(no subject)

[primsong]

Why am I absolutely not even mildly surprised?

Facebook in Online Privacy Breach (at the online Wall Street Journal)

Many of the most popular applications, or "apps," on the social-networking site Facebook Inc. have been transmitting identifying information—in effect, providing access to people's names and, in some cases, their friends' names—to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found....

It seems LJ's new overlords would love to follow in such footsteps. I imagine enthusiastic plans to start up a goat-themed version of Farmville that will autofill the sidebars, then to convert the icons into 'flair'.... oooo, just think of the advertising revenue...

*snuggles DWth account*

Comments

[0jack]

I find Facebook to be completely tolerable, so long as I don't use any applications, tag anything, etc. I am fine with that. However, its history of fucking up in a way that exposes people who have taken steps not to be exposed makes me highly irritable. If it weren't the only reliable way to keep up with a few people I hold dear, I would have NOTHING to do with it.

The idea that LJ, which is simple ROILING with its own fail around privacy, would seek to mimic FB? That seems like leaving two unneutered FAILBUNNIES alone in a room with Tom Jones playing and being sure that your good intentions will act as saltpeter and chastity belts and the morning after pill.

[nanbungaku]

I'm seriously not that surprised anymore (>.<)

[twisted_times]

I'm seriously not that surprised anymore (>.<)

You're not the only one... and people wonder why I don't ever want to use Farcebook. *facepalms*

[madelienegrey]

So how do you feel about DW's proposed integration with Facebook?

(And I am never surprised by FB fail!)

[0jack]

I'd missed that! I've been away up until the last few weeks. Where is it, so that I may protest loudly about how much it sucks?

[ninetydegrees]

Denise addressed the issue of comment crosspost here but, as far as I know, the only FB-related planned feature for now comes from this suggestion.

[elleth]

There is a bit here, plus additional links, but (I think) this predates excrement hitting the fan over the LJ/FB connect, and I do trust DW staff to have noticed this possibly being a possibly ruinous idea...

[foxfirefey]

Not necessarily?

I'm rather uncertain of the ruinous-ness. If somebody wants to connect their Facebook to their Dreamwidth account, or let their friends log in with their Facebook accounts to comment, I think they should have that. tyggerjai is doing good work making sure privacy/security levels separate out registered users from identity accounts for things like commenting, and I think it's preferable to give people who don't want those connections the choice to avoid it, rather than let nobody have that choice.

[morwen_peredhil]

My suspicion of and refusal to have anything to do with FB is vindicated yet again.

[juliet316]

This. Especially after what happened to my nephew this weekend regarding Facebook.

[hutchy]

Pardon - what happened? I've had an FB account for a couple years now, nothing strange has ever happened to me personally (I watch my privacy settings like a hawk though) but I'm curious...

[juliet316]

Apparently somebody hacked into his account and deleted it or changed his settings so that he couldn't access it.

Of course my nephew is also one of those who believes Facebook is always on the up and up when it comes to privacy settings, despite me telling him what I've heard about them changing them on a dime. Hence one of the many reasons I've never felt the need for a Facebook.

[birke]

I am also curious!

[juliet316]

See my response to hutchy above.

[nalynas]

I'm truly glad to find another person on the internet who doesn't have and doesn't want a FB account. My daughter's bugged me for years to sign up, and I've continued to utterly, completely refuse to go near it.

I hit the main page, once, and got this overwhelming sense of dread. I surfed off elsewhere and haven't looked back. Call me nuts all you like; if it feels wrong, I'm not going there.

[morwen_peredhil]

Yeah, I've always had a bad feeling about FB. One of my sisters feels the same, so there are at least three of us who aren't on FB.

My husband insists on using FB, despite all the horror stories I have shared with him about it, but he's under strict orders not to mention me by name or post any photos with me in them.

[nalynas]

I was beginning to feel like the lone holdout, which only makes me dig my heels in more and say forget it, no way.

I took another look at the article, read it thoroughly, and just shook my head. My ex husband has done his level best to bury me every way he can, and of course my current husband's ex wife has done the same to him. What's being done - has been done, I should say - here sounds so much like something one of them would pull. Makes me extremely glad the hubby didn't bow to pressure from HIS family to set up a FB account. All he had to say, when I read it to him, was "oh that's just NOT good", which in his laid back, southern way means "oh hell no". Heh.

[juliet316]

I've never had a Facebook account either. I've never saw the appeal of it, and the increasing privacy concerns have only validated that for me.

[nalynas]

Thank you! It makes me feel a lot better, knowing I'm not the only one. And what did I find in my email inbox, beside notification of this comment? "Six new crushes, join FB today to find out who they are!"

*falls over laughing*

[dantesspirit]

Well, it's a good thing I don't use my real name on Facebook OR LJ anywhere.

[florentinescot]

nods. I "like" almost nothing over there any more -- especially if it's hosted at some other site. I just had a friend get hacked (we think) from liking some thing over there.

Haven't heard anything new about the LJ "like" button and what it's really going to do for usthem .....

[ex_bel786]

Facebook was either being naive or looking the other way- many third party app developers probably never intended to obey the rules. Too much money to be made. The people running Facebook aren't stupid, so I'm guessing "looked the other way." Now, as always, they need to handwavedo damage control, and wow, look how quickly the suspended companies were reinstated.

I've certainly never trusted the third party app developers (or FB itself) to keep anything private.

[juliet316]

And this would be why I don't have a Smart Phone or FB. I'm glad I don't have a moble linked up to LJ either.

FB is really on my shitlist right now after what happened to my nephew this weekend, so this latest fail doesn't surprise me at all.

[bork]

Ironically enough, I went through and scrubbed my FB account of all extraneous apps, de-tagged myself from pics, and hid everything away from public view. I'm jobhunting right now, and recruiters don't need to see what kvlt tr00 black metal bands I'm listening to this week. And I find the 3rd party apps annoying at best, and I don't play any of them.

Then I read about this fail, and it makes me doubly glad I did this.

[stormyseasons]

..this kind of thing is why I don't have a facebook. No matter how many people I know try to ask me for mine, because surely I would have one. *ends sarcasm*

I regret ever getting one.

[mikumari]

Ugh, this is why I scraped out my own Facebook. Now if only I can remind my family never to tag me in any pictures.