I have been following a thread today on this, the main question of this thread was Is FB {becoming} a danger to our sport Below is a collation of my response, which has become rather an essay now. I don’t think FB is the problem in itself, social media is a fantastic tool for novice and experienced breeders/exhibitors to share knowledge, ask for help, make friends, raise awareness of breed health issues, share successes, congratulate others etc. However, because it is by paradox face-less, people seem to lose sight of morality, fair play and sensibility! Rules and regulations that exist in our real communities should surely still apply in our virtual ones too? What is socially acceptable in face to face interaction needs to be considered when online and the implications our actions have on others must be taken into account BEFORE we post! Perhaps another consideration is instead of posting everything and anything for literally the whole world to see, shouldnt some conversations and thoughts be kept to private message or creation of a private group? Perhaps this in itself would help matters? In any case, ANY form of abuse in my mind should result in that person being removed. Bullying is not tolerated in the real world. It brings our own reputation and that of a breed into disrepute. However, we must also be brave enough to question things we think are wrong without fear of being ostracised or labelled as a trouble maker. If you see hear or witness something that concerns you either morally or because what you have heard goes against set rules of an organisation or the expected conduct of a person in a position of authority, should we then say and do nothing for fear of being seen as a trouble maker? When joining a closed (or open) group we should respect the rules of that group. Perhaps if we disagree with something that is said within that group: whether it be abusive/inflammatory language; a clear disregard for a rule or just generally unacceptable behaviour, should we just leave the group? Does this not then mean that we are simply ignoring behaviours that will fester and become socially acceptable because they are not challenged? Shouldnt we feel able to appropriately challenge things we consider to be wrong and if we are still not happy that there has been, for example, a simple misunderstanding, we should then raise the matter outside of the group? This of course requires all users to have complete integrity and the best intentions for their fellow group members, their breed and the show world in general... perhaps this is where the real problem lies in our hobby and FB has just become a large, globally visible playground where lack of integrity and sportsmanship is magnified through the lure of faceless interaction?
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 20:30:44 +0000
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