Philippine Defense Today (Adroth.ph)

Note: This is also posted on the Timawa.net forum here.

In an effort to broaden the community’s reach I experimented with the creation of Facebook extension for select Timawa topics for the following functions:

1.   Focus laser-like attention on specific areas of concern, and to both promote discussion on them as well as to gather useful useful information for the mother forum.

2.   Serve as a “newbie sandbox” for potential forum members, so that individuals could get a taste of Timawa-style posting discipline before actually joining in. This was tied to efforts to stem the tide of stupidity that had been inundating the forum
This experiment stared in 2011 coinciding with the creation of the Adroth.ph blog that sought to summarize, and highlight the best, discussions on the forum.

The Facebook account policy explicitly requires that individuals use their real names in their accounts, with no obfuscation

Facebook is a community where people use their authentic identities. We require people to provide the name they use in real life; that way, you always know who you’re connecting with. This helps keep our community safe.
Please refrain from adding any of these to your name:

   Symbols, numbers, unusual capitalization, repeating characters or punctuation.
   Characters from multiple languages.
   Titles of any kind (ex: professional, religious).
   Words, phrases or nicknames in place of a middle name.
   Offensive or suggestive words of any kind.

I’ve carried the name “Adroth” for the better part of 14 years and there are in fact friends that address me as such even in real-life, especially if we started our friendship on the forum. Though not strictly following the letter of the FB guidelines, it certainly satisfied it in spirit and intent

Respect for anonymity is the foundation of the Timawa community. We leave it up to individual members to identify themselves to fellow members at the time of their own choosing. Some of us do, especially to facilitate the few rare eyeball events that are organized for select projects. Others are content to remain faceless.  Anonymity – even to each other — has never been a hinderance to our ability to organize real-life projects with real-life impact. The Timawa Donation Group has been operating in this mode and has conducted numerous humanitarian and pro-defense projects since 2006. In keeping with a policy that has served the forum well since its inception in 2000 – I saw no reason to abandon that mode of operation.

Compartmentalization. I don’t want to mix pictures and post filled with either slap-on-the-forehead ignorance or vile vitriol with photos of my family. I keep politics out of my personal FB page for that reason

Efficacy is our goal, not fame. Facebook apparently doesn’t see it that way – at least as of today — and has chosen to enforce its rules.

The following are the largest of the groups. Unfortunately these won’t grow any further and will be unmoderated.