Let’s be honest: Jasperites are long past the point where we view the Jasper AB Buy, Sell and Trade Facebook group as just a place to buy old couches.
With a quick post, lost pets are returned to their owners; users are warned of sidewalk hazards; people are able to discuss issues affecting the town.
Some commerce does still happen in the group, but its size and reach has turned it into a community forum.
The group has more than 9,000 members, and those members hail from every conceivable echelon of Jasper’s social strata.
Jasperites of all ages, races, economic standings and social circles use the page, and—aside from the page administrator—no one person carries more power than another.
No organization, no individual, no physical location—not even any major event in town—has that same reach, and at such a democratic level.
But while it’s informal structure sometimes makes it feel like a living-room conversation, that is pure illusion. The page is a megaphone, amplifying what users say for the whole community to hear. That amplification is useful, and at times very important, but it is also extremely dangerous.
Recently, some group members have been using that reach to lob accusations of bad behaviour and criminal activity at individuals, businesses and organizations in town.
Accusing someone of serious crimes while talking with a few friends is one thing; blasting an accusation out to the whole town is entirely different.
Linking a person to a crime in front of the whole community, informally ties that person to that crime. Even if they’re innocent, the association will remain in many people’s minds for a long time.
The same is true when we talk about illegal activity happening in Jasper.
As Cpl. Ryan Gardiner said in this week’s issue, there are proper channels to deal with that information, and a Facebook page is not one of them. Because of the group’s reach, that information could easily find its way to the criminals, tipping them off and making the RCMP’s job more difficult.
Until recently, the buy and sell has generally been a useful melting pot for the community. But irresponsible users are threatening to erode that, and turn the group into a toxic place.
It’s time for Jasperites to take a step back from our screens and think long and hard about what we want the page to be.
Do we want a community forum, or do we want another dark corner of the Internet, where trolls roam free, and reputations are slandered in front of the whole community?
