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Reasons not to use (i.e., be used by) Facebook

stallman.org

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Re: Reasons not to use (i.e., be used by) Facebook

#81
Stallman is my hero.

All social media is terrible, and all of it is impossible to profit from, and I bet all of it will eventually fail. Facebook doesn't make any money from social media, they make money from side businesses that are tacked onto their social media platform.

Anyone who is interested in social blogging should have their own website (wordpress.com is free) with RSS support so people who like what you write can follow your posts. RSS is not controlled by any corporation. That is the internet way of doing social media.

this is slightly off-topic but I read Zuckerberg's accounts got hacked because he used 'dadada' as a password on multiple services. People have called him a genius, he does not appear to be that exactly.

Re: Reasons not to use (i.e., be used by) Facebook

#83
post #34

If someone can't state their point without warping the very language they use to support their point, it makes it very hard to feel like anything they're saying is credible. Example 1: someone is trying to convince me to vote Republican. They go through the Republican platform issue by issue, and compare/contrast it to the Democrats' stand. However, every time they use the word "Democrat" they instead say "Democrap"…

Are you trying to say that RMS is an irrational zealot? I agree with you wholeheartedly! But he changed the world with persistent application of irrational and at times childish zeal. Many would say the change was for the better.

The problem IMO is not that he uses dishonest rhetorical devices but that his recent proclamations sound old and boring and failing to confer sufficient emotional charge to the reader.

Re: Reasons not to use (i.e., be used by) Facebook

#84
Facebook is also a "legal" spammer and it spams a lot. Had once registered with a fake account just to test some application and since then every day or so facebook sends me messages like "You might know these people" with some random guys or "You have received a notification". I haven't visited facebook maybe for a year but is still sends me messages daily.

Luckily I used a separate email account for registration so I just redirected all emails from facebook to a spam folder.

Re: Reasons not to use (i.e., be used by) Facebook

#85
post #34

If someone can't state their point without warping the very language they use to support their point, it makes it very hard to feel like anything they're saying is credible. Example 1: someone is trying to convince me to vote Republican. They go through the Republican platform issue by issue, and compare/contrast it to the Democrats' stand. However, every time they use the word "Democrat" they instead say "Democrap"…

He refuses to use the commonly established language which distorts reality. It is a radical choice (given how well established the manipulative language is).

I can see how some may find this irritating. You may want to take a look at this lecture to see why language is so important and influential.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5f9R9MtkpqM

Re: Reasons not to use (i.e., be used by) Facebook

#86
post #72

If you want to run Facebook but want to be privacy conscious (any more suggestions? - this is what I do): 1. Create a separate browser profile for accessing Facebook 2. Run uBlock Origin 3. Don't install the mobile apps - use the mobile web interface 4. Turn your Facebook privacy settings up to 11 (the new max privacy settings are actually good/reasonable) - you can set it up so that you can't be found in search[0],…

Don't add people you know In real life and don't let people you know friend you.

Re: Reasons not to use (i.e., be used by) Facebook

#87
post #72

If you want to run Facebook but want to be privacy conscious (any more suggestions? - this is what I do): 1. Create a separate browser profile for accessing Facebook 2. Run uBlock Origin 3. Don't install the mobile apps - use the mobile web interface 4. Turn your Facebook privacy settings up to 11 (the new max privacy settings are actually good/reasonable) - you can set it up so that you can't be found in search[0],…

Good writeup I think 5 is solved by 2 as it blocks the Like buttons everywhere, no?

Ye it is - but in case you want to block them on a router for other network clients that don't have uBlock or equiv. available

Re: Reasons not to use (i.e., be used by) Facebook

#88
post #19
post #7

I couldn't help but cringe every time the word "used" was used for "user" after the first occurence.

This does give it a kind of bearded-conspiracy-theorist-ish vibe that puts me off too. But the underlying point in using the word makes sense and hey, maybe it'll deter some people from using Facebook without knowing exactly what they're subjecting themselves to. I can see such a thing sticking in people's minds.

As is often the case with his writing I find his language and style (conspiracy theorist vibe works just as well) so grating that I couldn't complete the piece. He ends up, as in other pieces, sounding pompous purely for the sake of it.

So I'll never know what the underlying point was if it wasn't entirely in the first subsection.

Re: Reasons not to use (i.e., be used by) Facebook

#90
post #72

If you want to run Facebook but want to be privacy conscious (any more suggestions? - this is what I do): 1. Create a separate browser profile for accessing Facebook 2. Run uBlock Origin 3. Don't install the mobile apps - use the mobile web interface 4. Turn your Facebook privacy settings up to 11 (the new max privacy settings are actually good/reasonable) - you can set it up so that you can't be found in search[0],…

Don't add people you know In real life and don't let people you know friend you.

I have two family members and one friend who are school teachers.

All use fake names[0] on Facebook because they don't want to be harrassed by parents or students online. Apparently, it is very common (both the harassment and teachers using aliases)

[0] Usually a real first name with an altered/shortened surname

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