Ruth and the sunset at the island of Dhiffushi, Maldives.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Kuwait City, Kuwait on March 31st.

Sunday, December 6, 2020

That was the final straw

The last in a series of unpleasant events that finally makes you feel that you cannot continue to accept a bad situation.

And that is exactly the way we feel about Facebook.

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post detailing the problems we were encountering. Since then, with no explanation or apology I was able to start accessing my account again, and the temporary block that was on Ruth's account was lifted.

But that didn't last long.

Three days ago, I was blocked again from posting to any groups. A few hours later, Ruth was also blocked. When I tried to post to a group, I would get this message...


When I tried through the "new" facebook, I would get this message...


I own the group that I was posting to. How can it be spam when it's MY group, and the people who are members want to see the posts? I contacted facebook group support to appeal, and their "team" decided that the block was valid. By this point, I was almost done due to the headaches and aggravation.

Then the next day, Ruth received the following email from Facebook...


We have done nothing wrong, and nothing different that we haven't done for the past three years or more. I refuse to be bullied by Facebook, and I am done. 

That was the final straw.

So, we will no longer be posting daily to our Travel with Kevin and Ruth Facebook account. Sure, we will lose a few casual readers, but I feel that if they aren't interested enough to make a simple effort to find our blog another way, then I really don't care. 

And, MeWe is such a refreshing change from the crap that goes on at Facebook. There is zero advertising, and you are in control of what you see. And it's totally free.

https://mewe.com/p/travelwithkevinandruth

For some reason, MeWe has a an undeserved reputation as a haven for "anti vaxers, anti Semetics, and the alt right" as somebody on Facebook (who had never been to MeWe) tried to tell me. While those types of groups probably exist (because there is no censorship on MeWe), you would have to actively search for those groups and then join them. They can't find you. But I have been there for two months and haven't seen any sign of any of that stuff. I join travel groups and RV groups, and stuff that I like. And it's free, there is no advertising, and you get to choose what you see. For me, it's far better than Facebook.

But if you don't want to join us at MeWe, well that's fine too. As you know, we post here regularly every day. All you have to do is to bookmark www.travelwithkevinandruth.com and visit once a day and you will never miss a post.

You can also sign up to be notified by email. Just enter your information on the right side of this page where it says "Follow us by Email". 

You can also get the "Feedly" app on your phone and set it up to receive our updates. 

There are lots of easy ways to read what we're up to if you're honestly interested.

Anyway, enough of that and you won't hear about it again. Like religion and politics, it seems that social media has become too negative and divisive.

Back to our normal programming.

We are participating in the weekend curfew in place here in Turkey. We never left the apartment yesterday, although Ruth opened the front door and sat on our entrance balcony for an hour. I will probably do the same today just to get some fresh air. Unfortunately, it's another beautiful day!

But, we have good internet and there is lots of research to do regarding onward travel. We will tell you all about that in tomorrow's blog post! We have some choices to make, and maybe you can help us.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Great deal on this everything you need Pots and Pans Set.

And in Canada...

Blink Mini Security Camera.


28 comments:

  1. Wow how frustrating. Don't blame you for giving up on it.

    I added you to my list of blogs I follow through Blogger a long time ago and your new posts just show up on my reading list. Easy peasy. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is very frustrating, especially because we hadn't been doing anything different than we had over the last 10 to 15 years. I think that Facebook has tightened it's algorithms a little too tight!

      Now that we are getting used to MeWe we are really liking it, it is like the way Facebook was when it first started.

      Thank you for continuing to follow along with us through Blogger's reading list, as you said it is easy peasy. :-)

      Delete
  2. I had a FB account for about a month and deleted it. I have found this platform less evasive into my privacy. Thanks for continuing the blog as I try to read you everyday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you were one of the smart ones, lol!

