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Hibernaculum

Why are you still using Facebook?

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https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/24/18514805/facebook-q1-2019-earnings-ftc-record-fine-privacy-violations-3-billion

In the wake of numerous scandals involving social media in the past 1-2 years, but particularly Facebook (and to some degree Google)... I wonder at times why the R/C community is not more aware of the negligence and criminal intent of "free" services like these. Almost every week, another scandal. Facebook is about to be fined massively for it's role in repeated breaches of user trust. Let alone the power of its platform to erode public trust, spread gross misinformation, and even undermine democracy.

From time to time, I receive messages from R/C fans asking why I don't use Facebook. And how I should "post my stuff" there along with everyone else. I've also noticed some R/C sites devoting more time to Facebook these days, than their own sites on the open web - all of which seems oblivious to the user data scandals swamping the company.

Perhaps I'm a pariah on this. But FWIW, I won't be joining or using Facebook, ever.

Having worked in the web tech industry for over 20 years, I have seen how user data can be aggregated - and misused. It's not about one person's data, or the "I've done nothing wrong, so why do I care if they use my data?" mantra. It's about how your data feeds a highly sophisticated system of data aggregation - millions of users. How powerful that data becomes, at scale. And how it is being bought, sold, and misused for all kinds of purposes.

I'm hopeful that Tamiyaclub.com remains what it is - a great community on the open web, not beholden to the "gated community" of a social media space. But I'd also encourage anyone thinking of creating either a Facebook group or separate website - please create a separate website on the open web. Support the open web. As it's founder Tim Berners-Lee intended it to be.

Use Firefox with tracking blockers. Use services dedicated to your privacy like Protonmail (instead of Gmail). And support open, independent social spaces online. This is how the open web was intended to be. Not beholden to massively wealthy private corporations offering magically "free" services - nothing is free. If you're not paying for such a sophisticated product as the ability to create "free Facebook groups" - you are the product. And you're being sold.

Sorry for the rant :D  As you were.

H.

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I agree with what you're saying, but do use facebook still. I don't post anything on it unless absolutely necessary, and just use it to follow groups. As you say, people have migrated to facebook, and keeping with the RC theme, the clubs I race at both have websites which have info like the race calendar, but they post the rain cancellations or practice days on FB. The rcaracer forum here in NZ was recently closed down because traffic had dropped over the years, which means FB RC marketplace is now the place to buy and sell rc gear. Trademe (NZ doesn't have ebay, we have our own one Trademe which was launched at the same time so ebay never worked here, try telling the ebay helpdesk that you dont sell anything on ebay, but need an account to buy toy car parts from tony on the other side of the world, but thats another story). Where was I...trademe, has become a business marketplace so it has a lot if new goods sold, by small businesses rather than secondhand which is what it was designed for,

I know other clubs use it now to organise practices, cancellations etc, and now that my son is starting to get into organised sport, thats another reason why I can't get rid of it.

The other thing its good for is liking all the occupy deomcrats, other 99% etc memes since my father in law is a rabid trump supporter (despite living in NZ and having no connection to the US) and holds some extreme views on things that don't affect him, and I know he sees stuff that I like, so I like stuff to wind him up. The more beers I have the more I like, its fun.

I only have it on my phone, so that really limits what I have the patience to do on it as well.

I can't see Tamiyaclub disappearing though. If it migrated to FB I suspect a lot of us would just stop using it and it would die. 

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Couldn’t agree with @Hibernaculum more. I don’t have Facebook and never will. A lot of car forums i use have died because they’ve migrated over. 

What annoys me the most is large companies that no longer have a website, or neglect their existing one, instead focussing on a Facebook page. I think the world’s gone mad in that respect. 

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Stopped using Facebook 3 years ago and I am only 28 years old.

 

best decission in my life! Regarding internet use.

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2 hours ago, Fabia130vRS said:

Stopped using Facebook 3 years ago and I am only 28 years old.

 

best decission in my life! Regarding internet use.

Same here!  Left it almost three years ago and never looked back!

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Biggest headache with bookface (other than everything else H has mentioned) is that it's neigh impossible to search for any useful information eg a build or repair thread.

Our parents' generation used to warn that the newfangled idiotbox would turn our brains to mush. :) 

Ironically today FB keeps them occupied though :P 

 

 

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7 hours ago, WillyChang said:

Biggest headache with bookface (other than everything else H has mentioned) is that it's neigh impossible to search for any useful information eg a build or repair thread.

 

They do have a search function that you can search within and only in a group.  I used it for my DN01 build.  It's not the easiest to find though.

