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Facebook Requires Social Fixer Browser Extension to Remove Features

socialfixer.com

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Re: Facebook Requires Social Fixer Browser Extension to Remove Features

#81

Post by mattkruse »

casca wrote: post #40

Social Fixer is great - I've been using it for a while and it makes my infrequent forays onto Facebook less miserable. From what I can tell, Facebook has removed the Social Fixer page on Facebook and are requiring the author to make significant changes in order to return it. The author is going to make those changes. Why not just lose the page on Facebook and keep developing Social Fixer? If they threaten legal actio…

I have a family and limited time. I could lay out an exact plan of how to do a lot of things, including get around all of this. But I just don't have enough time to implement it.

My microwave has been broken for 4 weeks and I haven't had time to even replace it. There are only 24 hours in a day.

Re: Facebook Requires Social Fixer Browser Extension to Remove Features

#82

Post by mattkruse »

jrockway wrote: post #62

I'm not a lawyer, but the ToS says you may not interfere with the rendering of the page, but it doesn't say that you may not provide software that interferes with the rendering of the page. Anyone with a pair of scissors, a microwave oven, or black piece of paper could interfere with the rendering of Facebook for a particular user, but I doubt the ToS applies to them. Not to mention browser bugs, or OS bugs, or video…

Agreed - I think the ToS is pretty clearly targetting people who alter the display of the site for OTHERS, not themselves. Malware, DoS attacks, etc.

If they apply this rule to individuals who alter the way the site appears to them, they are opening a can of worms. There is no way they consistently enforce this.

Re: Facebook Requires Social Fixer Browser Extension to Remove Features

#83

Post by mattkruse »

JacobJans wrote: post #70
jrockway wrote: post #62

I'm not a lawyer, but the ToS says you may not interfere with the rendering of the page, but it doesn't say that you may not provide software that interferes with the rendering of the page. Anyone with a pair of scissors, a microwave oven, or black piece of paper could interfere with the rendering of Facebook for a particular user, but I doubt the ToS applies to them. Not to mention browser bugs, or OS bugs, or video…

Actually, content creators get to ask you to agree to a "Terms of Service" that gives you access to that content. If you don't like the terms of service, you could say they are "laughable," but that doesn't mean they don't exist, or have a specific meaning. It seems very clear to me that a page that promotes the removal of Facebook ads, via its software, fits squarely in violation of the agreement. Facebook seems ver…

Removal of ads isn't even something I "advertise" as a feature. It's a side-effect of being able to remove anything you want from the UI.

And if they have a problem with that, surely they would have sued AdBlock Plus by now. Right?

Re: Facebook Requires Social Fixer Browser Extension to Remove Features

#84

Post by mattkruse »

wpietri wrote: post #58
mbesto wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's not true in any way. Care to elaborate? This is pretty fundamental to almost every single business I have ever heard of...

See, for example, "Maximizing Shareholder Value: The Dumbest Idea in the World": http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/11/28/maximizi... The "maximize shareholder value" chant is a piece of MBA dogma that, although accepted by many as an immutable law of the universe, is a relatively recent American invention. It's not a law, managers don't go to jail if they don't do it, other countries do it differently, an…

EXACTLY. Listen, I hope to benefit from my work on Social Fixer. Donations are not my income, but they are a small added bonus. I've not gotten rich from this. But my goal is not to get rich. My goal is to create useful software that empowers and benefits users. I trust that if I do this not only for this app but for others, that I will benefit. It's a long-term bet, not a short-sighted investment strategy. There aren't enough people in the world who will do the right thing and hope to profit from it, rather than doing anything in their power to profit. Facebook certainly seems to fall into the latter category.

They have many people who have invested their lives creating this company. They want their payout. If they have to create a bubble to get it, that's what they are going to do. They'll get their cash, you can bet on that.

