Facebook is the worst thing that's ever happened to the internet • Hacker News Board

Re: Facebook is the worst thing that's ever happened to the internet

#51

Post by mAEStro-paNDa » Tue, Jan 22, 2019, 5:22 PM UTC

vinceguidry wrote: post #20

Before Facebook, if I lost someone's contact information, and drifted outside of their social circle for a long enough time, chances were I would never ever see or speak to that person again. Before Facebook, if people wanted to organize conversation and cooperation on an information technology platform, the options were to pay $X00-$X000 for a proprietary system, get lucky enough to know about mailing lists, have so…

I agree much with your premise here. The capabilities that social media have provided are extremely valuable.

That said, I disagree with your conclusion. The issues that have come from Facebook and others are due to centralization, commodification of user data, the proliferation of echo chambers and advertising. Universal accessibility isn't the culprit, although that has generated issues on it's own as well.

Re: Facebook is the worst thing that's ever happened to the internet

#52

Post by skybrian » Tue, Jan 22, 2019, 5:23 PM UTC

DHH's comment is another example of what I call one-bit reasoning: everything is either wonderful or terrible.

Facebook's features have had far-reaching effects and it's not that easy to classify them as positive or negative. Getting in touch with people is easier. Thoughtlessly sending things to all your "friends" is probably too easy, but there are also announcements you do want to read.

Re: Facebook is the worst thing that's ever happened to the internet

#53

Post by sephoric » Tue, Jan 22, 2019, 5:24 PM UTC

jasode wrote: post #48

The websites I constantly use every single day: google.com maps.google.com youtube.com wikipedia.org weather.gov stackoverflow.com For almost 20 years, I've been using Google for dozens of random searches every single day. Its utility to help me find information is unmatched. And Youtube -- even with the ads -- adds value to my life because of all the helpful tutorials and DIY content I can view for free. On the othe…

Facebook is harmful because it's reckless with your personal data, but Google is invaluable because of its utility and amazing results? It's able to provide those results because it steals your data, which it also abuses and sells. And as an alternative to YouTube, there are free public libraries with similar DIY books complete with pictures and drawings, but without stealing and selling your data.

Re: Facebook is the worst thing that's ever happened to the internet

#54

Post by azangru » Tue, Jan 22, 2019, 5:25 PM UTC

Facebook brought us React and GraphQL (dont't know if ReasonML is an important enough technology to count). I despise Facebook as a social network; but as a technological company, it's clearly not the worst that happened to _the Internet_.

Re: Facebook is the worst thing that's ever happened to the internet

#55

Post by kodablah » Tue, Jan 22, 2019, 5:26 PM UTC

Reedx wrote: post #8

I'd be curious to hear what people think are the top 3, because I feel like Twitter and Instagram are strong contenders. Or if indeed Twitter belongs in the top spot.

In order: 1. Techno-snobbery (e.g. this tweet) 2. Spam (to the point of justifying email centralization) 3. html/css/js over-complication (to the point of unreasonable implementation requirements)

Re: Facebook is the worst thing that's ever happened to the internet

#56

Post by lazyjones » Tue, Jan 22, 2019, 5:26 PM UTC

Reedx wrote: post #8

I'd be curious to hear what people think are the top 3, because I feel like Twitter and Instagram are strong contenders. Or if indeed Twitter belongs in the top spot.

* spam e-mails

* JavaScript on web pages

* Flash

Re: Facebook is the worst thing that's ever happened to the internet

#57

Post by excalibur » Tue, Jan 22, 2019, 5:26 PM UTC

Reedx wrote: post #8

I'd be curious to hear what people think are the top 3, because I feel like Twitter and Instagram are strong contenders. Or if indeed Twitter belongs in the top spot.

1. Government surveillance

2. Misguided government regulation

3. Corporate greed

Honorable mention goes to malware.

Re: Facebook is the worst thing that's ever happened to the internet

#58

Post by detaro » Tue, Jan 22, 2019, 5:26 PM UTC

bvinc wrote: post #10

chris_wot wrote: post #2

That's a bold thing to write... on Twitter.

You're downvoted. Maybe because of your snarky tone, but I think you have a point. Twitter is a cesspool with all of the same problems as Facebook.

It has problems, certainly, but not all the same. A bunch that don't apply:

* Twitter has always been easier to avoid (more people/groups/places expect you to have a Facebook account if you want to know about stuff)

* real-name policy

* Anything related to payment, due to not selling anything to end users, e.g. the recent story about charges caused by kids https://www.revealnews.org/blog/a-judge-unsealed-a-trove-of-...

On the other hand, Twitter is more public, which brings issues not so much on Facebook.

Re: Facebook is the worst thing that's ever happened to the internet

#59

Post by mAEStro-paNDa » Tue, Jan 22, 2019, 5:27 PM UTC

jasode wrote: post #48

The websites I constantly use every single day: google.com maps.google.com youtube.com wikipedia.org weather.gov stackoverflow.com For almost 20 years, I've been using Google for dozens of random searches every single day. Its utility to help me find information is unmatched. And Youtube -- even with the ads -- adds value to my life because of all the helpful tutorials and DIY content I can view for free. On the othe…

I sympathize much with your stance on Facebook. However, I'm curious, what keeps Google from being an adversary in your perspective?

Re: Facebook is the worst thing that's ever happened to the internet

#60

Post by jasode » Tue, Jan 22, 2019, 5:29 PM UTC

sephoric wrote: post #53

jasode wrote: post #48

The websites I constantly use every single day: google.com maps.google.com youtube.com wikipedia.org weather.gov stackoverflow.com For almost 20 years, I've been using Google for dozens of random searches every single day. Its utility to help me find information is unmatched. And Youtube -- even with the ads -- adds value to my life because of all the helpful tutorials and DIY content I can view for free. On the othe…

Facebook is harmful because it's reckless with your personal data, but Google is invaluable because of its utility and amazing results? It's able to provide those results because it steals your data, which it also abuses and sells. And as an alternative to YouTube, there are free public libraries with similar DIY books complete with pictures and drawings, but without stealing and selling your data.

>, but Google is invaluable because of its utility and amazing results? It's able to provide those results because it steals your data

What data from me does Google steal? I don't have a Google account. I can be anonymous at a Starbucks coffee shop and search google for "Paul Graham" and get back useful results. If they coalesce search queries on my home ip address, that's unavoidable and a tradeoff I knowingly make.

>And as an alternative to YouTube, there are free public libraries with similar DIY books

In the last month, I needed to replace a side mirror of a Lexus car and also disassemble a Moen faucet. No, my library does not have the manuals to show how to do it. But youtube did have the videos uploaded by nice people. Both of those procedures had tricky steps that weren't obvious and Youtube saved me hundreds of dollars in fees from car dealerships and plumbers.