In this day and age, community Facebook groups are where it’s at. Almost every rural community has one. These online water coolers provide an excellent place for newcomers to meet people and get to know their community, for residents to engage in meaningful dialogue, and for volunteer groups to take advantage of free advertising to the masses.

At the same time, these groups can be abused if not carefully monitored by volunteer administrators willing to take on the difficult task.

One such community Facebook group, Niverville 3.0, has morphed over the years, changing names occasionally as its administrative team shifted. In recent months, the group grew to include more than 3,000 members—until it was abruptly shut down by Facebook. 

Demise of Niverville 3.0 

Tristan Trippier-Friesen, co-administrator for the group, says that on Saturday, November 9, Niverville 3.0 disappeared from Facebook without explanation.

Facebook gave no indication about what had provoked them to remove it.

“We were probably flagged by the [Facebook] algorithm for something or other and, it being automated, I doubt we’ll ever get a straight answer,” says Trippier-Friesen.

He has since reached out to Facebook for answers. To date, only one response has been forthcoming: “We reviewed your group, Niverville 3.0. Because it still went against our Community Standards, we deleted it.”

At this point, Trippier-Friesen has little hope for the reinstatement of that group.

Facebook groups like Niverville 3.0 are subject to the social media company’s ubiquitous “community standards” rules, and the platform’s algorithms sometimes flag certain posts that contain language or content that is deemed inappropriate.

Generally, Trippier-Friesen says that Facebook will notify the admin of a perceived offense, allowing them to take autonomous action on the offending post or comment. In this case, however, the local administrators didn’t receive any notification before the entire group disappeared.

While one can presume the reason for Facebook’s intervention, many of the previous members might point to the highly toxic and sometimes inflammatory nature of some of the comments made in the past few months.

“I was talking with a guy who said he didn’t even want to be on the page because of how hostile everyone was towards him,” Trippier-Friesen says. “The toxicity [level] on there was out of control. When you have 3,000 members… it’s not hard for someone to [jump on] and just ruin a post.”

As well, the topic of cannabis has recently inundated the group since Niverville council’s decision to hold a plebiscite on retail cannabis in town. Since Facebook is an American company, which follows different cannabis laws, the answer may lie there. 

Re-Evaluation 

Regardless of the reason, for Trippier-Friesen and the other five administrators this incident provides an opportunity to re-evaluate the group. Trippier-Friesen chooses to assume responsibility for the group’s demise since, especially in its earlier years, he says he lacked the incentive to administrate it to his fullest potential.

“When I first started monitoring 3.0 [with the previous admins], we didn’t take it that seriously,” says Trippier-Friesen. “[One admin] eventually moved on because he was just tired of the drama and I can’t say that I blame him.”

But at the end of the day, Trippier-Friesen believes that the group added value to the community that simply cannot be ignored. For that reason, he and a relatively new group of administrators have decided to turn the page and get a fresh new start. 

A Fresh Start 

In recent days, the Niverville Community Group, the successor to Niverville 3.0, has grown legs and is accepting new members. With the right guidance and policies, Trippier-Friesen believes the new group has the potential to be a welcoming place for anyone who chooses to join.

The admin, this time, anticipates being much more hands-on.

“We’re trying to find a balance between free speech and maintaining human decency,” Trippier-Friesen says.

Members will be required to answer questions before joining the new group. This time around, the administrators are hoping to keep the membership local to Niverville—or at least to those who demonstrate a vested interest in the community.

Anonymity through pen names will no longer be tolerated, since it allows members to make comments without culpability.

As well, new rules will apply to the group’s use, such as keeping the content strictly Niverville-centric. Respectful levels of dialogue will be expected within all posts and comments. Anyone posting personal info or details regarding minors will be automatically banned. 

Healing Divides 

Trippier-Friesen admits to being disappointed in the divide that occurred between Niverville’s town council and some community members on Niverville 3.0 in the past. He envisions the new group as one that will provide a place where all levels of the community—residents, town council, and local business owners—can feel welcome and respected.

For him, this also means not excluding anyone based on their past Niverville 3.0 track records. Instead everyone will be given an opportunity to live by the new rules. Administrators will exercise the right to give people warnings and second chances as they see fit.

“Even with me being in college, I’m still going to put as much of my heart and soul into this page as I can,” Friesen says. “It can be good. It can be constructive and useful, and hopefully we’ll get the cooperation of the [members]. I am very, very grateful to the people who are on the site regularly and contribute respectfully.”

Members can assist administration, too, to help keep the new group on a positive and supportive track.

“The biggest thing I can says is, if you don’t like what someone has said or if you think that it crosses a line, report it [to us],” says Trippier-Friesen. “It will still be up to our discretion, but I would rather have a post reported 30 times and find that there’s nothing wrong with it than have the post not even be mentioned to the admin. That notification perks our ears up so that we can keep an eye on it at least.”

He adds that his determination in investing in this community group comes from his lifelong love and appreciation for the community he calls home.

“I want to be more interactive with the people who want to be here,” says Trippier-Friesen, adding that he doesn’t want the administrators to be seen as gatekeepers. “It’s a community site for the people of Niverville. It’s for the overall health of the group… I don’t want to make it some exclusive party where only the cool kids are.”