7 ms·

This is not a very smart positioning for fb. They decided to play an active role in this dispute and take the side of the oppressing state. We don't know the w

This is not a very smart positioning for fb. They decided to play an active role in this dispute and take the side of the oppressing state. We don't know the whole story, the chinese billionaire could also have a hidden agenda and try to get rid of political adversaries by inventing corruption stories and spreading fake news. So taking his side wouldn't have been wise either. Facebook should've thought "not my circus, not my monkey" and ignore all of this, letting them solve their issues using the legal system. Why would anyone use facebook now to communicate anything more than some cheap stories and cute cat photos?

usaphp 9y ago
> Why would anyone use facebook now to communicate anything more than some cheap stories and cute cat photos? Did anyone ever use Facebook for more serious stuff anyway?
- rqs 9y ago
  Pretending to be happy in front of friends? That's some serious stuff for a lots of people. LOL
- hutattedonmyarm 9y ago
  There are plenty of (mainly) bars/restaurants in my area with their facebook page as only online presence. Some have a Twitter and/or Instagram account too, but you get the point
- paulie_a 9y ago
  Sadly yes. A lot of people communicate exclusively through FB. I have been recently confronted several times recently for not noticing a post. It's weird
- opportune 9y ago
  You know how when you go to a website, even one you'd never share, you'll get a prompt to like/share the page or its contents on Facebook? Every time that Facebook widget gets loaded, Facebook receives information about your browser/operating system/etc. that it uses to create a fingerprint that it checks against your previous history. You'll also get a cookie (which you essentially have to opt-out of) to better help Facebook track your browsing without needing the fingerprint. So many websites put up that little like button that Facebook's reach extends well beyond what users upload directly to their website. Facebook's strength is that is can combine your demographic data with your network AND your internet habits. Facebook, in countries where it's not blocked, will even build profiles on people that have not signed up for facebook directly, for example if your friend uploads a photo of the two of you with your name. And Facebook advertises to these people as well. So I think whatever isn't "more serious" that you do on Facebook is probably more serious than you think. You either need to be hyper vigilant about JS/cookies or you need to not use the internet at all to be able to divorce your profile and all of its information from the rest of the information Facebook has from you browsing the web.
- rospaya 9y ago
  Facebook is a huge ecosystem of apps, games, marketing, even direct productivity tools like their Workplace - https://www.facebook.com/workplace https://www.facebook.com/workplace.
- heedlessly2 9y ago
  >Did anyone ever use Facebook for more serious stuff anyway? i've noticed that people use Snapchat for the fun "throwaway" day-to-day stuff. People are posting less frequently on Facebook now. It's not used for those "official big life events", such as "accepted to dream grad school", "got an amazing job offer", or "just got engaged".
tehlike 9y ago
facebook is a business, and as such, they're doing what they think is the right for the business, long term.
- bad_user 9y ago
  That’s a truism, boring to hear every time we discuss actions of companies, as if they have a carte blanche to do whatever they want. It’s also clearly irrelevant. We aren’t discussing what’s legal, but about what’s good for business, or about what’s moral. If I think facebook’s actions are immoral, I couldn’t give a fuck about Facebook’s internal priorities, shareholders or whatever.
  - paulie_a 9y ago
    I agree with you but also I am more curious of the motivation for even doing anything. If anything it seems safer and easier to do nothing instead of taking action.
    - bad_user 9y ago
      This wouldn't be the first time that Facebook censors content based on bullshit reasons. For example at one point they censored the famous "napalm girl" picture, saying that it's "difficult to create a distinction" between that one and pictures of nude children [1]. Well, then don't freaking censor pictures of nude children, it shouldn't be Facebook's job to police content, especially in the position that they are in. When it comes to censoring content, in most cases censorship is wrong. The only instances in which I tolerate censorship is hate speech, but even then I don't want Facebook to decide what is or isn't hate speech. Based on my experience of reporting posts and comments with textbook hate speech, I can tell you they are doing a pretty bad job. [1] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-accused-abusing-power-napalm-girl-vietnam-war-image-a7233431.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/mark-zuckerberg-fac...
      - jstanley 9y ago
        Why is it OK to censor "hate speech"?

usaphp 9y ago

> Why would anyone use facebook now to communicate anything more than some cheap stories and cute cat photos? Did anyone ever use Facebook for more serious stuff anyway?

rqs 9y ago
Pretending to be happy in front of friends? That's some serious stuff for a lots of people. LOL
hutattedonmyarm 9y ago
There are plenty of (mainly) bars/restaurants in my area with their facebook page as only online presence. Some have a Twitter and/or Instagram account too, but you get the point
paulie_a 9y ago
Sadly yes. A lot of people communicate exclusively through FB. I have been recently confronted several times recently for not noticing a post. It's weird
opportune 9y ago
You know how when you go to a website, even one you'd never share, you'll get a prompt to like/share the page or its contents on Facebook? Every time that Facebook widget gets loaded, Facebook receives information about your browser/operating system/etc. that it uses to create a fingerprint that it checks against your previous history. You'll also get a cookie (which you essentially have to opt-out of) to better help Facebook track your browsing without needing the fingerprint. So many websites put up that little like button that Facebook's reach extends well beyond what users upload directly to their website. Facebook's strength is that is can combine your demographic data with your network AND your internet habits. Facebook, in countries where it's not blocked, will even build profiles on people that have not signed up for facebook directly, for example if your friend uploads a photo of the two of you with your name. And Facebook advertises to these people as well. So I think whatever isn't "more serious" that you do on Facebook is probably more serious than you think. You either need to be hyper vigilant about JS/cookies or you need to not use the internet at all to be able to divorce your profile and all of its information from the rest of the information Facebook has from you browsing the web.
rospaya 9y ago
Facebook is a huge ecosystem of apps, games, marketing, even direct productivity tools like their Workplace - https://www.facebook.com/workplace https://www.facebook.com/workplace.
heedlessly2 9y ago
>Did anyone ever use Facebook for more serious stuff anyway? i've noticed that people use Snapchat for the fun "throwaway" day-to-day stuff. People are posting less frequently on Facebook now. It's not used for those "official big life events", such as "accepted to dream grad school", "got an amazing job offer", or "just got engaged".

tehlike 9y ago

facebook is a business, and as such, they're doing what they think is the right for the business, long term.

bad_user 9y ago
That’s a truism, boring to hear every time we discuss actions of companies, as if they have a carte blanche to do whatever they want. It’s also clearly irrelevant. We aren’t discussing what’s legal, but about what’s good for business, or about what’s moral. If I think facebook’s actions are immoral, I couldn’t give a fuck about Facebook’s internal priorities, shareholders or whatever.
- paulie_a 9y ago
  I agree with you but also I am more curious of the motivation for even doing anything. If anything it seems safer and easier to do nothing instead of taking action.
  - bad_user 9y ago
    This wouldn't be the first time that Facebook censors content based on bullshit reasons. For example at one point they censored the famous "napalm girl" picture, saying that it's "difficult to create a distinction" between that one and pictures of nude children [1]. Well, then don't freaking censor pictures of nude children, it shouldn't be Facebook's job to police content, especially in the position that they are in. When it comes to censoring content, in most cases censorship is wrong. The only instances in which I tolerate censorship is hate speech, but even then I don't want Facebook to decide what is or isn't hate speech. Based on my experience of reporting posts and comments with textbook hate speech, I can tell you they are doing a pretty bad job. [1] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-accused-abusing-power-napalm-girl-vietnam-war-image-a7233431.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/mark-zuckerberg-fac...
    - jstanley 9y ago
      Why is it OK to censor "hate speech"?