Facebook Rules

I've been a member of Facebook now for over two years. I've logged a lot of posts, commented on oodles of pictures, been encouraged and/or challenged spiritually, laughed my head off countless times, and made many "friends".

My friend list is comprised of family, close friends, church members, former classmates and coworkers, home school group members, and acquaintances. It goes without saying that not all of those people are believers. As such we all have a different set of ethics and etiquette that we follow, and I can't expect everyone to act in accordance to MY standards.

But if I could have my druthers I'd make Facebook a place that is child-friendly and a haven for joy where much glory is given to God, and I'd have everyone abide by the following rules:

1. Don't swear. People who know me well know that I don't swear. So if you're going to comment on something that I wrote please don't type a curse word in the box. I don't appreciate it, and other people who are reading my posts don't appreciate it either. If you want to swear in your posts, that's your prerogative, and you have every right to do so. But please know that if you keep posting swear words in your status updates I'm either going to hide you or delete you.

2. Don't fight on Facebook. If you are having a dispute with your friend "@Cynthia Reynolds", resolve it away from Facebook. Don't type a status post that describes in much detail why Cynthia is such a jerk and how you no longer want to be her friend, etc. [hypothetical situation] Think of how many people will have seen your rant. If they are friends with Cynthia then you might be gathering enemies, and you're defaming your friend to people who don't know her; that isn't fair to Cynthia. Plus, when you inevitably make up you'll have wished you hadn't have said anything negative in the first place. THIS RULE APPLIES TO YOUR SPOUSE AS WELL. Feel free, though, to post about how you need prayer because you are having some difficulties with someone.

4. Don't post revealing pictures of yourself. Not everyone wants to see these type of pictures, and also anyone that you're friends with can easily click on that picture and save it to their computer. Now you no longer have control over who has a copy of that photo.

5. Please don't type graphically gross status posts. You're kids are sick, and that's all you can think about, so you write a status update about it. This is good because now people know to pray for you during this trial. But that's all you need to say. You don't have to go into graphic detail about just how sick they are and they messes they are leaving on your sofa or about the boils that are covering their bodies. [Oops. Now I disobeyed my own rule. But you get the picture...you REALLY get the picture.]

6. If you can't think of anything else to post other than something that falls into one of the above situations, then it's best not to post. My fail-safe rule is to either just leave my status blank or encourage others by posting a Bible verse. We can all use the Word of God at any time. ☺

I, Nicole Ann Sowers, solemnly promise to abide by these rules.