I'm pretty sure some of us are members of this FB group. It's a closed, invite only group, though with something like 7M members at its heyday, how "private" can you really expect it to be?

Can anyone explain WTF is going on?

From what I can gather, they were sold (?) to another entity, SuperMajority. SuperMajority decided rather suddenly to "pause" the group, which means that they are suspending posts and comments. They haven't given a real reason why they arrived at this decision.

So basically the earth is now tilting on its axis in some circles. Here are my random thoughts:

1. Some of these people need to get a grip.
2. PSN was established before the HClinton-Trump election, as a way to provide support for Hillary's campaign. It started with specific political actions, calls to vote, etc.
2. Since the election, over the years, it has (to me) morphed away from a political action group and more to a supportive, progressive community. No harm in that, but it has changed its purpose.
3. SuperMajority is a distinctly political, action-oriented group whose sole reason to exist is to make political change.
4. It seems to me that PSN's current mission (if you can call it that) is inconsistent with SuperMajority. It may also be that some of the posts and views in PSN aren't helpful when trying to appeal to voters, influence PACs, etc. I dunno. IMO this is a likely reason for the divestiture/closure, but that's just speculation on my part.
5. SuperMajority can do whatever it wants to do.

PSN members are now freaking out because they are concerned (with no basis that I can tell) that their private, highly personal posts will be "monetized" by SM (how this will happen is not clear) and their privacy will be invaded. Some want to sue SM for this (the privacy invasion). I'm not sure that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in a FB group withk 7M members, even if it is private and invite-only.

Anyhow, if you're still with me and know (or care) what's going on, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts.

How can you sell a facebook group? (I’m not a member)

The NYPost is the only outlet I see covering the story.

There's an image of a FB post from the founder of PN, but it doesn't seem to explain why the page is being shut down.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...-members/ar-AA18JElE

I'm not exactly sure if "sold" is the right term. The group originator, Libby something-or-other, wrote a book about the group several years ago, which caused everyone to get into a tizzy (perhaps rightly so) because she included a lot of posts from the group without getting permission. (My personal opinion here is that she did a bad thing because it was a private group. Maybe not illegal but not ethical.)

Then at some point she "gave" the group to SuperMajority, but I don't know if money was actually involved. However, SM took it and "branded" it, and paid the PSN moderators (who had been volunteering up until then, I think). During the (merger? acquisition?) it sounds like SM gave all sorts of assurances that PSN was their "flagship," blah blah blah, so the freeze without notice was a big shock. Apparently the admins didn't know, either.

It kind of reminded me of the PW schism a bit--people feel very emotionally invested in their group for a variety of reasons, and take offense or have concerns that resonate for some people and for others it's like "what's the big deal."

It was really interesting to me to read some of the comments, where people are just whipping themselves and others into a frenzy.

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:
How can you sell a facebook group? (I’m not a member)

You draw up a contract, and as money changes hands, you appoint someone else admin of that group.