Current mood:

Fan-Tabulous

facebook wank!
Note: Some of these links will not work unless you're a facebook memeber. To be a member you need a college e-mail or high school invite. Due to privacy conerns, I'll be quoting people with their college and only copy+pasting little tidbits instead of saving the pages. Sorry for the limited access!

It was bound to happen!

Recently Facebook, the networking site for college and high school students, added a steroid-riddled version of LJ's new notification system. [facebook blog entry] Called "mini-feed" and "news-feed", this feature provides a list of the last 10 actions a person has made on Facebook, such as profile editing, and then provides a compiled, "friends list" version of the actions of a user's friends. Please note that the only way one can access this information is if they are actively listed as a friend, or if the person's profile is open to non-friends.

Already a network accused of facilitating stalkers, for many the feeds sealed the deal and caused an uproar amongst the students. Amongst countless others, a group entitled "Students against Facebook News Feed (Official Petition to Facebook)" was formed. It currently has 741,662 members, and the media's all over it. Links:
- Time
- SF Gate
- Digg
- TechWeb
- Wired
- BSU Daily News
- Washington Post
- Slashdot
- Wall Street Journal
- Diamondback Online
- Indiana Daily Student
- MSNBC
- Los Angeles Loyolan

Mark Zuckerberg, creator of Facebook, responds with a blog: "Calm down. Breathe. We hear you." Eventually another blog appears [An Open Letter From Mark Zuckerberg], in which he acquiesces to demands and provides an opt-out button. Common sense, really. The creator of the petition group is calmed, but the wank rolls on in its discussion board.

Embry-Riddle writes a lovely post entitled "Quit Bitching", in which he asserts that the ivy league kids are smarter than the state schools.

It's ironic that most of the people who enjoy the new changes, including the developers of them, are from more prominent universities, such as MIT, Stanford, Harvard, and Oxford, whilst most nay-sayers are from state colleges and other underdog universities. What everyone fails to realize is that your privacy online is already hampered. You sign it away when you join sites like Facebook, MySpace, DeviantART, and Friendster. Why do you complain about changes that compromise your privacy, especially when the system is opt-out? If you don't want your friends (whom you can *gasp* designate at your convenience) know that you wrote on someone's wall, added a buddy from high school, or discussed the new changes in a Developers group, perhaps you shouldn't be their friend. Or maybe you shouldn't even be on Facebook.

Enough bitching already. You joined Facebook to learn about your friends, not add 1000's of random friends. No one is stalking you and if they are, maybe you shouldn't even be on Facebook.

The resulting debate is purely academic.

U. Houston: So now it's rich people vs us common folk? What are you smoking? Try making an argument that isn't ignorant and you might get a good response on here.
"Sir" Embry Riddle: I did, you were just too frustrated with people finding out you hitting on girls all the time via Facebook and now you're here begging for your privacy back.

York Canada: Im sorry Sir [Embry]. Run along now ... fairy.

Southwestern: i'm a little confused as to why u even joined this group. get the hell out and let us complain if we want to...it's not gonna hurt u one bit
"Sir" Embry-Riddle: Because I can, that's why.

Sewanee: What an arrogant ass. Now only the gentlemen from the Ivies have valid opinions? That's bullshit. You should look up the definition of irony (cause what you said isn't ironic) and maybe look at your own school- Embry-Riddle? (Apparently it's "#1 in aviation")

York Canada: Ok you are getting annoying. Please go get knighted again, but this time ask tome stabbed in the head instead.

"Sir" Embry-Riddle: "You're dumbass"
Right. Get off your friend's double email Facebook account and go on your real one.

RIT: ANYONE WHO LIKES IT IS A LURKER!

Stanford: That's weird... 1/3 of my friends who joined this group are from Stanford, even though Stanford kids make up less than 20% of my overall friends.
"Sir" Embry-Riddle: Stanford has idiots too. Check the Developers group, you'll see what I'm talking about.

RIT: But I have a "My University is #1" coffee mug....

LSU: Amen. My school would kick your ass in every sport Sir. So shut the hell up!
"Sir" Embry-Riddle: LOL SPORTS!?
Are you fucking kidding? Who gives a fuck about SPORTS?

Kansas State: Did your mother not love you enough?..i'm guessing so.

UNC Greensboro: Social hierarchy? What happened to "all men are created equal?" Maybe you should take your "#1 in Aviation" and build a plane so you can fly your head out of your ass.

Vanderbilt: As for Sir Whatthehelleveryournameis, I considered Embry-Riddle myself. I also considered a state university, but I ended up going to Vanderbilt. I don't think that where a person goes to school has anything to do with what they can and can't say, but people with attitudes like yours usually eat a fist sandwich eventually.

UNC Greensboro: Dude, to be talking so much shit you sure can't write...

New Hampshire: look at me, im Sir Huffenpuff: "meh meh fuh fuh fuh meh meh rah rah"

UMass: hey sir if u were my facebook friend u would know that i just wiped my ass. yeah thats a new facebook news feed feature too.

Kansas State: YOu have to be the biggest douche on facebook...and your school must blow to let you in..or did you blow the dean? which one

Kansas State: what hits to close to home for you?...come to kstate its close enough to Fred Phelps, he'd love to eat homo's like you up

Washington: LOL.. so we're arguing about privacy at the same time.. might as well get his IP and track him down eh?

Lycoming: Sorry everybody for [Sir Embry]'s behavior, he's just upset that I cut him off for being a douche bag. Baby, stop being an asshole, it's getting you nowhere.

Penn State: gay

The entertainment stops at about the 8th page when Sir Embry goes to class and the conversation derails. For more Facebook fun, be sure to check out Slashdot's report.