Who Says Money Can't Buy Friends?

Courtney5000 writes "It looks like some users of popular networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook have stooped so low as to actually pay real money for friends. These friends aren't even real believe it or not. You can apparently choose from a selection of 'models' to leave you customized comments to look like you have friends and are popular online. This is unbelievable!"

Comments

And how many here use myspace?

[qwertyman66]

This is one reason why many people don't use Myspace. Many of the people on it are pathetic and superficial.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Salvance]

/. represents a relatively small, select group of people ... not at all indicative of the masses. MySpace and Facebook are hugely popular with the general population, and in particular with high schoolers and college kids. Most adults would consider this large segment of the population "superficial", so it stands to reason that a good social networking site would mirror its userbase's traits.

But what social networks do folks here use? Is there a good one that offers the benefits of a Facebook or Myspace, while being less superficial and spammy?

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Xyrus]

"This is one reason why many people don't use Myspace. Many of the people on it are pathetic and superficial.

And I will give you may absolute full and undying support....for $19.95.

~X~

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Skater]

I thought I'd never do it, but I now have a Myspace account. Despite having my own domain name and all sorts of pages set up there, I've found that, even at my age (31), you pretty much have to have a Myspace account when dating, so you can see their pictures and all. I finally gave in and created an account.

On the plus side, yesterday I got a message from a guy I haven't seen or heard from since high school, which is pretty cool. Through him, I found another friend from HS that I lost touch with, too.

My usual complaints still apply though: bad web designs abound. One page I saw yesterday had a brightly-colored vertical striped background that made the text nearly impossible to read. Music and videos automatically playing (the option to turn them off doesn't seem to work for me). And so on.

Now, paying for friends? Whaaaaaat? I guess some people see having a lot of friends on Myspace as a measurement of their worth or something.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[lpcustom]

This is our social network. Most of us, I would say, also use this old technology called IRC. To tell the truth. I'd rather talk to an eggdrop bot with a megahal script on IRC than to most of the real people on myspace.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[daranz]

Benefits of Myspace without being superficial and spammy? You mean about:blank?

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Anonymous Coward]

Mod parent up. Only $5.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[hnile_jablko]

I dont know of any good social network site technically. A lot of /.ers like to criticise the status quo as much as possible so myspace is a frequent target. Now it is true, that myspace technically blows goats. And it is also true there are parasites of all sorts out there looking to make money or probe other people on myspace (this is true of the real world as well). But there is also security to keep these people away from you.Basically I use it because all my non-geek/non-nerd friends can use the site relatively easy.
I use the site because I move from country to country a lot. It is the best way for me to remain in a social group (albeit virtually) with my friends from home and the friends I have made elsewhere. All my friends have their pages setup to not accept messages unless the person can enter my friend's real name or email address when prompted. So it its what you are willing to allow people and be a particpant on myspace which reveals a lot about you on the site... and people understand that others are lonely and desperately want to be popular. Its an unfortunate fact which never changes regardless how old we get. Some of us mature out of this and some do not. I would like to think I am one of those who have matured(until I see Natalie Portman has a new film released when i become a stupid stalker man again.... : )) Just my 2p.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[somersault]

I use a social network that I call 'my life'.

On the computer my social networking is probably limited to playing Counter-Strike.

Actually, only kidding, I have a deviantArt account, but I got that for somewhere to put my pictures online somewhere where I could get critique on my photos, and show that I could show them to my real friends, not really for making new friends. In fact I just find it a hassle trying to keep up with people on sites like deviantArt - even though I met my girlfriend there ;)

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Anonymous Coward]

/. represents a relatively small, select group of peopleTell that to all who have ever been slashdotted.. ;P

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[lav-chan]

But what social networks do folks here use? Is there a good one that offers the benefits of a Facebook or Myspace, while being less superficial and spammy?

Yeah: Facebook or Myspace.

Translation: DON'T ASSOCIATE WITH SUPERFICIAL PEOPLE AND YOUR MYSPACE EXPERIENCE WILL REFLECT THAT

I don't know why this is such a difficult concept for people on Slashdot to grasp. It is barely any different from real life. Every day, at the grocery store, at your job, at school, at church, there are people all around you who are superficial or otherwise undesirable to you. The entire world we live in is like that. The trick is that you don't fucking hang out with people like that. Problem solved.

