AIBU to be annoyed by these people on my local Facebook page?

[FacebookLocals]

Euguughhhh - they drive me nuts. I know I could leave but the group is 50% useful stuff (we have an A-road on our morning commute that is frequently closed due to accidents and the page always knows first, that kind of thing) and 50% utter shite. Does anyone else have these kinds of people or do I just live in a bonkers place?!

1. One woman has set up her own cleaning company with her daughter (good for them - this is something I think is great). What irritates me is that, even though it's the two of them and no one else, they keep posting adverts that say people should use them because "unlike other cleaning companies", they pay their staff a "fair wage"... but they are their staff. I've never had a cleaner but my understanding is that you either go through an agency (where you pay a higher amount and the cleaner themselves get about minimum wage) and you get security that they'll find someone else if your usual cleaner is sick/holiday/maternity/whatever and they have solid insurance and that kind of thing, or you go direct to a self-employed person (you pay slightly less but the cleaner gets it all - after their costs) but there's less security (i.e. if they're sick then they're sick and won't be coming). This cleaner is trying to portray the best of both for herself... Just annoys me to try and claim some kind of moral highground when they don't have one.
2. The people who post completely irrelevant, chain-mail jokes - usually pretty sexist ones about women being unable to drive... They aren't relevant to the group (and they aren't funny) - if you can't control yourself, just share them on your personal Facebook page.
3. The people who see blatant vandalism or theft and go "oh, get a life" or "we were all young once", "I bet you ain't perfect". Like, you know, I'm a fully grown up adult and I've never once set an abandoned building on fire, egged anyone or left upturned trolleys all over a road. On top of that, as a grown fucking adult, I have the brain capacity to realise that setting things on fire and blocking emergency vehicles could do serious harm (even if that's not in the minds of those teens when they did it). On top of that, I know full well that when people my age (back when I was a teen) did anything like this, every decent adult would've obliterated them for being little shits... so, if teens are always going to do stupid things, when did adults stop doing their part of the routine?! Lo and behold, when the vandalising abandoned buildings turned into abandoning their business or when doing stupid thing turns into threatening them, they completely fail to recognise that they allowed that to progress by excusing the poor behaviour when it started.
4. Parents bitching about the local school's "ridiculous" behaviour policy where their child was sent to the isolation room for politely asking if they're allowed to breathe or for raising their hand to point out a stray puppy was on fire. Like, no, your kid can't behave and it's embarrassing that you can't see you're being lied to.
5. The people who refuse to answer questions that are asked. Things like one bloke asking if there are any recommendations for local garages and the first comment is "I don't have a car so I can't help, sorry"... like, why comment?! I once asked for recommendations for childcare - either a nursery or a childminder - and all but one comment was people saying to make sure the childminder has a DBS check. Like, ok, I'm not an idiot, that's not what I asked.
6. Non-stop incorrect legal advice at every turn - "you can't do that, it's a violation of GDPR", "tell them to press charges", "I'll go over there and make a citizens arrest". I just can't take any more of it!
7. People asking questions that are literally on Google - "does anyone know what time Tesco closes?" (not on Christmas or things where Google might not be accurate), "what's the phone number for the GP surgery?", "is it an inset day at the school today?" (cue 19847 different comments about the five potential schools that could be being asked about, none of which have an inset day and all of which have their calendars on their websites).

I just wonder if people were always like this and had different outlets (I don't really remember a time before Facebook) or are people getting weirder? Or is this just my local page and everyone is normal where you are?

I know it's gone midnight, this is slightly lighthearted...

What always gets me is when you ask for recommendations for tradesmen. I always put must be someone you’ve used not family. Every single recommendation ends up being a self recommendation or family members, I’ve lived here all my life and know most people so absolutely know when it’s family even if it’s not the same surname. It’s a waste of time but getting good tradesmen is soooo hard these days

We have two village groups.

