[kwlug-disc] Quit Facebook Day..

[R. Brent Clements]

Facebook is only valuable to me if the people I want to connect with
are on it. Facebook is where everyone is. I still have a Livejournal
account and I still use it (for stuff I want to limit readership to a
small group that don't really know me well, and only a few that I know
really well)

People keep on complaining about Facebook and their privacy poliicy. I
don't put anything on Facebook that I don't want public. Anybody who
thinks there is any expectation of privacy in a public forum really
needs to give their head a shake.

If you type something in on Facebook, you are giving them an
unrevokable right to use your creation at their discretion. So don't
publish anything you don't want distributed.

And finally, the attitude of entitlement that a lot of Facebook users
seem to have is simply annoying. The creators of Facebook cannot be
expected to be beneavolant cogs in the socialist machine who have
devoted their lively-hood to the creation of a happy, non-capitalist
utopia with absolutely no regard for personal gain. Facebook exists so
that it's creators can make a living. They sell a product. That
product is targetted ad placement based on the analysis of reader
stats freely volunteered. There are far more invasive entities than
that in existance.

It is the reason that Microsoft created Myspace. It is the reason
every social media app exists.

And if one thinks that their own personal info is so much more
critical than the rest of us that it needs to be treated like a
national secret, then just don't share it

Ok, maybe more than 2 cents worth

On 5/31/10, unsolicited <unsolicited at swiz.ca> wrote:
> According to urban legend (as I can't think of a better reference),
> and it seems to have been born out most of the time ...
>
> If you are inclined to run open source, you are probably more inclined
> to be respectful in FOSS consistent manners.
>
> [On the other hand ... ssl is intended to make things impenetrable.
> Perhaps not the FOSS consistency desired in this instance? But for
> sure, you can look at the source!]
>
> -----
>
> Let me ask you this ... what itch is it that Facebook scratches for
> you? That might provide some direction.
>
> Part of why I ask is - apparently a frequently asked question is "Why
> aren't you doing this on Facebok?", usually in relation to something
> that makes absolutely no sense to do on facebook. (I most certainly am
> not saying this is true for you Oksana.)
>
> I guess what I'm saying is, if someone asks me "What is facebook?", I
> really don't know how to answer. It's this 'thing', out 'there', it
> has and does 'stuff.'
>
> So, what is Facebook? (To you?)
>
>
> Oksana Goertzen wrote, On 05/31/2010 1:15 PM:
>> I guess I made the assumption that an open source option would be
>> more careful with personal data.
>>
>> I was wondering if anyone found a good alternative that they liked
>> that had better privacy policies.  I could then list on my Facebook
>> page.. follow me to ....  ;)
>>
>> On Mon, May 31, 2010 at 1:12 PM, Khalid Baheyeldin <kb at 2bits.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On Mon, May 31, 2010 at 12:59 PM, Oksana Goertzen
>>> <ogoertzen at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> So what are the alternatives to Facebook?
>>>> What do other people like? Anyone using an open source alternative?
>>>>
>>> First, here is the link to their site http://www.quitfacebookday.com/
>>>
>>> They mention alternatives, but not the ones that I list later.
>>>
>>> The problem is not an open source alternative or closed source.
>>> The issue is that they have your data, and not that they close their
>>> source. And they accumulate the data and use it in ways that are
>>> "too creative" to be comfort.
>>>
>>> The problem is where else are all your "friends" are?
>>>
>>> Facebook has been the only way that I reconnected with people from
>>> grade school (that is quite a few decades ago). So, it has the critical
>>> mass that keeps it going.
>>>
>>> Since you asked about alternatives, I will mention them here
>>>
>>> First, there is the Salmon Protocol which makes for unifying conversation
>>> on various sites/services.
>>> http://www.salmon-protocol.org/
>>> This means applications that support that protocol will be able to sync
>>> with each other no matter what these applications are.
>>>
>>> Then you have Appleseed, which is an Open Source Facebook wannabe
>>> http://opensource.appleseedproject.org/
>>>
>>> And then there is Diaspora, which is vaporware at this stage, though
>>> people gave them money to work on it.
>>>
>>> http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/196017994/diaspora-the-personally-controlled-do-it-all-distr
>>> http://www.joindiaspora.com/
>>>
>>> Again, the issue is that of privacy, not of closed source, and that they
>>> have critical mass.
>
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