Facebook....Is it worth it?

I'm not on it; never been and never will be. I belong to 2 online toy train forums and that's enough for me. 

John

My brother put me on it, and "friended" me to about three family members.  It pretty much overwhelmed my hotmail account with inane stuff.  If I want pictures of food, or babies, or sunsets, I know where to find them.

I ignored about a billion "friend" requests, and now my hotmail remains for meaningful communications.

I thought the Russians took overFacebook?

But yeah, if I knew how to handle it like a forum, without hotmail alerts, I might go looking for train or airplane stuff.  Scared of politics - that part of Facebook is just plain frightening.

Not a fan of Facebook either!

Chief Bob (Retired)

Hi John.

I have never liked the idea myself but where I live there is very little Steel mill modelling and almost no USA O scale activity and operating a Model Railroad whats that!

Just though I might expand my knowledge not only for Model Railroads (this is the only forum I am on) I am also a keen long distance hiker, bushwalker.

Thanks Roo.

It's worth it.

You don't have to "Friend" anybody.  If you do, and they start sending you stuff you don't like, you can just as easily "Unfriend" them.  You can also follow people you want.  You don't have to do that either.  You can be as public as you want, and you can be as private as you want.  There's a lot of flexibility available.  If you find you don't like it after awhile, you can always close your account.  You won't be bothered anymore after that.

That last message I sent came before the other replies so far all are against, interesting.

I'm wondering if anyone here likes it joining it hinges on what feedback I get from here..

I'm a great fan of the OGR forum so I will still be here. 

Thanks Roo.

Roo, I have been on Facebook for 10 years.  I am now in several O gauge and prototype train groups.  Some groups would be okay if a few certain people weren't on.  Other groups that are well administered are excellent!  Since the format is different than this Forum, you have to get used to how it works, but I think it is well worth it.  Actually I am a co-administrator on three O gauge groups and also on a FB Messenger group of admins from various groups.  We keep a tight reign on guys that get out of hand!  Get on and look for me.  You will find the same photo I use here since there are a few Mark Boyces on FB!  There are quite a few OGR Forum members on FB as well!  There is a lot to learn there.  Buy-Sell groups are the hardest to administer, since there have been times that someone cheats someone else, those guys get blackballed quickly!!  However, if you know the guy's reputation it works great.   I am awaiting 4 Atlas O Steam Era Classics cars that I just got a nice price on!  I'll be looking for you!!

I belong to a number of Facebook train related forums. They are all controlled similar to the OGR forum. They keep the posts from straying too far. I like some most things  about them and dislike a few things, but they are beneficial overall. They tend to be specialized, for sale groups, std Gauge, O, S, tinplate etc. You may get friend requests from members, but not a lot. I’ve only accepted a couple. A few X members of this forum are there.

Steve

I'm on Facebook. Got on it to find people I lost touch with over the years, especially former (music) band mates. I have a simple rule: I only accept friend requests from people I know in real life. No friends of friends etc. I'm not trying to gather as many meaningless "Facebook friends" as possible, like a lot of people do. Joined the U.P. Steam Group but I've wound up providing way more information than I've gotten in return. I've been at this for 50+ years and there are kids on there who are seeing a steam locomotive for the very first time. I try to answer their questions accurately and respectfully. I may be helping to foster a brand new railfan. There are too many people on there who are spreading lousy information or belittling people for asking rudimentary questions. There is no call for that.

There is nothing wrong with joining Facebook, but you do have to learn how the manage your settings. Unlike some, I don’t believe I have ever gotten an unsolicited advertising email as a result of joining. We have met over 30 people in person just from meeting them on Facebook. It’s the easiest way for us to keep up with family and the friends we made in the military. I generally don’t unfriend people, but I do have several I don’t follow because all they do is repost memes. You will see some sponsored posts, but it’s easy enough to just bypass them. There are ads, but they’re off to the side and I don’t even pay attention to them. You can limit your posts so only your friends can see them and respond. Facebook is still far from perfect, but it’s a lot better than it used to be. They keep adding controls to make it even more controlled.

So how do we do it without getting e-mail messages every time somebody takes a picture of their hamburger?  How can we avoid those posters a half inch away from a mass shooting?

I'm serious.  I wouldn't mind a forum- like environment, where I can choose to avoid some topics.

