The future of Bhubble

I've never used Facebook, and I might use Kijiji once a year. I come here to see what's up with the community.

Good luck with the moderating, I bet it sucks. Thanks for doing it, shoot me an email with your address and I'll get some coffee your way (I do a little bit of roasting in my spare time). 

I appreciate all the work that goes into bhubble! 
i use it for the buy and sell aspect and chime in on conversations from time to time.

my 2 cents would be to due away with the user name aspect. 

This is a great resource for a town like Rossland, you should be compensated for the service you provide to 1/3 of the population on a daily basis. I have also never used facebook and don't plan too. 

Could you have help moderating? I'm sure there are some good people who would enjoy doing that and could follow guidelines for decision making around removal of information.  

Thank you so much for putting this out to the community! Im surprised to learn that you take no profit from this platform. Perhaps some help would lessen the load.

I do not have social media, so I have used this platform for buying/selling items locally, seeking information, learning about community events/offerings,  building community connection and support (which I have done many times through the contact form) and also to see viewpoints that challenge my current worldview. 

It's gotten to be a bit vicious at times, and it's not fun to be on the receiving end of that. 
I'm on board with Eric about doing away with the usernames. 
Some parameters around conduct would be greatly appreciated, too. Passive aggressive sarcasm, mockery, name-calling and groundless projections ("you believe this, so that must mean you're a, b, c, d, e, f, g!"), just to name a few. I don't expect everyone to go and read "Non-violent communication" tomorrow, but some simple guidelines could help.

Best of luck, and thank you for all you do!

Dani Woolsey

Thanks for your comments so far!

To be clear, I take full responsibility for the lack of profits, the site isn't that well set up for it and I don't have great business prowess in this area. I haven't entirely been great at communicating with and seeking out advertisers. It is a motivating factor in a rebuild - to make it easier to provide useful services to businesses and have it be a really good tool for local shops and service providers to promote themselves. Perhaps it would be smart to hire someone to handle this side of things in the future, to make up the skills that I lack!

I'm really happy with the businesses that have supported Bhubble in the past and continue to support it!! 

Thanks for all you do Alynn with Bhubble. I use this site frequenlty and almost exclusivley for the buy and sell options within our community. I have both bought and sold/given away many items using Bhubble. I suggest Bhubble to all the newcomers to town as a way to connect with others in our community. I mostely ignore the discussions for the reasons you have spoken about above. 

I would support a rebuild Alynn and for you to make profit. Bhubble is a valuable resource for community members and business alike.

You do an amazing job.  We would be lost without Bhubble.  Let us know .... anything to keep you going.

Thanks for your hard work Alynn. 

Having people use their real names would help keep things more civil, more of a cummunity hub. Facebook and LinkedIn logins would help with that or if you don't have a FaceBook account you could request a photo ID like a drivers licence to be approved. This would also help reduce rental housing scams. A donate button if you successfully sell something on Bhubble would help make things more profitable and a yearly business subscription that costs a few hundred dollars wouldn't hurt. I know you charge around $100 for x amount of time but subscriptions seem to be more popular/profitable these days.

Thanks – I've personally found Bhubble great for buying/selling/giving away, and it's good to see lost dogs  finding their owners, as well as lost/found items. Also to know about things going on in the town. 

As a local business we find value in being able to share our news and offerings through bhubble! I would much rather pay for an annual biz membership (and would be happy to) and be allowed to make classified postings, rather than use the small squares to advertise because you can't fit much info on that little square.

I also fully support getting rid of aliases. When you can hide, it makes it far easier to say things you might otherwise not say if you had to own your words! I bet having to use real names would temper most conversations. That said, if this change happened hopefully business names could still be included somehow.

Thanks for all the time and effort you put into this site Alynn. It is a valuable community resource!

I agree with Miche - I'd love if we could pay an annual business membership and do classified postings. Bhubble is very well read and reaches a lot of people who aren't on social media. We really appreciate it for posting the Grind pizza nights and job openings! Thanks so much for all the work you do, Alynn!

