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If Facebook delivered every single piece of content to every single recipient, the way the USPS does, then maybe the analogy would hold. But they don't. They us
by snowwrestler 9y ago
If Facebook delivered every single piece of content to every single recipient, the way the USPS does, then maybe the analogy would hold. But they don't. They use algorithms to determine what to show and what to hide, and IMO they are responsible for that.
Imagine if the U.S. Postal Service could keep track of which pieces of mail get opened or read, and then they decided to only deliver the mail that made people the most angry. Sound like a good postal service?
- aylmao 9y agoUSPS has rules about what can and cannot be sent, and it seems like they can open your mail if they suspect it contains something illegal [1]. [1]: https://gotogreatpanes.com/blog/2014/02/03/can-usps-open-my-mail/ https://gotogreatpanes.com/blog/2014/02/03/can-usps-open-my-...
- jeffdavis 9y agoThat seems pretty different from what Facebook is doing. Facebook is pretty obviously curating content, but USPS is not.
- ntsplnkv2 9y agoThat's because people can ship dangerous things in the mail. The post office isn't controlling information sent in the mail. There's a big difference between opening something up (many times needing a warrant, as your link says) because it may contain a weapon or biological agent or invasive seeds of a plant species, vs controlling what information is passed or not.