I don't wish to knock anything here. I'll just point out that you can go on Facebook directly, or you can load the Facebook app and use that. My girl uses the app so she sees all the posts of her "friends". I don't use the app on my device. I just go to their site. I really can't say all of the differences. I'm not all that savvy here. I do know that her phone seems to be always busy with the Facebook app using a lot of memory.

At one time I had a Faceplant account. I learned a lot during that time. I am not on Faceplant now. I deleted my account.

I will NEVER AGAIN be on Faceplant.

The amount of soap opera BS there is unbelievable.

You have no idea how much of your privacy you give up when you set up your Faceplant account.

Add to that, I will not do business with that despicable, pencil-necked geek Mark Zuckerberg.

Some day I’ll tell you how I really feel.  😂

bob2 posted:

So how do we do it without getting e-mail messages every time somebody takes a picture of their hamburger?  How can we avoid those posters a half inch away from a mass shooting?

I'm serious.  I wouldn't mind a forum- like environment, where I can choose to avoid some topics.

If you have your settings such that you get an email every time someone posts, it’s no wonder you don’t like FB. And if you have friends that close to a mass shooting, I feel for you.  I suspect you’re reading the news feed and there are few controls for it. My notifications are set to Push and not Email in settings. I use the Notifications page (the Bell icon at the bottom) to get a list of notifications and that’s pretty much all I read. If I have a friend who posts nothing but political stuff, for example, I Unfollowed him so I don’t get notifications for his posts on his timeline, but he cam still post on mine. If I don’t like it, I simply delete it. Periodically I’ll browse his timeline. If I have a friend who posts some stuff I’m interested in, but not others, I just skip over the ones I don’t care about. I let friends see my posts and friends of friends can see their comments. I allow friend requests from friends of friends. I only get emails from admin. I use only a couple of apps and no gaming apps. The app on my phone seems to eat the battery, so I logout when I’m done.

Let me add that my life is an open book, so I’m not overly concerned about privacy. I’m online, so privacy is gone from the jump. I’m not sure what exactly Rich is talking about, but I’ve had no ill effects from being on Facebook. Mind you, I don’t like Facebook because I think it’s poorly organized, poorly coded and is just now offering controls because of all the scrutiny they’ve been getting, but it’s the best way for us to keep up with friends. I don’t care if anyone joins Facebook or not, just relaying my experience.

My luddite view, seems like more effort than it is worth.  I guess I am on rich's team. Unless I can get cheap prices on good stuff, might consider Mark's team? Hmmm?

You can select for only ‘friends’ to access what you post.  I do unfollow not unfriend folks that spam memes.  Also, pay attention to security settings and select only ‘friends ‘ or groups.  I can give some O Gauge groups I recommend.

as to connecting to old friends.  I have found childhood friends from 50 or more years ago.  I have developed a great relationship with my cousin across the country who I have not seen since 1964!  I have also gotten to know his family and other cousins’ families I would never had known.

The thing to remember about Facebook, is that the problem isn't the information you give them, or give your friends and family access to.  It's the information that they take from you that is at issue.  You must understand that all of the content stored on your computer, all the sites you visit, all the people you are in contact with, in short everything you do on your computer, will be harvested by Facebook and shared by them, with their partners, at their discretion, in an attempt to monetize your data.  And this will happen without respect to your privacy settings on Facebook, whether you are actually using Facebook, or whether you are even logged into your Facebook account while browsing other sites.  If you access Facebook from your phone, they will harvest additional information like all your contacts, where you are, and what store you are shopping at today.  Making money is the singular purpose and goal of the company, not "connecting the world" or "building communities", or whatever altruistic sounding propaganda they trot out these days.

If you have any concerns about your privacy, whether explicit (say, if you join a group focused on a medical condition you deal with, Facebook will log that)  or implicit (say, if you just object to the gathering of your data on principle) , you should think long and hard about opening an account.

Facebook has merits, if only it functioned without the behind the scenes shenanigans.  Companies, organizations, clubs, and similar like it for what amounts to free web hosting.  The groups aspect is typically a great resource, because you can find a group that is very focused on the same particular interests that you have.  There is a valuable functionality in connecting with people, whether new acquaintances or old.  You just have to decide if the pros are worth the cons.  

