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

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

#91

Post by Faaak »

treve wrote: post #20
koenigdavidmj wrote: post #11

If you use it to talk with 98% of the nontechnical world, and plan events, then there is nothing else. If you eat your toenails during panel discussions and refuse even to have a phone, then this is a reasonable position.

Instead of arguing against the merit of his points, you choose to insult the person.

Actually they have a point. When you're "young" (ie in you twenties), then you miss quite some social events not using facebook. It's sad, but it's true.

Nevertheless I don't use it, but sometimes I wish I did.

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

#93

Post by mtmail »

george_ciobanu wrote: post #41

Brexit for Facebook - really? Is that all we learned from this recent referendum? Yes, it is weird to have this much personal information about so many people in the world in the hands of a corporation. But Facebook serves a real need - to connect. And they do it well. The problem is real - we need to have a non-commercial entity run this. But if Facebook dies tomorrow another company will take its place. How do we s…

I don't see the word Brexit in the article or HN comments. The article was first published 2011.

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

#94

Post by newscracker »

This is a great list of links that I can refer to whenever I need to tell someone how bad Facebook as a company really is and what it does. Every time I see an article like this, I feel highly disappointed that there is still no alternative platform to move people into (at least easily).

> Facebook: the most congenitally dishonest company in America.

I've always believed this to be the case for a long time, except that I had "world" in mind instead of a specific country. I don't like Google tracking users either (and avoid/reduce/change how I use it), but Facebook has been at an altogether diferent "super evil" level all along and continues to be so. The "authentic name" policy is one of the worst things about Facebook as a platform and as a company, and it limits speaking out freely for many people (although there are many others who don't care).

I try to limit the damage I'm causing (since I cannot avoid using FB for a few different reasons) by not putting personal information on it (except unavoidable ones like events I create), not using the FB mobile app (and instead using a browser where I have more control), and having diferent user profiles for different purposes (though Facebook doesn't "like" this).

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

#95

Post by beagle3 »

projektir wrote: post #40

One thing worth noting is that, unfortunately, lacking a Facebook account doesn't truly shield you from it... people can still mention you, tag you in pictures, etc.

They can and will, but that's the least of your worries about Facebook.

Every page that has a "like us on facebook" or "share this on facebook" - estimates are 50% of the web pages - reports your web surfing habits to Facebook. Whether or not you have a facebook account.

uBlock Origin, AdBlockPlus, Disconnect, Ghostery, etc. are your friends.

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

#96

Post by simplify »

codedokode wrote: post #75
dlnovell wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How would he look me up? He didn't know my name. Can lyft drivers see the full name of the people who they pick up, or just the first name? If they can see the full name, then MAYBE he looked up my friend, then looked at his friends list and found me. I find that extremely unlikely. I've also seen a lot of very, very strange "you may know" suggestions for people that I've only met in passing, and again without full n…

If your and your driver's phone have sent GPS coordinates to facebook it is pretty easy to link you together. Or you can be linked by the recorded sound.

He said he didn't have the FB app installed on his phone, though.

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

#97

Post by chillwaves »

mwfunk wrote: 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"…

So you only support the newspeak that supports your point of view?

How do you feel about terms like "collateral damage" that used to be "murdered civilians" in war?

Secondly there is internal logic to "used" that is not present in the name calling you compare it to. False equivalency does not strengthen your argument.

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

#98

Post by chronolitus »

capote wrote: post #55
gjdimitrov wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although I agree with a lot of what he's saying, every time I listen to him I can't help but hear the judgemental note. He takes his inherently good ideas to the extreme and they become more off-putting than eye-opening

You're right, of course, but my point stands.

> "Nobody's telling anyone how to live their life here"

--------

> "Don't do this to others — don't be used by Facebook yourself!"

> "Don't be tracked — pay cash."

> "It is very important for you personally to [refuse to use Facebook], especially if some of your friends do (or might), because that's how you influence them, for good or for ill."

> "Unfriend Facebook now — you are its product, not its customer."

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

#99

Post by capote »

chronolitus wrote: post #98
capote wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right, of course, but my point stands.

> "Nobody's telling anyone how to live their life here" -------- > "Don't do this to others — don't be used by Facebook yourself!" > "Don't be tracked — pay cash." > "It is very important for you personally to [refuse to use Facebook], especially if some of your friends do (or might), because that's how you influence them, for good or for ill." > "Unfriend Facebook now — you are its product, not its customer."

You missed the point—this is a person's opinion. Harshly (and possibly ridiculously) worded, sure, but there are plenty of opinion posts everywhere and their point isn't to direct others as to how to live their lives.

You don't have to listen to it or even read it.

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

#100

Post by newscracker »

simbalion wrote: post #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 wr…

> Anyone who is interested in social blogging should have their own website (wordpress.com is free)

The free wordpress.com blogs may show ads to users (who're not logged in) so that Automattic can make money. It's very likely that there's profiling and tracking going on there too.

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