The Salon Goes Dark.

[GR_Urbanist]

It appears the Facebook equivalent to UPGR has officially closed their groups discussions from being seen by the public. I guess you now have to be "invited" to the group?

 

Apparently in the past few days the groups captains have decided to turn it into a gated community, and now even demand that you get permission from them to even quote from the group! Seriously? Tad bit on the paranoid side.

 

Now, while I've never participated in any discussions there (not a big FB person due to their privacy issues), and I do find some of the posters there to be elitist Portlandia "we know better" types that seem to think the solution to everything is basically either adding bike lanes or eliminating private cars, I've enjoyed reading what people, not on UPGR, thought of many of the same issues and stories we talk about here.

 

Part of me is like "Really? You guys think waaaaay too highly of yourselves". It never was this place where incredible thoughts flowed. Like I said the majority of topics were pretty mundane, at least nothing that needed to be hidden. But the change definitely makes me appreciate this place so much more. That it doesn't filter people out at the gate if you aren't the "right" type. Nor does it act like language or thought police, or feels like what is said here is too special for other people to see.

 

And coming here doesn't involve seeing Farmville requests.

[fotoman311]

It appears the Facebook equivalent to UPGR has officially closed their groups discussions from being seen by the public. I guess you now have to be "invited" to the group?

 

Apparently in the past few days the groups captains have decided to turn it into a gated community, and now even demand that you get permission from them to even quote from the group! Seriously? Tad bit on the paranoid side.

 

Now, while I've never participated in any discussions there (not a big FB person due to their privacy issues), and I do find some of the posters there to be elitist Portlandia "we know better" types that seem to think the solution to everything is basically either adding bike lanes or eliminating private cars, I've enjoyed reading what people, not on UPGR, thought of many of the same issues and stories we talk about here.

 

Part of me is like "Really? You guys think waaaaay too highly of yourselves". It never was this place where incredible thoughts flowed. Like I said the majority of topics were pretty mundane, at least nothing that needed to be hidden. But the change definitely makes me appreciate this place so much more. That it doesn't filter people out at the gate if you aren't the "right" type. Nor does it act like language or thought police, or feels like what is said here is too special for other people to see.

 

And coming here doesn't involve seeing Farmville requests.

 

I'm a member of both groups and I like reading what people in both places have to say.

 

While I kind of understand some of your sentiment, I do feel it appropriate to clarify a couple of your points. 

 

#1 is that you don't need to be invited to the group.  You simply request access and it will typically be granted as long as you stay on topic and are respectful of others.  There are 546 members in the group.  It's not an EXCLUSIVE club.  I know there are people who are allowed access to the group and read the posts who aren't necessarily there to actively participate in the discussions.  If you'd like to participate in The Salon without any Farmville requests (which I stopped seeing years ago when I took 3 seconds and blocked the Farmville app), I can start messaging you when the in-person meetups are taking place.  I think most people who actively participate in The Salon would respect your opinions and agree with you in many cases.

 

As far as not liking Facebook, some people choose not to use computers and those people are denied access to the incredible thoughts that flow on UrbanPlanet.org.

 

#2 A reporter or blogger or whoever doesn't need to get permission from the group moderators or anyone who controls access to the group in order to quote what someone says in a media story or blog post.  You are required to ask THAT PERSON permission to use THEIR QUOTE.  It seems like a reasonable request to not quote someone in a newspaper when they have no idea they are going to be quoted and where the full context of their quoted statement is not available.

 

#3 I don't think the point of the Salon is to be a place where "incredible thoughts" flow.  It's to discuss urbanist and urban issues, ideas, and projects and ways to take action to improve our city and region.  And, after reading a lot of posts in the discussions here on UP, there is probably plenty of "I know better" sentiment to spread around to everyone on Facebook and UP.

[Veloise]

I prefer UP because

a) the discussions are archived

b) people don't cuss (there's one potty-mouth on there who goes off just about every time he gripes about the S-curve) and

c) the mods are not learning the ropes.

