156
Olga Linkiewicz
Fig. 3. Śniatyn Facebook group in 2012 (screenshot)
was born in the town in 1920; the majority however are the offspring of the interwar period generation21 who are in their forties or fifties now. General practices that could be observed among the users do not differ from any other social networking forum. Some members prefer to observe the group, others would rather comment than contribute to it with their own stories. There are “leaders,” but their activity did not commence from the beginning – for quite a long time posts that my students and I prepared dominated the content of the group. Since new people have joined through personal connections and due to a radio broadcast – aired at the end of 2012 posts by Śniatyners referring to family stories were posted frequently and impulsively, spurred on by other participants. However, over some periods the forum has been practically inactive. As users of Facebook may have noticed, the publicity of the online environment often creates additional tensions over the authority and power between memory actors. At first glance, the Śniatyn forum looks different in this respect. Although never formulated explicitly, an internal code of conduct appears to be “obligatory” for the group members. In the first place, this is a strategy of avoiding disagreements and tensions. So far nobody has attempted to violate it. Quite the opposite – most users appreciate the reciprocal character of the group. They react positively in comments to posts of other members and help one another to find traces of their families or to arrange practical matters related to sentimental trips. Some users are eager to find any kith and kin relationship among the other members of the project and establish private contacts either via social media or email correspondence. They do so according 21 M. Hirsch, The Generation of Postmemory: Writing and Visual Culture After the Holocaust, New York 2012.