If you don't like 'emo' kids, don't add any to your friends list. If you don't like 'whores', don't add any to your friends list. If you don't like teen-agers in general, don't add any to your friends list. Your experience on MySpace will be interesting and constructive if you surround yourself with interesting and constructive people.

In the end you may have some other reason for disliking MySpace, of course, but the Slashdot line that MySpace is populated solely by angst-ridden uneducated children is bull shit. You would have the same impression of Earth if you were looking at it from the outside. But if you actually use the superior intelligence that you imply you possess, you will discover that there are many people on MySpace who do not fit your caricature.

Or, you know, you could just use it to communicate with people from real life, the way i and everybody else i know do, and not even worry about how the rest of the world behaves on MySpace.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Lumpy]

If you are over thirty and have a My Space account you are probably a pedophile.
Yeah right! After looking with my daughter on MySpace, you are telling me that Tony Hawk is a pedophile, Wierd Al Yankovic is a Pedophile and Michael Jackson is a .... Oh wait....

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[pla]

MySpace and Facebook are hugely popular with the general population

No. Popular with angsty kids who still consider their favorite band-of-the-week as a defining characteristic of their very existence.
Most of us grow out of that.


But what social networks do folks here use?

The question makes no sense. What "social networks"? Hello? Turn off the computer, go outside, and introduce yourself to the damn neighbors!!!


Is there a good one that offers the benefits of a Facebook or Myspace, while being less superficial and spammy?

Mutually exclusive goals. "Social networking" sites exist to feed superficiality - What gives the benefits of superficiality without the superficiality? Meaningless. Letting people buy "friends" just epitomizes that idea (as you correctly point out), thus making it perfectly "normal" in context, but no less shallow.

In the real world, people don't count their "friends" by the thousands. Personally, I have three "real" friends, with another dozen or so for whom I'd lightly use the term. And I consider that just a fine state of affairs. Many more, and I couldn't live up to the social obligations implicit in the concept of friendship. What pass as friends on Myspace and similar sites, I wouldn'teven count as mere acquaintances in the real world.

If you've never met someone, never talked to them, and know nothing about them other than the fiction they choose to put on an ego-stroking web-page, where the hell do you get off calling them "friends"?

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Anonymous Coward]

In the end you may have some other reason for disliking MySpace, of course, but the Slashdot line that MySpace is populated solely by angst-ridden uneducated children is bull shit. You would have the same impression of Earth if you were looking at it from the outside. But if you actually use the superior intelligence that you imply you possess, you will discover that there are many people on MySpace who do not fit your caricature.

Or, you know, you could just use it to communicate with people from real life, the way i and everybody else i know do, and not even worry about how the rest of the world behaves on MySpace.

Or, of course, we could choose to relate to people in the real world and ignore Myspace completely.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[shawb]

I guess some people see having a lot of friends on Myspace as a measurement of their worth or something.

In a way, yes. But it's not about vanity. This service isn't for the regular users of myspace... this service is for fake user pages which are basically an ad for a porn site. People are more likely to visit the site advertised if there are a number of friends. In the eyes of the person building the myspace profile, this creates a bootstrap problem of getting enough people to fall for the page to add it to their friends list that enough people will think it is a genuine profile and add it to their friends list. At first it wasn't that hard as there are enough guys out there that will do anything if they see a picture of a girl in a bikini (probably stolen off a modeling agencies website,) however, even these guys are getting wise to the fact that they're just getting used and won't ever get anything out of befriending an advertisement for a website, especially if that ad doesn't already have any friends. So, the bootstrap problem can now be fixed for $0.99 a month.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Jace of Fuse!]

I've had a couple of domains and journals online for years and none of my friends and family could be bothered to check them regularly. When they finally did and read something I wrote (normally weeks or months later) they would message me saying "Oh wow... why didn't you tell me?"

Now, since most of my less than tech-savvy family and friends are all on Myspace, the crap I write gets read almost daily.

It annoys me to no end that something as retarded as Myspace serves it's function as well as it does, but I guess "Myspace" is really not a space that the technically inclined can really call "Mine". It's really theirs.

