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Hmm, a clear history feature that does nothing of the sort. Sounds like Facebook! The product manager in charge said: “people were able to mentally connect tha

Hmm, a clear history feature that does nothing of the sort. Sounds like Facebook! The product manager in charge said: “people were able to mentally connect that with how their browser controls work, where they can clear their history. We clearly state that … the information isn’t connected to your account.” [0] So, they deliberately designed it to make people think it works like a browser's clear history feature (which does delete everything), but instead, it 'disconnects' the data (but doesn't delete anything). Such a bunch of weasels. [0] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/aug/20/facebook-launches-clear-history-tool-but-it-wont-delete-anything https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/aug/20/facebook-...

gaogao 7y ago
That's why it's not called clear history anymore...
- flattone 7y ago
  propose the original comment was more about the behavior of Facebook being mechanized both at interface and internal product culture to be anti traditional Western/free thinking human from the bleeding edge of our ever emerging attention capital economy.
yumraj 7y ago
> Such a bunch of weasels I think it's more like a very big weasel and his cult-followers.
lunchables 7y ago
Anyone still using Facebook at this point is insane or has some direct financial motivation to continue using it. I don't know what else people need to see to stop using it.
- edgarvaldes 7y ago
  A better alternative to groups and planning for the non technical user? I don't use Facebook as much, but I see the appeal.
  - nateconq 7y ago
    I've found Meetup.com beneficial. It isn't free for group creators but I'm OK with that since it is a lot simpler than creating a Facebook account, pouring through all the privacy and security settings, turning off as many notifications as possible, etc.
- agdpf 7y ago
  Or they simply don't care about Facebook building a profile of them to show them ads because they are happy with the value they get from Facebook.
  - lunchables 7y ago
    I think you overestimate how engaged and educated the average american is on what facebook does, and I say this as an american. I don't think most people made a conscious evaluation of the pros and cons of Facebook and the trade off between privacy and value. The vast majority don't know or care. I think the large number of people you see leaving Facebook are people who are more informed.
- joshmarlow 7y ago
  As near as I can tell, I think most people: 1) are not particularly well-informed about issues around Facebook 2) aren't willing to go through the effort to be well-informed So the real problem we need to face as a society - Facebook is only one instance of it - is how to get more people to take an interest in the important issues around them? How do we make people into competent citizens?
  - Nextgrid 7y ago
    Traditionally when we have a situation where the masses don’t have the means, equipment or knowledge to make sure for themselves, the law & regulation steps in. This is why you can buy food at a supermarket and be reasonably certain that it’s not toxic without needing biology & chemistry degrees and an expensive lab to analyse the food.
- cm2012 7y ago
  55% of the Americans use FB every single day of their lives.
  - lunchables 7y ago
    Nearly 50% of the country voted for Donald Trump, too. I don't know what you think that suggests.
- q_queue 7y ago
  As much as the more concerned of us cringe when we hear it, "Why should I care, I have nothing to hide?" is going to be the predominant answer to that question from the majority of facebook users. And morals and ethics aside, they have a point - very few facebook users have experienced a direct, tangible, personal harm as a result of facebook's surveillance of them. The objections are always on the basis of what should be done, what could happen, and the (decreasingly) abstract harm it brings to society as a whole. Grandma just wants to see pictures of the grandkids and hasn't had a police visit or her passport cancelled because of something she's said online yet, and she probably thinks those concerns are nebulous enough to not worry about, or scoffs at them as crazy conspiracy theory. Maybe the right thing to do is try to convince her it's worth worrying that her grandkids might live in a dystopian surveillance society where a careless word can cost you your social status and career?
- kspacewalk2 7y ago
  I use it to keep in touch with distant family and friends, and for the messenger, and find your assertion hilarious. Even if the twelve Firefox extensions blocking and sandboxing the hell out of it will somehow fail, so what? A toaster ad will keep following me around for weeks on end, and won't be seen because of ad blocking? Or maybe the very valuable insight that I subscribe and sometimes like my city hall and my local cafe's Facebook page will be used to target me with fascist advertising and bring down our democracy? Give me a break. It's a perfectly acceptable compromise for the marginal convenience of having a bunch of contracts in one place.
yalogin 7y ago
Great point. I did find the selection of words odd. They said "will not be connected to your account" and not "deleted". I wonder if it's because they have no way to stop the collection of such data as any of my connections could be pushing that data to facebook.
downandout 7y ago
And? Ads will no longer be targeted to that user with this information. You've identified a distinction without a difference.