The admin of the first one pissed off so many people during Covid that a second one was set up. The woman who set it up is having to work hard to stop herself becoming exactly like the first admin though - you can just tell.

The amount of times people say "I posted this and it got declined?" and she pretends it was accidental or a Facebook glitch is actually hilarious because it's always stuff she doesn't like.

I was threatened with a ban from the first group for correcting misunderstandings about the rules during Covid. Every time someone posted about the mythical hour I posted "please remember that one hour is simply Michael Gove's opinion on how long he thinks he should take".

After being accused of being feckless I pointed out that I'm the mother of a very vulnerable child. We were isolating very carefully and had had to be careful of colds, flus and other things for her entire life. That however didn't mean we should be trying to push rules on people that weren't rules.
He couldn't really be seen banning the mother of the life limited child... He hates me though 😂

The funniest group on Facebook though is one for buying second hand outfits for being like MoB or fancy occasions.

The woman that runs that seems to be under the impression she's single handedly running a business the size of Amazon 😂

She even asks anyone who finds an outfit on the page to donate to a charity of her choice (a random dog charity in Romania).

When she's on holiday she ropes her daughter in as she won't add any other admins so people wait weeks for their post to show. And yet so many of the women on their fawn over her like she's amazing. It's bizarre

For the ones asking questions they could find the answer to by googling, post this link - https://www.justfuckinggoogleit.com/search

I always wonder about the indignant posts beginning "To the person who ...." - complaining about, say, a motorist who cut them up, or a child riding a bike on the pavement, or someone they think has been rude to them or inconvenienced them in some way. The chances of that person actually seeing the post are vanishingly small, so why bother?

It’s the sad face, fake nostalgia “We had such lovely shops” brigade that drive me crazy on mine. It’s true that the area of London I live in was once quite well known for shopping until a modern shopping mall opened in our neighbouring area, which began a bit of a drift. But this was decades ago now, and those bemoaning it (who can’t all have lived here that long) completely fail to acknowledge the general transformation of the retail sector in the last 20 years.

They all seem to think we desperately need a department store. Tell that to Debenhams or House of Fraser! One of the last surviving “golden era” shops finally closed recently and you’d have thought someone had died. “I suppose it’s going to be yet more flats now. Where are people supposed to shop?!” Well none of them bloody shopped there - that’s why it closed down! I never once went in when the staff didn’t outnumber the customers!

You don't live in Bournemouth do you? Exactly the same here.

Oh, and the relentless moaners who never have a single practical suggestion for improvements. They just love to moan.

Our most regular Moaning Minnie grandly announced the other day that our area is “officially dead”, claiming there were “crackheads” stealing from skips everywhere now. Apart from the obvious value judgement on these people - quite how she would know they were “crackheads”, I don’t know - is it even possible to steal from a skip? Surely the sole purpose of a skip is to dispose of things you don’t want? They’re not bloody outdoor display cabinets for your most treasured possessions!

I joined one,years ago,in my home town

The 4 women who ran it where power hungry,nasty,rude,bitchy and would scream at other people for saying anything they thought was wrong (even though nobody said anything wrong)

(One bloke wrote on another page that it was like they had permanent pmt-one of these women saw it and blew up at him-he ended up moving away as she just wouldnt let it go and caused so much trouble for him)

It's a long story,but one of these woman deleted a ladies post (which had the names of everyone who had made an order from this lady for halloween) and the lady was understandably pissed off and called these women out on it

A massive row blew up-it was hilarious to read-a sane lady having a row with 4 very
unhinged women

Another group was set up and about half the members of the first group moved across

(you couldn't be in both groups as the power hungry admins wouldnt have it,but sane lady was fine about it)

It caused so many people to fall out with each other in rl-it was like the town has split

I'd left both groups by then but it was mental to watch unfold in rl-I was asked more than once,which group I supported

Dp is in a group from his home town and its all 'we don't want a tesco building here!we want a waitrose!boycot tesco!' 'dog poo spotted in a field!' and 'what is that foul smell?' (Farmers love-your in the country)

I love animals and when people post that they have found an injured pigeon, asking what to do, I reply and give the two closest wildlife rescue centres.