There are a few ways to limit Facebook's data harvesting when doing non-Facebook activities.  Namely, use a web browser like Firefox that has a function to access Facebook separately from the channels used for other web activities.  I'm not sure if Chrome has the same capability.  It would be something to do a bit of research on if you want to open an account.  If you want to be hardcore about it, you could have a device that is used strictly for Facebook, with no other content or web activity on it, nor connectivity with other networked devices (like if your phone and ipad sync).  In other words, Facebook will still attempt to harvest data, just don't have any data for it to find.  

The bottom line is that all the reasons people have given for joining are valid, and all the concerns that people have expressed have some legitimate basis as well.  Which unfortunately means there isn't a clear cut answer unless you have strong personal convictions about privacy or the culture and philosophies of the company in question.

Hopefully this will provide some food for thought.
Jim

Facebook is EVIL 

big train posted:

The thing to remember about Facebook, is that the problem isn't the information you give them, or give your friends and family access to.  It's the information that they take from you that is at issue.  You must understand that all of the content stored on your computer, all the sites you visit, all the people you are in contact with, in short everything you do on your computer, will be harvested by Facebook and shared by them, with their partners, at their discretion, in an attempt to monetize your data.  And this will happen without respect to your privacy settings on Facebook, whether you are actually using Facebook, or whether you are even logged into your Facebook account while browsing other sites.  If you access Facebook from your phone, they will harvest additional information like all your contacts, where you are, and what store you are shopping at today.  Making money is the singular purpose and goal of the company, not "connecting the world" or "building communities", or whatever altruistic sounding propaganda they trot out these days.

If you have any concerns about your privacy, whether explicit (say, if you join a group focused on a medical condition you deal with, Facebook will log that)  or implicit (say, if you just object to the gathering of your data on principle) , you should think long and hard about opening an account.

Facebook has merits, if only it functioned without the behind the scenes shenanigans.  Companies, organizations, clubs, and similar like it for what amounts to free web hosting.  The groups aspect is typically a great resource, because you can find a group that is very focused on the same particular interests that you have.  There is a valuable functionality in connecting with people, whether new acquaintances or old.  You just have to decide if the pros are worth the cons.  

There are a few ways to limit Facebook's data harvesting when doing non-Facebook activities.  Namely, use a web browser like Firefox that has a function to access Facebook separately from the channels used for other web activities.  I'm not sure if Chrome has the same capability.  It would be something to do a bit of research on if you want to open an account.  If you want to be hardcore about it, you could have a device that is used strictly for Facebook, with no other content or web activity on it, nor connectivity with other networked devices (like if your phone and ipad sync).  In other words, Facebook will still attempt to harvest data, just don't have any data for it to find.  

The bottom line is that all the reasons people have given for joining are valid, and all the concerns that people have expressed have some legitimate basis as well.  Which unfortunately means there isn't a clear cut answer unless you have strong personal convictions about privacy or the culture and philosophies of the company in question.

Hopefully this will provide some food for thought.
Jim

If you are implying that they have access to your browser history, cache, cookies, email contacts etc, and/or the contents of your hard drives that is simply untrue. Gaining access to the contents of your device without you granting permission, even by a government agency unless they obtain a warrant from a court of law, is hacking. That is illegal and Facebook would be already be dead and buried by now if they engaged in it. What they do have access to is anything that you, or your "friends" voluntarily share on their platform. In addition,, you may (athough I don't know why anyone with a brain would want to) opt in to permit them to gather data on your phone calls, sms text messages and location data from your smartphone, but it requires you to affirmatively grant them access. I would not, nor do I believe anyone should do that.  That is as dumb as leaving the doors and windows to your home open day and night. Only a fool would do so. Caveat emptor. You can access a report from your account and see if you've allowed them to collect those enumerated data sets. My report states that they have none of that data. The do have a history of everything I've done on the Facebook platform, as I would expect them to have.

No. Facebook became more of a daily chore than a social activity. 

YES, absolutely. There's many groups on there with tons of content. Photos, videos and how to's. Many who dont post in forums any longer post in those groups now.

Nick Chillianis posted:

big train posted:

 

If you are implying that they have access to your browser history, cache, cookies, email contacts etc, and/or the contents of your hard drives that is simply untrue......

I was under the impression that the common wisdom was that Facebook (and Google, and Apple, and so on) did all of these things.  Certainly searches for "does Facebook track my browsing history", or "does Facebook track my cookies", or "how do the Facebook pixel, like button, and share buttons function on non-Facebook sites" return an awful lot of affirmative responses.  Including several articles about Facebook implementing an opt-out function for users to stop Facebook from using their browser history data  .  While clearly not everything on the internet is true, when enough outlets that strike me as either reputable or agenda-free (or at least agenda-neutral) agree on something, I'm more willing to accept what I see.