 

 

I use FB for public event tracking and just keeping in touch with family.  I understand why some forums have moved.  There are operating costs, most of the time, for forums and there are no direct out of pocket operating costs using FB.  I do agree it's much harder to keep up with the FB groups and locate the information you need quickly.  FB has made improvements in this space to continue to lure message forum owners, but it has room for more improvements in that space.

 

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8 hours ago, speedy_w_beans said:

Never used it; never will.

Same here. My younger, former coworkers had their noses jammed in their phones hooked on Facebook. They'd be mid conversation with you and stop and pull out their phone if they got a "Facebook Alert" (whatever that is). Unreal. Absolute waste of time.

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I'm on there, but basically just to keep up with some out-of-town friends/family. I don't use most of the site, and I don't have access to it from my phone, only my desktop computer at home.

It annoys me that Facebook and Instagram are taking over for forums, but on the other hand, the places were it's taking over are with the casual users/instant-gratification crowd. Forums like this, and MG Experience, and others are as busy as they've ever been, and are evolving into repositories of the "deep old knowledge." Want to read a review of the latest Traxxas trinket, or a "shootout" between noisy mufflers for your WRX? Nope, go to Facebook. Need to know how to rebuild your SU carbs, or identify that package of new-old-stock Tamiya wheels you found in a flea market? They can't help you. But we can...

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I hate how often I feel obligated to have a Facebook page.  Whenever family, friends, or whoever are organising something I'll inevitably be asked 'Do you have a Facebook page?', and when I reply that I don't I get the impression that I'm somehow being unreasonable.  All the different ways to contact people these days, like email, txt messages, or even a phone call, but having no Facebook makes you a pariah.  It enhances my status as the blacksheep so I guess I find it at least a little entertaining.

I did a bit of university study last year and only a handful of students used the university chat forums.  Apparently the rest were all on the Facebook pages that get set up by a student for the subject during that semester.  Things like local meetups and support were all organised through Facebook too.  I can only assume it came down to ease of access if most people have already joined, but it does create a line in the sand that you have to cross if you want to join in.

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i had a go with facebook around 9 years back as with all i wanted to catch up with old school mates.

i think i only was on their a month or so and i got rid of it as it just was not worth the hassle even back then. i do miss not being in touch with my school mates but hey what can you do.

i did try google + for a while and tbh found that a half decent place but that has been shut down know after it got hacked last year so i dont bother with any of them know 

i did have watts app but my phone deceided that it didn't want it on their anymore and spat it of and i cant get it back on so i gave up on that also.

i only use my phone to play solitare i think in the past 3 years i have only top'd it up 3 times.

 

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I make it a point to only put on Facebook what I’d be willing to go to the front door and scream out to the world.  Anybody who thinks their information on a public forum is private is a fool

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Have facebook, use Facebook daily,  but I'm mostly on closed or secret groups, they are more of a close knit group like on here. 

Set everything to private, and no family on my profile pic, but it does worry me that i can be having a conversation with the wife, and then adds pop up about things we've been chatting about! (Dancing school for one of my children was one).

A couple of small magazines I used to subscribe too have now stopped due to Facebook, as by the time it's written, gone into print and arrived on your door mat, the news is weeks out of date! Same with the classifieds, cars that were listed, they'd been sold.

I'm still using the www. version on my phone, so don't get any marketplace rubbish clogging it up, I need to open the app to look at that, and access a page I help admin, but started to use the messenger a fair bit now, mainly as the model car club have a group chat, and it makes it loads easier to arrange meetings and set things up.

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And just to follow up, this was front page of the Washington Post this week. Facebook is trying to "pivot" to privacy...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/mark-zuckerberg-claims-that-at-facebook-the-future-is-private-dont-believe-him/2019/05/03/b42f7564-6cf4-11e9-a66d-a82d3f3d96d5_story.html

Quote from article...

Quote

At the moment, Facebook is facing a potential $5 billion fine from the Federal Trade Commission for misusing its users’ data in the scandal involving Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm that worked for President Trump’s 2016 campaign and got access to user data. (That would be a record-setting fine from the FTC, but far from devastating to the company, given the depth of its pockets.) Part of that settlement will include setting up positions at the company to monitor user privacy. And who will be the chief compliance officer? Absurdly enough, it could end up being Zuckerberg himself, Politico reported last week.

image.png.7756afebb56f9bab3d7777dde1ffda68.png

Seems legit.

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all i can remember is that speed dial on a rotory phone was how fast you could force your index finger in the opposite direction.

i knew when FB came out with everybody sniff'n each other's cracks there would be problems. this was started at collage level. sounds like a bad sitcom to me.

pick up the phone, or for that matter write a personal letter (i believe that still has more meaning).

i rekon FB has its place (not for me) i could care less what the "F" you ate that day😜

 

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