I think that for the most part Bhubble is a useful community service, and I very much appreciate the endless hours Alynn has put into it.

I don't know though if this is a purchased template that requires categories such as "Frustrations and Complaints", but it sure leaves things wide open for just about everything, and that's where the trouble starts.

I agree that users should pay, real names be used, and postings limited to community announcements, such as buy-and-sell, lost-and-found: areas which are objective and where there is no room for debate.

If we get into opinions, then it quickly spins out of control over concerns about free speech, and people taking advantage of free space and anonymity. Differing opinions are fine if they are respectfully expressed, but too often they are not and everyone's an expert.  This is not something a volunteer moderator should need to deal with and does not reflect well.

Long and short, I think that Bhubble needs to better define its identity, and if it wants to include discussion on issues, there need to be standards set as to what is discussed and how it is expressed. That's what mainstream media editors do, and are trained for, and what social media could use so much more of.

Thank you Alynn for opening this up to us all, and I volunteer to be a co-moderator, not for money, but for community.

Hi Alynn - Bhubble is pretty darn amazing, and an excellent local resource, particularly for those not on social media. 

The threads that spin out of control tend to be akin to what drove (or kept) many people off social media, so increased moderation would be key - perhaps a model like Darren-E or Miche proposed would do the trick...

Maybe a bit of profit would allow for a paid moderator - I can imagine that it would be a rather challenging job some days. 

Thank you for all that you've done to build and maintain this - so many of us really appreciate it.

Cheers,
Dirk

Keep it please! facebook and kijiji are not the same. Bhubble is unique!

Bhubble is the BEST! 

A Suggestion:

Throw in a 'Donate' Button, with a suggested donation per sale, 1%, 2%.. I'd throw in a buck or two for every sale. Or a once a yr. Crowd fund campaign, 

To ensure financial viability. 

(Haters are always a very small % in any setting, just life, don't take It personally)

Jeff brings up a good point. I would definitely donate to a GoFundMe to help with updating this platform and keeping it running. 

Facebook is blahhhh, and kijiji isn't as community oriented as bhubble. I would be sad to loose it. 

*lose. I need to figure out how to edit my posts. 

Agree with Geoff. I would defnitely donaste per sale. Ha, I would donate when somebody takes a big item for free from me. Anybody looking for a shower stall?

I don't use social media but since joining Bhubble, I have bought 2 pairs of skis, re-homed a rocking chair, a bed, 2 cabinets and a bed.  I found out about Grind Pizza nights and regularly buy pizza  for dinner.  I've been able to help out with a couple of things for people and gave my Hallowe'en pumpkins to some hungry goats.  I'd happily donate/pay to continue using this community resource.

You all are so amazing, this is just what I needed, thank you!

I don't expect donations, but I have thought when someone sells a house privately here and saves what, $10k+(?) it would be nice to get a kickback from that!! I can't call it a donation because I'm not a non profit. Perhaps I'll put a note on here somewhere, but again, I don't want to ask for handouts and there are businesses willing to pay for good advertising service. The responses here from local businesses are very valuable, thank you for that Miche and Shelley, its really getting me thinking.

In regards to the "real name" thing, I really don't see how that is possible to enforce. Have a read of this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook_real-name_policy_controversy ...so I'm just not going go there. And to make people use Facebook accounts to login to Bhubble seems counter-intuitive.

I am surprised to see that most people have chosen "use your discretion, I trust you 100%" as the answer to my moderation question on the survey, what a show of confidence you have in me!  it's close with the "if 2+ people submit report abuse" though. But I thought more folks would think some kind of voting system would be good, that's what surprised me. I'm really glad I asked, because that probably wasn't going to be easy to set up!

Maybe call it a "Fund your community hub" button! so people can send etransfers to the Bhubble fund. Real names would be a hard thing to enforce, perhaps a random pop-up when people decide to post a comment? something like "Please remember to be nice and comment respectfully as these are your neighbours" that might might some people pause and think for a moment before they start typing...Yes, I also agree that you are doing a wonderful job moderating Bhubble. I hope you decide to keep Bhubble running.

