FREEDOM

Freedom. As far as concepts go, you cannot get much bigger than that. Whether you define freedom in political or personal terms, it means something to everyone. Threads on the discussion board include 'According To You .. wHAT iS fREEDOM ???', 'Let's get started to Fight For Freedom and Save the people of the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!', 'Free SEX, what do you think about it?', '155 Ideas To Freedom' and '"We are far more free than we allow ourselves to be."' In the gallery, you will find various images that portray freedom or illustrate lack thereof.

What's great about this group: To greater or lesser degree, most of us strive towards what we define as freedom.

Update (18 April 2024)

This could be one of several groups, that are mostly inactive.

Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy

Who is the Jack Handy of this group? Does he exist? Even his website does not quite answer the question, but do check out his group out for dark humor and twisted logic that makes sense in a weird sort of way. Threads on the discussion board include 'Here are some originals I came up with, feedback is welcomed......', 'Your Favorite Deep Thoughts', 'His Name is Jack "Handey"' and 'Non-Deep thought Jack Handy related humor'.

What's great about this group: The off-beat quotes.

Update (29 October 2023)

Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey is now a Facebook page with 13,000 followers and can be found here. The current (private) Facebook group And now, Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey is too recent (2021) an invention to be linked to the group profiled here. 

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

It's been a while since I've featured a reading related group. Having painstakingly gone through the list, I've decided I am not going to own up to how little of its contents I have actually read in the good old-fashioned book form. What I can say, is that I did not regret reading a single one of those, so if that is anything to go by, the list definitely has merit. A few writers seem over-represented. Threads on the discussion board include 'Which one are you reading right now?', 'books that affected you deeply but aren't in the lise', 'How many have you read so far?' and 'Is your favorite book missing from this list?' There are also several links to sites that offer free e-books.

What's great about this group: It inspires you to expand your reading horizons.

Update (29 October 2023)

There is a Facebook page with the same name, which has 1,200 followers and can be found here. Also check out the page 1001 African Books to Read before you die. 

James Randi Educational Foundation

Looking back, I have often tackled groups with the esoteric or the metaphysical as an underlying theme, so, today, just to be impartial, I have decided to give the grand daddy of all sceptics an airing. James Randi has been around for a long time and as a former stage magician, is well equipped to debunk and expose paranormal charlatans. Is he just a voice of reason or has he himself become a zealot opposed to anything out of the ordinary? That is not at issue. Psychic phenomena should be investigated and frauds should be exposed. Threads on the discussion board include 'Intelligence vs. Stubborn insistance', 'The Mask of Nostradamus', 'Debunking NLP', 'Ghosts', 'The Problem With Atheism' and 'Is Science Philosophy?' In a particularly interesting thread, posters speculate whether it is appropriate to pray for Robert Lancaster, an agnostic and a leading critic of the psychic Sylvia Browne.

What's great about this group: The group aspires to being rational about the irrational.

Update ( 24 October 2023)

Following the death of James Randi in 2020, the group seems mainly focused around the person and legacy of James Randi and his work in the pursuit of scientific scepticism. Currently, the group has 66,000 members. The updated link is here, if you want to visit or join.

Waterfall Survivors

Normally I try to avoid groups that are tied to a specific geographic location, but when I happened to discover 'Waterfall Survivors', they seemed like a great exception to make to my general rule. The group, which has over 4,000 members, connects waterfall enthusiasts in Malaysia. Seemingly well-organized, they offer a number of events per month. There are over 1500 images in the gallery, mostly chronicling group events, but also a few beautiful nature shots. Threads on the discussion board include 'Beware the bugs' which gives specific advice about various creepy crawlies, 'Your Testimonial about your experience with Waterfall Survivors', 'Day trip charges', 'Tips when organizing/following trips to waterfall' and 'How shall we do it that more people can join in for the trips and make it adventurous and fun??' Included in fees for activities is one day insurance coverage for the event. Investigate the group, if you are looking for adventure in Malaysia or if you want hints on how to start up something similar in your region.

What's great about this group: They seem to form a fun community.

Update (25 October 2023)

This community does not seem to have a presence on Facebook anymore, but they still have a blogspot website, which can be found here. 

Psychic

Many people have had the experience of perceiving something beyond the five senses at least once in their lives. Some are regularly assaulted by impressions, predictions and hunches. A rare few manage to tame and master such abilities to the greater benefit of those around them. This group forms a kind of platform for information sharing among those who believe themselves to possess psychic abilities. Interestingly, at least one member has the habit to regularly jump in with free readings on questions other members has wrestled with. On the discussion board, you will find threads such as 'Are demons real?', 'Ask a psychic/medium', 'Do We Choose, Where We Go, After Death?', 'Children And Predictions', 'Orbs', 'Mystical Travelers' and 'free readings done here'.

What's great about this group: It lets psychics connect... with each other.

Update (18 April 2024)

There are numerous psychic themed groups, but this one doesn't seem to exist anymore. 

Victorian fairies

Someone once said that the Victorian era invented childhood. No surprise then, that the era was characterized by an explosion of fairy pictures from a variety of artists. In this group, you can feast your eyes on the creative output of illustrators such as Arthur Rackham, Warwick Goble, Richard Doyle and artists such as Henry Meynell Rheam, Joseph Noel Paton, John Anster Fitzgerald and the unfortunate Richard Dadd, who produced most of his art while in jail. Also included are Polish Witold Pruszkowski, Spanish Luis Ricardo Falero, Austrian Zatzka and even a non-Victorian Sulamith Wulfing. On the wall, you will find links to other fairy art fan pages.

What's great about this group: Admire art from a specific period and genre.

Update (25 October 2023)

This group does not seem to exist anymore.