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Journal shanen's Journal: Can you imagine Facebook trying to improve your time rather than wasting it? 30

Journal by shanen

Below is a rant I just sent to Facebook. It was submitted as feedback to one of their fake attempts to address the ongoing abuse of Facebook, Facebook's reputation, and Facebook users. Obviously I am not a happy camper, but it doesn't seem worthwhile to spend more time on the matter, for example by explaining the full context, unless someone expresses interest, for example in a comment on this public post. I suppose that my main conclusion is that you, too, could do something to reduce the criminal abuse of the Internet, but the powers that be, such as Facebook and the google, don't care enough to let us help. Now to today's rant:

[One-star lowest possible rating of how Facebook handled it.] Not just this ancient gawdawful experience with the ancient racist on Facebook, but also the recent attempts to report obvious Russian trolls have been gawdawful. However, today's complaint is about the ongoing crap from possibly legitimate businesses that spam their Facebook pages. You could stop them if you weren't an EVIL piece of crap company. If they are legitimate [companies] then you could tell them to stop spamming or you will kill their Facebook pages. If they are faking it, then you should be concerned about the phishing with fake links that are not really to Facebook. However, Facebook does NOTHING but waste time. Why don't you IMPROVE time instead of wasting it? You are EARNING a whole lot of HATE the way things are going. Now I'm going to modify and extend this comment for a public critique and attack on your already terrible reputation. Please feel free [as a Facebook staff person] to have a really TERRIBLE day.

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Can you imagine Facebook trying to improve your time rather than wasting it? More

Can you imagine Facebook trying to improve your time rather than wasting it?

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  • The old saying about drawing more flies with honey than vinegar comes to mind. They are a corporation, and they can justify whatever algorithms they want to auto-trash comments they don't want to invest human time into reading. If you want them to actually read your rant, I would recommend trying again (from a different email address) in less abusive language. You've likely landed yourself in a bad pile (with them) with that comment.
    • I forgot to address your title question. As for facebook not wasting time, it is counter to their very business objective to do that. They get more saleable information out of you the more time you waste there. They do not exist primarily as a communication medium (as much as many people think the contrary) or even as a good source of information. They exist primarily to sell advertising to people. They have found that if they can get people to waste time there playing stupid games and other such time

      • Wasting time on facebook is a personal choice. So don't blame them.

        • ... I was wondering if you were ever coming back. I'd ask you who you are referring to by "them" - as you could be referring to either facebook itself or facebook users - but I recall you don't have a real great track record of answering questions.

          • The subject of the discussion was facebook, no? How can they waste a person's time? Who is making the choice to hang around facebook and believe all the bullshit?

            • I'm not saying anyone is forced to use facebook, just that facebook is actively providing the time wasting crap. Blaming facebook for people wasting time is like blaming coca-cola for diabetes - they make the product but the individual is choosing to use it.

              Now you said "don't blame them" earlier ...
            • How can they waste a person's time?

              By making it a core plank of the business plan and hiring teams of behavioral psychologists, UI designers and marketing experts to bring it to fruition. After all, this isn't rocket science.

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by shanen ( 462549 )

                Just so. However, I would add that a single-minded focus on some "business principle" or "key metric", no matter how bad, seems to be a key "success criterion" of today's corporate cancerism. Because the biggest bribers have bought the cheapest politicians to rig the rules of the game in their favor, there is no room for real competition or real freedom.

              • Regardless, the users' choice to play along is the problem. I've heard all the same crap about TV, comic books, rock and roll, etc... Facebook is an advertising medium. What the hell do people expect?

                • What the hell do people expect?

                  Well, if you're going to avoid the elephant in the room, nothing.

                  • My first post in this JE pointed directly at the elephant.

                    • Nope. 'Personal choice' is one of your favourite little mantras, not the thing you're studiously avoiding despite its presence looming large.

                    • Well, If free choice doesn't exist you, nothing can be done. Feel like pointing out your imaginary beast, or are you just going to wave that off as something I "wouldn't understand"?

                    • Well, If free choice doesn't exist

                      Nice strawman.

                      Feel like pointing out your imaginary beast

                      Already did.

                      or are you just going to wave that off as something I "wouldn't understand"?

                      Lack of intelligence isn't your problem. Your overriding desire to eschew nuance is.

                    • You did? What? Point out animal psychology? Please... You're using "nuance" as rationalization

                    • animal psychology

                      See? That wasn't hard, was it?

                      You're using "nuance" as rationalization

                      No, I just know my audience.

                    • See? That wasn't hard, was it?

                      Well, to me it always was something that doesn't need mentioning since I made the assumption we all understood it. So, until we transcend it we're still just talking chimps then. The choice to follow the herd over the cliff is still there. And no doubt people will continue to blame facebook, Russia, psychology, whatever on their way down. And of course I should feel so very sorry for pointing out that nobody pushed them.

                    • Well, to me it always was something that doesn't need mentioning

                      No, you didn't mention it because you're fixated on personal choice being the only metric you use to measure human beings. Hell your next sentence is

                      The choice to follow the herd over the cliff is still there

                      So you obviously don't think it's so intrinsic to the discussion to the point of not needing to be mentioned. You just think it's irrelevant.

                      And of course I should feel so very sorry for pointing out that nobody pushed them.

                    • No, you didn't mention it because you're fixated on personal choice being the only metric you use to measure human beings.

                      Well, once again you express your theories as mine.

                      You just think it's irrelevant.

                      That's why it goes without mentioning. Its perceived power over reason is well documented. Merely something to overcome. But for you all, it's a very convenient rationalization for bad choices. Such is your defensiveness. Gotta play the victim.

                    • Well, once again you express your theories as mine.

                      Right, right. I characterize the guy who says "Wasting time on facebook is a personal choice" and " the users' choice to play along is the problem" as "fixated on personal choice" and apparently I'm peddling my ideas as yours. Now I know how Superman feels talking to Bizarro.

                      That's why it goes without mentioning.

                      "Goes without mentioning" is generally understood to label something that's so obvious and inseparable to the topic at hand that it ne

                    • There's no fixation on my part. Personal choice is what makes us human. That's a simple fact. Too bad if you can't accept that. It certainly is not my problem. So, please, feel free to follow the animals and blame their environment for their misfortunes. 98% of the population is with you.

                    • There's no fixation on my part.

                      I can dig up more quotes from you on this subject if you're still not convinced. There's not a lot a variance in your comment history.

                      Personal choice is what makes us human. That's a simple fact.

                      Silly me, I thought it was the pre-frontal cortex, but what do I know about biology?

                      98%

                      Oooh, a rise! Is it time to sell?

                    • Dig up all the quotes you want. I'm merely stating a fact. If anything, you're fixated on denying it to suit your narrative/blame game. *It's always somebody or something else's fault.*

                      Silly me, I thought it was the pre-frontal cortex

                      Silly you indeed, What is so particularly human about a prefrontal cortex? Maybe you should brush up a bit on your biology.

                    • *It's always somebody or something else's fault.*

                      Third strawman's the charm. Have fun.

                    • Ah, classic hand waving, how quaint. Psychology is definitely the elephant in your room. It's trampling your cortex.

                  • Re: (Score:2)

                    by shanen ( 462549 )

                    Once you start feeding the trolls I regard the discussion as terminated. (So I'll mark the current end.)

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by shanen ( 462549 )

        My suggestion would be that they could try to harvest useful personal data from "sharing" in unwasted time, too. It is Facebook's priority that says only time matters without any consideration of quality.

        I'm dismissing the rest of the discussion as feeding the trolls. Not even worth a Z except as a EoD marker.

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