LOL "might might" should have been "might make" Perhaps a 30 minute window to edit your post would be a great feature :)

The only good part of FB is marketplace, it's become a surprisingly effective buy and sell,  a dedicated buy and sell section would appeal to myself.

Alynn, you have created a platform that so many larger cities do not even have the pleasure of enjoying. Bhubble is always my first stop with my morning coffee as I love to catch up on local events, buy and sell, local news etc. I use the buy/sell often as our community is comprised of mainly amazing folks (who are all gear junkies!) that are willing to sell off quality materials, at fair prices, to other good folks... This alone is an amazing feat. You should take great pride that you have been the backbone of so much gear, kids clothing, furniture etc that have helped many families outfit themselves, their families and homes. Often when many cannot afford another option. This helps get us playing outside, comfortable in our homes or just warm dry, and often very stylish, in some perfectly fine used gear.

As far as the negative side?.. I, for one, understand people need to vent.. though I will always flip right past these conversations usually after reading the header. Im sorry you have to deal with these negative sources as Im sure it is no easy task. I know their are many other chat rooms availble for these types of conversations, it would be great if they were more utilized by those who do feel the need to vent or disagree. I very much appreciate the quality content that fills the pages of Bhubble. I could easily go on as to how valuble an asset Bhubble is, but I think we all can agree it is a very special platform that we are more than fortunate to enjoy. 

As a small business owner, I would be happy to contribute somehow if it meant keeping Bhubble running smoothly in our fine little community.

Thank you Alynn so much for your hard work and dedication!

Marty Unger.

This playform has been super awesome over the years Alynn.

I like that it can reach Rossland proper easily and with more control and flexibility than Facebook/Kijiji.

I use it for work and my personal stuff. I have taken out ads over the years. I use the vent calendar a lot and read the feed weekly.

I bet managing this can suck but a huge THANK YOU to you for doing it all this time.

It really needs to be managed by a paid staff. How I don't know--maybe Tourism Rossland or City of Rossland but it needs to not be done off the side of ones desk. It is too important to business and the community. It also takes a decade to get a community to use these sites/forums and this one is working on so many levels so I would not replace it or use another platform instead but maybe a revamp as you say with a service agreemnt in place to regularly maintain and manage it.

Whatever happens with it, you should be involved to whatever extent or level that you can or are willing. 

Thanks for asking

Nadine Tremblay

I would think that adding a small fee for advertising might help offset the time and cost for you to continu, and soliciting for a couple moderators might be helpful...

generally I think bhubble is very well recieved

Thank you Allyn for giving me a place to post my cartoons for 4 minutes until someone complains and they get tossed into the bhubble dumpster. lol. I get it, it's not the place, but thanks for the service you offer, and hopefully it works out for you and stays for a while. :)

Thank you Allyn for all your years of co-ordinating a wonderful local service to the small Kootenay communities. It sounds like a yearly business advertising fee is supported by the local businesses that use Bhubble. As a business owner advertising can be used as an expense. It would be a shame to lose such a valuable local service. I don't know of anyone that hasn't used it to buy, sell, give away or donate something! As in many of the comments above, you may want to drop the discussion aspect of it, which is the hardest to monitor, judge and easiest to abuse by the small percentage of people who don't have to put their name to their comments. Unfortunately a small percentage of people can take up a lot of your time, energy, emotions and who needs that? Be proud of what you've created, ask to have it supported and streamline it into something that is still your vision without what you shouldn't need to deal with. 

This is my first time commenting on something that is not a buy and sell, I love bhubble, I don't use facebook or any social media I get everything I need from bhubble. I even enjoy reading the posts that get out of hand. Thanks so much please don't take it away

Bhubble is an awesome site for Rossland. Your work is very much appreciated and I really hope it continues.

Alynn, We love Bhubble!! It has been most useful for our family to buy and sell used sports gear and household items. It's great for sharing information about community events too, and is a super effective way to post urgent information like a missing pet.

Thank you for creating this amazing hub for sharing information in the community! I hope you can keep it going !!

Bhubble provides unique value with its local focus. 