As to all the rest, I agree wholeheartedly.  Facebook has asked for and been granted permission by users, often as part of terms of use, and often in the fine print.  And they traditionally haven't been proactively transparent about their data gathering habits.  So the trick is to be fully aware and educated if you decide to sign up for an account.

No Facebook workers can access your files. Etc. 

All of those sites.if you upload a picture ..or document...they want access to your files..

And Facebook workers are corrupt. Top down.

What Nick states is true.  Whatever you do through facebook---searching, downloading, messaging---is information facebook can (and does) access.  If you do a search for widgets, thingumybobs, and whatzits, the chances are high you'll see ads for those popping up soon afterward.  If you make a mistake and search for "gay market" instead of "gray market", you'll probably start getting unexpected ads later.  Facebook is stupid.  It doesn't know what you meant to do.  It only knows what you actually did.  One thing I learned early on was to wait until facebook pages I visited were fully loaded.  There were a few times I accidentally clicked on something because the picture I intended to click on moved down due to a picture being loaded above it.  As long as you're careful about things like that, you shouldn't have any problems.

A good idea is to check ALL of your settings first before doing anything else.  Make sure you understand what each setting affects and what it allows you or others to do.  That way you won't be inundated with messages/information you don't want.

The way the handled the traumatic event that happened to our country 3 months ago I would never join Hatebook!

I'm a Facebook member for personal and hobby/interests reasons. Personal to mainly see what my 10 grand kids and their families are up to. Hobby/interest wise, learn from and contribute to people who: collect stereo slides, collect stereo view cards, own a Subaru Outback, talk about growing up in the 1950s, collect View-Master items, and one sponsored by Consumer Reports magazine.

I also belong to groups like this one, plus guns and archery. All of these are a boon to me, especially since I am hearing impaired (yes, I wear hearing aides). They allow me to "hear" and chat without having to ask someone to repeat themselves.

Nobody can tell whether it is or isn't worth it to you.  You have to find that out for yourself. What you value, and what and how you decide "worth" is set by you and not others.

All you're going to get here is bunch of opinions, beliefs, misunderstandings, some correct information, some dis- and mis-information, and the usual nonsense.

Well, Roo    I started a group on facebook called" Aussie O Scalers " but I am the only member so far. I only go on facebook occasionally, mostly to follow my kids and grand kids. It would be great to dig out some other O scalers down under. Your welcome to join!       cTr.....( Choose the Right )

Wow! Lots of MIS-INFORMATION about Facebook here! While it is admittedly not for everyone, if you know how to use FB properly, it can be a very useful site. I belong to a number of special interest groups on FB for O gauge, On30, Large Scale (G), Marklin HO, and Z. I also am a participant on a number of other groups, including animal rescues, firearms enthusiasts, and several others. I glean timely and useful information from all of these sources on a fairly regular basis. I have also found a whole lot of material and a number of excellent resources (layouts and how-to features) for OGR magazine via Facebook. Truth is, I wish our OGR Forum participants were as eager and willing to share their knowledge, experiences, and expertise with those who are not on social media at all and/or who simply prefer the printed publication.

As for personal information, rest assured that there is no such thing as private/secure information anymore. EVERYTHING about you is available somewhere on the Internet, regardless of whether or not you made it available yourself. No point in being overly concerned about it at this point because we as a society have allowed this to happen. Keep your nose clean and don't do or say anything you would be ashamed of and you should be okay.

Like I said, FB and other social media sites are definitely not for everyone, but if you have a spacial modeling interest such as steel mill modeling, logging railroads, On30 scale, or any of hundreds--literally--of other special interests, you likely can and will find others who share that same interest in a FB group.

Stephen Bloy posted:

Well, Roo    I started a group on facebook called" Aussie O Scalers " but I am the only member so far. I only go on facebook occasionally, It would be great to dig out some other O scalers down under. Your welcome to join!       cTr.....( Choose the Right )

I imagine your post here may uncover at least a few more potential members for your group. I know there are a number of O gauge (2-rail and 3-rail) Aussies in the hobby because a couple or more have had layouts featured in the magazine in the past. Having visited your country several times in years past, I love Australia and her people!

