# Face Book Pages and Grand Lodge



## S.Courtemanche (Jun 2, 2012)

Are there any rules that need to be followed in reference to having a Face Book page for our lodge that Grand Lodge wants us to follow? Thanks for any assistance in this matter.


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## Benton (Jun 2, 2012)

Personally, I don't know of any other than, "Keep esoteric information off the page." Just be smart about it. I think its one of those things Grand Lodge hasn't really addressed yet, where technology has outpaced regulations. If anyone else knows more than I do, feel free to share.


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## S.Courtemanche (Jun 2, 2012)

Thanks Benton, seeing as how I will be the JW next year I will also dig into the Law Book I was issued and see what I may be able to find there?


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## Michaelstedman81 (Jun 3, 2012)

Hey, Brother...  I have been doing the same thing and I have only come up with a couple of things so far.   I haven't gone totally through the Laws yet, but here is what I have found so far for this particlar issue:

Art. 405a *Publication of Names Prohibited*-  "The names of Petitioners, Candidates, Entered Apprentice Masons, and Fellowcraft Masons shall not be published in a Lodge newsletter or any news media public or private."

Art. 427 (461) *Rejection Must Not Be Published*-  "The identity of rejected candidates shall not be published to the world."

Since I started up our FB Page, I have been looking for stuff in there to make sure that I (we) aren't posting anything that is in violation and that is all that I have come up with so far.  Obviously, no ritual stuff, but I am also going to keep things of lodge business out of it.  Pretty much, just using the Page to put a face to the name of our Lodge in town.  Letting people know when we have meetings or community events, and it also is serving as a thing for members to check out and see what they missed or what is coming up. There might be more in the Laws, but I haven't come across it yet.   Lol, I'm doing the JW this year too and glad that this can by my project.  You should have fun with your Page over there in the Killeen area.  



S.Courtemanche said:


> Are there any rules that need to be followed in reference to having a Face Book page for our lodge that Grand Lodge wants us to follow? Thanks for any assistance in this matter.


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## Bro. Stewart P.M. (Jun 3, 2012)

In addition, please see the following commentary regarding "Recommended Guidelines for Lodge Websites" per the Grand Lodge of Texas Website; Internet Committee:

*Recommended Guidelines For Lodge Websites | The Grand Lodge of Texas A.F. & A.M.*

This should clear up any questions that you may have.


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## S.Courtemanche (Jun 3, 2012)

Michaelstedman81 said:


> Hey, Brother...  I have been doing the same thing and I have only come up with a couple of things so far.   I haven't gone totally through the Laws yet, but here is what I have found so far for this particlar issue:
> 
> Art. 405a *Publication of Names Prohibited*-  "The names of Petitioners, Candidates, Entered Apprentice Masons, and Fellowcraft Masons shall not be published in a Lodge newsletter or any news media public or private."
> 
> ...



Thanks Mike  did your lodge put this to a vote to start this?



Bro. Stewart said:


> In addition, please see the following commentary regarding "Recommended Guidelines for Lodge Websites" per the Grand Lodge of Texas Website; Internet Committee:
> 
> *Recommended Guidelines For Lodge Websites | The Grand Lodge of Texas A.F. & A.M.*
> 
> This should clear up any questions that you may have.


 
Yes, this does thanks Bro Stewart


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## Michaelstedman81 (Jun 4, 2012)

No, actually our lodge didn't vote on this.  A few of us, including the WM, were talking about getting more attention brought to the lodge.  I brought up that Helotes (Thanks, BroBill) had something similiar and that I would volunteer to help with it.  The WM just told me to go for it and get things started.  He addressed it with the Brothers a couple of practices and the following Stated Meeting.  Everyone was glad to hear about it, even those that still don't know too much about what Facebook is...lol  A few members from our surrounding areas have started expressing interest in starting up a Facebook Page for their lodge, which I see a a good thing.  

Just curious, have you looked into the difference between a Facebook Page and a Facebook Group?  There are different things that you can and can't do with both of them, and I have seen lodges have a Page and some lodges have a Group.  Helotes is also set up just like a regular person's profile (I believe).  So, there is a couple different ways that you can go about all this, just depending on what your lodge is wanting to use it for and how you are wanting to use it.  I had to choose between a Facebook Page and Facebook Group.  Ultimately, went with the Page but there are some things the Groups can do that I wish could be done on a Page.  Prolly should check into that before you officially start one up.  If you have any questions, I'd be more than glad to give you my opinion and what I have found out about it all.  BroBill can also be a big help as he is behind the seens for his organization...lol




S.Courtemanche said:


> Thanks Mike  did your lodge put this to a vote to start this?


