CR safety groups on Facebook

Chris

New member
Whenever anyone I know has carseat questions I always refer them here for the depth and breadth of knowledge, however, a ton of people always refer to carseats for the littles or the carseat lady on Facebook. In my experience, FB groups are really hit or miss when it comes to advice and without good searchable archives a lot of great info gets lost. Just wondering what you guys think of these two FB sites as good places to go for CR info or is there another FB resource that people can go to as well?
 
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LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
I hate Facebook as a medium for having an actual discussion. On the mobile app, at least, it only displays the last few responses, so I have to sit there forever loading previous ones. It is also awkward/impossible to quote people. I'm just not a fan of it. (That's not directed at any pages in particular, but all Facebook pages.)

I do love Facebook for quick updates and stuff, but not conversations.
 

MorgieBear'sMama

New member
There's no way to know who knows their stuff on fb. I can't tell if someone giving advice is a tech or someone who just decided to make up random car seat rules. Here you know you're getting advice from.
 

Kac

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I agree with the above.

I think Facebook groups can be an excellent resource for parents who don't like the forum type set up. With that being said, it's tough with tone on forums, but I think it's even tougher on Facebook where people aim to keep things short and sweet. I think it's great to have different sources to get the facts of carseat safety out! It is challenging to get information out at times, but we do our best.

Here is the group I created:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/carseatsafety1/

Come check it out! We try to keep it laid back but get the correct information out there in a non-judgmental way. :)
 

Stelvis

New member
Car Seat Lady herself gives great advice, and I don't think she intends her FB page to be a forum for people to ask questions or answer each other's questions. You can't even post to her wall. But if questions pop up on a thread, I know she often spends time answering people privately.
 

thepote

New member
I found CSFTL to be well moderated and bad info was quickly deleted. I know some people here don't agree with their best-practice only niche, but if that's the info someone wants I wouldn't hesitate to send them there.
 

Admin

Admin - Webmaster
Whenever anyone I know has carseat questions I always refer them here for the depth and breadth of knowledge, however, a ton of people always refer to carseats for the littles or the carseat lady on Facebook. In my experience, FB groups are really hit or miss when it comes to advice and without good searchable archives a lot of great info gets lost. Just wondering what you guys think of these two FB sites as good places to go for CR info or is there another FB resource that people can go to as well?

Of course, I would prefer that people come here;-) In fact, it generally falls under the Car-Seat.Org advertising guidelines if someone links or sends people to a facebook page or group from a post here, unless it's a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (subject to our restrictions on Amazon and other retailer affiliates). There are exceptions for personal websites, blogs, fb pages/groups and such that are clearly non-commercial and have no advertising or revenue-producing marketing of any kind. We will also usually allow exceptions for links that provide a specific answer or reference to a question or topic, especially those outside of the scope of Car-Seat.Org.

Back to facebook, there are definitely advantages. Starting with a gazillion members on fb and high traffic 24/7, such that only a small number of independent websites manage even a tiny fraction of the visitors. With all those members, there are certainly many very knowledgeable advocates as well.

On the downside, facebook has basically been the end of a lot of niche forums and websites like this one. People leave and simply never come back when they find what they want on facebook and don't have to stray out into the internet anymore, much like AOL used to be with all its internal content. Fortunately, traffic has held steady here so far over the last couple years, but it is definitely not increasing at the rate like previous years. Really, the sad reality is that all it would take is an update to how facebook organizes their groups and pages or a change in how Google indexes websites to make this place a graveyard. Those two companies control so much power in terms of internet traffic that it is would probably be criminal in any other industry! So, to avoid being completely in the dark ages, we also have a few low traffic facebook groups and pages:

https://www.facebook.com/carseatblog

https://www.facebook.com/carseatorg

https://www.facebook.com/groups/carseatorg (unofficial)

Questions do get answered there, but they don't have the traffic of other groups and pages that are more actively operated, obviously. We definitely appreciate and encourage members to Like/join us on facebook too, but prefer that parents with questions are referred here or to CarseatBlog of course:)

On the plus side, I think independent forums like Car-Seat.Org do offer a few advantages. And, unlike many other small forums, Car-Seat.Org is privately owned and operated by advocates who have a passion for the topic. Many other forums are owned by large corporations or forum integrators who operate them only to maximize profit and have zero interest in the discussions. Anyway, here's a few possible advantages, I'm sure there are others people have found.

1) Visitors can post anonymously, without registration, and we try to provide a prompt answer to help protect their children!

2) Members register with more anonymity and fewer privacy concerns

3) Responses can be much more thorough and detailed!

4) Easy to see when a certified technician or long-time advocate with a large base of posts and reputation has replied

5) Signatures and profiles help indicate parents with children of similar ages and interests

6) Forum is organized into discreet sections and has a large archive that is easily searchable, as you mentioned!

7) Community and off-topic posts, including Swap, are encouraged for members who have access. (Could be an advantage or disadvantage depending how you feel about off-topic discussions of coourse!)

8) Provides a place for people who intentionally are trying to avoid being sucked into facebook all day long;-)
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
1) Visitors can post anonymously, without registration, and we try to provide a prompt answer to help protect their children!

2) Members register with more anonymity and fewer privacy concerns

3) Responses can be much more thorough and detailed!

4) Easy to see when a certified technician or long-time advocate with a large base of posts and reputation has replied

5) Signatures and profiles help indicate parents with children of similar ages and interests

6) Forum is organized into discreet sections and has a large archive that is easily searchable, as you mentioned!