I started using it to see what was going on with the kids and grandkids.  It morphed into far more than that.  Has it's pros and cons but for O Scale, P:48, model railroading in general, it's awesome.  Far more activity and feedback than most forums.

People like to complain about FB when they really have no idea what it is.  You folks should try it.  Don't like it,,,quit.

Jay

My major complaint with FB, other than the obvious wacky issues with data privacy, is the lack of organization of the posts.  Threads are MUCH harder to follow on FB than on traditional forums.  It seems organization simply doesn't exist.  I personally think that's by design, specifically designed to have you spend more time looking for the content, and hence exposed to more ads and data collection possibilities.

Wow, talk about misinformation, it’s growing with every post. 🤪 I don’t think a lot of folks understand how ads get generated on Facebook, me included. I google a lot and have not see any ads for most of the stuff I search. What I do see are Amazon ads for stuff I google and then check out on Amazon. AFAIK, those ads are generated by Amazon, not by Facebook. So many assume Facebook is using browser history when those ads pop up, but I don’t think that’s the case. If it were, my Facebook pages would have tons of ads and they don’t. My understanding is that sites “push” your browsing activity to Facebook to advertise their sites, things like the posts saying so and so likes Amazon and then showing what you looked at.

Anyway, I think Allan’s post is the most sensible. It’s not for everyone and if you’re not willing to or able to put in some effort to control it, then it’s probably not for you. Just don’t be scared off by those with an axe to grind toward technology in general and by into the hysteria. I don’t like Mark Z or how Facebook deals with the news feed, but if I avoided every site because I didn’t like who owns it, some of the members, etc., there wouldn’t be many left, OGR included. Have one of your friends show you how they use it and make your own decision. You can always delete your account if you find it’s not for you. 

I like it. It has hooked me up with old friends and classmates along with far away family I don't get to see. Negative remarks just means you haven't controlled it properly.

Jim 

I find Facebook invaluable, Roo. For years, I was hesitant to sign up … for really no good reason.

As others here, I go into groups that are laser focused on my interests. There is a tremendous amount of fun information, exclusively on FB.

Also, as others mentioned, keeping up with family and friends, far and wide. It's fun. I have a son in the NJ State Police Academy, the state Attorney General's office sometimes posts helicopter photos of the recruits crawling through the winter ocean surf and such. I wouldn't see any of that stuff anywhere else.

More and more businesses and other entities have their most current information on their Facebook page, rather than their website.

I don't spend big amounts of time on Facebook, I check out what I want to see and read, and I'm gone. And, no … Facebook can't read and write your files.

Happy Railroading.

There are some specialized forums there. A number of tinplate groups, Std Gauge, Dorfan, Hafner, Marx, Buy & Sell forums and I'm sure more.

Steve

DoubleDAZ posted:

Wow, talk about misinformation, it’s growing with every post. 🤪 I don’t think a lot of folks understand how ads get generated on Facebook, me included. I google a lot and have not see any ads for most of the stuff I search. What I do see are Amazon ads for stuff I google and then check out on Amazon. AFAIK, those ads are generated by Amazon, not by Facebook. So many assume Facebook is using browser history when those ads pop up, but I don’t think that’s the case.

Facebook won't know anything about searches you do through Google or Amazon.  However Facebook will know about searches you do through Facebook's own software.  If you look for a person, all of a sudden their "Friends" will pop up as possible friends for you.  If you look for a Facebook game, all of a sudden you'll see ads for other games.  Look for a specific group.  All of a sudden Facebook starts showing you other supposedly similar groups you may be interested in joining.  Suggestions for groups your "Friends" are interested in will also be presented.

Phrank, I see nothing wrong with that and it’s not just a Facebook thing. My point was intended to counter those saying FB tracks external browsing history. I’ve found friends through their suggestions after I’ve searched for a specific friend. I’ve also made friends with friends of friends via the suggestions. I don’t look at games, but if I did, I’m sure I’d be interested in other games, so I’d probably welcome those suggestions as well. I used to hate the posts showing the games my friends play, but I’ve turned those off, so I don’t see them. I will say that FB could make control easier if they wanted to, but I, like others, believe they deliberately make it difficult, though it could also be that their programmers are that inept. The best social network I ever used was Multiply and those of us who used it still lament it’s demise.