I just joined a new Facebook Group
It's a group of people who own older Ford Ranger pickups. I had a question about the one I recently bought, so I joined that group and asked my question. Within minutes, I had several answers.
It's a closed group that doesn't allow any posts about politics or anything that doesn't relate to Ford Rangers. Facebook is full of groups like that one, all populated by helpful people who have something in common.
I'm also in a group of people who were stationed at a small USAF base in Samsun, Turkey. The base only existed for 12 years, and never had more than 5-600 people stationed there, each of whom was there for just 15 months. The group has over 100 members, all of whom were there. It's a friendly group of people with something in common. No politics are allowed in posts there, either.
I belong to a few other Facebook groups about subjects of interest to me. One is just about crystal radios. It has a few hundred members who would never have met one another if it weren't for that Facebook group.
Facebook is about a lot of things to different people. It has many uses. I don't use Facebook for politics. That's what DU is for.
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I returned last year to my childhood love, scale modeling. Found a bunch of youtube videos and got interested again, after a forty year layoff. Eventually found some groups on FB. They, too, are nonpolitical, but we have some issues - Swastikas on military models mostly. It's an international community, so there is an interesting exchange of opinion on historical accuracy v. censorship before the mods shut them down, as they inevitably do. The really hilarious (to me) censorship occurs whenever anyone posts about the Meng (a Chinese company, I believe) tank kits featuring Putin or Trump (in a Santa hat?!!) figures. I gotta get me those. 
To your point, FB has a lot of positive value, from closed groups of like minded people, to animal rescue, community orgs, etc... We get too caught up in focusing on the negative, and feeding our confirmation biases. Hold FB accountable, don't try to kill it.
I am in two groups. One has to do with genealogy and the other is just for corgi families (all from the same breeder.)
I agree, FB has its good aspects too. I use it to keep in touch with a couple of long-time DUers, too. 
We have one. That group used to be an open group, but people who had no real connection kept coming in and creating conflicts. So, it was closed and membership restricted to people who were truly part of the group.
Facebook's closed (now "private"
groups are valuable, particularly to groups whose members are vulnerable in some way.
The company doesn't have to make such groups available, but it does. There are thousands of them, on almost any topic you can imagine. That is one of the most powerful things Facebook has enabled. I do not want to see that go away, just because some people see Facebook as only a political entity. It is far, far more than that.
The ability to quickly create a private group on Facebook, complete with messaging, photo sharing, and much more is amazing. That such groups are possible to create at no cost whatsoever is even more remarkable. It's a powerful gift to many communities which otherwise could not have such a space.
Congrats on your truck, MineralMan!
I bought a 2001 Ranger new and drove it for 18 years, not having a bit of trouble with until it was over 16 years old.
Then the last couple of years sometimes it wouldn't start. I had to have it towed in once because of it, but the technician said it started 50 times in a row for him and diagnostics showed nothing wrong. But after it developed a few other problems rendering it unreliable, including failing brakes, I decided to trade it in when Ford brought back the Ranger this year.
The new ones are bigger than the old ones were, just as with the Toyota Tacoma and Chevy Colorado. I would have bought another small truck like the 2001 if they still made them, but they don't. That said, I am having so much fun with the 2019 Ranger! It's speedy, nimble, and fuel-efficient (for a truck). Compared to the old one, it's like a space ship, what with all the new technology. I do miss my cassette deck though.
While I agree that FB does have some very useful groups (I belong to one for residents of my neighborhood for all the VERY local news), the place to go for owners of NEW Rangers is not on FB. It's a website where members are equally helpful with any problems or other questions. It's at:
https://www.ranger5g.com/
Happy trucking, MM!
I probably belong to about 10-12 groups-- a lot like yours, in my case mostly professionally oriented- stuff for sale, how to fix, musical interpretations---(have a look at the Gustav Mahler group, if you like. these are extraordinarily knowledgeable people!) 
And speaking of Mahler...
In another group, there has been yet ANOTHER long discussion of how manner hammer blows to play in his 6th symphony.. 
I get absolutely ZERO right wing posts in my feed, and while still too many ads, no sick ones-- recently a lot about socks and round eye glasses... 
rest in xtal sets . de kf6uxj / ex kae4466 . been on du since 2000. i like your screen nick. ive seen lots of ur posts on here . 
: ps du is my goto place for politics and sensible news . arnt u one of the moderators if i may ask?
wonderfully smooth and comfy ride for a small pickup. I'm extremely fond of it and would love to keep it forever, but serenity does not lie in talking about my suspicions that the transmission is on the way out again.
I participate in gardening and cooking groups (not FB) and just brought home some poblanos and crema to try a recommended recipe.
Happy chatting.
gardening buddy and was "my car" (as opposed to "ours" ) for years.
The one thing it can't do that matters is get back up our neighbor's adventurous driveway from the lake. If it would, I maybe could get my husband to agree to new paint, transmission, etc, but at the expense of having him leave it down at the dock too often. 
Pickups are very valued here in the south, though, and I expect this little one will become a happy project for someone who'd like your FB group when I finally face up to letting it go.
Fun hearing about the truck's history up there. Prices here are more like California's.
Mine's a 6-cylinder, great on the road, but that driveway reminds me increasingly of places they liked to position cameras on the Baja 1000. Strictly 4-wheel these days, but our neighbor says it keeps trespassers out.
Your eye's like my husband's. At 79 he went out with instructions from me and both his children to spend some money on a nice little bass boat he could depend on but instead came home with one that hadn't run in years and looked like the wrath of god had finished with it a decade before. But under the leaves and mold it's a classic top-brand aluminum that was waiting for someone who couldn't pass it up because he knew why it wouldn't run and where to get the parts.
Enjoy.
Last edited Wed Nov 6, 2019, 01:56 PM - Edit history (1)
but just because it is such a time suck. best group there? https://www.facebook.com/groups/WeirdSecondhandFinds/
It sounds wonderful!
looking for something to post. I posted a few of my treasures when I was on FB more. recently got to check out a goodwill in another part of the state so that was kind of a blast. didn't come home with too much more crap. 
I love how they have "trade names" for certain kinds of things, like vomit clocks.
