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Facebook Blames Email Problems On User "Confusion"

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Re: Facebook Blames Email Problems On User "Confusion"

#81

Post by swang »

imgabe wrote: post #41
swang wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook knows most users don't want another email account that is just going to get filled with spam. So how does Facebook deal with spam? Simple, it puts it into your Others folder. Otherwise you get users complaining about spam in their messages.

Most users didn't want another email account period. They certainly didn't want Facebook to make that decision for them. It doesn't sound like "Other" was meant to be a spam folder. If that's the case why didn't they just call it "Spam" and install a spam filter to send mail there?

To clarify, what I meant was the Others folder is just their way of preventing Facebook Users from getting spam in their "Messages" page. Since no one really checks their Others folder, you don't get any spam. The side effect though is that the Others section _may_ have important messages, but Facebook can't risk having spam invade the "Messages" page.

Also if you name the folder Spam, you're acknowledging that the Facebook system can have spam, which is probably something Facebook doesn't want.

Re: Facebook Blames Email Problems On User "Confusion"

#83

Post by baddox »

anon808 wrote: post #28
DanielBMarkham wrote: post #13

I am reminded of an old Dilbert cartoon where they bring in a usability expert to help them write an app. After suggesting that the computer shock the user when they do the wrong thing, he quips, "I found this job to be a lot easier once I realized I hated people" Seriously, Facebook. Do one thing and do it well. Enough of this conquer-the-universe bullshit. I'm already at the point where I want to jump ship; I just…

"I just can't figure out how to do it without losing contact with my friends." easy . . . call them, visit them, email them, write letters to them. you don't need an application to managed personal relationships.

Do you need phones to manage personal relationships? What about a postal service? What about automobiles? Of course not. I could choose to only maintain relationships with people within walking distance of my home, but I prefer using technology to facilitate communication over longer distances.

Re: Facebook Blames Email Problems On User "Confusion"

#84

Post by conradfr »

So I went to see if I had an "Other" folder, and yes, filed with brands spam and ... "important" messages from real people, some from more than a year ago.

Baffled, I never noticed its existence !

This and the fact that my FB homepage (stream ?) is somehow useless nowadays, I don't see a great future with Facebook.

Re: Facebook Blames Email Problems On User "Confusion"

#85

Post by tallpapab »

For my 86 year old mother Facebook has been a boon and a great confusion. She keeps asking me about how people send her messages. There's email. There's Facebook Messages. There's her Facebook "wall". Then other people's statuses show up on her news feed or whatever you call her "home" page. She thinks those are also messages sent to her. It's a bit much. We think we have this straight because we work with all these things. But, Great Grunt, it can be hard for the uninitiated to figure out. Thankfully, no one has talked her into having a Twitter account or a smart phone with SMS and a few dozen social apps.

Re: Facebook Blames Email Problems On User "Confusion"

#86

Post by gnaritas »

brownbat wrote: post #71
gnaritas wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You do when you're keeping in touch with friends you've made throughout your life and not just your current ones. Your friends are the current ones. Those other people aren't friends anymore, they're acquaintances, people you used to know but don't see anymore. Friend isn't a permanent status, it's the people you hang out with and see on a regular basis. If your only contact with a person is through facebook, they…

I'm not sure how these semantic distinctions affect the argument. Replace the "friends" in his original post with "acquaintances," and his point stands. Facebook is useful as a long term rolodex.

> Replace the "friends" in his original post with "acquaintances," and his point stands.

That's changing the argument, those words mean totally different things. My point is, Facebook makes keeping in touch with acquaintances easy, but isn't necessary to keep in touch with actual friends. Friends are people you see outside of Facebook.

Re: Facebook Blames Email Problems On User "Confusion"

#88

Post by TazeTSchnitzel »

arbitrage wrote: post #82
dkokelley wrote: post #4

At this point I think it should be obvious to Facebook that they are building and marketing a system that its users just don't want.

Absolutely. Users should demand their money back, too.

I realise you're being sarcastic, but I wish I could get my time back from Facebook.

Re: Facebook Blames Email Problems On User "Confusion"

#89

Post by spaghetti »

thesis wrote: post #20
spaghetti wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jumping ship was easy for me. I catch-up with my local friends in person at a local bar or cafe. I catch-up with my remote friends by traveling to their city and going to a bar or cafe there. Or they come visit me. It's infinity more satisfying and relaxing that consuming status updates containing skewed and filtered representations of someone's life.

As far as visiting all my remote friends or them visiting me (somewhat often)... that's easier said then done for me and I bet most people.

You're right it's not always easy. I often wonder about how the perceived convenience of visiting someone varies with the strength of the friendship. I think they vary directly. For example I have no problem fighting through rush hour traffic when I'm on my way to seeing a friend who I'm looking forward to seeing.

Re: Facebook Blames Email Problems On User "Confusion"

#90

Post by spaghetti »

wahnfrieden wrote: post #74
theorique wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

consuming status updates containing skewed and filtered representations of someone's life. I much prefer skewed and filtered representations of my friends. It's much easier to interact with a caricatured, mean-field average of my 900 or so Facebook friends (aka "the audience") than to do it (shudder) one-on-one.

Is it not preferable to have more meaningful, personal interactions with a smaller group of people?

Good point. When you're dreading interacting with someone one-on-one they're probably not a true friend. So perhaps fb is good for maintaining acquaintances rather than actual friendships.
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