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Ask HN: Did you delete your Facebook account in 2018?

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Re: Ask HN: Did you delete your Facebook account in 2018?

#261

Post by seizethecheese »

nradov wrote: post #259
IIAOPSW wrote: post #173

I got banned from facebook this year. So some background. I used facebook as a normal user from 2010 to 2012. I thought it was stupid on day 1 but was peer pressured into it (thanks high school) and by 2012 I still thought it was stupid and useless so I quit. At various intervals between 2012 and now I've had shitposting accounts. Fake names and fake pictures but most people in the friends list knew who was behind th…

You're not actually as cool and edgy as you think you are. No one is impressed.

What’s the point of this comment? To make the parent poster feel badly?

I thought it was cool and edgy, for what it’s worth.

Re: Ask HN: Did you delete your Facebook account in 2018?

#262

Post by porlune »

CharlesW wrote: post #35

Yes, deleting all posts (using Social Book Posts Manager[1] IIRC) and other footprints as much as possible before I did. Of course, I can't control whether Facebook actually performed those deletions or just simulated it to my satisfaction. On retrospect I'm now just sick that I was ever caught up in their "engagement at any expense" Skinner Box to the extent that I was. I'd have Facebook open in one tab and start ty…

You have described exactly how I feel about this subject. My solution wasn't to delete facebook though, instead I ended up unfollowing every person I've ever argued with and unliked nearly every page. This has turned my news feed into a wasteland, and I've slowly become less of a Facebook junkie as a result.

Re: Ask HN: Did you delete your Facebook account in 2018?

#263

Post by zapzupnz »

subpixel wrote: post #125
zapzupnz wrote: post #104

I keep trying, but the fact is that all my friends and family rely on Facebook for communication (usually through Messenger), so either I use it and stay connected or I don't use it and I become completely disconnected. We can argue the virtues of becoming disconnected until the cows come home, but practically speaking, I still rely on my family and friends for a lot of things. Putting myself on radio silence is not…

> Putting myself on radio silence is not an option. You're (deeply) conflating disconnecting from FB with disconnecting from communication. These are not remotely the same thing. My family and friends know I'm not on FB and so they call me, they text me, they even email me. In 3+ years the fact that I'm not in FB has presented zero difficulty for me or the people and groups I want to communicate with.

> You're (deeply) conflating disconnecting from FB with disconnecting from communication. These are not remotely the same thing.

Nobody I know uses email for actual communication, and no amount of me sending them emails is likely to change that. Further, I don't pay for therefore don't use text messages, and the majority of people I know don't use Apple devices so can't use a free service like iMessage to contact me.

I'm also not planning to sign up for another service just to replace another, nor do I think I could reasonably convince anybody to follow me to another service aside from WhatsApp which wouldn't be much of an improvement, really.

I'm glad you've managed to have zero difficulties. However, if it were really so simple for me, I would have already pulled the trigger long ago. Someone else's anecdote has no relevance to my situation just as my anecdote has no relevance to anybody else.

So please don't tell me what I'm conflating. I know my own business best.

Re: Ask HN: Did you delete your Facebook account in 2018?

#264

Post by labster »

fooker wrote: post #227
ashelmire wrote: post #190

Deleted in 2017! Life’s been great since. I’ve taken a bunch of classes, read a bunch of books, and I’m no longer plagued by the political and social ideas of the uneducated on a regular basis.

> I’m no longer plagued by the political and social ideas of the uneducated on a regular basis. My condolences. "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

Those thoughts stopped being entertaining a long time ago.

Re: Ask HN: Did you delete your Facebook account in 2018?

#266

Post by regnerba »

dbg31415 wrote: post #115
regnerba wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was really close to using Signal but ended up going with Wire. The requirement to use a phone number just didn't work for me. The multi-device support was also a bit lacking.

Can you elaborate on the "multi-device support" comment? Their app works on my phone and laptop, and I love that it's P2P so they don't have a central server like Wire. I also love that I can set messages to expire and they're gone for everyone. Open-source, secure, and funded by spite. Ha. * WhatsApp Co-Founder Brian Acton Injects $50 Million in Newly Formed Signal Foundation | WIRED || https://www.wired.com/story/s…

This basically describes it: https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007320551-Li...

> Multiple mobile devices and Android tablets are not currently supported.

Also for me anyways I have changed numbers 3 times in the last 6 years. Once when I moved to Iceland, once when I moved back to Canada, and once due to abuse on my number. Having a service that can be tied to email instead of phone number is awesome.

As far as I understand it Signal is basically considered the most secure option out there. After looking at lots of options which primarily included Telegram, Wire, Keybase, and Signal I settled on Wire as the reasonable compromise.

I actually really liked Keybase. It was just a little too complicated for random family members.

> I also love that I can set messages to expire and they're gone for everyone.

Wire has that feature as well. Works on direct messages and can be set on group chats as well.

Re: Ask HN: Did you delete your Facebook account in 2018?

#267

Post by bronco21016 »

seppin wrote: post #199
frereubu wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I missed my friend's 50th birthday party because I wasn't on Facebook (haven't been for around 3-4 years), and he assumed that everyone he wanted there was. That stung enough for me to think about it, but whenever I see people scrolling through their feeds there's so much drivel that I immediately go off the idea again.

> I missed my friend's 50th birthday party because I wasn't on Facebook Hate to break it to you, but he's not really your friend. You would have known about it directly or through someone else if so. Facebook is for finding out about events / people who aren't close to you, but you're still interested in. That's its value.

I’m not sure why you’re being downvoted. I feel the same way. I’ve been invited to multiple social events that were largely organized on Facebook since deleting my own account. I was always informed either directly or indirectly through mutual friends, usually by phone or SMS/iMessage. I’ve also been made aware of multiple events I did not attend because I do not consider myself close friends with those hosts and I’m happy to avoid that awkward ‘has not responded’ status that Facebook would mark me with.

In a world with email, SMS, and iMessage I do not fear being left out by my true friends.

Re: Ask HN: Did you delete your Facebook account in 2018?

#270

Post by b1r6 »

IIAOPSW wrote: post #173

I got banned from facebook this year. So some background. I used facebook as a normal user from 2010 to 2012. I thought it was stupid on day 1 but was peer pressured into it (thanks high school) and by 2012 I still thought it was stupid and useless so I quit. At various intervals between 2012 and now I've had shitposting accounts. Fake names and fake pictures but most people in the friends list knew who was behind th…

This is actually hilarious, and I believe a proper relief from the hyper-reality.
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