In researching this article, I reached out to Amy Morin, a psychotherapist, mental strength trainer and an international bestselling author of the “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do” book series. To my great surprise, she responded right away! Her comments are sprinkled throughout this article, and here’s a link to the books in her series. 

This is not to discredit valid rants or wrongdoing in the community. But, as free speech would have it, the R&R is also a cesspool of unnecessary complaints about businesses, people and organizations, and many of them are written anonymously. 

“There's some evidence that shows the way you describe other people often reflects how you feel about yourself,” Morin says. “People who feel bad about themselves are more likely to say horrible things about others. In reality, they're just projecting what they think of themselves deep down.” In other words, if someone’s had a bad day and their blood sugar is high and their bank account is low and they’re mad at the world because they’ve got hemorrhoids, they’re not gonna tell you about that. They’re gonna tell you about a slight–real or perceived–that happened to them. Today. In this very town! 

With some 16,000 members, the vast majority being silent lurkers who observe the posts and drama unfold without ever engaging or commenting, R&R has become a go-to destination for residents looking to share everything from neighborhood updates to strong opinions on community matters.

It's also become a place for potential residents and business owners to scope out the town's climate before making a decision… but since this article is already going to be long, I won’t address it from an economic development perspective. Yet.

Anyway, why are we so drawn to these pages, and what makes it nearly impossible to look away?

When someone posts a heated complaint about a local business or fellow resident, it sparks curiosity and draws in an audience eager to watch how the situation unfolds – hence all the popcorn emojis in the comments. Psychologists attribute this to an evolutionary need to detect threats or danger, and while today’s “threats” may look like online disagreements, our brains still react in much the same way. 

And there’s a certain level of schadenfreude–enjoying other people’s misfortunes–involved when we scroll through these pages. It can bring a sense of guilty pleasure. There’s a voyeuristic satisfaction in watching from the sidelines, refreshing the page every minute to see if any new comments popped up. It’s the digital version of reality TV — but with people you might bump into at Rouses. 

"We like to see the drama play out without being directly involved," Morin says. "Sometimes it gives us a laugh, sometimes it makes us feel important because we know the gossip first. Sometimes people like to make judgments based on those pages too. Is my neighbor racist? Is that business poorly run? Many people feel like community pages give them an inside scoop," Morin says.

Zachary Attorney L.T. Dupre of Perkins & Dupre, Attorneys in Zachary says that the law is pretty clear in what four elements are necessary to establish a defamation cause of action:

“Many commentators risk being sued for spreading unverified information,” says attorney Heidi Vessel of Vessel Law Firm, so long as the information meets the criteria above.

Dupre went on to say that a lot of the most hurtful and damaging things on R&R are not defamation (in the legal sense) because more often than not, they are statements of opinion.

“Many commentators risk being sued for spreading unverified information,” says attorney Heidi Vessel of Vessel Law Firm, so long as the information meets the criteria above. Dupre says a lot of the most hurtful and damaging things on R&R can be dismissed as not defamation because more often than not, it's a statement of opinion.

One common misconception on platforms like Rants & Raves is the belief that freedom of speech allows people to say whatever they want. While the First Amendment does protect the right to express opinions, it does not protect false statements that damage someone’s livelihood. When someone posts a negative review or comment about a business, as long as it's based on personal experience and presented as an opinion ("I had a bad experience at this restaurant"), it's usually protected. However, posting false claims presented as facts ("This restaurant knowingly sells expired food") crosses into potentially defamatory territory.

From a legal standpoint, moderators of the Rants & Raves page also play a critical role in preventing defamatory content from being posted. While Facebook provides some protections for page administrators under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — which generally shields platforms from liability for user-generated content — moderators may still face pressure to remove posts that cross legal lines. It’s essential that they strike a balance between allowing free expression and curbing harmful, defamatory comments.

For small, locally owned businesses, a defamatory statement on social media can have a devastating impact. One negative, untrue post can quickly spread through the community, damaging the business’s reputation and driving away customers. Because of the significant role social media plays in consumer behavior, it’s important for individuals to consider the weight of their words before posting rants or accusations that could harm local businesses, as well as find themselves at the center of a defamation suit.