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Poll: Do you have a Facebook account?

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81–90 of 94 posts

Re: Poll: Do you have a Facebook account?

#81

I deleted my Facebook some time ago, now. At first I was alarmed by how many times I started to go for it on my phone purely out of muscle memory when bored or waiting in line. Now, I hardly even think of it and feel better being without it.

Same experience here. I deleted it about a month ago, and haven't looked back. The only annoyance I have is the variety of sites I was using FBConnect with (it IS convenient) that I have to re-register. But that goes to show you the problem of relying on tools like Facebook for site logins.

I noticed that same thing with FBConnect, it's made me consider my comments and their value a bit more since I'll have to create an account to leave them ;)

Re: Poll: Do you have a Facebook account?

#82
I use to have one but deleted it as well. I realized it wasn't adding any value to my life. Friend status updates? I'd rather get them in person, otherwise it probably isn't actually all that important. I like my privacy and dislike the idea of using a platform that is entirely about serving me ads. No thanks, already see enough.

Have I missed out on anything by not being on Facebook? Nope.

Re: Poll: Do you have a Facebook account?

#83

Yes, but I never use it and I locked the security down so tight I don't even know if I have permission to post on my own wall anymore.

Ditto. This should be an option on the poll. Every time I log on I see tons of useless, inane comments from people I barely know and I quickly leave again. I mainly have an account so people know I exist (ie. it's almost a social faux pas not to have one.) Logging on is like flicking quickly past a TV channel that is aimed those who watch reality tv. No thanks.

I wasn't much of a Facebook user before joining the company, and using the site more frequently definitely made it obvious that a) I had been missing out on some useful news and b) I was wasting a lot of time on "friends" I didn't really care much about (not only reading time, but being angry that those people were behaving in a way that would lead me to leave in real life). Once the new subscription and friends list stuff was in internal testing, I spent 30ish minutes cleaning things up (including just unfriending people), and now my news feed sucks a lot less. Well, it did before I subscribed to tech journalists. Another cleanup awaits...

Re: Poll: Do you have a Facebook account?

#84
post #51

I have one and I love it. I find an enormous amount of hostility on HN towards facebook, even going so far as a lot of people proudly mentioning that they will never touch it. I don't see why it gets such scorn, I think its a wonderful site. Some notes on my usage, though: All of my privacy options are on the lowest possible setting. I treat anything that occurs on the site as if it were public. I don't see why not,…

Facebook is useful for letting you know when it is your friends' birthdays. Ironically, I don't list my birthday on Fb, because that's one piece of information that is relevant for identity fraud.

I know of a guy who changes his birthday every month on FB just to see who wishes him a happy birthday. Every single month the same people fall for it.

Re: Poll: Do you have a Facebook account?

#85

I have one and I love it. I find an enormous amount of hostility on HN towards facebook, even going so far as a lot of people proudly mentioning that they will never touch it. I don't see why it gets such scorn, I think its a wonderful site. Some notes on my usage, though: All of my privacy options are on the lowest possible setting. I treat anything that occurs on the site as if it were public. I don't see why not,…

> Without facebook, I'd have no idea cousin X is having a baby

Maybe I'm taking this a little too literally but I find this statement disturbing.

How can someone not know that one of the biggest life events happened, one that takes 9 months at that, to a family member without being on facebook?

Re: Poll: Do you have a Facebook account?

#86

I have one and I love it. I find an enormous amount of hostility on HN towards facebook, even going so far as a lot of people proudly mentioning that they will never touch it. I don't see why it gets such scorn, I think its a wonderful site. Some notes on my usage, though: All of my privacy options are on the lowest possible setting. I treat anything that occurs on the site as if it were public. I don't see why not,…

> Without facebook, I'd have no idea cousin X is having a baby Maybe I'm taking this a little too literally but I find this statement disturbing. How can someone not know that one of the biggest life events happened, one that takes 9 months at that, to a family member without being on facebook?