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## Michaelstedman81 (Jun 4, 2012)

Thanks a lot, Bro. Stewart.  Even though there was less information that I figured would be in there, it did clear up a couple of questions that I had.

I'm pretty sure with more and more of these Pages going up for lodges, it won't be long before there is more guidance that is specifically related to Facebook Pages and Groups...lol



Bro. Stewart said:


> In addition, please see the following commentary regarding "Recommended Guidelines for Lodge Websites" per the Grand Lodge of Texas Website; Internet Committee


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## Brian Morton (Jun 4, 2012)

*Sites and Groups*

All of this is fantastic info that I wish knew earlier. Know that a "group" can be public or private but a "site" is akin to a electronic business storefront and can be "checked in" to. I've set one up for Army Lodge. As well as pay attention to what comes up on a Google map search of your Lodge.  I hope it pays off.


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## Blake Bowden (Jun 4, 2012)

The Grand Lodge of Texas is violating their own guidelines by having a Facebook page:

"The use of a "Free Website" where that provider has the option to insert their commercial advertisements, at will and without approval, into the Lodge's web page is strongly discouraged."

Not that I care. Facebook has been more beneficial than anything for our Fraternity.


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## Michaelstedman81 (Jun 5, 2012)

I thought about this too, but I kind of figured that this is the gray area in the guidance that will be addressed sometime in the near future.  Beings that a Facebook Page or Group is not an actual "website" or "free website", I figure that it is not covered by that statement.  However, I can see where some older heads would say that if it is an online presence it is a website...lol  That is why I think that at some point with as big as Facebook is and with all these lodges coming up with this, GLoT will end up adding some guidance on this as Facebook is a really good way to spread good word about the Fraternity.  We shall see though...  Good eye, Bro. Blake 



Blake Bowden said:


> The Grand Lodge of Texas is violating their own guidelines by having a Facebook page:
> 
> "The use of a "Free Website" where that provider has the option to insert their commercial advertisements, at will and without approval, into the Lodge's web page is strongly discouraged."
> 
> Not that I care. Facebook has been more beneficial than anything for our Fraternity.


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## Michaelstedman81 (Jun 5, 2012)

And just curious, the title of the page/article on the GLoT website that Bro. Stewart set up the link to is titled "Recommended..."  Since it says that it is recommended, and it comes from the Internet Committee, does it actually make it "law" or is it more or less just looked at as "guidance".  I mean, there was a lot of use of the words "shall not" in there and in the first sentence is says "should", but the title of it says recommended...  Any clarification on this??

(Lol kind of reminds me of the whole thing in the Army where you are "volun-told" what to do...lol)


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## massmason (Jun 7, 2012)

The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts just put this out:
The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Social Media and Massachusetts Freemasonry
The presence of Massachusetts Freemasons on various social networking sites is growing exponentially
and it is drawing attention to the fraternity. By participating on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn (and others), we should strive to make that attention as positive as possible. When we represent ourselves as members of the fraternity, we become someone’s impression of Freemasonry. As such, it is important that we act accordingly and subscribe to the lessons we are all taught as Masons in terms of how we communicate and interact with Masons and non-Masons.
Social Media Code of Conduct for Massachusetts Freemasons
 A Mason should conduct his Social Media activities in a way that reflects his membership in the Craft.
He should act in a way that presents a positive image of his membership in Freemasonry to the world.
 As a Mason, he must be aware that his postings are a permanent record; therefore, his conduct may
influence the world with a positive or a negative opinion about him personally and also about any
organizations to which he belongs.
 His actions on the various Social Media outlets should reflect the highest standards of morality and
integrity he would practice within the Lodge.
 To ensure our fraternity represents itself to the high standards we believe in, we must regulate our
actions through Brother-to-Brother intervention. As a Mason, you should advise a Brother if you feel that what he has posted is improper within the framework of our Grand Constitutions, rules, regulations, and edicts.
 Do not identify any Freemason as a member of the Craft unless he has provided his consent, or has already identified himself as such.
 Lodge notices, and information contained within Lodge notices beyond the time and place of meeting, should not be discussed.
 There should never be discussion related to the application, background or investigation of an applicant.
 There should never be discussion regarding the ballot of an applicant.
 There should never be discussion related to the business of a Lodge and what is discussed within our
tyled doors.
 The posting of pictures or videos of Lodge events must comply with the Grand Constitutions, rules,
regulations, and edicts.
 Information about Lodge or District social activities must comply with the regulations already in place
for Lodge Notices (for example, no reference to alcohol or games of chance).
 The posting of social activities of a Lodge or District should comply with the regulation standards
already in place for the distribution of Lodge Notices and inserts.
 No official communication with other Grand Lodges or their subordinate Lodges may take place online.
Contact must be conducted through the Office of the Grand Secretary.
May 1, 2012
Social Media Committee
R.W. George J. Bibilos, Chair, Wor. H. Robert Huke, R.W. Ted N. Morang Sr., Bro. Thomas S. Morang, R.W. Kenneth W. Sprague Jr.

