Evacuation to Facebook

[StJuniper]

If you're still able to get on here, and still want to be participating even though the forum has pretty well died, we've made a Facebook group where we can carry on. PM me here or find me in the BLW Meet and Greet group to get an invite!

[WishingBone]

the forum has pretty well died

That's sad - but not surprising I suppose - is it because blw is much more mainstream now, I wonder. Or maybe forums are too Internet 1.0.

I hardly ever check in any more, but sometimes like today when I'm off work lightly ill. Hope the new Fb group goes well - I'll always be grateful for the support and community I found here from weaning and beyond! Dd2 turned 5 last week - it feels like a new phase is just beginning.

Thanks and good luck!

[Marrow]

I think it was struggling under the weight of spammers, so didn't get many new people. Then we got lots of new mods and got control of the spammers, but the technical problems started - most of us are having problems logging in.

Do come and join us on Facebook if you want!

[Where'stheMistletoe]

I've heard about the evacuation to facebook (thanks SF!). I would love to keep up with everyone so want to join but I am a total facebook virgin so I just have a couple of questions. As it's a secret facebook group, does that mean only people in the group see what you post? So does everyone in it have a separate posting record for the BLW group and their RL (!) people group? I think I'll set up under a pretend name - do I then send my pretend name to you StJ and you'll send me an invite?

The other thing I worry about is that facebook looks up your phone numbers and then sends your name to people in your address book as someone they might want to friend. Is this something that happens? And does it only happen if you use facebook on your phone?

Thanks!

[Marrow]

I can answer some of your questions..

Being a secret group, only people in the group can see anything you post in the group (and, in fact, only people in the group can see that it exists). In your feed, the posts from this group, any other groups you are in, and individuals are all mixed up together. Or if you visit the group page, you just get the posts in the group.

I think you might have to become 'friends' with one of us before we can invite you to the group, but apart from that - yes, send your pretend name to one of us. I have one computer that can log into the forum still, so you can PM me here if you want.

I don't know about the phone number thing. I know that Facebook doesn't know my phone number, so I can't use the Facebook app on my phone (I just use the web browser). It is notorious for leaving cookies all over the place and tracking you through all the other websites you visit - if that is something you are concerned about, you could only ever use it in a private browser.

[LucyLastic]

Just thought I should mention that it is currently a closed group, as opposed to secret, which means it may appear as a suggested group on your friends' walls. It will show you as the mutual friend and some other group members profile pics too. As with a secret group, only members can see posts, but anyone can search for the group and request to join. Obviously, if you don't add any friends, other than BLWers, that won't make any difference.
Facebook doesn't 'approve' of made up names - their terms and conditions state that you must use your real name and I have friends who have had to change from nicknames to their real names as someone has reported their account to FB. Again, this shouldn't make any difference if you only add BLWers, as I can't see why anyone would report that kind of thing - we all valued the anonymity that this place afforded us, so can appreciate why you wouldn't necessarily want worlds colliding.
I use FB on my mobile via a private browser rather than the app. Not because of not sharing my number but because I found the app clunky and restrictive and it crashed all the time.
Take a leap, it's nice to see people posting again. And if you don't like it, you can always just delete your account

[Marrow]

Oh, sorry! What I said is true for secret groups. The 'original' BLW one (BLW meet and greet) is secret, but this one is indeed closed.

[Marrow]

Oh, and I have friends who use obscure nicknames (rather than a random pseudonym) for their Facebook name, which seems to be OK.

[Where'stheMistletoe]

Thanks both of you I'll PM you Marrow

[EnigmaFish]

Hi, all! I wanted to bump this post up, in case there were any old forumites knocking around wondering where we all went.

Also, I wanted to be able to use again.

[felizefun]

Please could someone tell me the name of this group so that I can request to join? I tried friending STJ and Cassie but Facebook is not allowing me the option!

Please help. I need my BLW fix!

[Marrow]

I've PMed you - hopefully you can log in to read it!

[lisahendrix]

What happened to this forum?

[LucyLastic]

People have been finding it increasingly difficult to log into the forum, to the extent where they just didn't try anymore. So a FB group has been set up for anyone who wants to keep in touch, although it's not strictly BLW-oriented (at all). Some people still manage to log in and reply to newbies, but the rest of the forum seems to have died a slow death