent. There's a lot of fun to be had on fb. No need to throw the baby out witht he bathwater.
DeleteBe kind is a rule for life as well as for Facebook :) The only thing I'm not sure about is that I feel that many posters are doing the wonderful life bit to avoid infringing rule 2!
ReplyDeleteI agree, that's what I meant by: They have their reasons. (Other reasons also included.)
DeleteNumber 10 if thou likest a blog post thou must post a link to it
ReplyDeleteSo have you posted a link to this post Marc?
DeleteIf thou is asked to cut and paste a status concerning the evils of FB think again - its a free service. don't like it, don't bother.
ReplyDeleteor the dislike button is spam do not share.
Exactly! What are doing enjoying it if it's so evil?
DeleteThis definitely gets a #7 Like from me.
ReplyDeleteYou can't have too many 'like's in your life and that's a fact.
DeleteI like these x
ReplyDeleteGood x, and thank you for saying so :).
DeleteGreat post. As with most on line communication, it's worth taking a breath before responding and rereading what you've written before pressing send. Perhaps that could be commandment #10
ReplyDeleteI think taking a breath (maybe counting to ten slowly)before reponding should probably have been one of the original commandments. Rereading definitely as I always send stupid typos in my eagerness to see my words in print.
DeleteThis is excellent and noteworthy. I think that many of the points you've made are really valid, especially the points about not reacting ridiculously and giving time for a response.
ReplyDeleteI think things have got a bit better recently as, among my friends anyway, people have discovered the 'delete' buttons and overly angry posts are getting removed a lot more before they get too nasty.
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