Definitely monetize it, otherwise it won't be sustainable. Businesses that post for adversizing but don't buy ad space should pay to do so - focus moderating there for some ROI. 

Besides advertisers, don't censor anything - half the value is having the crazies in town reveal themselves.  Pehaps a cap on an individual's posts per thread and total posts per day/week/month will eliminate some of the chaff from the wheat.  The excessive posters skew the perseption of the community. Those insisting on a back and forth shit fight can go find a room. 

Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to respond! 

It was the plan to get Bhubble into more towns and make a reasonable wage from advertising. It ended up only really being used in Rossland and then life got a bit in the way! It’s been amazing actually how well it has gone on all these years with chunks of time where I put almost no effort in due to children and health issues. Anyway, the response has been great and it’s getting me motivated to get back in gear, so we’ll see how it goes! Thanks for your support, I appreciate you being here and sticking with Bhubble all these years!!

We love Bhubble and use it for buy and sell. 

Thank you for running this and we support whatever you decide  :)

Bhubble is the best!!!  Thank you for all the effort over the years... I've bought and sold more than a few things and enjoyed the yearly dog poop drama.  Happy to support and keep this amazing local resource alive.

Keep doing it. Not a FB user by choice. I like the local atmosphere here. The moderation is well done. 

Alynn!  You're doing great!  Thanks for all of things you do and for providing this free platform for community members. 

- I agree with the many voice that say let's do away with the anonimity.  

-Some good suggestions about businesses paying an annual fee and getting advertising

-I like discussion rooms and hearing other peoples thoughts and opinions through non-judgemental / non name-calling discourse.   But must be hard to police.  Maybe a 2 strikes rule and then your account is frozen for X amount of time?  or banned.  

- It's hard to replace a well-used / subscribed platform - I agree with other users that this should try to be revamped.

Lana 

Bhubble is refreshing because of how truly local it is, far from the corporate culture of FB, Kijiji, etc.  And I'm sure it has sparked more than a few new friendships, eg people new to town looking for riding buddies, etc.

I like the idea of moderation and standards that address the more covert form of abuse/harassment such as mockery/sarcasm directed at an individual, and naming and sharing details about another without that person's explicit consent, etc.

While accountability in using a real name can help people think before posting, this might also deter some who just want to sell or connect without revealing their full name on a public website.  There could also be some people who have escaped abusive situations or have been stalked, etc. and wish to have as normal a life as possible, but need to keep a private online presence.

Thank you so much for this service!

Hi,
What you have built is totally unique and amazing! Kudos. To me it is one of the unique things about Rossland. If you can find a way to share the load when it comes to moderating that might help a lot.

= Tommi

I agree with not allowing anonymity in discussion forums, but there are valid reasons for allowing pseudonyms in classifieds - eg someone giving away a sought after item or selling it for super cheap may get numerous inquiries, and have to decide whether it goes to person that seems most in need, or first one to reply, or someone they know...   

Someone posting such an item wouldn't want to get into a situation where because of a lack of anonymity a number of people that knew them all wanted the item.  

Hi Allyn,

You do a great job and Bhubble is very valuable to Rossland. I find it far more valuable than Facebook Marketplace and I never use Kijiji. I like the idea of donating a % of a sale or periodic donations or Go Fund Me. This is an excellent platform. Thank you.

DN

A fantastic effort is given in Bhubble to be may main connect with happenings a sales in Rossland. Very entertaining, informative and bonding. Like anything else in our lives, we just need to ignore any negative postings that reflect on the site as they are only to a few others. My coctail hour would become boring with out this connect to the community. You are doing a super job by keeping this going. I am doo understand the time and commitment to do it. Thanks bunches.!!!

I love Bhubble... thanks Alynn. But you're right, it could be improved.

Real names are essential.

Ads should expire after 4 weeks, unless bumped.

Links could show people how to write a good ad, then how to edit, refresh, and cancel it, etc.

Free ads are great, and I support paying you too... however you figure that out.

Let's brainstorm on Discussions to help you boost bhubble in other communities.