Looking at it like that, My myspace page isn't really for me. It's for them. And almost everyone I have on my friends list is someone I know from the real world with a few exceptions (a few long time chat/gaming friends made the cut...).

As for the disabled autoplaying music. It worked -- now it doesn't.

Myspace isn't perfect. In fact, it's far from it. It's so far from it, the word Myspace and Perfect probably aren't even from the same planet. Still, it has it's uses.

And to all of those people who complain about the quality of the users on Myspace, to them all I can say it's YOUR choice who you add to your friends list. If there are a bunch of idiots leaving comments, who is there really to blame about THAT?

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Damastus the WizLiz]

Next up. Slashdot sells Mod points.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[DeadCatX2]

I used to work in an arcade for a while (then I got a real job doing hardware engineering). I made a lot of friends in the HS/college kid crowd, and all of them are on myspace.

It definitely allows me to keep tabs on people far more than normal. A lot of friends just post random bulletins about how their day went - that's information I would otherwise not have had.

That, and several old HS friends have found me through myspace. It actually is really good for keeping in touch with people. I wouldn't expect a troll like you to understand, though. Sometimes you have to, you know, actually see how something is used before bashing it.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Anonymous Coward]

Translation: DON'T ASSOCIATE WITH SUPERFICIAL PEOPLE AND YOUR MYSPACE EXPERIENCE WILL REFLECT THAT
That must be why I've only got one friend, and I keep in touch with them outside of myspace.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[jetxee]

I dont know of any good social network site technically. A lot of /.ers like to criticise the status quo as much as possible so myspace is a frequent target.

/. is a good enough social network site. Anyone can even have a journal here, and a post on the front page eventually :)

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[CrazyTalk]

LinkedIn. I use it to stay in touch with former colleagues, and it is very professional. No posting of music, videos and drunken parties on top of barely readable background - just listings of professional experience, education, professional interests, etc. A great networking tool.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[FST777]

That must be why I've only got one friend, and I keep in touch with them outside of myspace.

Wow.
Might that be because not all personalities of every person you know suffering from MPS are on MySpace?

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Space_Balls]

In the spirit of the story, how much does ./ charge for a front page post these days?

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Anonymous Coward]

Good to see michael jackson fans here to mod things flamebait that they dont like..

Lighten up, it's funny!

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[mollymoo]

If you are over thirty and have a My Space account you are probably a pedophile.

Oh my god, you're right!

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[An ominous Cow art]

Seems to me there's a business model in there somewhere. All you need is a Step 2).

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[shaneh0]

"No. Popular with angsty kids who still consider their favorite band-of-the-week as a defining characteristic of their very existence."

You can choose to believe that or not. The choice is largely one of ignorance or not.

There are a huge number of people on MySpace, and pigeonholing them in the way you have is akin to a MySpacer saying "Slashdot? That's popular with pale-skinned computer geeks that have no friends, no life, and no social skills. They live in their moms basement at age 35 and consider their computer operating system a defining characteristic of their very existence"

The point I'm trying to make is that if you think that MySpace is full of superficial, ignorant people who accept stereotypes at face value, then you, sir, based on your comments, would fit right in.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

I use the site because I move from country to country a lot. It is the best way for me to remain in a social group (albeit virtually) with my friends from home and the friends I have made elsewhere.

Man, I hear you there. MySpace drives me nuts. The pages are bloated and everybody puts a song on it that MUST PLAY AS SOON AS THE PAGE LOADS. That's really annoying when you use tabs to load a bunch of pages. It's also covered with the sorts of ads that you really don't want showing up when you're at work. That said, I've actually been far more successfull reconnecting to people I went to highschool with than Classmates.com. It's easy to use, so lots of people have created an account.