gaogao 7y ago

That's why it's not called clear history anymore...

flattone 7y ago
propose the original comment was more about the behavior of Facebook being mechanized both at interface and internal product culture to be anti traditional Western/free thinking human from the bleeding edge of our ever emerging attention capital economy.

yumraj 7y ago

> Such a bunch of weasels I think it's more like a very big weasel and his cult-followers.

lunchables 7y ago

Anyone still using Facebook at this point is insane or has some direct financial motivation to continue using it. I don't know what else people need to see to stop using it.

edgarvaldes 7y ago
A better alternative to groups and planning for the non technical user? I don't use Facebook as much, but I see the appeal.
- nateconq 7y ago
  I've found Meetup.com beneficial. It isn't free for group creators but I'm OK with that since it is a lot simpler than creating a Facebook account, pouring through all the privacy and security settings, turning off as many notifications as possible, etc.
agdpf 7y ago
Or they simply don't care about Facebook building a profile of them to show them ads because they are happy with the value they get from Facebook.
- lunchables 7y ago
  I think you overestimate how engaged and educated the average american is on what facebook does, and I say this as an american. I don't think most people made a conscious evaluation of the pros and cons of Facebook and the trade off between privacy and value. The vast majority don't know or care. I think the large number of people you see leaving Facebook are people who are more informed.
joshmarlow 7y ago
As near as I can tell, I think most people: 1) are not particularly well-informed about issues around Facebook 2) aren't willing to go through the effort to be well-informed So the real problem we need to face as a society - Facebook is only one instance of it - is how to get more people to take an interest in the important issues around them? How do we make people into competent citizens?
- Nextgrid 7y ago
  Traditionally when we have a situation where the masses don’t have the means, equipment or knowledge to make sure for themselves, the law & regulation steps in. This is why you can buy food at a supermarket and be reasonably certain that it’s not toxic without needing biology & chemistry degrees and an expensive lab to analyse the food.
cm2012 7y ago
55% of the Americans use FB every single day of their lives.
- lunchables 7y ago
  Nearly 50% of the country voted for Donald Trump, too. I don't know what you think that suggests.
q_queue 7y ago
As much as the more concerned of us cringe when we hear it, "Why should I care, I have nothing to hide?" is going to be the predominant answer to that question from the majority of facebook users. And morals and ethics aside, they have a point - very few facebook users have experienced a direct, tangible, personal harm as a result of facebook's surveillance of them. The objections are always on the basis of what should be done, what could happen, and the (decreasingly) abstract harm it brings to society as a whole. Grandma just wants to see pictures of the grandkids and hasn't had a police visit or her passport cancelled because of something she's said online yet, and she probably thinks those concerns are nebulous enough to not worry about, or scoffs at them as crazy conspiracy theory. Maybe the right thing to do is try to convince her it's worth worrying that her grandkids might live in a dystopian surveillance society where a careless word can cost you your social status and career?
kspacewalk2 7y ago
I use it to keep in touch with distant family and friends, and for the messenger, and find your assertion hilarious. Even if the twelve Firefox extensions blocking and sandboxing the hell out of it will somehow fail, so what? A toaster ad will keep following me around for weeks on end, and won't be seen because of ad blocking? Or maybe the very valuable insight that I subscribe and sometimes like my city hall and my local cafe's Facebook page will be used to target me with fascist advertising and bring down our democracy? Give me a break. It's a perfectly acceptable compromise for the marginal convenience of having a bunch of contracts in one place.

yalogin 7y ago

Great point. I did find the selection of words odd. They said "will not be connected to your account" and not "deleted". I wonder if it's because they have no way to stop the collection of such data as any of my connections could be pushing that data to facebook.

downandout 7y ago

And? Ads will no longer be targeted to that user with this information. You've identified a distinction without a difference.