A few months ago, I set up a
page for my bullying book, Bullying A Parent's Guide, on Facebook. I did this
for two reasons - to help promote the book and two, to stimulate debate about
bullying, a subject I feel very passionate about.
I was not prepared for what
happened next.
The page started well, with
people who had been bullied as I had (that's what inspired me to write a book I
really felt would help those being bullied and their families) telling their
stories. I thought, 'great, this is why I set up the page.'
Then someone who was a
stranger to me, posted about their child being bullied and adults who could and
should have helped not helping. Of course, I was sympathetic. I left the post
up, as they'd named no names. If they had, it would have been deleted.
 |
| There's some creepy people on Facebook |
Then all the craziness
started. Another person I didn't know
posted and complained about me not deleting the first comment, saying it was
aimed at them, which meant they'd named themselves. I ignored it. The person
who wrote the first comment had named no names, as far as I was concerned it
was a legitimate comment.
The complainer then sent me
an aggressive message demanding I take down the comment. I politely told them
the person who'd written the comment had named no names, that they'd done it
themselves. They could delete their own comment, if they wished.
Then the personal and public
slagging match between these two people began with the complainer doing most of
it. ON MY PAGE In exasperation, I deleted the comments and blocked the two
people. This was difficult to do as from what I could tell the complainer had
four different aliases/made up names. At least. I'd block one then more
bullying/aggressive messages/comments would turn up.
The last came yesterday,
demanding that I block someone from the page (this person was a friend and one
of the nicest people I know), despite the fact, they'd done nothing wrong. I
deleted the message, as I will with any other nasty messages I get from them.
I've now been forced to ban
people who are not friends from posting, because this person's aliases keep
turning up, again with comments aimed at an individual who’s child was bullied.
What have I learnt from this
whole episode?
Apart
from the fact that there are some people in urgent need of psychiatric care on
the Internet (I'm not mocking anyone) and that total strangers can have you
dreading logging into Facebook, I've discovered that Facebook should really come up with a
f**k off button, because there are some people who really do need to be told
where to go. Sad, I think, but true.
Note - this is an
abbreviated version of what's been going on, as it would take too long to go
through it step by step, not to mention bore the pants of you:)
Tips for posting on Facebook
Don't post anything you
wouldn't happily let anyone read. If you do, delete it as soon as you can.
Don't leave it and bitch about it as though it's someone else's fault YOU
posted it.
Don't harass a writer on FB
or you may find your way into their next book. The last person who annoyed me,
was eaten by his own dogs.
Maybe this is why I write revenge fiction like Hell to Pay and How Kirsty Gets Her Kicks, because in my books the creeps always get their comeuppance.
Bullying A Parent's Guide is now out in Kindle in the USA and in the UK.
