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If every single piece of data Facebook has was irreversible to destroyed to the point they cannot recover, there might be a bit of chaos, some businesses would

If every single piece of data Facebook has was irreversible to destroyed to the point they cannot recover, there might be a bit of chaos, some businesses would suffer greatly, and some people might be completely lost and isolated without it, and yet with all that, society would be in a better shape almost instantly. Facebook is a cancer to civil discourse (well and Twitter) and to the idea that the best idea should win, not just the loudest idea.

nonbirithm 5y ago
The problem is that if Facebook were to go away entirely today, people would still want another Facebook. It would be difficult if not impossible to change those billions of people's wants by merely trying to convince them by argument. They've already seen that humanity is capable enough to create Facebook once, they've become used to what Facebook offers them, and they aren't going to accept reverting to a previous stage of technological progress. That will create a market that other players will quickly be pressed to fill, and without regulation there will be nothing preventing one them from becoming another Facebook, by virtue of Facebook being a product that a significant portion of the entire population of Earth uses. Is it possible to decouple Facebook the technology from Facebook the corporation? In the past, there hasn't been a corporation of this size in existence. Where would the finances come from to operate a service on a scale of billions of users, if they're not going to come from dark patterns?
- mostertoaster 5y ago
  That’s a good point. Facebook can go away, but Facebook only exists because we want it. Or do we want it because it exists. It probably is a negative feedback loop. Regulating might help, but we’re not going to regulate don’t get in polarizing stupid internet arguments, so the root cause wouldn’t even be fixed by that. Regulating might even make things worse, because regulations, while often made with good intentions, do not guarantee good outcomes (as Thomas Sowell has repeated often), and then there are a huge amount of regulations that essentially close off competitors from entering into the market.

nonbirithm 5y ago

The problem is that if Facebook were to go away entirely today, people would still want another Facebook. It would be difficult if not impossible to change those billions of people's wants by merely trying to convince them by argument. They've already seen that humanity is capable enough to create Facebook once, they've become used to what Facebook offers them, and they aren't going to accept reverting to a previous stage of technological progress. That will create a market that other players will quickly be pressed to fill, and without regulation there will be nothing preventing one them from becoming another Facebook, by virtue of Facebook being a product that a significant portion of the entire population of Earth uses. Is it possible to decouple Facebook the technology from Facebook the corporation? In the past, there hasn't been a corporation of this size in existence. Where would the finances come from to operate a service on a scale of billions of users, if they're not going to come from dark patterns?

mostertoaster 5y ago
That’s a good point. Facebook can go away, but Facebook only exists because we want it. Or do we want it because it exists. It probably is a negative feedback loop. Regulating might help, but we’re not going to regulate don’t get in polarizing stupid internet arguments, so the root cause wouldn’t even be fixed by that. Regulating might even make things worse, because regulations, while often made with good intentions, do not guarantee good outcomes (as Thomas Sowell has repeated often), and then there are a huge amount of regulations that essentially close off competitors from entering into the market.