Half the time they don't want to take it to either place as they are both 30 mins away, nothing closer and I don't recommend local vets, as they usually just euthanasie. So a lot of the time I find myself collecting the pigeon and taking it myself. Which is fine, as I can't bear the thought of an animal suffering.

The ones that annoy me the most on these posts are always men and it's ALWAYS a mixture of the following replies.

"Pigeon pie."
"Leave it, it's nature."
"Vermin. Wouldn't bother."
"Flying rats."
"Give it to a cat."

They all think they are so original / hilarious / edgy. In reality, they are dickheads lacking compassion.

The woman who admins our local one literally runs it as though she’s the elected MP or something. Commenting on national and international news stories and social issues with her views and thoughts and prayers Etc. She also asks people to “contact myself” a lot when she should be saying “contact me.” It enrages me but also entertains me, so I can’t leave the group or anything straightforward like that.

Maybe you are right! People are seeking connection. We live such busy / individualistic lives that we don’t connect like we used to.

Look at why it bothers you ? Are you working so independently that you have become disconnected from your community? Do you feel like you are so self sufficient and self reliant that you need need anybody else? Are you actually craving that ( albeit not the small talk )

I'm in a city sized FB group and the ones I can't stand are women who were too lazy to organise something and then use FB as their personal concierge service. Examples:

1. Please please please does anyone have Taylor Swift/Billie Eilish/Harry Styles tickets for this weekend?!!! Followed by a sob story about how big of a fan her daughter is and how she would love to be at the show

2. URGENT need a birthday cake within the next 24 hours for a fair price! (meaning 40quid max)

3. Medical emergency!!! Does anyone know a dentist/doctor/dermatologist who can see me asap? These sort of posters always ignore comments telling them to ring 111 or go to an out of hours service. They are obviously hoping for an actual doctor or wife of a doctor to make a personal appointment for them and skip the waiting.

4. Son/daughter desperately wants a Switch 2/Labubu/specific trendy sold out item for their birthday! Please can someone make that happen?

The thing with social media (and mumsnet really) is that it you interact with people from all walks of life.

When I’m raged by something I see, my husband reminds me of the coffee shop test. These posters are not people you would choose for your circle and sit talking about stuff in a coffee shop. They don’t think like you and that’s ok. It’s almost like eavesdropping into the next table where everyone is so different. This is why I try and avoid debates on social media!

Try and remember this and keep scrolling!

Also, slightly off topic. But these groups are like the wild west and this post reminded me of a forum I joined years ago before Facebook was a thing. The pinned post asked you to read the rules before posting.

One rule was "do not type posts using capital letters". Okay, I thought, the Mods don't want "shouty" posts. Fair play.

So I posted a new thread and the Mod instantly replied. The conversation went like this.

Mod: did you read the rules?
Me: Yes, I did thank you. ☺️
Mod: do you have a problem following ruler?
Me: Um, no. I just checked again and I don't seem to have broken any.
Mod: what about rule 4? posting in capital letters?
Me: Yep, all understood.
Mod: are you taking the piss?
Me: Excuse me? I'm don't understand.
Mod: so you are taking the piss!
Me: I'm not, what do you mean?
Mod: very funny.
Me: I don't get it.
Mod: obviously. you're either thick or you're trying to wind me up.
Me: I don't know you. I've just joined. I don't know what you mean.
Mod: right, that's your first warning.
Me: For what?
Mod: typing in capitals. and that's your second warning.
Me: I'm not 'typing in capitals'. I'm just typing using correct grammar, and mechanics. You mean I can't use any capital letters at all?
Mod: oh, the stupid person finally gets it. you're banned.

😂😂😂😂 And banned I was. I think the Mod was absolutely fucking barking mad.

