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I notice that lots of authors on BCTS are also on Facebook and some have friended me. I noticed some funny stuff going on about a month ago and then they said that they wanted each user to use their real name. Then I noticed that I was getting things in my email that were hostile, so I closed both my FB accounts down. I do not plan to return to them, and may open new email accounts if it gets worse.
Then, today, I got a catalogue in the mail for men, using my old name, and to this address. I am not sure how that could have happened, but have a few ideas. Using my old name and sending a men's catalogue to my present address is just about the most hostile act that I can think of.
I'm really disgusted. Anyone on BCTS who wishes to talk to me can PM me.
My brother says that FB is being sued by the IRS, and investigated by the justice department for other activities.
G
Comments
I've never been on farcebook
... and I never will.
AFAIK, the farcebook terms of service requires the prospective member to enter their real names.
I do not know what information you entered or your privacy settings but *shrug* to me it is best not to deal with those big time social media thingies anyway.
Kim
Faceslap and all that
I really do not see any need for a thing like facesmack, facecook, or whatever it calls its self.
My (adult) grandkids, my kids, even some of my cousins seem to have been taken over by this nefarous nongovernment invader of privacy, but I just refuse to use it. We have email, instant messaging, telephones, fax machines (remember them? Hardly ever used now though!), telepathy and dear old handwritten letters posted in licky sticky envelopes and with stamps attached, so why do we need a commercial interloper, bent (careful selection of word, please note!)on gathering personal information about us and selling it to advertizers, to make money from intruding into our private lives? And the superficiality it encourages - I get unwanted messages on email claiming that "Dumbboy now has 3 friends, Leticia, Swindleshoes and Whipitov!" - just because sucker nr 1 has communicate electonically with 3 persons or robots with those names. I have a different idea of what a Friend is. I am fortunate in having one or two, whom I have known for years, for whom I would do almost anything to help them out, knowing that they would for me if I were in need. Pah ! These poor sods that use Facewipe do not know what a Friend is !
Briar
Social networks
Many social networks (well, the popular ones at least) like people to use their real names, real locations and such like. They claim it's to make it easier for people to find each other, but in reality it's a mixture of legal reasons (easier to track someone down if they do something illegal or libellous, plus the hope that people are less likely to be abusive if they're using their real name) and marketing reasons (easier to sell your details to advertisers - and by extension show you ads they think you're likely to click on - if you've used your real details).
However, not all are vigilant over enforcing them. It's estimated (I assume fairly conservatively) that 8% of Facebook accounts are fake - people creating alternate identities for different social groups, people creating additional profiles to help them advance in games, spammers and such like.
Twitter doesn't appear to have any form of real names policy, but of course communication is very limited over that platform and the vast majority of it is public - besides which, it's also stuffed with bots autonomously posting stuff harvested from RSS feeds.
Google+ is supposed to be real names, one account per person, but there are numerous pseudonymous accounts on the platform; but at least it's very easy to set up only the bare minimum of publicly accessible info and then communicate entirely within circles as opposed to public. They promise not to sell your info to anyone else... but then as they own the biggest ad platforms on the 'net, they don't really need to - and it's probably safe to assume everything you write is being indexed and stored not just on the servers running the social network, but extracts also end up on their ad server computers...
It's also likely the lot of 'em harvest your IP address, browser settings and operating system, so even if you're not logged in they can to a certain extent track where you've been elsewhere on the 'net...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
I will admit
I do have facebook and I think I have a grand total of one person from here on it. For the most part I barely do anything on it, other the keeps tabs on my family. But after a while it can get old with the friends and family constantly sending you think like "share or like this in one second or God shall club a baby seal." And other types of cyber chain letters. In normal life I try to stay out of two tapes of arguments. Religion and politics. People rarely change their thoughts on things and Facebook seems to be where everyone posts their opinions about it even if it has been proven wrong. I have lost count how many times I answered Tue same post about Obama not celebrating D-Day this year and I think 3 of them were from the same person
Also on a personal note, the kids and that text sleek is so bad there. My 13 year old nephew told me he does it because he is in a hurry. Not sure why. So I asked him how is it to be a world famous cardiologist and have to rush back and forth across the country saving lives. He didn't get my joke. So I told him rush off to play Xbox is not important and spelling things like l8r is not later. It actually says "I don't respect you enough to for a real sentence with real English words so I will treat you as a code breaker in wartime and you have to think for me." Yes, I do hate text speach with a passion. Like foam at the mouth hate.
