4 ms·

I find on Facebook these days I often have to use some substitute Unicode characters and obscure out words in pictures if I want my post to be seen by my own fr

by dheera 5y ago

I find on Facebook these days I often have to use some substitute Unicode characters and obscure out words in pictures if I want my post to be seen by my own friends. Even if it's a scientific, reputable piece of content, all it takes is a word like "COVID" or "election" to trigger their censorship system and my post doesn't show up in their newsfeeds. I'm tired of this censorship bullshit where companies play gatekeeper between me and my own friends. Even WeChat in China doesn't censor this much. Almost always if I post something on WeChat my friends see it in their feeds within seconds. But on Facebook, nope. Their algo stands in-between and decides whether or not it should be censored from each friend.

wwweston 5y ago
> all it takes is a word like "COVID" or "election" to trigger their censorship system I can count multiple posts on my newsfeed in the last 48 hours on both topics, for better and worse. Whatever it takes to have something cross a threshold where it doesn't show in newsfeeds, it's definitely something more than words like "covid" or "election."
- CamperBob2 5y ago
  The fact that the policy is not fully disclosed is, in itself, not OK. And no, I don't care that disclosing specific moderation rules "helps the bad guys." That's another pernicious modern trope, and another example of online services confusing their problem with my problem.
- dheera 5y ago
  For ads, businesses, and groups, that's fine. But for friends, if I mutually added someone as a friend, I want to see 100% of their content by default, with an option to mute their content if they get annoying. I don't want an algorithm deciding this for me. I have COVID experts in my friend circle and I most certainly want to see 100% of their posts, for example.
  - wwweston 5y ago
    I'm speaking of posts that I see from friends. I'm sympathetic to the problems of algorithms mediating what's seen; I'm often annoyed at the ways feeds are put together myself. I'm especially annoyed that the former feature enabling you to look at a feed of specific lists of friends seems to have fallen by the wayside. That's distinct from the issue of whether FB is systematically demoting / hiding posts by keyword, and there's evidence that they're not doing it based off the keywords you specified.
    - bmarquez 5y ago
      I've also noticed some strange behavior based on those types of keywords on Facebook as well, but there is something more than just the keyword itself. I believe there there is some sort of user reputation rating or other algorithmic factor (or maybe even their own friends reporting the content) -- because certain people on my feed get demoted faster than others. Unfortunately unless the algorithm is disclosed to the public (IMO it should) nobody will know with certainty.
  - nitwit005 5y ago
    > But for friends, if I mutually added someone as a friend, I want to see 100% of their content by default, with an option to mute their content if they get annoying. Facebook very deliberately removed the option to get a raw feed, and a lot of people have never forgiven them for it. All sorts of totally mundane stuff you post won't get seen.
  - TameAntelope 5y ago
    Find a service that provides this for you, or build that service yourself. At the very least, you'll discover why no existing service provides this. "I want" doesn't translate directly into value for everyone. Heck, it's fairly rare for you to even know what you actually want. I do grow weary of the constant, "But I want it!" attitude that seems pervasive on the Internet. You aren't entitled to the perfect-for-you feed from Facebook.
    - 8note 5y ago
micromacrofoot 5y ago
its about so much more than simple censorship, they also more heavily push certain information to certain people… this kind of thing can influence where you shop, who you’re friends with, and who you vote for… and most people aren’t even conscious of it… this kind of opaque algorithmic feed should be illegal
8note 5y ago
It doesn't even take that. If Facebook doesn't want you to see somebody's updates, you'll never see anything from them. It really likes to show covid stuff though, since that drives their engagement and advertising bits. You have to click an extra button to see the post in the end, but you're still notified that the post exists
tjr225 5y ago
I haven't used Facebook in over a decade and I still manage to have meaningful friendships. I'm even able to share things with those friends, believe it or not.

by dheera 5y ago

wwweston 5y ago

> all it takes is a word like "COVID" or "election" to trigger their censorship system I can count multiple posts on my newsfeed in the last 48 hours on both topics, for better and worse. Whatever it takes to have something cross a threshold where it doesn't show in newsfeeds, it's definitely something more than words like "covid" or "election."

CamperBob2 5y ago
The fact that the policy is not fully disclosed is, in itself, not OK. And no, I don't care that disclosing specific moderation rules "helps the bad guys." That's another pernicious modern trope, and another example of online services confusing their problem with my problem.
dheera 5y ago
For ads, businesses, and groups, that's fine. But for friends, if I mutually added someone as a friend, I want to see 100% of their content by default, with an option to mute their content if they get annoying. I don't want an algorithm deciding this for me. I have COVID experts in my friend circle and I most certainly want to see 100% of their posts, for example.
- wwweston 5y ago
  I'm speaking of posts that I see from friends. I'm sympathetic to the problems of algorithms mediating what's seen; I'm often annoyed at the ways feeds are put together myself. I'm especially annoyed that the former feature enabling you to look at a feed of specific lists of friends seems to have fallen by the wayside. That's distinct from the issue of whether FB is systematically demoting / hiding posts by keyword, and there's evidence that they're not doing it based off the keywords you specified.
  - bmarquez 5y ago
    I've also noticed some strange behavior based on those types of keywords on Facebook as well, but there is something more than just the keyword itself. I believe there there is some sort of user reputation rating or other algorithmic factor (or maybe even their own friends reporting the content) -- because certain people on my feed get demoted faster than others. Unfortunately unless the algorithm is disclosed to the public (IMO it should) nobody will know with certainty.
- nitwit005 5y ago
  > But for friends, if I mutually added someone as a friend, I want to see 100% of their content by default, with an option to mute their content if they get annoying. Facebook very deliberately removed the option to get a raw feed, and a lot of people have never forgiven them for it. All sorts of totally mundane stuff you post won't get seen.
- TameAntelope 5y ago
  Find a service that provides this for you, or build that service yourself. At the very least, you'll discover why no existing service provides this. "I want" doesn't translate directly into value for everyone. Heck, it's fairly rare for you to even know what you actually want. I do grow weary of the constant, "But I want it!" attitude that seems pervasive on the Internet. You aren't entitled to the perfect-for-you feed from Facebook.
  - 8note 5y ago

micromacrofoot 5y ago

its about so much more than simple censorship, they also more heavily push certain information to certain people… this kind of thing can influence where you shop, who you’re friends with, and who you vote for… and most people aren’t even conscious of it… this kind of opaque algorithmic feed should be illegal

8note 5y ago

It doesn't even take that. If Facebook doesn't want you to see somebody's updates, you'll never see anything from them. It really likes to show covid stuff though, since that drives their engagement and advertising bits. You have to click an extra button to see the post in the end, but you're still notified that the post exists

tjr225 5y ago

I haven't used Facebook in over a decade and I still manage to have meaningful friendships. I'm even able to share things with those friends, believe it or not.