Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon
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Re: Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon
#2Error determination before empathic determination, if so it hurts to make sense.
We have explicit error logs for the first time in human history, audit trails, yet we spend every effort to determine problem solving by hiding errors from accounting.
Re: Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon
#3> So I guess what I'm saying here is: Run an ad blocker.
On a related note, run 'Facebook Disconnect': https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/facebook-disconnec...
Adblock doesn't stop you from Facebook tracking you with their 'like' buttons, this 'Facebook Disconnect' extension will.
Re: Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon
#4>"Well, because that guy pointed out a bug without also blowing sunshine up my ass, I'm going to just leave our product buggy."
Has this guy worked anywhere before? (Yes, it's a joke, I know who Zawinski is). I am sure there is a faction in Facebook who thinks their filter system needs an overhaul, and I'm sure this post will go on a big pile of "why" somewhere. However, if you're asking an engineer who works near (but probably not on) something to go talk to another team, you need to be somewhat polite. Because you're not asking them to do their job - you're asking them to go tell a colleague that they aren't doing theirs. You want them to spend political capital internally to make Facebook/whatever better for you instead of spending it on what they think would be best.
I don't think he's a hypocrite for using and hating Facebook. That's just life. I think he's forgotten that people, even Facebook employees, have ideas and agendas other than his own and you need to be diplomatic if you want them to serve yours.
Re: Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon
#5>"Well, because that guy pointed out a bug without also blowing sunshine up my ass, I'm going to just leave our product buggy." Has this guy worked anywhere before? (Yes, it's a joke, I know who Zawinski is). I am sure there is a faction in Facebook who thinks their filter system needs an overhaul, and I'm sure this post will go on a big pile of "why" somewhere. However, if you're asking an engineer who works near (b…
Complaining in public and having insiders dismiss it for bad reasons probably serves his agenda better than getting it fixed. A fix from insiders in this case will probably just get this one thing through, or maybe whitelist the account for more careful attention in the future, while bad public attention has the potential for getting them to fix the whole system.
Re: Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon
#6I don't really get the pointed outrage. But this isn't hugely different than anything anybody else does.
- Individual products like AdRoll and Perfect Audience let you track users and show them ads. Ever been to a site and had their ads pop up everywhere afterwards? Ever looked at a product then gotten ads for _just that product_? Yeah, that.
- Google lets you track conversions based on a ton of information. What Google ads users viewed, sure, but also referring site, region, demographic info. Hell, it'll tell you which pages you visited before buying. Everything but the search term you used ... unless the referrer was AdWords.
- Emails all send you unique links, which allow you to do conversion tracking. Hell, you can even embed retargeting pixels in emails, so when you open a company's email, they can serve you ads based on that knowledge.
Every possible way that tech can track you, companies are tracking and advertising with. I get that it's kind of scary, but it's not just Facebook, and a lot of it is the digital equivalent of reading body language on people in your store.
So, yeah, run an ad blocker. But not just for Facebook.
Re: Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon
#7I don't like facebook either, but can't we just not use something without making a huge sensational scene about it?
Also, for those whose eyes hurt from the matrix color theme the site uses, you can change the colors by opening up console and running:
document.getElementsByTagName("body")[0].setAttribute("style", "color: #333; background-color: #ddd");
Re: Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon
#8For the Like button issue, there's Shariff, which provides a privacy friendly social button bar: https://github.com/heiseonline/shariff
It only tracks when you actually use the button.
(also mentioned in the comments of the original article, but IMHO worth spreading)
Re: Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon
#9So we are tracked by facebook if we are logged in and see the like button on a different page. Does this mean that other sites are doing the same, if we see a button for their sites, like twitter or p interest? Or is facebook the main perpetrator here?
Re: Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon
#10I don't like facebook either, but can't we just not use something without making a huge sensational scene about it? Also, for those whose eyes hurt from the matrix color theme the site uses, you can change the colors by opening up console and running: document.getElementsByTagName("body")[0].setAttribute("style", "color: #333; background-color: #ddd");
Normally I'm in favor of the "don't use it, then" approach. But it doesn't work with Facebook, because you're on it whether you want to be or not. Even if you've studiously avoided using it, you most likely have friends who use it and have given Facebook enough knowledge to identify and track you.