Be Excellent To Each Other

Not sure how many of you lot still bother with Facebook, but I still use it to keep in touch with some chums. However in the last month or so there has been an update (of which there is no record on the Facebook blog, having just checked), that throws things up in your timeline that you don't necessarily want. Those who still use Facebook will know what I'm talking about, but for the benefit of those who don't use it, I'll try to explain what happens now.

Basically, I've "hidden" a good portion of the mouthbreathers from school who are on my friends list. Unfriending them would only result in animosity I guess, and besides, it's not that I hate them, it's just that I don't want to see 20 status updates a day about them collecting their giro or whatever. Anyway, after hiding a significant portion of my friends, my timeline became a rather nice, sporadically updated feed of what the friends I really care about are doing. That is, until about a month ago when this update came in.

Now things appear in my timeline that my friends have commented on or "liked", even if those items are on the walls of people I'm not friends with. For example, if my mate "likes" a "funny" photo that his mate posted, the photo will appear in my feed with "Joe liked this photo on So-and-So's wall". Also, if So-and-So posts on Joe's wall, for example, "alright mate, how's it going?", I get an update in my timeline saying "So-and-So posted on Joe's wall and said 'alright mate, how's it going?'".

Can I turn this shit off?! Is anyone else perplexed at how this came about? It also has some pretty serious privacy implications. For example yesterday I was informed of someone I don't even know's weight-loss program after one of my friends "liked" her photo of her working out at the gym. This was thrown up in my newsfeed, and gave me unrestricted access to this person's "Weight-loss 2012" photo album. Granted, that person obviously doesn't have her account locked-down in the way that a smart person would, and if I'd wanted to, I could've found her manually and had a look at her photos if I had a mind to, but the point is, Facebook is throwing this stuff up in my timeline without me even asking.

Thoughts anyone?

You can unsubscribe from all their updates. If you look on their profile page, it'll be there somewhere - I'm at work so I can't (well, I can, but I shouldn't) check where exactly.

Yeah I know that, but then I wouldn't get anything from them. That's what I've already done with most of my "friends". The problem is, I'm now getting detailed information on everything the friends I want to see are doing. I still want to see their status updates and photos they upload, etc, but I don't want to be prompted when they interact with people I don't even know! This has only started happening in the past month.

Use email and your mobile phone.

Ah, ok. You can set it to only receive important updates from your friends, but again, that'd just be on a friend by friend basis I think.

Hmmm.

When I adopted timeline I went through and checked all settings to make sure nothing of interest appears that wasnt' previously restricted. I have a few people who are more acquaintances on a restricted list that shows them very little of my profile. For people I really didn't give a shit about though, I'd simply remove them, and fuck whatever offense they might take to that.

Dear Craster,

I don't care what articles my facebook friends have read. Stop telling me.

Love,
DavPaz.

WTB: do what I did; delete your account, then two years later go back and set it up again how you would have done from the beginning HAD YOU JUST KNOWN WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN FOR THE LOVE OF GOD ALMIGHTY

Sorry, not read all the above, or most of it to be fair, as I am just about to finish my lunch.

But there is an article on Life hacker in relation to the shitty timeline thing which may be of some use to someone.

http://lifehacker.com/5885858/how-to-get-rid-of-facebook-timeline-bring-back-a-simpler-profile-view

I quite like timeline. Could just be because I like making honking great banners though.

This is the most pointless message I see on Facebook. Someone posted something you can’t see, but we wanted you to know you can’t see it, rather than making your timeline up of things you *can* see.

Or it was deleted.

Yeah, I meant that as part of them showing you something you can’t see, though (for whatever reason: deletion, sharing restrictions, etc). Why put that message up at all? Just hide that space entirely. U’is just a weird waste of space.

I agree - that's been mildly irritating me, as I seem to be seeing an increasing number of those. Maybe all our friends-of-friends have blocked us?

Here’s hoping!

I deleted my Facebook account early this year. I haven't missed it.

I check it once a week. I’m glad I didn’t delete it as I was added to a group for my old youth theatre recently and I would’ve missed that.

I don’t really use mine, except for its the only contact o have with my best friend who moved abroad when I was nine, first to Saudi Arabia and then to the US. We wrote to each other for years, and then a letter got lost and we *both* moved address at the same time. Otherwise everyone else I mostly keep in touch with elsewhere. It took us so long to find each other that I don’t want to lose her again.

I'm a hugely anti-social grumpy bastard though. So my brief social media bloom was a deviation from the norm

I only use Facebook for my work and that is sparingly.

Funnily enough though, I see these posts that Mimi highlighted but from my wife. Facebook doesn't seem to want to show me the stuff she posts for some reason?

Mate, I'm sorry.

I miss the events and groups function most, as that's probably the two things it does well. WhatsApp* is fine once you're in the circle, but not good for casual browsing. My board game group straddles both, and people have to remember to mention something important on the other if it's mentioned on one. Also, I'm told the local public town group is a hilarious cesspool of pettiness which I sometimes feel I'm missing out on.

*yes, I know who owns them but it's not the same

The only reason I keep Facebook is because my local jogging group organises weekend runs on it and I'd miss them otherwise. Have removed facebook and messenger from my phone though.

Don't know why I bothered mind you, as I still use whatsapp and instagram constantly.

There are some people I've met on my travels who my only contact with was Facebook (the odd mutual "like" on photos or status updates; occasional comments/discussions). Not being on it anymore means that link has gone, which is a bit of shame as were our paths to cross again I'm sure we'd get on but it wasn't really a friendship as such.

I use Facebook less than I used to and it's mainly to keep in contact with those people I don't have on other platforms really. Also, I figure that if I post something on there occasionally, my Mum will see that I'm ok and she doesn't need to worry

I also use it to post stuff on the work and ConsoleMAD FB Page accounts and I don't know if you can do that without having a personal profile active.. never checked.

I don't believe you can. That's why I've got a page but now I know you've got one, I'll have to follow you... If that's what you do on Facebook? Or do I need to like you?!?

You just need to 'like' the page. Any updates from pages you've liked then show in your news feed - it's how I notify my customers of website updates (in addition to MailChimp and Twitter) and how I see your RTVision posts in my feed.