7) Community and off-topic posts, including Swap, are encouraged for members who have access. (Could be an advantage or disadvantage depending how you feel about off-topic discussions of coourse!)

8) Provides a place for people who intentionally are trying to avoid being sucked into facebook all day long;-)

And people stay for the pie.
 

Chris

New member
I found CSFTL to be well moderated and bad info was quickly deleted. I know some people here don't agree with their best-practice only niche, but if that's the info someone wants I wouldn't hesitate to send them there.

I am glad to hear that it isn't all junk there. What do you mean by best-practice only niche?

Maybe I will join to get a feel for things there, but this site will remain my go to place to send people.

I have already liked the carseatblog stuff, but will check out the other groups mentioned.

As always, the help here has been terrific!
 

Jessica61624

New member
I am glad to hear that it isn't all junk there. What do you mean by best-practice only niche?

Maybe I will join to get a feel for things there, but this site will remain my go to place to send people.

I have already liked the carseatblog stuff, but will check out the other groups mentioned.

As always, the help here has been terrific!

If you forward face before two they won't help you make sure your seat is installed properly forward facing. Also if you booster before a certain age they won't check belt fit. Even if diono allows seat protectors they say they're not allowed. Things like that. I personally left csftl twice. I like the car seat safety group ok. I see a lot of familiar people however its so hard to tell who's who.
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
If you forward face before two they won't help you make sure your seat is installed properly forward facing. Also if you booster before a certain age they won't check belt fit. Even if diono allows seat protectors they say they're not allowed. Things like that. I personally left csftl twice. I like the car seat safety group ok. I see a lot of familiar people however its so hard to tell who's who.

It's generally a good thing that different advocacy groups are run in different ways. Some parents may be reached by one format, but not another, perhaps even because of a difference in philosophy or just a difference in software or appearance. The more parents that can be reached, the better!

I found CSFTL to be well moderated and bad info was quickly deleted. I know some people here don't agree with their best-practice only niche, but if that's the info someone wants I wouldn't hesitate to send them there.

I'm not on facebook enough to observe how various groups and pages are moderated, but I note that at Car-Seat.Org, we generally try to allow incorrect or bad information to be posted and then encourage replies to correct it. We all make mistakes and this is one way to learn. We also try to avoid censorship of posts that are not clearly violations of forum guidelines or terms of service, and incorrect advice is not generally one of those violations;-) (Of course there are always exceptions!)

Anyway, it's possibly one of those "teachable moment" styles of instruction. Obviously there are exceptions when it's likely that a question is trolling or spam or otherwise not sincere. In the past there have been suggestions and reports asking for such bad advice posts to be removed. There's definitely a benefit in doing so, but it's just a difference in moderation philosophy compared to what may be done elsewhere; neither good nor bad!
 

Chris

New member
If you forward face before two they won't help you make sure your seat is installed properly forward facing. Also if you booster before a certain age they won't check belt fit. Even if diono allows seat protectors they say they're not allowed. Things like that. I personally left csftl twice. I like the car seat safety group ok. I see a lot of familiar people however its so hard to tell who's who.

Oh Jeez! I get so frustrated when people see everything in black and white and have no understanding for anything else. It is such a turn off to people coming for advice when they get told they are doing everything all wrong. I wish people could remember that you catch more flies with honey...
 

thepote

New member
Oh Jeez! I get so frustrated when people see everything in black and white and have no understanding for anything else. It is such a turn off to people coming for advice when they get told they are doing everything all wrong. I wish people could remember that you catch more flies with honey...

I don't think that the mods there don't understand, they just choose not to participate in giving advice that could seriously injure or kill children. There are many people out there that want their kids to be as safe as possible. CSFTL is dedicated to that. I feel strongly that there needs to be a culture change in the US so we can phase out forward facing one year olds and boostering toddlers. It's groups like CSFTL that are going to pioneer that type of change.
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
I don't think that the mods there don't understand, they just choose not to participate in giving advice that could seriously injure or kill children. There are many people out there that want their kids to be as safe as possible. CSFTL is dedicated to that. I feel strongly that there needs to be a culture change in the US so we can phase out forward facing one year olds and boostering toddlers. It's groups like CSFTL that are going to pioneer that type of change.

Nothing at all against anyone advocating extended rear-facing in any way they choose, but to give credit where it is due, many websites and advocates pioneered this effort starting well over a decade ago. Car-Seat.org and many other parenting forums are still dedicated to promoting this concept as well, though perhaps in somewhat different manners. Again, one parent or caregiver may respond to a message presented one way, while another will not. So it's good to have numerous resources on an important topic like this one!

I note that the big change that happened with the AAP recommendation was mainly driven by a small number of individuals, namely Chris Sherwood and the authors at the University of Virginia who published the single study that was the first to show some real-world USA data to support the concept, and also Dr. Marilyn Bull and her colleagues who were largely responsible for the AAP policy change.
 

thepote

New member
Yes - many props to you... And I agree, there's a group out there for everyone! People are taking the ball and running with it in different ways.
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
Yes - many props to you

Lol well I wasn't personally involved any more than any other extended RF advocate at the time, and certainly much less than some websites like cpsafety.com and others!

fb is a great media for advocacy, in any case! But hopefully there will always be a home here for those who don't use facebook and for those who prefer something different:)
 

Keeks64

New member
I just joined the CSFTL's page & I find its okay .... More people who aren't techs seem to comment voicing their opinion or thoughts on the install though which bothers me :/
 

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