I hate MySpace for technical reasons, but man, it is a great social networking site. I just hope it becomes fashionable to not make it so annoying.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[chaoticgeek]

I use facebook, its a great way for me to keep in touch with my friends and have all their info, full name, address, and email in one place that I know I won't lose. I also am not like most people that accept anyone from their university to be their friend.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Clete2]

Sadly, I agree. And I'm not kidding.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Anonymous Coward]

There are a huge number of people on MySpace, and pigeonholing them in the way you have is akin to a MySpacer saying "Slashdot? That's popular with pale-skinned computer geeks that have no friends, no life, and no social skills. They live in their moms basement at age 35 and consider their computer operating system a defining characteristic of their very existence"

So? MacOS Rulez! And I prefer to think of it as Mom living in my attic.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[geniepiper]

In fact, it is surprising how many people out there do not even know what superficial means. :-(

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[ultranova]

No. Popular with angsty kids who still consider their favorite band-of-the-week as a defining characteristic of their very existence.
Most of us grow out of that.

And graduate into complaining about the shallowness of said kids here on Slashdot instead. Much more mature.

Oh well. A few more years and you, too, will be amongst us truly mature people, complaining about people who complain about angsty kids who consider their favorite band-of-the-week as a defining charasteristic of their very existence :).

I wonder if it's possible to become mature enough that I could just deal with people as they are, without worrying about maturity or immaturity, or the appearance of them ?

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[geniepiper]

Actually this makes me feel somewhat justified. I do volunteer work at a small community center. A lot of it involves computers. Right now all the teenagers want a place on MySpace. So I had to learn MySpace. Lord in Heaven, that I don't believe in, help me! At any rate, I told the kids that some, even most, of the pictures posted on MySpace were probably not the real pictures of the poster. They said "Why you say that?" I said "Most of these pictures look like models." They just couldn't believe me. Now thanks to Slashdot I have a link to show them what I am talking about.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[DesertWolf0132]

I'm with you. Most of my non-geek friends are on MySpace so I created an account to keep up with them. My 10 year reunion was organized through MySpace. But every time I pull up a profile my inner web designer dies a little. I use Flashblock to prevent the music from assaulting the ears but these fonts set to 50% opacity over a background of similar color make me want to stab out my own eyes. I have to select the text just to read it and that makes me hurt on so many levels. Why, ye internet Gods, why? Next they will be setting their font to 3px, opacity to 25, with color at #010101 using a background color of #000000. That is when I start hunting Tom with an elephant gun for allowing this.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[SeaFox]

But what social networks do folks here use?

What is this "social network" you speak of?
Do I have to own a Zune to use it?

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[theGil]

But what social networks do folks here use? Is there a good one that offers the benefits of a Facebook or Myspace, while being less superficial and spammy?

I joined MySpace not too long ago just to see what all the fuss was about...not long afterward, I was disgusted by the unappealing stock profile set before me, so it's become more of a trial-and-error game to see how aesthetically pleasing I can make it...I'll chat back and forth with a few of my buddies every now and again, but I mostly just enjoy trying to find ways to hack the hell out of it without butchering the general appearance.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[oldosadmin]

You know what's interesting? By judging Myspace by a few idiots who use it, geeks are being superficial.

Myspace is useful. It can be abused just like anything else (slashdot trolls+gnaa, anyone?), and using it in a good, proper way can lead to improved communications within your social group.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[TobascoKid]

I was thinking along those lines when I joined myspace - "I'm over 30 and male, I just know I'm going to end up on a suspected list somewhere". The only reason why I even joined was that a colleague wanted help with his bands myspace page so I figured it would be better to make mistakes on my own page than his (but then, all of myspace seems to be one large mistake). One thing I discovered is that

Maybe instead of "we'll make it look like you have friends" there's money to be made in "we'll make it look like you have some idea about style and design".

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[friedo]

Truedat.

I didn't see the point of LinkedIn for quite some time (nor any other social networking site) and so I set up a joke profile as a Latex Salesman from Vandelay Industries.

But recently I decided to give it a serious chance and put my real work experience on there and started adding old colleagues from previous jobs. It's been very helpful in keeping track of people and networking.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[lpcustom]

I'm not sure you are correct when you say /.ers like to criticise the status quo, especially as it relates to social network sites like myspace. It's not like we are sitting around waiting on something to become popular so we can talk shit about it. For me personally, I just don't get myspace. I don't understand it's popularity at all. The only thing it proves to me is that a large majority of people are stupid. I mean, if it's about having a personal web page, what ever happened to angelfire and geocities. If it's about communication, what about IRC, IM, and forums. Most of the myspace profile pages I've seen look like someone tried to teach a retarded blind monkey how to write html. There's no telling how many seisures myspace has caused and they should have warnings about it. In fact, before you are allowed to view the page you should have to click some kind of agreement that states you understand you could go into a seisure just by viewing the page. I wish I was exaggerating.