Re: Facebook Requires Social Fixer Browser Extension to Remove Features

#85

Post by mattkruse »

pdonis wrote: post #30
mattkruse wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Facebook is a publicly traded company; they have to make decisions that benefit their stockholders or they will go bankrupt. This is a very short-sighted view, common to many companies. The BEST way to satisfy the stockholders is to create a fantastic product that users love, long-term. Example: Amazon. Unless your primary interest is creating a short-term bubble and profiting before it pops, which seems to be the m…

The BEST way to satisfy the stockholders is to create a fantastic product that users love, long-term. In other words, you agree with me that a publicly traded company must make decisions that benefit the stockholders. You just think that "benefit the stockholders" should be evaluated on a long-term basis, not a short-term basis. But there are two key points that you have not mentioned: (1) Creating a fantastic produc…

If Facebook created something that was so awesome that users would be willing to pay for it, they wouldn't need to rely on ads. They could have a much bigger and more stable revenue stream from people who actually wanted their service and were willing to pay for it.

I would buy into this model. Not everyone would, no. But I imagine enough would that it could change their focus. Maybe.

Re: Facebook Requires Social Fixer Browser Extension to Remove Features

#86

Post by bambax »

> Freedom is more important than control.

... and Facebook is about freedom... how??

I'm not on Facebook, but just this weekend I needed a Facebook account, so I tried to create a (fake) one.

I entered a perfectly real (French) name (not my own but a real one) and was told it was incorrect. I was directed to this "help" page:

https://www.facebook.com/help/212848065405122

that dares say "Make sure your name meets our name standards".

"Make sure your name meets our name standards"?? What does that even mean? Is Facebook in charge of naming people? What do they know about names?

(And of course I changed the fake name to another one (more fake by French standards) and they accepted it).

How over 1.2 billion people accept that kind of control/arrogance/stupidity is beyond me; but if you expect Facebook to ever care about "freedom" you're delusional, at best.

Re: Facebook Requires Social Fixer Browser Extension to Remove Features

#87

Post by bambax »

casca wrote: post #40

Social Fixer is great - I've been using it for a while and it makes my infrequent forays onto Facebook less miserable. From what I can tell, Facebook has removed the Social Fixer page on Facebook and are requiring the author to make significant changes in order to return it. The author is going to make those changes. Why not just lose the page on Facebook and keep developing Social Fixer? If they threaten legal actio…

Capitulation is a strong word; I empathize with the OP's concerns.

However, yes, why not open source the code on Github and let others try?

Re: Facebook Requires Social Fixer Browser Extension to Remove Features

#89

Post by MichaelApproved »

sseveran wrote: post #76
JacobJans wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are absolutely right. The only alternative is to "stop using Facebook." The Facebook Terms of Service are an agreement that you can simply choose not to accept. You have every right.

I actually took Facebook up on this option last fall. I have not missed facebook nor will I be back. I no longer have to worry about them tampering with my privacy like they did so many times. My life is definitely no worse not having a facebook account.

I'm curious about people like you who feel this way. I understand you don't miss it or see value in Facebook but can you understand that other people see value in Facebook and that it enriches their social life?

Re: Facebook Requires Social Fixer Browser Extension to Remove Features

#90

Post by alextingle »

mattkruse wrote: post #81
casca wrote: post #40

Social Fixer is great - I've been using it for a while and it makes my infrequent forays onto Facebook less miserable. From what I can tell, Facebook has removed the Social Fixer page on Facebook and are requiring the author to make significant changes in order to return it. The author is going to make those changes. Why not just lose the page on Facebook and keep developing Social Fixer? If they threaten legal actio…

I have a family and limited time. I could lay out an exact plan of how to do a lot of things, including get around all of this. But I just don't have enough time to implement it. My microwave has been broken for 4 weeks and I haven't had time to even replace it. There are only 24 hours in a day.

Would you like me to buy you a new microwave? I will if you promise to keep Social Fixer the way it is.
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