      We are glad that you are going to continue to follow our blog. :-)

      Delete
  3. I read you through Bloglovin. I've never read you on facebook, so nothing changes for me. I found your blog thru Kareninthewoods blog. Love traveling with you all!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for following along with us and continuing to follow along. We are happy that things stay the same for you. I haven't heard of Bloglovin but it sounds like another easy way for people to get to our blog without having to use Facebook. :-)

      Delete
  4. I find facebook very useful for keeping in touch with lots of people and also discovering some people I haven't see in a long time. Like it or not I do find it useful however, I am not trying to use it to make a profit as you are...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I, more than Kevin have liked Facebook for the same reason. I have reconnected with old school friends and such and it has been an easy way to keep in touch with our family, friends and people that we have met through our travels but since Facebook did it's last change back in September, that is when the problems started to arise they have become the new bully on the block. We had not changed how we have done things on Facebook, on our Travel with Kevin and Ruth page, we only post once a day with a picture and a link to our blog and I often put up one set of pictures to an album of where we are. We don't share our page to other groups, we don't actively"invite" people to join the page and all our content is organic so we just can't figure out why they think we are doing anything to falsely inflate our popularity is beyond us! And they don't give you any chance to appeal or have our say in the matter, it is their way or the highway so we are taking the highway!

      Now that we have been on MeWe for a month or more, we are actually liking it, we get to control what we see and like and nothing more. Now we just need to wait for family and friends to migrate over and they will, it make take time but we are finding more and more people feeling like us about Facebook.

      Delete
  5. Totally understandable. I've had brief issues with YouTube as well, and figured "Fine...F you!" and moved on. I don't need to earn money from any of that online BS, so if they don't like the music playing in the back ground on an account that's not monitised? Well, whoop te do. I've had your home page as a bookmark for years and years anyway, so The Book of Face was just a lazy short cut. Press on!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, it is pretty crazy how heavy handed Facebook and Youtube have become. Some of the stories we are hearing are crazy and there is no way to voice your concern.

      We are definitely liking this new MeWe format so much better. We get to pick what we like and want to see, not want they "think" we want to see.

      So glad that you will continue to follow along with us! :-)

      Delete
  6. I use the Feedly app. It works very well. Anytime anyone posts a blog that I follow, Feedly picks it up for me. fb is indeed becoming a pain in the butt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, we have heard a lot of people that like using the Feedly app, if it works and gets you to our blog nice and easy than all the better. :-)

      Not only has Facebook become a pain in the butt, but also just a waste of time.

      Delete
  7. Know the frustrations of the internet all too well. Kathy simply uses Facebook to talk with the kids. I simply use Blogger for keeping track of everyone.
    Be Safe and Enjoy your adventures.

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Blogger's reader list is a great way to follow along with blogs.

      Maybe it's a good thing that Facebook has become such a bully, now we will have even more time for hiking and other fun stuff. :-)

      Delete
  8. You are the second group that I follow that has moved to MeWe. Understand your reasons and it seems justified. 1st to move was Dr Ben Lynch who is being censored for discussing healthy options for Covid and questions on vaccines. I trust his experience and want to hear his evaluation so. I’ve signed up, I just need to make the effort to learn something new and develop new habits. I really enjoy your travel adventures. Thank you for all of the wonderful information over the years. See you on MeWe (I hope 😜)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is not fair that they can have such a hold over people like that, whatever happened to free speech? I can totally understand when people can get real nasty or topics get a bit crazy but if people don't like it, don't follow it. Facebook is becoming exactly what they are supposedly trying to stop!

      It is natural for people to not like change but sometimes, actually many times, change is actually a good thing. :-)

      Thanks for joining us over on MeWe. :-)

      Delete
  9. What a bunch of B.S. I'm pretty much fed up with FB anyway. Too many ads and I don't like that so I spend much of my time hiding them and having to give reasons why I don't want to see them. So what happens to the group now if you were the admin?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, it is a bunch of B.S. and we have finally had enough of it! We couldn't stand all the ads either. :-(

      Are you talking about the RV'ing in Mexico, facebook group? If so, once we get back our ability to post again, if we get it back we will see if someone wants to take it over, otherwise we will just delete it. It hasn't become what we wanted it to become anyways, which was a place for people to let others know what campgrounds are open or closed, good boondocking spots and what campgrounds/boondocking spots have to offer and the cost associated with them.

