Online Community Groups

I belong to a number of online community groups and I have noticed a few things about them and some of what I am seeing is frustrating. A number of these groups are on Facebook and it is great as it means that there are people from around the world connecting on something they have in common. The groups that I belong to on Facebook have to do with my crafts so those are knitting, crocheting and cross-stitch.

So here are some of my frustrations:

1. The community group is not google. If you are looking for a pattern that you want to make don’t ask the group to find the pattern for you. So many times someone comes to to the group and all they say is “I am looking for a pattern for x” please help me find it. If you are asking the group to find a pattern for you it can get very frustrating because in a lot of cases people don’t know other people’s like, dislikes or tastes and what yarn they prefer using.

2. People not keeping negative comments to themselves. As the groups are from all over the world the temperature is different as well. I may be working on a lace shawl and you may be working on mittens and scarves. Don’t tell me that what I am working on isn’t appropriate for the currently temperature where you are. My temperature could be different and what I like working on is probably different as well.

3. I can’t find a post from two weeks ago, can you help me find it. This is one that normally makes me laugh because of course after two weeks in a community group there can be hundreds of pictures, discussions and pattern suggestions and you are asking us to help you find one specific post. In Facebook there is a great feature and that is you can save a post. This means that if you like something it would be a great idea to save it and then you will be able to find it yourself later.

4. I need your opinion. Now this is the one that can result in both negative and positive feedback. In a lot of cases if you do have a negative comment it is best to not say anything so that it doesn’t cause the blow ups that happen too often in this type of group.

So these are some of the frustrations that can result in being part of a community group. In a lot of cases just being able to quickly scan the group is what works best. Reading all the posts and comments can get very frustrating so it is best not to do that. I understand that everyone needs an outlet for their projects but there are times when it is just best to not say anything.

There are a couple of the community groups that I participate in and they are basically very positive. Yes, people will have their opinions about things but at least they are kept out of the group. The other thing that I have found in these couple of groups is if someone is looking for a pattern they are looking for a specific pattern and are asking if someone has it and is willing to part with it.

If you participate in community groups especially on Facebook or a community like they be prepared for some interesting discussions. It is up to you if you participate in them or not and if you comment or not. For me, I love seeing what other people are making and it can give me ideas of what I would like to work on. It can also give me some feedback on some of the yarns, etc and how people are finding working with it. It is now time for me to go back and see what comments have been made in the last few hours and especially time to check out what some people have completed.