I also find it disturbing. This sort of thing is exactly why I disabled my account; the family and friends who use Facebook heavily have forgotten how to communicate directly, they rely entirely on shouting into the hurricane and expecting everyone to pay attention. Good luck with that.

Re: Poll: Do you have a Facebook account?

#87

I have one and I love it. I find an enormous amount of hostility on HN towards facebook, even going so far as a lot of people proudly mentioning that they will never touch it. I don't see why it gets such scorn, I think its a wonderful site. Some notes on my usage, though: All of my privacy options are on the lowest possible setting. I treat anything that occurs on the site as if it were public. I don't see why not,…

I have an account that I now visit at most once a month. I used to enjoy facebook when it was really about keeping in touch. When I joined in 2007, I really just wanted something to share pictures and stories with family and friends. Then facebook decided it wanted to become the "operating system of the web". I think that was the beginning of the end for me. Maybe many people liked this and actually (over)hyped it, but to me it made fb look more like all the previous social networks that I had (successfully) managed to avoid until then.

To me, facebook had the responsibility to handle the information you provide with care, but I believe that in their quest to become profitable, they've been quite cavalier with this notion, that is until now that viable alternatives are creeping up. I'm of the opinion that people love to know the truth, but they just don't like the lengthy process it sometimes requires to get at it, so they make judgment calls on the slightest bit of information, whether it's only a version of the truth or a partial truth. Politics is a prime example of a domain where this is usually exploited. I had an early taste of the destructive potential of facebook when I witnessed the scandal that ensued, when an acquaintance was tagged in a "compromising" photo. It was an admittedly amusing and entertaining event from my standpoint, but it prompted me to remove some of my personal information and some public pictures and set my email to warn me if someone tagged me in a picture or posted on my wall.

Then came facebook-connect, a private alternative to the public and more open OpenID. I know the latter was flawed in many ways. Call me paranoid, but I don't believe facebook was more motivated in unifying the authentication process than it was to know where its users went in the web. fb-connect imo, was an excellent trojan horse on their way to track users' habits across the web, but it wasn't perfect. Most websites still offered an alternative to people who didn't have a facebook account, to sign in with a more traditional sign-on. Also, having implemented fb-connect in the past, I distinctively remember that back then, it required the site's visitor to explicitly authorize this affiliation to take effect. Something that I've always refused to do in my effort to keep what belongs in facebook in facebook.

Then one day, after reading an article on techcrunch, I was about to post a comment and I saw the Comments box with my actual fb profile picture and name next to it. A website that I seldom visited, could now know that I was there, just because it was affiliated with facebook and I was still signed on to facebook during my visit. This new widget didn't even bother asking me if I was ok with that. That was when I started actively logging off of my fb (until then, I was just closing the window). Later on, some users started reporting that facebook actually kept tracking cookies across its affiliated sites even if they were logged off facebook. At that point, I started using a different browser just for it.

I don't understand people who don't understand why facebook get such a scorn. I like my family and my friends and I like keeping in touch with them. Just because I happen to do it with facebook doesn't mean I have to become a fan by association.

Re: Poll: Do you have a Facebook account?

#88
post #87

I have one and I love it. I find an enormous amount of hostility on HN towards facebook, even going so far as a lot of people proudly mentioning that they will never touch it. I don't see why it gets such scorn, I think its a wonderful site. Some notes on my usage, though: All of my privacy options are on the lowest possible setting. I treat anything that occurs on the site as if it were public. I don't see why not,…

I have an account that I now visit at most once a month. I used to enjoy facebook when it was really about keeping in touch. When I joined in 2007, I really just wanted something to share pictures and stories with family and friends. Then facebook decided it wanted to become the "operating system of the web". I think that was the beginning of the end for me. Maybe many people liked this and actually (over)hyped it, b…

TechCrunch has no idea who you are when you visit it logged into Facebook. The comments box is served by Facebook, and doesn't provide any information to the hosting site.

(I work at Facebook.)

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