Hope this was helpful


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## Bro_Vick (Jun 7, 2012)

I have been told that recent Past Grand Masters (of Texas) were/are against any type of on-line presence because it may cause problems and image issues to our fraternity. I find this line of logic irionic given events over the last 30 years and the various Masonic scandals.

Regarding Facebook, lodges in general need to stop treating this as an IT issue and as a Social Media Outreach, that would help elevate a lot of angst.  I don't agree with brothers starting initiatives on their own, being one that did it, and tried to pass it along.   In the end the dirty end of the stick got pointed to me, even thought I attempted to turn over the information multiple times.  Having a committee appointed to deal with an on-line presence and control social media outlets under the control of lodge is far better than some brother that will be there today and gone tomorrow.

This will also elevate passing specific motions regarding social media sites that may come and go, the social outreach media committee can handle it internally and not have it become a 2 hour discussion during lodge.

Just my $.02

S&F,
-Bro Vick


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## S.Courtemanche (Jun 7, 2012)

Bro_Vick, the incoming WM. SW and myself decided to create the page. However we needed to do some research prior to publishing the FB page, and this is why I reached out to you guys  

Once we are installed (the end of this month) we will brief the rules to the lodge and get acceptance from our members. If they feel that they do not want it then we will not create it. If they decide that this is a good idea then we we will. Three of the Lodges in our District have FB pages and its used quite extensively and in my opinion works for what it is. Thanks for everyone's assistance so far.


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## Timothy Fleischer (Jun 7, 2012)

S.Courtemanche said:


> Bro_Vick, the incoming WM. SW and myself decided to create the page. However we needed to do some research prior to publishing the FB page, and this is why I reached out to you guys
> 
> Once we are installed (the end of this month) we will brief the rules to the lodge and get acceptance from our members. If they feel that they do not want it then we will not create it. If they decide that this is a good idea then we we will. Three of the Lodges in our District have FB pages and its used quite extensively and in my opinion works for what it is. Thanks for everyone's assistance so far.



COUT!
I think it is very important that the leadership get a vote of the lodge on the record to launch the Facebook page. When you do present it to the Lodge brothers, be sure to inform them of what will be put on the page and what will not be on the page.

We launched the Salado FB page after a positive vote of the Lodge.

Here is what we put on ours: Photos of our Past Masters in a photo album. Historic photos of our Lodge. Officers photos for the year. Announcements of Stated and Called Meetings. Called Meetings is verbage like this: "Called Meeting on blah blah for the purpose of conferring an Entered Apprentice degree." NEVER, NEVER, NEVER put the name of the candidate. 

I have seen on this website and on Facebook newsletters and postings where the images and names of EA and FC are published. This is no bueno!!!

Officers photos and names can be published because the installations are open to the public.

Also, the FB page is a good place for historical videos and presentations on Masonry. Presidents, Famous men, etc. 

FB is NOT the place to get into a debate with those who would denigrate us. The best thing to do then is to remove the person from the list and delete the conversation, if your particular controls give you that ability.

Have two or three (at most) administrators for the Page.

We also use ours to post the deaths of our Lodge Brothers. Since I own the local newspaper, I get the obituaries and use that information for the FB page. This is a very sensitive issue, though. Be careful NOT to publish the death of a Brother prematurely......

I say this because of what I saw happen on FB in our community when a little girl was killed in an automobile accident. Her dad was still in the hospital with the other members of her family when the info went out on people's FB pages and it just exploded.

There is a reason the police do not release the names of those killed in accidents.... next of kin and family must be notified.

How horrible would it be to post on a Lodge FB page that Brother McGillicuddy died an hour ago.... and have McGillicuddy's mom stumble across that posting??????

Wait until the Funeral Home releases the obituary and make the public posting then, if you even want to honor those Brothers in that way.

Facebook and a Masonic Lodge website should be seen as a public face for the Lodge. Do not post or interact with other posters in any way to bring the good name of Masonry into shame.

When Belton Lodge distributes the Christmas baskets, I saw pics on a Brother's FB page. That was good! That would show Masonry in its rightful light.

A good rule of thumb is this: When taking someone's photo to put on a FB page, tell them before you take it. "Hey I'm gonna put this on the Lodge page, is that alright?" 99 times out of 100, the Brother will say yes. Unless he is covered in barbecue sauce dripping down his chin!


