The Politics and People Behind Facebook...

[DudeAsInCool]

In his article "With friends like these ...", UK Guardian writer Tom Hodgkinson condemns the social network... and he has a few good reasons - check out their policies in the next post:

"I despise Facebook. This enormously successful American business describes itself as "a social utility that connects you with the people around you". But hang on. Why on God's earth would I need a computer to connect with the people around me? Why should my relationships be mediated through the imagination of a bunch of supergeeks in California? What was wrong with the pub?

And does Facebook really connect people? Doesn't it rather disconnect us, since instead of doing something enjoyable such as talking and eating and dancing and drinking with my friends, I am merely sending them little ungrammatical notes and amusing photos in cyberspace, while chained to my desk? A friend of mine recently told me that he had spent a Saturday night at home alone on Facebook, drinking at his desk. What a gloomy image. Far from connecting us, Facebook actually isolates us at our workstations."

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[DudeAsInCool]

From the UK Guardian article

Facebook's privacy policy

Just for fun, try substituting the words 'Big Brother' whenever you read the word 'Facebook'

1 We will advertise at you

"When you use Facebook, you may set up your personal profile, form relationships, send messages, perform searches and queries, form groups, set up events, add applications, and transmit information through various channels. We collect this information so that we can provide you the service and offer personalised features."

2 You can't delete anything

"When you update information, we usually keep a backup copy of the prior version for a reasonable period of time to enable reversion to the prior version of that information."

3 Anyone can glance at your intimate confessions

"... we cannot and do not guarantee that user content you post on the site will not be viewed by unauthorised persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the site. You understand and acknowledge that, even after removal, copies of user content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other users have copied or stored your user content."

4 Our marketing profile of you will be unbeatable

"Facebook may also collect information about you from other sources, such as newspapers, blogs, instant messaging services, and other users of the Facebook service through the operation of the service (eg, photo tags) in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalised experience."

5 Opting out doesn't mean opting out

"Facebook reserves the right to send you notices about your account even if you opt out of all voluntary email notifications."

6 The CIA may look at the stuff when they feel like it

[method77]

Facebook and similar sites are a good way to send PMs to people and also keep your friends in one place when you live far away. Post something for all your friends to see and all that. That's it. Nothing more.

All these stupid articles are pure shit. We can think of ourselves. Same crap can be said about the telephone but we all need it.

[DudeAsInCool]

Facebook and similar sites are a good way to send PMs to people and also keep your friends in one place when you live far away. Post something for all your friends to see and all that. That's it. Nothing more.

All these stupid articles are pure shit. We can think of ourselves. Same crap can be said about the telephone but we all need it.

True. But...the politics behind facebook are interesting.

[method77]

Well, you have to expect some of that when you post stuff on the interwebs unless you actually own the server. You must be really retard if you already don't that.

We are talking about the policies right?

[DudeAsInCool]

Well, you have to expect some of that when you post stuff on the interwebs unless you actually own the server. You must be really retard if you already don't that.

We are talking about the policies right?

No. We are talking about their political beliefs. Extremely conservative. Some of the founders have ties to the CIA and have Reagan-Thatcher political philosophies. The world they want to create is anti-nature - totally virtual, where everyone knows everything about you. That to me, is scary. Read the article and you will have an entirely different opinion about Faceboook

[method77]

well I don't think highly of them anyway

[DudeAsInCool]

well I don't think highly of them anyway

I've never figured out why people are so excited about that website. Just seems like another place to post info about yourself, and pics, and stuff.

[Umma]

I couldn't be bothered learning how to use the thing... it seemed more complicated than necessary and overloaded with an abundance of annoyingly reinvented gadgetry. I personally think it should be banned for being so irritating.

The politics I know nothing of and I haven't read the article but the lack of ability to delete your information is no worse that not being able to delete your posts on BK... and at times, that's pretty bad

Of course those bad people over at facebook want to steal your soul and empty your bank account... but then who doesn't these days.

Nobody's forced to join...