[RegalTDP]

It appears the Facebook equivalent to UPGR has officially closed their groups discussions from being seen by the public. I guess you now have to be "invited" to the group?

 

Apparently in the past few days the groups captains have decided to turn it into a gated community, and now even demand that you get permission from them to even quote from the group! Seriously? Tad bit on the paranoid side.

 

Now, while I've never participated in any discussions there (not a big FB person due to their privacy issues), and I do find some of the posters there to be elitist Portlandia "we know better" types that seem to think the solution to everything is basically either adding bike lanes or eliminating private cars, I've enjoyed reading what people, not on UPGR, thought of many of the same issues and stories we talk about here.

 

Part of me is like "Really? You guys think waaaaay too highly of yourselves". It never was this place where incredible thoughts flowed. Like I said the majority of topics were pretty mundane, at least nothing that needed to be hidden. But the change definitely makes me appreciate this place so much more. That it doesn't filter people out at the gate if you aren't the "right" type. Nor does it act like language or thought police, or feels like what is said here is too special for other people to see.

 

And coming here doesn't involve seeing Farmville requests.

 

The Salon closed to the public in response to this MLive article, where they pulled two quotes from the Salon's wall without asking the sources (one of them happened to be the group's moderator).  It wasn't because they're trying to filter people out.  Like Fotoman said, the group is NOT exclusive.  If you want to read the wall, just request access.  I did.  I'm a Salon member now, and I live in friggin' California.  Needless to say, I don't make it to many meet ups.

 

And if you want to post your thoughts, go for it.  Just because all the "Portlandia elitists" will argue with you doesn't make them a "thought police."  I get what you're saying - I see a lot of Salon posts meant to preach to the choir; but I also see a lot of posters there who seem to thrive on disagreement.  I'm with y'all, I like UP better.  But let's face it, the Salon's been a much more active forum lately.

 

Personally, I think the Salon overreacted.  Granted, that Mlive article was weak journalism.  Basically, they ripped some quotes from the web as the basis for a lame "Urbanists rejoice" lede to prop up a non-news story.  Weak tea, MLive.  Super weak.  

 

But, I think the benefits of allowing the public to see the forum outweighs the risks of being quoted in MLive.  I hope they change their minds and go open again.

[GRDadof3]

The Salon closed to the public in response to this MLive article, where they pulled two quotes from the Salon's wall without asking the sources (one of them happened to be the group's moderator).  It wasn't because they're trying to filter people out.  Like Fotoman said, the group is NOT exclusive.  If you want to read the wall, just request access.  I did.  I'm a Salon member now, and I live in friggin' California.  Needless to say, I don't make it to many meet ups.

 

And if you want to post your thoughts, go for it.  Just because all the "Portlandia elitists" will argue with you doesn't make them a "thought police."  I get what you're saying - I see a lot of Salon posts meant to preach to the choir; but I also see a lot of posters there who seem to thrive on disagreement.  I'm with y'all, I like UP better.  But let's face it, the Salon's been a much more active forum lately.

 

Personally, I think the Salon overreacted.  Granted, that Mlive article was weak journalism.  Basically, they ripped some quotes from the web as the basis for a lame "Urbanists rejoice" lede to prop up a non-news story.  Weak tea, MLive.  Super weak.  

 

But, I think the benefits of allowing the public to see the forum outweighs the risks of being quoted in MLive.  I hope they change their minds and go open again.

 

I think it's crazy that they won't let anyone report on what is discussed at the meetups. Not The Rapidian, not Rapid Growth, no one. Seems to break the tenets of transparency that a community activist site should encourage. They even apparently told people to stop taking notes at the one last night, for fear they'd be quoted. In contrast, Rapid Growth's speaker series are often attended and filmed by local tv stations.

 

Plus, enough posts about how great things are in Europe.