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Facebook doesn't want you to deactivate your account.

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Re: Facebook doesn't want you to deactivate your account.

#21

Post by zimbabwe »

tlrobinson wrote: post #19
randomwalker wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook is probably using an algorithm that picks from among the friends that the user has interacted the most with. At least that's what I would do if I were implementing it. They already use such an algorithm internally to detect if your account is compromised (i.e., if the set of friends with whom you communicate changes sharply at some point.) Given that Facebook might be doing this, it is likely that the top fe…

We can try it ourselves. Just log in and go to http://www.facebook.com/deactivate.php The 5 that show up for me are people I recently friended (unfortunately all dudes)

It appears to be completely random. I got entirely different selections on two separate clicks.

Re: Facebook doesn't want you to deactivate your account.

#22

Post by zimbabwe »

erlanger wrote: post #15
RossM wrote: post #2

That's a really good way of empathising with your users. I've seen "sitename will miss you!" type messages, getting social connections involved would be a hell of a lot more persuasive.

That is, unless your Facebook "friends" are actual friends with whom you have many channels of communication...it just seems tacky and manipulative to me.

Manipulative? Yes. Tacky? No.

They're reminding you that you have friends on Facebook. Tacky would be them telling your friends to convince you not to abandon your account.

Re: Facebook doesn't want you to deactivate your account.

#23

Post by michaelfairley »

randomwalker wrote: post #14
tlrobinson wrote: post #10

I wonder if it wasn't a coincidence that all the people who Facebook says will miss him are girls (well, and one restaurant)

Facebook is probably using an algorithm that picks from among the friends that the user has interacted the most with. At least that's what I would do if I were implementing it. They already use such an algorithm internally to detect if your account is compromised (i.e., if the set of friends with whom you communicate changes sharply at some point.) Given that Facebook might be doing this, it is likely that the top fe…

For me (tried with a few refreshes to get multiple samples), it seems to show pictures of people who I have recently exchanged messages (rather than wall posts, or just about any other form of communication) with.

Re: Facebook doesn't want you to deactivate your account.

#24

Post by GavinB »

You can't see the small print on the deactivation screen in the photo, but here it is:

Note: Even after you deactivate, your friends can still invite you to events, tag you in photos, or ask you to join groups. If you opt out, you will NOT receive these email invitations and notifications from your friends.

It's a bit unclear in what sense your account is actually deactivated.

Re: Facebook doesn't want you to deactivate your account.

#25

Post by code_devil »

tlrobinson wrote: post #10

I wonder if it wasn't a coincidence that all the people who Facebook says will miss him are girls (well, and one restaurant)

I just did some testing by refreshing the "http://www.facebook.com/deactivate.php page and I always got two same friends. Next I realized that it was displaying a picture where both of us were tagged. I had untagged myself from a bunch of other albums, so the other 3 friends picked were pretty much random.

So, its definitely giving high priority if you both are tagged in the same picture irrespective of the fact if you are really good friends with them or not. One of the friend tagged in a pic with me was added about 4-5 months ago, whereas my other friend I have know her since 2001, but on facebook since 2004/2005. 70% of my friends added are from the 2004 - 2007 time period.

Re: Facebook doesn't want you to deactivate your account.

#26

Post by erlanger »

zimbabwe wrote: post #22
erlanger wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is, unless your Facebook "friends" are actual friends with whom you have many channels of communication...it just seems tacky and manipulative to me.

Manipulative? Yes. Tacky? No. They're reminding you that you have friends on Facebook. Tacky would be them telling your friends to convince you not to abandon your account.

It's tacky because the psychology they're attempting is disingenuous. It attempts to form an association between their self-serving message and your friends' pictures.

Re: Facebook doesn't want you to deactivate your account.

#27

Post by zimbabwe »

erlanger wrote: post #26
zimbabwe wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Manipulative? Yes. Tacky? No. They're reminding you that you have friends on Facebook. Tacky would be them telling your friends to convince you not to abandon your account.

It's tacky because the psychology they're attempting is disingenuous. It attempts to form an association between their self-serving message and your friends' pictures.

But your friends all use their service too. What's to say Facebook doesn't have a good reason to remind you of them?
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