You and JoshTriplett are arguing different (and non-contradictory) points. You are saying that "the experience of using Facebook is pleasant and worthwhile for

You and JoshTriplett are arguing different (and non-contradictory) points. You are saying that "the experience of using Facebook is pleasant and worthwhile for me, after taking some steps to alter my experience of it". They are saying "Facebook is a net-bad for society and we would all be better off if it didn't exist". These can both be simultaneously true. Overall-bad things can be pleasant for some users some of the time. --- > The privacy issues don't actually bother me much[...]I'll just run uBlock Origin[...] That's nice (and I, too, have my own ways for mitigating some of the worst bits of Facebook), but the very fact that you are having to take steps to "protect yourself" from Facebook demonstrates that it is a flawed platform. The vast majority of users are either going to be unaware of those issues, or unable to mitigate them. This is (and I want to emphasise this, because it runs contrary to a common attitude on HN) *not their fault*. It is not reasonable to expect the average computer user to know how to install extensions, nor which ones are important and trustworthy. It would be a wonderful world if they did, but . The fact that we technically-minded folks _can_ mitigate the effects of Facebook's undesirable behaviour for ourselves, does not excuse that behaviour. (I also think it's a little unimaginative to think that Facebook's tracking is _only_ used to serve ads, and that you will always be able to mitigate all impacts of that tracking - but that's veering into speculation) > It doesn't matter to me if they're on the same platform as me if I don't see it. It should do. The harm of extremizing communication is not (only) to the people that see the communication - it is in the outcome of that positive feedback experience. The end result of "communication that you don't see" is "real-world actions that you do see". Would you similarly say "It doesn't matter to me if the KKK are gathering to plan lynchings, so long as they hold their meetings behind closed doors and hand out their flyers on streets I don't frequent"? Facebook is the largest and most accessible social platform in the world. There _is_ a difference between "Hate groups can collaborate and gather members on Facebook" and "etc. etc. on Parler/Gab", because the former allows them _much_ greater access to fence-sitters, the undecided, the less-politically-aware, and so on. Everyone and their aunt is on Facebook, but (mostly) only those who already hold a particular ideology find themselves on the alternative sites. If hate-groups can only recruit from among those who already agree with their credo, they're going to find it harder to grow - which is a good thing.