On the 9th of may 2010 I was surfing through facebook looking for a local gay group when I came across several anti-gay pages filled with hate speech and homophobic comments. As hate speech is illegal here in the UK as well as many other civilised countries, and is also against facebook's own terms of use, I decided to report the hate filled pages to you.
I asked my friends to help and pretty soon I had a list of 1,500 + pages, groups & profiles. In order to undertake the task of reporting them all I decided to set up a group called Wipeout Homophobia On Facebook, and yes I know wipe out is supposed to be two words, but I was incorporating a play on words, as a wipeout in surfing is when a huge wave knocks a surfer sideways and off his board, I wanted to create a group to knock people, surfing the internet spreading hate, off facebook for good.
By the end of the first month there were 10,000 members, now after 5 months there are 73,000 members.
That list, which has been added to constantly now stands at a total of 4 pages yet to be removed, so well done to you and to the members for reporting them all, and the hate speech comments on other pages too.
Wipeout Homophobia On Facebook is not just about removing these hate filled pages, with calls to violence and malice, over the past 4 months members have supported each other through traumas such as gay bashings, death of a partner, attempted suicides and homophobic attacks and bullying.
In short it has become a community of 73,000 human beings who no matter whether they are Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered or heterosexual, all have one goal - equality.
I have on several occasions sat up until 4 or 5 in the morning talking to teens who see no way out but to end it all, I talk to them for as long as it takes and try to get them support in their own area, those people have then gone on to help others in a similar situation.
Admin from around the globe, in so many time zones that we don't know if we are having breakfast or supper, work 24/7 for no pay and very little thanks, to make this group a credit to facebook and a port of call for thousands of people every day.
So why, would you then bar all admin from posting on the very site that has got you six news articles in 2 months, all positive in a time where negativity is big news?
Exactly 4 months after conception wipeout homophobia on facebook can now no longer help any of those people who pop in daily just for a friendly word, a funny picture or a bit of support.
On the main page it just says " Your publishing rights have been blocked due to a violation of the Pages terms of use." And on checking those terms I find that to the best of my knowledge none of them have been broken.
I have filled in every form, tried to contact you via every available method, and have still yet to get a response. My phone is ringing constantly asking me what is going on, members, like myself, are left confused, could you PLEASE shed some light on the situation.
I am willing to do anything it takes to keep Wiepout Homophobia On facebook running, change the name, remove myself as admin, post less frequently, stick to whatever guidelines you want. Just as long as we can continue to operate and to save lives and support those who need supporting.
I asked my friends to help and pretty soon I had a list of 1,500 + pages, groups & profiles. In order to undertake the task of reporting them all I decided to set up a group called Wipeout Homophobia On Facebook, and yes I know wipe out is supposed to be two words, but I was incorporating a play on words, as a wipeout in surfing is when a huge wave knocks a surfer sideways and off his board, I wanted to create a group to knock people, surfing the internet spreading hate, off facebook for good.
By the end of the first month there were 10,000 members, now after 5 months there are 73,000 members.
That list, which has been added to constantly now stands at a total of 4 pages yet to be removed, so well done to you and to the members for reporting them all, and the hate speech comments on other pages too.
Wipeout Homophobia On Facebook is not just about removing these hate filled pages, with calls to violence and malice, over the past 4 months members have supported each other through traumas such as gay bashings, death of a partner, attempted suicides and homophobic attacks and bullying.
In short it has become a community of 73,000 human beings who no matter whether they are Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered or heterosexual, all have one goal - equality.
I have on several occasions sat up until 4 or 5 in the morning talking to teens who see no way out but to end it all, I talk to them for as long as it takes and try to get them support in their own area, those people have then gone on to help others in a similar situation.
Admin from around the globe, in so many time zones that we don't know if we are having breakfast or supper, work 24/7 for no pay and very little thanks, to make this group a credit to facebook and a port of call for thousands of people every day.
So why, would you then bar all admin from posting on the very site that has got you six news articles in 2 months, all positive in a time where negativity is big news?
Exactly 4 months after conception wipeout homophobia on facebook can now no longer help any of those people who pop in daily just for a friendly word, a funny picture or a bit of support.
On the main page it just says " Your publishing rights have been blocked due to a violation of the Pages terms of use." And on checking those terms I find that to the best of my knowledge none of them have been broken.
I have filled in every form, tried to contact you via every available method, and have still yet to get a response. My phone is ringing constantly asking me what is going on, members, like myself, are left confused, could you PLEASE shed some light on the situation.
I am willing to do anything it takes to keep Wiepout Homophobia On facebook running, change the name, remove myself as admin, post less frequently, stick to whatever guidelines you want. Just as long as we can continue to operate and to save lives and support those who need supporting.
I look forward to your reply, many thanks for your time.
Yours sincerely
Kevin P.O'Neil
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Durham-United-Kingdom/Wipeout-Homophobia-on-Facebook/122256581133741?ref=mf&__a=3
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