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## Bro_Vick (Jun 7, 2012)

S.Courtemanche said:


> Bro_Vick, the incoming WM. SW and myself decided to create the page. However we needed to do some research prior to publishing the FB page, and this is why I reached out to you guys



The comments were not necessarily geared towards you, just some of the other members here who were talking.  If it is created and become the ownership of a committee rather than a single brother it is far better for everyone.  My new adopted lodge has a Facebook page that was started on a whim by a brother who is leaving and we now have to go in and straighten it out.

I think that you will have nothing but good things on your page from what you have described. 

S&F,
-Bro Vick


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## S.Courtemanche (Jun 7, 2012)

Bro_Vick said:


> The comments were not necessarily geared towards you, just some of the other members here who were talking.  If it is created and become the ownership of a committee rather than a single brother it is far better for everyone.  My new adopted lodge has a Facebook page that was started on a whim by a brother who is living and we now have to go in and straighten it out.
> 
> I think that you will have nothing but good things on your page from what you have described.
> 
> ...



Bro Vick I understood what you were saying. I hope that I did not come across as upset, that was not my intention. Sorry if it seemed that way. Tonight at practice myself and the incoming WM talked exactly about creating a committee to do exactly as you mention. Thanks ;-)


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## Michaelstedman81 (Jun 8, 2012)

Bro_Vick said:


> I don't agree with brothers starting initiatives on their own, being one that did it, and tried to pass it along.


 


Bro_Vick said:


> The comments were not necessarily geared towards you, just some of the other members here who were talking.  If it is created and become the ownership of a committee rather than a single brother it is far better for everyone.



I totally agree with you about Brothers not starting initiatives on their own in the name of the lodge.  There is way too much chance for something to go wrong.  If your comments were geared towards me, I hope that I did pass along the information that I didn't just start this initiative on my own.  This whole thing was brought up in a discussion between myself, our WM, and another Brother or two.  A couple of discussions and the addition of a couple Brother's present opinions later, the WM told me to go ahead and do this.  I did raise the question about consent of the lodge and it was put before the lodge, which recieved the green light from the Brothers.  So, don't know if your comments were for me in particular or not, but just wanted to let  you know that I am right there with you about someone not doing something "official" on their own, and espeically without the support of the lodge.

As for a "committee", I am in total agreeance there with you as well.  I have already been talking with the WM, Secretary, and a couple of other Brothers and lightly touched on the subject of an "internet committee" of sorts.  Since it is so close to the end of the Masonic year, this is going to be something with the incoming WM.  Lol believe me, my Brother, I have been running some "CYA" scenarios through my head regarding all of this stuff, and the first thought I had was having a committee formed or something of official nature with the lodge.  We are going to hash out a few details regarding a committee (the name, purpose, tasks, what all duties, etc) and then pass it along ot the incoming WM, and ultimately the lodge.  Lol obviously, we aren't going to have a "Facebook Committee", but as I pointed out to our WM the other day, we really need to get a handle over our website since we are locked out of being able to update it so maybe having some sort of committee that covers everything to do with the internet or our web presence as a whole would serve the purpose.  Just as Brother Courtemanche said, I look here for assistance, so if you have any ideas for that kind of committee (or any other Brother), I'd love to hear it.  I do think that having a committee can be very beneficial.  That is more sets of eyes than just one seeing things.  Just like when I first started our FB Page, I thought I was actually being overly protective of some information, however, thanks to my late night reading of the Lawbook and Bro. Stewart's post of the recommendations, I had to make a few minor changes to the Page.  Having a couple or few other Brothers helping me to research this stuff might have prevented that.  So yea lol, comittee is  must in my opinion...lol

All in all, just wanted to make sure that you or anyone else didn't think that I just went too gung-ho and started up a FB Page all on my own haha.


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## S.Courtemanche (Jun 9, 2012)

Michaelstedman81 said:


> Just as Brother Courtemanche said, I look here for assistance, so if you have any ideas for that kind of committee (or any other Brother), I'd love to hear it.


 
Mike, I believe that were going to call it the communications committee, at least that was a possible name out of a few that were mentioned. :001_smile:


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## Michaelstedman81 (Jun 9, 2012)

S.Courtemanche said:


> Mike, I believe that were going to call it the communications committee, at least that was a possible name out of a few that were mentioned. :001_smile:



Another Brother suggested "communications committee" as well.  But if ya'll do call it a "communications committee", what all would fall under the scope of that committee?  Anything to do with communications including email lists, phone calls, etc?  Or are ya'll just going to have them focus on your web presence and communications going out through that channel?


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