I'll compare this to when I was a kid. When I was growing up in the 80's, fashion was rediculously silly. My parent's generation looked at us like we were a bunch of nuts, and we were. Now I'm part of the generation that's looking at myspace and thinking what are these kids thinking. Do they realize how stupid these pages look. Also back when I was a kid there were adults that tried to fit in with the kids when it came to fashion. They were nuts. Looking back now, they'd be like "what was I thinking". The same thing goes for the older people on myspace. They just want to pretend they are kids again. History repeats itself. This is evident in the comments on a lot of myspace pages. That's the same language people were using in the early 90's on AOL. Bring on the new AOL and embrace it's popularity.

Slashdot doesn't criticize the status quo....we criticize the stupid status quo.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Dekker3D]

step 2: ? step 3: profit!

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah right. I bet you troll /. anonymously all the time.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Itninja]

I assume Weird Al would be an exception? On another note, I recently dumped Buzznet because they were tuning into yet another MySpace clone. They use to be a decent photoblog....good times.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[riceboy50]

Why shouldn't people be free to set their page up how they like it? I think you are failing to understand the purpose/draw of the site to a certain degree. Don't get me wrong, I despise the piss poor design of MySpace and the ridiculous profile themes people set up there, but I am certainly glad they are free to express themselves.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Anonymous Coward]

There are a huge number of people on MySpace, and pigeonholing them in the way you have is akin to a MySpacer saying "Slashdot? That's popular with pale-skinned computer geeks that have no friends, no life, and no social skills. They live in their moms basement at age 35 and consider their computer operating system a defining characteristic of their very existence"

That's a rubbish stereotype. I'm 33.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[goofyspouse]

I can't speak for the GP, but I am fine with people being free to set up their page however they like. What better "bozo filter" could there possibly be than the aforementioned webcrimes? If someone wants to put white text on a yellow background in 4pt type while attempting to blast some shitty MIDI file at me, I don't need to ever see or hear anything from that person again. If I met that person face to face, it would probably take much longer to determine that they are a complete dumbass.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[vindimy]

i use myspace to talk to my real-life friends, they know me and care about me and it is very convenient for keeping in touch, sharing pictures, music and video tastes, etc. some people just go too far in myspace because they have no real life...

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[idontgno]

And what's the going price for a 4-digit ID? A 3-digit one?

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[fithmo]

That is when I start hunting Tom with an elephant gun for allowing this.

At this point, since News Corp. owns MySpace, it'd be better for you and the whole world if you hunted Rupert Murdoch.

If you lpan to blog the hunt, please add my to your friends list!

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[lpcustom]

All of those things can be done with Email. People are drawn to fads. It's as simple as that.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[DesertWolf0132]

Will do. I'll probably need to go to a full-auto instead of an elephant gun though. You know, to cut through the bodyguards...

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[fbartho]

you might benefit from using greasemonkey on firefox with this script:

http://lifehacker.com/software/myspace/myspace-cus tom-style-remover-greasemonkey-script-201920.php

It removes custom css, making all myspace tags initially cleaned up of the eye gouging colors, leaving you only with the brain melting text.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[AtomicBomb]

Sorry... The real world is also similar... A lot of people spend big money on racing car, exclusive club membership, trendy restaurant and clothing are because of similar reason. The impression that they belong to an "alpha" group make them feel great. Most of us, the geeks, just do not buy into this...

So, you and me hang round here. And you wasted your precious 30 seconds reading my rant :p

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[magisterx]

"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation. " -- Oscar Wilde.

The trick is to find the people who are not like that, and associate with them. Its hard, but they can be found on my space and in life.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Rob Kaper]

Yeah, but you sound like one of those people on here who'd rather has sex with an IRC bot than the girl/guy on MySpace. I've been to enough open source conferences to know that geeks are no fun when it comes to having a social life. Seriously, making out with a sixteen year old hottie on a Saturday night is a lot more fun than talking about multi-processing aardvark simulations.

