Thanks for the feedback. I think threats of the group being removed is overstated. There are quite a number of groups that are quite controversial on very polarising discussions, like creationism, the flat earth or politics which haven't been taken down. Of course, that doesn't make it impossible. I'm just saying that there is no harm in trying.
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Originally Posted by Koinonia
But that kind of Facebook group would serve a different purpose. I believe that seeing the names of others engaged in open discussion about their LC experiences (or anything else), identified as "ex-LCers" would encourage people to be more open about leaving. Even I do not want to identify myself--precisely because there is so much stigma about leaving. Yet, there are thousands of people "no longer meeting." The stigma surrounding that needs to be broken down.
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Originally Posted by UntoHim
The problem, as I see it, is that there is no anonymity on the Facebook platform. You are posting under your real name, and that is a big deterrent to a lot of people. The ability for complete anonymity was an important component in choosing the forum software.
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Anonymity is of course important. Some of us don't mind speaking openly about the LC, so there would be some discussions. And we would encourage those who don't want to speak openly to contact us. Those who don't want to participate because of concerns of anonymity nonetheless are still able to read, publicly, what other people are saying and they have people to contact in private, who could help them out in PM or direct them to his forum where anonymity is guaranteed.
As I said, it will still help to attract people even if it is just a place to publish interesting quotes from members of this forum for outsiders to view.
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Originally Posted by OGOP
For those who are completely removed from the church life it would be highly encouraged to use your real name so there is at least some activity from clearly real accounts. We would have to add a disclaimer in the group description explaining why people have accounts not in their name for their own protection for fear of retribution, etc.
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Fake accounts are against Facebook's policies. Encouraging it on the description would make it too easy for people to shut the group down. It would be best to either encourage them in private or just simply refer them to this forum.
On a related note, I have a second, fake, account on Facebook for when I need anonymity. And yet it is very disturbing how even then Facebook "suggests" friends I know in real life. And I've had people I know discover this profile, and I have no idea how. I know, by default, if someone searches your email or number on Facebook they come across your account.
Fake accounts should be used with caution.