As for the original message, sorry you are having grief. Sometimes the internet can be a pain. I know some of that junk on facebook is on automatic so that could be an issue too
Reading through
the previous comments (as well as the blogpost itself), I found myself nodding at many of the points that were raised...
I'm not a non-facebooker, I'm an EX facebooker. I haven't even remotely regretted quitting.
also non-facebooker
I also don't use the service. I've heard about an article that says people that don't use the service are psychopaths (ha ha ha... yeah right). If that is the way they are perceived for NOT having an account, then I am guilty as charged. I believe in NOT sharing personal information with anyone over the internet that you do not know. I believe the only people I shared my e-mail address with are those who agreed to try to edit my stories. I never had a facebook account and if anyone saw me on there, then it's either A: created without my consent by a college or B: a fake account. I have also heard you cannot do anything about the info you already shared on there with an old account.
Stocks
I can add don't buy thier stock as it keeps going down, my son and I where save because I P O was so high we waited for the investors to take thier chunk then it kept going down so we waited good thing we did.
Thanks Gwen for that info -- Hugs everybody - RICHIE2
Facebook, et al
I closed my facebook accounts because I was tired of everything that has been mentioned, plus the fact that I just never used them. I know this nefarious company keeps everything they know about you, but with all the 'bots on the net, just about everything about you is already in some database or other, so the fact the social media has lots of information about you is really no huge concern. Still, I could care less that you and your youngest son are at the hospital ER, getting his required shots for school, or that you just made an outlandishly high score on some stupid game that requires almost no intelligence to play, and then wants you to get others involved in the game so you can advance.
Twitter? I have never had a twitter account, but from what I have seen in quotes in assorted printed on paper media , it seems to me to be little more than a medium to express your opinion.I don't care what your opinion on some matter is - we all have opinions, and if I want yours, I will ask. And you better be able to back up your opinions with facts, otherwise your opinion is just another uninformed, poorly thought out if thought out at all, invalid opinion, because that is what it is. You saw it somewhere, liked it, and adopted it, just like that. No questions asked, no thought given, you just adopted it.
I will rely on the time proven methods of communication, the best of which is still face to face, and always will be, along with handwritten letters with real script, a telephone call from the home phone. FTF communication is almost a thing of the past what with more 'modern, technological' means of communication... People are so accustomed to this type of communication that many people can not open up and talk face to face anymore. Facebook, Twitter, and other social media promote it, perhaps not intentionally, but it is true none the less, just because they want you on THEIR network. Apparently being on THEIR network is more import to them and those who use them than true social networking, not the virtual social networking they are providing.
I have been on my soapbox long enough, and indeed have deleted a lot of what I typed in, as when I reread it, it seemed more like an invalid opinion than a fact filled opinion.
Don't let someone else talk you out of your dreams. How can we have dreams come true, if we have no dreams?
Katrina Gayle "Stormy" Storm
I'm on facebook
Although its mostly to play Marvel Avengers Alliance. I've had very little problem with spam, and no hostle reactions from any sourse.
A warning about Facebook
Like any internet system, it can be abused and hacked. Why I NEVER give any important info
May Your Light Forever Shine
Short and to the point...
... and very true.
If you don't want the whole world to know about it, don't post it on any social media. In fact, think twice before sending it as a private email.
I use facebook to keep in touch with family and friends. I don't give away any deep, dark secrets. Of course, there isn't a whole lot in my life that I am ashamed of. There are some things that people simply won't understand -- even if I try to take the time to explain it. Oh well...
The truth is, they make their money by advertising. I accept that. It's better than being billed for the service.
Most of the ads are at least of some interest to me. That space to the right is full of ads about photography, scuba diving, canoing, and other activities that I like. How do they know what I like? Well duh! It's posted on my profile.
I don't get ads about the latest movies or television shows because I put on my profile that I'm not interest in that stuff.
I'm not a huge fan of advertising, but at least I'm not getting ads about miller beer, tampons, or professional sports.
I recall seeing want ads looking for professionals who can do data mining. It's all connected, folks. Facebook doesn't have my physical address, but DeviantArts does. Fortunately, DeviantArts doesn't release that information. I know that if I give my physical address to any company that does release that info, it'll be grabbed up by the people who do data mining, and I'll get more unsolicited junk mail at home.
Oh... a good tip for signing up for things:
Create several gmail addresses and use them for the services that require a valid email address. That way, you won't get spam sent to your main email address if one of those services has a security failure or gives away its address list.