(No offense. *Both* are possibly pathetic. Just don't think you're better than everyone else because you've owned more computers than you had slampieces.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Rob Kaper]

I'd like to know. :)

(Haven't used my 3-digit one for ages though.)

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[lpcustom]

Actually I'm one of those who have a social life beyond the internet and realize that saying "Yo girl, what up....holla" on Saturday night on myspace while dressed in your boxers looking at porn, isn't going to get you anywhere. If you rely on myspace for your socializing, you are pathetic. Also if I were spending my Saturday night making out with a sixteen year old hottie, I'd be in trouble with both the Police and my wife.

You missed my point. The bot comment was to say I find most people on myspace.com to be about as interesting as an eggdrop bot with a megahal script. If you have no idea what that is, no prob, I won't insult your ignorance of a geek subject even though you're on SLASHDOT. I stereotyped myspace users, you stereotyped slashdot users. Unfortunately, the myspace stereotype was more accurate.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[Thomas Shaddack]

When you have to go out, go out with a bang.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[FLEB]

Ooh! Ooh! I know this one!

Among other things, it's ushered in numerous security holes, from the fact that loosely-filtered user-created content sits in the same domain that people dial in all their personal information and social networking to. It's a breeding-ground for XSS exploits.

Other than that, it makes the site as a whole inefficient, slow, clunky, awkward, and unpredictable as people kludge and hack their way around what restrictions there are.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[metamorphiq]

I have never been to myspace (am partial to livejournal.com myself), but threaded discussions are much easier to follow than a mailing list or a forum. Saves time and it's non-blocking ;)

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[lpcustom]

Most forums are threaded discussions.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

[ccarson]

It appears the site owner has taken the domain down and is taking offers to sell. It was working this morning...

I don't need friends...

[Rastignac]

...But I really need good slashdot karma ;)

Re:I don't need friends...

[Grr]

Finally a chance to turn my mod points into cold hard cash, how much are you offering? ;)

Re:I don't need friends...

[TubeSteak]

YOU could have excellent Karma Today!

Mail me your Username & Password & for only one fee of $10, I'll post under your name until you have better karma.

Just send an e-mail to Slashdot_Karma@SpamBob.net or we can discuss payment in your journal once you've e-mailed your username:password.

TubeSteak is like V1AGR@ for your Karma

Re:I don't need friends...

[jawtheshark]

I that case: stop making jokes and make insightful comments....

Funny mods are a curse: your post gets more visible, but you don't get any karma for them. However, because your post is now more visible the odds are that some humourless dolt mods you "Overrated" which ensures you lose karma. I like being funny on slashdot as the next guy, but you do it for the sake of humour, not for getting karma.

Re:I don't need friends...

[packeteer]

This is bad karma overall for slashdot for posting sucha blatent advertsement for a site that has not even caught on yet. Part of the whole catching on plan fo rthis site is the slashdot clicks. Sad Sad Sad...

Re:I don't need friends...

[shawb]

I thought over/underrated don't actually affect karma. I personally can't remember seeing those ratings in meta-moderation, and I thought that was because they don't change the poster's karma and so are less likely to be abused...

Granted, a funny rating also makes you more visible to troll, flamebait, redundant and offtopic mods if another moderator is annoyed by the joke.

Re:I don't need friends...

[jawtheshark]

Well, they might have changed it, but both Underrated and Overrated did impact on your karma back in the day. Of course, Funny once counted in your karma rating too, but it was changed. Thing is: Underrated and Overrated are not subject to metamoderation. Usually, a moderator uses either Underrated or Overrated if he knows he's making a bad/unfair moderation and doesn't want to get "judged" by meta-moderation.

Of course, I got an Overrated mod on my original comment. I should have known that someone was bound to do that. (Not that I care too much, I was at the 50 cap for ages and I never went below Excellent after that... )

Re:I don't need friends...

[Cylix]

Generally, slashdotters seem to abhore myspace...

I'm thinking not the target demographic on this one.

Re:I don't need friends...

[nolife]

Who gives a shit about karma, post what you feel, not what you think others want to hear. This concept should apply to more then just slashdot.

A treatment for depression?

