On 01.05.10 I placed a warning message on the discussion that was revolving around the Moe’s photo on the Flat Names FB group, as it was getting off topic and starting to be potentially insulting to some other contributors.

Later the same day two other members wrote some pretty disgusting stuff on the page. One post was directed at myself. I dealt with this by deleting the comments from the page (I still have the emails copies). I also blocked these members from the group and reported doing so on the page.

Should I hear from either of them again in a negative capacity I will consider the following actions:

• blocking and reporting them on FB
• consulting with a social media expert and lecturer I know at the University
• contacting the Proctor of the University

It’s disappointing but I guess two bad apples in a group of 1239 isn’t too bad.

While my research is not investigating the relationship between gender and named flats, gender is could be a relevant issue to the topic. It is widely assumed that the people inhabiting named flats are the type of students who party a lot, that they are the students who tend to have the flats with the names referencing sex or alcohol, tend to be male, that are the troublemakers, the couch burners, the bottle throwers; in short the students whose actions are reported upon negatively in the media.

I don’t believe this is the situation in the majority of cases of named flats, just as it is the minority of students who are involved in antisocial behaviour. However it may well be the situation in this case.

From a gender perspective this experience certainly highlights an example of the subculture of misogyny and disrespect to women that some young men are part of. It’s not cool. It’s not funny and it’s absolutely not ok.

• Here’s a recent article on Facebook’s response to reporting abuse.
• The safety section on Facebook, www.facebook.com/safety is worth a read too.