The extremely popular Facebook page dedicated to all things positive in Prince George, Hell Yeah Prince George, has suspended its operations.
The page is still available for viewing, however, no new posts have been allowed since Tuesday night.
According to comments posted on the site, problems arose when group creator Scott McWalter, who also works for the Brink Group of Companies, issued a call on the site for local journalists to attend a court case involving Brink Forest Products and urged people to share the post, offering a $300 gift certificate to one lucky person who did.
The post, which was not a usual post for the site, has been removed.
No explanation has been posted on the site, however, McWalter did post a picture of his dog, which was killed three weeks ago, with the message “Thanks for the memories, Prince George.”
According to the comments on the site and comments site administrator Dave Mothus made to the Prince George Citizen, McWalter’s posting of the Brink court case resulted in many negative comments and a rift between McWalter and the volunteer administrators of the site.
McWalter created the site in 2014 as a place where residents could celebrate the positive aspects of the city. It grew quickly, now at more than 35,000 members, and became a model for other such sites in other cities.
Many of the 600 comments on the site this morning are bemoaning the loss of the site, urging McWalter to start it up again. However, without moderation, many of the comments are exactly what Hell Yeah Prince George wanted to counteract, negativity aimed at the community and, in this case, McWalter.
Several other Hell Yeah sites have also popped up. Hell Yeah Prince George 2.0 has been around for a while, but a search this morning revealed Hell Yeah Prince George 2, Hell Yeah Prince George 3.0, Hell Yeah Prince George 6.66, and Hell Yeah Prince George The Downfall of Sensitive Whiners (which has four members).
One thought on “Hell Yeah Prince George shuts down”
Since I was banned from the site for utterly rediculous reasons in it’s first year, I thought the site was started by someone suffering from depression who wanted to self-medicate by reading uplifting stories. Certainly, decisions by someone a brick or two short of a load were made on who deserved to be a group member . I wasn’t the only one banned that year without explanation or a chance to defend my post or appologize if it was out of order. Hopefully, someone with some sense will pick up the reins and try again.