Facebook, Board question

Started by MarB • 17 replies • 2906 views

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MarB (Florida)
Posts: 7

Posted:

A HOA Board member has a Facebook page under the name of our HOA Association.
It is not officially authorized by our Board.
He offers personal opinions and jabs at members in the community.

I cannot find any FL statutes regarding anything concerning social media and HOA boards.
Nothing in the by-laws.

Anyone have info or ideas concerning Facebook and Associations.

What would stop me as a member from doing the same thing?

I wanted to explore this more before I go to the Management.

JohnB26 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,569

Posted:

management works for and at the discretion of the board

JohnB26 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,569

Posted:

troll

CarolR11 (Colorado)
Posts: 2,563

Posted:

JohnB makes an important point. Only the Board can ask the director to cease & desist (or something to that effect). Management has no authority over a director unless the Board somehow granted it to the PM.

The Board may, for example, have a Code of Conduct or Ethics which states that directors must support the decisions of the Board. The can take steps to censure the director if s/he doesn't comply.

There may be other documents that, while not as strong as bylaws, are Board approved, which limit directors' conduct. The Board has possible other ways to discipline this rogue director too.

Personal jabs at other members of your community--homeowners, I assume-- may get the Board into legal trouble if those "jabs" represent defamation of character and the Board stands idly by and does nothing to disciple the director. But you'd need to learn mrs about that.

Look at other threads on this forum about this topic. I think here was one very recently.

Are you on the Board, MarB? Has the director taken jabs at you?

LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099

Posted:

Mar,

I spend a lot of time with several groups on Facebook but I find the venue a poor setting for discussing serious issues.

Personally, I think it is inappropriate for a director to set up a Facebook group using the name of the association and I think it is inappropriate for a director to make comments about members of the community. It does become difficult to distinguish between the director's personal opinions and the board's official position.

You asked, "What would stop me as a member from doing the same thing?" Nothing except that the director has already used the name so you would have to create a similar name.

MarB (Florida)
Posts: 7

Posted:

I forgot to add that the board does know about this Facebook page. He does post the Board's business along with his personal jabs at people including at a newly elected board member.
That is why I was thinking of Management because they inform the Board when there is correspondence directed for the Board.
We were told by this board that would be the process to take...Mgm't sends to entire Board.
I suspect there is nothing that can be done about what the Board member is doing. Inappropriate, yes.
Mgm't should know one way or another, I would think.
I used to be on the board but never had anything like this to deal with.
thanks!...I'm going to Mgm't.

PeterD3 (Florida)
Posts: 708

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By MarB on 03/29/2014 8:13 AM
A HOA Board member has a Facebook page under the name of our HOA Association.
It is not officially authorized by our Board.
He offers personal opinions and jabs at members in the community.

I cannot find any FL statutes regarding anything concerning social media and HOA boards.
Nothing in the by-laws.

Anyone have info or ideas concerning Facebook and Associations.

What would stop me as a member from doing the same thing?

I wanted to explore this more before I go to the Management.

No one has told the Board.
Not even those who have been 'jabbed'.

Not even you?

One more thing... who's minding the bridge while your on the internet?

LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099

Posted:

One thing that this director should keep in mind: as an elected official of the association he has little recourse against those who make derogatory comments about him. The newly elected board member also has little recourse against this director's comments. Members who have been the subject of his "jabs" may, however, have recourse not only against the board member personally but also against the other board members who have sat by and let the jabs fly under their name. This, of course, depends on whether there is anything actionable in the content of the jabs.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

As a member, anyone may have a page about their Association and may certainly post anything that would be available to all members of the Association. However, they may not imply that the page is the Official site of the Association. This is typically done by putting a disclaimer on each page of the site.

I do believe that an official website is a good idea.

This issue has been discussed many times. It may be good for you to read some past threads on the subject. Simply use the forums search function to look for "website" or

Here are just a few of the past threads (please do not reactivate them):

Subject: Community Website Situation

Subject: Community name - copyright protected?

Subject: Board wants control or removal of website

Subject: Unofficial HOA Websites

MarB (Florida)
Posts: 7

Posted:

Virginia
Thank you for this info.
Yes, there needs to be a disclaimer.
good idea.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Florida,

No Problem

MarB (Florida)
Posts: 7

Posted:

Hey TimB4...Have you ever been called Virgina before?
Sorry...I was in a hurry.

AnnH6 (Florida)
Posts: 27

Posted:

We have the same issues in our community so I do think it is a legitimate concern. Especially when the Facebook Admin is on the Board, uses the forum to communicate HOA business, but blocks certain HOA members from seeing the posts. And yes, this is happening in my HOA---the Board President will block you if you disagree or dissent or have a concern.

As anyone who works in a corporate environment can tell you, there are a lot of concerns as to how social media is used. Many companies now incorporate the appropriate use of social media into their code of conduct for all employees. However as we all know, many incorporated HOAs do not operate like a normal corporation. Based on my observations, I would avoid using Facebook as a forum for a HOA. I have seen neighbors pitted against neighbors and people get pretty ballsy behind a keyboard.

JackJ7 (New York)
Posts: 4

Posted:

I have a question. Is there any ramifications against a Board Member when they've disclosed information to an owner (the rule breaker) that another owner has come to them with regarding breaking of the Rules which has now caused friction and even attempted confrontation towards the owner that reported the violation. The violation reported to this board member resulted in the owner's car being towed for violating a parking rule. It seems like I've read somewhere in the past that board members must keep that type of information confidential and that its grounds for immediate resignation from the said board member if they don't abide by that rule??? Please help if possible. Thanks in advance, https://www.toshibasupportphonenumber.com/toshiba-laptop-support/ Team

JackJ7 (New York)
Posts: 4

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JackJ7 on 10/17/2018 2:35 AM
I have a question. Is there any ramifications against a Board Member when they've disclosed information to an owner (the rule breaker) that another owner has come to them with regarding breaking of the Rules which has now caused friction and even attempted confrontation towards the owner that reported the violation. The violation reported to this board member resulted in the owner's car being towed for violating a parking rule. It seems like I've read somewhere in the past that board members must keep that type of information confidential and that its grounds for immediate resignation from the said board member if they don't abide by that rule??? Please help if possible. Thanks in advance, toshiba laptop support Team

JackJ7 (New York)
Posts: 4

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JackJ7 on 10/17/2018 2:38 AM

DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046

Posted:

Hi Jack,

It's considered preferable here to start a new thread rather than resurrect an old one that really doesn't have the same topic ("Add New Topic" button on main discussion page).

As to your question, I'm not sure about New York, but in Florida I'm not aware of any law or rule requiring confidentiality of complaints. In fact here, the state mandates fairly broad open records requirements that I would expect would require the association to allow that type of info to be inspectable by any member.

I'm also not aware of any laws anywhere that require a board member to immediately resign upon some condition. Some governing docs require directors to be members so selling one's property could trigger that situation.

Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.

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