      Delete
  10. I deleted my Facebook account when Zuckerberg got caught violating users' privacy yet again & blithely announced he didn't think FB users had any right to privacy. That was over 10 years ago!(Wow, I just confirmed it was indeed that long after googling: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/facebooks-zuckerberg-the_n_417969)

    I don't miss it, it's even more of a junk-strewn time waster now. But if I ever do want to access something there now, I just sign into my Mom's account.

    I didn't convince many to join my exodus, but it's always been the principle for me anyway. I don't think the way Zuck & Co make their billions is ethical & he can do it without me providing free editorial content so he can surreptitiously scrape all of our private data & sell it for cash to 3rd parties.

    Given how arrogant they've gotten at FB HQ - they really seem to believe we should be so grateful they want to sell our private data without our permission that they can dictate the *irrational* terms of how they unethically profit from it now - I don't think it will be long before things reach a critical mass & people move on to other ways to communicate. Not many younger people are on FB these days.

    I get your blog updates via an antique feed reader.(Feedbro) Many of the old-fangled ways of getting content streamed to us are more benign - not to mention more efficient uses of our time- and are probably due for a comeback if no one comes up with a service that's better managed & more mindful of the users they exploit than Facebook is.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly and people are worried about MeWe?! I guess they don't realize exactly how much control Facebook has over the people that are signed up to it!

      So glad that you will continue to follow our adventures and that the change over from Facebook to MeWe doesn't have any impact on you at all. :-)

      Delete
  11. Sorry that you have so much trouble. I enjoy everyday your report and receive it by e-mail. I hope that stays that way.
    Good luck for making the right decisions for the next months. Turkey was an eye opener for me how interesting and beautiful it is. Stay healthy!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Angi, getting our posts through email won't change a bit so you have nothing to worry about. :-)

      I think Kevin will be laying out our choices in today's blog post and we are probably looking for some other points of view to help us make our decision for our onward journey.

      Yes, Turkey has been a real eyeopener for us as well. We have been totally enjoying our time here and Turkey has definitely surpassed our expectations. We look forward to returning here and see more of this amazing country in the future.

      Delete
  12. Being an old stuck-in-the mud Taurus...I'll just stick with your blog site...I think staying in Turkey would be your safest bet..
    I was able to get a haircut today..The gov of Wa. was going to go on the air and say something this evening, I didn't want to get stuck looking like my old 60 & 70's days again....The hospitals are getting full of folks from Idaho-Oregon-etc. who still follow the great orange cheeto...
    Have Fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Whatever works best for you to see our blog posts, is just fine with us. :-)

      Why is staying in Turkey our safest bet?

      Kevin needs a haircut too and this time I can't cut it for him, he will actually have to go to a barber, I think this will be the third time he has ever done that since we met.

      Delete
  13. It will be great until they get sued over some of the nonsense that always appears on these social pages. Then they will have to start following the same rules and they have to pay their bills some way. Though I am and will continue for now to be a face book user I have always went directly to this blog site. Much easier than any other way..

    Garry

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Who knows, but we are definitely going to give MeWe a go! We are just simply tired of Facebook and how they can bully you around and not give you a chance to just have your say, or for that matter tell you flat out what the issue is so that if you are doing something you weren't aware of, then you can change how you do it so it doesn't happen again, but they don't!

      Glad that you just simply go directly to the blog, so much easier. :-)

      Delete
  14. I've been following your blog through a reader/aggregator called "The Old Reader" for years. I don't check daily, but whenever I have a block of time, I go there and catch up on all the blogs I read, which is why you sometimes get comments from me way after the fact or on many posts at once. It's easier than the Facebook groups, which don't always appear in my feed. I hate many things about FB as well but hesitate to quit as long as most of my family and friends are heavy users. I don't even have email addresses for some of them any longer. But I find I use FB much less than I used to. I haven't had any problems with it other than just getting annoyed by the newsfeed algorithms!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So glad that you are still following along. I know a few of our readers are like you and just go back to the last post that they read and then play catch up. Whatever works for you is just fine with us. Having said that, by switching over to MeWe, you don't have to give up Facebook, that's the nice thing about MeWe, our page could be the only thing that you look at on MeWe and you don't have to see another thing on that site. :-)

      Delete

There are more comments on our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TravelwithKevinAndRuth

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.