WIWIKAU Facebook Page - Harsh admin!

[Bargainhunterliz]

Has anyone else experienced being chucked off and also blocked from the facebook page WIWIKAU? It's an incredibly useful page and I'm disappointed I don't have it anymore when none of my children have gone to uni yet! I have shared many a time a link to a more suitable group for Performing Arts chats but this is clearly very offensive to the admins on this group that they take such harsh treatment without any gentle warning even! I have another facebook account which I tried to join on and see they have added a box with a question 'what does statement 3 say' and for this answer you are meant to write 'not share links to other sites' I've also been blocked from there too by querying my blocking! Absolutely bizarre behaviour for a group that everyone should be able to help every poster on!

I left about a month after joining because I couldn’t stand the weird sobbing over kids going off to uni. Could not relate at all.

The massive oversharing using real names was what put me off, photos of their rooms etc

I’m also banned. They just delete you no warning. Didn’t reply to my message. I’d posted lots of helpful info over a couple of years. I think it was my comment saying student room forum was good for lnat info (there are active threads where people post what score accepted with nothing like that on wiwikau) that triggered it but don’t know. Their loss! I’ve had several people contact me since wondering where I was/asking me questions. Yes any mention of specific Facebook groups for unis wasn’t allowed. I appreciate they want traffic on their site but someone with a specific query about bedding size at x hall is more likely to get an answer on the uni specific parents Facebook group.

That’s on loads of groups isn’t it, sharing young adults in distress or their lives. Awful.

😂 I get you! With how my son has been over drama school applications I can’t wait for him to go and I need him to get a place sorted pronto! I’m ready for him to go! 😬

Just makes absolutely no sense whatsoever does it! Completely bonkers rules!

I was banned 3 years ago! No notification or anything. I just tried to log in one day and it said I was blocked. The only thing I can think of is someone had asked which universities were good for neuro diverse kids. No one had replied after a week so I recommended a ND uni FB group. I don’t recall seeing anything anywhere that said that was prohibited. And seriously? Helping out each other? Just weird. I didn’t bother to try re-join as I found many of the posts a bit gushy - but it was several years ago now, so maybe it’s less OTT.
OP - the HE board here is very useful!

I’ve just trued to look at WIWIKAU FB group and see they’ve niw got their win ND group. They didn’t 3 years ago. It does look like it’s improved with lots of sub groups now. So maybe all the banning was do they could create their own & monetise.

@NotDonna I'm in both those ND groups, going back several years. Someone PM'd me when I mentioned ND on the main WIW FB and sent me an invitation to the original one, which I posted in quite a bit for a couple of years. I remember when they set up their own ND page people from our group saying they'd been banned for mentioning it and to be v.careful.

Crikey! Actually you’ve reminded me that a friend warned they can get very enraged if people share links to other sites or sources but I didn’t think they’d be quite so childish!

It’s been going on a while then! You’d think they’d have seen sense rather than still get satisfaction out of banning people without warning!

Funnily enough I was on there yesterday and people were sharing links to lots of careers advice. Perhaps that's OK. Just not rival support sites?

out of interest what are theboerforming arts groups?

Hi, so on Facebook there Harassed Performers Parents and on student room (app or webpage) there’s Official Drama Applicants Thread 2026

I think when you sign up you now have to type that you won’t share any links! It took a little while before they found that I had been sharing a performing arts parents group so give it time

It’s not just links it’s any reference to resources outside their group.
But then some links and references seem ok?
Anyway it makes their site poorer if replies can’t be comprehensive and they remove more experienced posters.
It just seemed bizarre to me you could post hundreds of times often getting positive feedback and one post ref to another useful source (which they don’t have a version of) and deleted no warning. Seems a bizarre business model.

I think that’s exactly it and I now wonder if they were in the process of forming their subgroups so didn’t want potential ‘customers’ migrating to different sites. When I linked the ND Facebook group WIWI didn’t have a sub group & no one had replied to the poor poster’s query. Maybe I’ll see if I can get back on for DD3 starting next year. 🤔 Although I do find there’s such a wealth of knowledge here.

Yes, although I find there are a wider range of people on there . It can be better for discussing eg sociology, free of the MN jury

Just seen that the admins are closing down any posts about A-level exams (as in, 'How did your YP find the economics paper today' etc) to try and direct these posts to the website (with very little uptake to date...).

It's obviously much easier to monetise a website than a Facebook group, but so far everyone has been very resistant to moving.

I can’t even find it on a new Facebook account under a different email & my maiden name.

Such an odd operation! 🙄