Everyone should watch If Facebook was a pub by Kevin Bridges. He sums it up perfectly. 🤣 (It's 4 mins into this clip).

The good thing about those pages are that they certainly make you realise who the idiots are and who to avoid in real life.
I live in a friendly village, the sort where people will stop for a chat. I know most of my neighbours but there's one in particular that I will be avoiding more than a cursory 'hello' with having seen his regular and unecessary comments on every post on all the local Facebook groups.

I live between 2 areas so I’m in 2 groups. One is an utter joy, run by the local councillor and it’s used to pass on actual information and she uses it to pick up and deal with issues.
The other one seems to be an excuse for people to try and advertise their businesses constantly. A lot of eye brow stuff. I left before because a chiropodist kept posting pictures of peoples infected and rotten feet. They were banned eventually.

I posted on mine one July asking for recommendations for a birthday cake for September and I got a couple of middle-aged men thinking they were funny commenting “don’t buy one until at least the end of August” 🙄

The person who runs ours literally can’t string a sentence together. I don’t just mean full of typos, although god knows there are plenty of those, but random full stops, semi colons and apostrophes, sometimes one after another and no actual sentences but I wouldn’t say they’re writing statements either. I can’t describe, it needs to be seen to be believed. They are forever going on about the abuse they get when all they are trying to do is help the community (they are playing the martyr constantly). So I did laugh one day when I clicked on an article from the local paper which had made it on to ‘Angry People in Local Newspapers’ where they joined in a pile on of a local woman who had bought what turned out to be a mouldy instant porridge in Poundland. I took a screenshot and am looking forward to being able to use it 😆

Apart from the dear leader on a power trip it’s just endless photos of dog shit. Every day it’s multiple photos of dog shit and people complaining about the ‘dirty bastards’ that don’t pick up after their dogs.

Once someone posted ‘did anyone hear a bang’. Personally I didn’t hear a bang but enough people replied that they had heard a bang that the post made it to the local papers page. After the article, which was literally just a copy and paste job of the original post and a phone number for people
to call if they heard the bang, like you used to get if you witnessed a crime or a major breaking news story. We never did find out what the bang was but the post rumbled on for days and days.

Can't you mute the the notifications and just go in to the group when you're looking for something specific?

But I do agree these groups annoying and useful at the same time. One guy comments "is this still available?" when people post about things they have found like lost wallets, keys etc. He really thinks he's so funny but I just want to set him on fire 🔥

Tad drastic, I'm aware, so I won't, not today anyway!

Our village had two newbuild estates built in the past 5-10 years. Some people are still adamantly against them and moan on the Facebook groups about the “destruction of our village”. One was built on the site of an abbatoir, the other on a former trucking depot. Hardly destroying a serene peaceful countryside village.

Fair enough to complain they haven’t increased amenities for the new houses or about traffic, but a few months ago, someone posted some “throwback to the good old village before X developer built all those houses” and it was literally some industrial looking photos of roads and sheds of the cattle market.

Our local ones are full of:
*The Pride of Britain wannabes, who make out they love animals and care about the local old and homeless people.

• The wannabe flippers. Skanks asking for free stuff, then trying to sell it for a profit
• The boring and pretentious 'artistic' photography
• The snidey and unfunny 'I bet you're fun at parties' responses. They probably haven't been invited to a party since they were 10.

Also, I live in a coastal tourist town that hosts a 4 day airshow every summer. The local Facebookers either hate it or are devoted to it on a religious scale. Quite amusing, despite both sides having good points. And there's the sad cases who think they're witty by posting 'what time are the Red Arrows on?'.

Local Facebook bingo (M32)

1. "What was that bang?"

1. "This cat won't leave my house" (simple solution, STOP FEEDING IT!)

1. "NE1 no the best kebab?"

I live near Paphos in Cyprus, and the amount of (usually British) people who have lived here for years and STILL call it Pathos is unbelievable.