I was on vacation this weekend but got several messages, posts, etc. (on my page and privately), of people asking me what happened with The Skeptical Mother. Her Facebook page was apparently no more. I had no idea what was going on when I first started getting these questions. People knew I was her friend and inquired why she was gone, and then I even started to catch some of the blame for it (from anonymous trolls, not legitimate people… so eh). I just wanted to put up a quick post to set the record straight. (Our skeptical mom’s blog remains up, for those who still enjoy reading her old posts.)
The reason The Skeptical Mother has chosen to end her page is because some other page was copying her content. This entailed stealing pictures (including fan shares), as well as using her exact captions word-for-word as Sammy (TSM) herself had written them. I imagine how silly and discouraging this could be. When you run a page, it’s something you do as a hobby as it is. You aren’t getting paid, and it often takes hours of your volunteering per week just to maintain. To not get credit for the effort and have someone duplicate you for their own popularity can be pretty frustrating. It feels like someone cheating off of you during a test you worked hard studying for, or someone copying a song or piece of art you put together and calling it their own (and getting the credit for it). She and I have had copies and shares before from other pages (including big name, popular birth pages), but nothing so blatant and shameless as this. In the end, the whole thing just seems so petty and not worth it anymore. You can’t copyright Facebook posts (?) and it doesn’t seem to count as plagiarism per se… it’s this unimportant gray area, unless you’re the one devoting the hours and it happens to you.
I don’t want to tell you the name of the page because they don’t deserve any more publicity, but I want to tell you they are quite large in terms of “likes”– at least twice the size of The Skeptical Mother, maybe even approaching three times as big as her page was. The reason they are so big is obviously due to ripping off of numerous popular pages all at once, as I have noticed now they also copy verbatim other very popular birth blog pages. They were essentially a content copier, an accumulation of the beloved and favorite giants in the birth/motherhood Facebook world.
She had just recently become the most popular Facebook birth page (that I know of), with well over 100,000 likes. I was so happy for her.
I hope that sets the record straight. The page had given Sammy a lot of trouble since she started, and I think she always felt it wouldn’t last forever. This was just the last straw. I’m sad to see her go but also happy for her if it gives her added peace. She is my friend and I want whatever is best for her. If you’re feeling sad or angry that one of your favorite pages is now retired, I totally understand, but I hope that you can also be happy for her because this just might be a return to increased serenity for her.
theperfectbirth 
I was very saddened when I realized The Skeptical Mother page was gone but I give Sammy alot of credit and thanks for putting up with the negativity that facebook can bring for so long. I imagine she must sleep better at night already. I couldn’t have hung in there for as long as she did. Personally, she opened my eyes and brightened my day by her posts. I am a newly recruited knowledge seeker for all types of birth and a defender of the mother’s choice. Thank you Sammy and good luck!
I’m so so so sad over this! I looked forward to putting my son down for nap, making myself a fresh pot of coffee and sitting down to see what she had posted over the past 24 hours (that’s just in case I missed anything on my newsfeed) She will be missed in the birth community. I hope she has a nice break and can come back to her page (when she’s ready) and continue to serve women of the world.
I’m so sad to see her leave. I understand the feeling (on a much smaller scale).. it’s like a slap in the face. Someone wanted to take a shortcut and ‘profit’ on someone else’s hard work. It’s unfortunate and frustrating.
Anyone know what the “copy” site is? You can report them for copyright infringement.
Wait, so is the current Skeptical Mother page a fake one?
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Skeptical-Mother/322009484509251
No, she returned! 🙂
so sad. 😦 I miss it, and was just about to send her a picture of my dd awesome chubby legs… 😦
Ok is the skeptical mother gone again????
It looks like it! I’m not sure why now, though.
Where is it now? is there a blog? i miss it!
I for one am glad to hear this. Because I had friends on fb who “liked” the obscene, inappropriate for public viewing, done mostly for shock value in my opinion, pictures of women with their boobs hanging out and feeding their babies like field cattle were popping up in my newsfeed. I personally reported the content of that page twice to no avail. In any case, this is good news for those of is who don’t want breastfeeding shoved down our throats but can’t avoid it because of our friends newsfeed.
In fact, I commented on the page twice after seeing militant women bragging about how it was their right to expose themselves in public. For supposedly open-minded people, these women were not very open to the idea of keeping their boobies under cover…
All that to say, I’m glad the page is shut down. And before anyone attacks me (again), I am a women who fully intends to avoid the procreation process.
Sad…
I miss The Skeptical Mother! It was my favorite page that showed up in my feed. Im thinking that facebook deleted the page. Right before it disappeared, she mentioned that facebook banned a breastfeeding profile pic she had up, and she put it back up. Im wondering if because she violated their terms too many times, they booted her. I see theres a blog, but its private,
Oh good! I reported a few of her pics and didn’t realize that it did any good. 😀
Earlier this week I noticed I was unable to view The Skeptical Mother’s Facebook page! Was it shut down by Facebook or did Sammy shut it down? I hope this is only temporary, because it was my favorite page EVER!!
10/18/2013 – Shannon
Sammy did disable it, she tells me. It was a very good page, I know it will be missed for however long she decides to keep it down. I’m very different, but try my page in the downtime.
is her page coming back this time? i miss her posts!
Thanks so much for sharing this info. So so sad to see TSM is no longer sharing on FB…the posts were so encouraging!!! Prayers and hugs to Sammy.
Still missing TSM 😉
Tell your friend Danny – hi and Thank you! And… Totally understand !
TSM was an amazing page and although it’s hard to deal with critics. haters gonna hate. come back!!
I too am sad to see her go. To me it feels like yet another instance of the haters and the phonies winning the battle. Frustrating. I totally understand her, though.
I LOVED her page. I wish I had that support when I was nursing and hearing my mom’s steady stream of disapproval. The page was my little community. I wish Sammy the best and hope she knows we all appreciated her hard work.
Does anyone know how to contact her in order to read the blog posts?
I don’t think there is a way you can contact her, nor read the blog posts.
So sad to hear. I love this page. Please let me know if she is blogging or ends up with another page. Thank you Emily Nash
I truly morn the loss of the Skeptical Mother to this day. I know there are other communities about birth but I truly miss the beautiful images TSM posted daily. I actually looked forward to sitting down with my morning coffee and scrolling her feed from the past 24 hours. If there is any way I could get in contact with her could you email me? Thank you for this post… It answers my questions but I would love to see her community flourish again some day.
Her blogg kept me company, gave me food for thought, encouragement when I didn’t even realize I needed it, badly.. as I fumble through motherhood and marriage… I thank her for all of her beautiful photos and stories of all of the strong amazing women out there. Page or no page, she has made a lasting difference in my life and created a community of caring for many. Look for the good, the fun, the hugs, the love and you will find it out there.. that is what I did and I found you. Thank you Skepical Mother!
This page helped me when I needed the information and courage for a humanized birth, I am glad to tell you that I could finally experienced the birth I always dreamed of on August 2014. I still miss the page sometimes. I read that you still have a blog, could you share it? Wishing you all the love from Mexico!