You’d think that painting rocks would be an innocent and
untroubled pastime… It is; and should be!
Whilst I was on holiday (where I’d taken painted rocks to hide and spread the good love – which several already have been found), I discovered that I could not access the ‘Bristol Rocks’ Facebook group my pebble art normally points to. It was brought to my attention from friends and family who are also members of the group, that people who discovered my hidden rocks posted pictures there but could not tag my name (or the tag appeared to come up at least as text, but later was removed), and some had the posts removed or heavily edited as to remove any content – blank posts. I could not see any of this as I had been removed from the group, with no explanation or contact made with me about why, or any sort of warning. It should be noted that I’ve never done anything previously on this group that has warranted the receipt of a warning of any kind, nor have I ever been previously contacted about an issue with any of my posts or rocks.
My Wife (another member) made posts/enquiries and the most she found was a recent, generic admin post telling members that ‘advertisers will have their posts removed and if they do a second advert post, they will be removed’. The picture posted of this Care Bears rock looks to be the straw the broke the camel’s back, as that was the last rock of mine that was posted there – we’re still totally in the dark about what’s wrong with it, even the back tags – there is absolutely NO ADVERTISING anywhere on the rock or in the post that was made. I’ve hash-tagged ‘Funshine’ on the back as that is the character name (who also has a Stranger Things namesake!). The only thing pointed to is the very Facebook group to post to (so that cannot be the problem). Where are the ‘99% off Rayban sunglasses’ or ‘75% discounted Radley handbags’ in my work!? Where is the spam or ads that should get be a warning or a ban? The group rules state at least I should have been given a warning as it was the first time I’d fallen foul of the group’s rules.
Whilst I was on holiday (where I’d taken painted rocks to hide and spread the good love – which several already have been found), I discovered that I could not access the ‘Bristol Rocks’ Facebook group my pebble art normally points to. It was brought to my attention from friends and family who are also members of the group, that people who discovered my hidden rocks posted pictures there but could not tag my name (or the tag appeared to come up at least as text, but later was removed), and some had the posts removed or heavily edited as to remove any content – blank posts. I could not see any of this as I had been removed from the group, with no explanation or contact made with me about why, or any sort of warning. It should be noted that I’ve never done anything previously on this group that has warranted the receipt of a warning of any kind, nor have I ever been previously contacted about an issue with any of my posts or rocks.
My Wife (another member) made posts/enquiries and the most she found was a recent, generic admin post telling members that ‘advertisers will have their posts removed and if they do a second advert post, they will be removed’. The picture posted of this Care Bears rock looks to be the straw the broke the camel’s back, as that was the last rock of mine that was posted there – we’re still totally in the dark about what’s wrong with it, even the back tags – there is absolutely NO ADVERTISING anywhere on the rock or in the post that was made. I’ve hash-tagged ‘Funshine’ on the back as that is the character name (who also has a Stranger Things namesake!). The only thing pointed to is the very Facebook group to post to (so that cannot be the problem). Where are the ‘99% off Rayban sunglasses’ or ‘75% discounted Radley handbags’ in my work!? Where is the spam or ads that should get be a warning or a ban? The group rules state at least I should have been given a warning as it was the first time I’d fallen foul of the group’s rules.
I have contacted the admin about this in addition to my Wife, and still no response has been sent to me. You just don’t treat people like this, especially in an art community where people put time, money, love and work in – also where some people seek solace in artistic pursuits from real life worries and anxieties – many of us from the mental wellness challenge community. Up until recently I was a solid, quality and regular contributor and from now on, none of my rock art will direct to ‘Bristol Rocks’. It is unfair that people who discover my free art are also treated poorly for posting it, with their posts being heavily edited, removed and photos removed without explanation as to why. I’ve now redirected to newer pursuits. But how sad that this happened because a group has too few admins, who do not seem able to understand the wider internet art community and the dos and don’ts thereof.
Again… This is rock painting! It should not be something to build a hierarchy around and for people to have Napoleon complexes over. It is NOT their thing, it is everybody’s thing! This is meant to be a fun and unspoiled community pursuit with no sign of dictatorship being the salt in the sugar bowl.
It is possible that other artists have also received the same improper handling as my situation and I urge anyone who has, to carry on creating your beautiful rocks and do not let this stop you. That rock group is just one Facebook group out of many rock painting Facebook groups, and evidentially a poorly run one. Artists are their own branding, back tags are not advertising and nor is stating where you hid a rock – my Wife once had a post removed (at least they told her why in this instance) because the tag in the Facebook post read ‘Keynsham Music Festival’ … where she’d hidden the rock. That’s a free event, in a public park space open to everyone, which has actually finished at the time she posted the Facebook post. Literally, she was penalised for location-tagging her rock, as this was deemed to be ‘advertising’. Sorry, but we respectfully decline your draconian ruleset – it’s a sledgehammer to crack a nut and it isn’t being enforced fairly, as first time artists falling foul of the OTT rule are being removed from the group without being contacted. And yes – contacting someone means they get to speak back to you, not just sending a message and then banning them before they even read or respond. Although in my case, I didn’t get either courtesy – I got nothing.
Here’s to moving on with newer ventures.
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