[BadAnalogyGuy]

Sometimes when someone is down in the dumps, all it takes is the smile of a stranger to lift their spirits. I wonder if 'gifting' a friendship in this way could help someone who is suicidal.

Re:A treatment for depression?

[Bob54321]

You really think that someone who is suicidal will have their mood bettered when they realize someone had to pay for them to have friends?

Re:A treatment for depression?

[BadAnalogyGuy]

I guess I wasn't clear enough. Since we're talking about MySpace users, I meant "I wonder if 'gifting' a friendship in this way could help push over the edge someone who is suicidal."

Re:A treatment for depression?

[goddidit]

Yes. Please buy me a hooker so I don't kill myself.

Re:A treatment for depression?

[Salvance]

Huh? Why not just create a new user and befriend that person ... even if you had to pretend to be someone else it would be far better than paying for it. Heck, you could go on MySpace and just roam around for users with very few friends and befriend them to lift their spirits. Again, far more noble than paying for friends.

Re:A treatment for depression?

[hclyff]

Still better than taking your pet a hostage :p

Re:A treatment for depression?

[aadvancedGIR]

At least that would mean that someone cared about him, even if he used a very bad way of showing it.

I think this kind of fake friends will probably only be used in the "my blog has more visitors than yours" childish competitions that take place in every school today.

Re:A treatment for depression?

[The_Mr_Flibble]

If it was my friendship it would probably push them over the edge.

Re:A treatment for depression?

[mmkkbb]

or the "i have more hot friends on my top 8" battles that go on myspace EVERY DAY

Re:A treatment for depression?

[aadvancedGIR]

Yes, thank god we are mature enouth to only compete on our user# and karma score only.

Re:A treatment for depression?

[kisielk]

Yeah, but those people with very few friends likely don't look like hot bikini models. Although I think if most slashdotters started receiving comments from people who look like those advertised on the site, people would be pretty suspicious. I think they need to add a variety of less "attractive" people.

Re:A treatment for depression?

[silentounce]

You're assuming that people who are suffering from depression think rationally.

How is this different

[El Lobo]

How is it different from the "real life"? You are what you dress. You are what you consume. You are what you friends are. Unfortunatly in these days for many people you exist only in the eyes of the others. When other people stop looking and "admiring" you, you don't exist anymore.
So you are buying a new car today yop say? Do you **really** need it?

Re:How is this different

[hclyff]

Surely you are not saying that you can *pay* someone to be your friend (and still call it a friendship). If your friends judge you by car you drive, you might want to reconsider a few things in your life.

Re:How is this different

[4solarisinfo]

"You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fucking khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world."

Join Project Mayhem today!

Re:How is this different

[hey!]

You're barking up the wrong tree, mister. Supposing Donald Trump wasn't a rich guy, but just a nobody who worked in your offie. Wouldn't you still want to hang out with him, just for his wit and charm?

Re:How is this different

[phiwum]

Even supposing my real life friends hang out with me only because I spend money freely, there is a difference.

My real life friends are real people.

Re:How is this different

[Fred_A]

I'd hang out with anyone called "Donald".

Or "Pluto".

Re:How is this different

[Anonymous Coward]

What you describe is NOT real life. It is called Social Conditioning. You are whatever you invest your time and energy into. Be mindful of the way you think, and your perspective on life and what you identify will change wildly.

Re:How is this different

[Anonymous Coward]

You are what you dress. You are what you consume. You are what you friends are.

This depends on what your definition of "are" is. Many people try to act like a specific common group even though they truely are not "like" that. The desire and methods you use to fit in with others does not make you that type of person. Granted, by many of your grouplike actions, you can be considered the same as the group but your underlying morals and beliefs still may be different.

Related to that concept is the difference between an online world and and a real world.
In the online world, you have a chance to act differently depending on what you are currently doing because there is a seperation of unrelated groups. You can play some kids on an Xbox game, play WOW and act like a computer geek or a drug addict. If you decide to act a certain way in the real world, you have to stick with that one way to be taken seroiusly by any one group. You can not hang with the emos one day and hang with the cheerleaders the next, it does not work even though you may share certain interests with both. When I was in HS, there was not really a strong "group" concept. There was different groups but it was easier to flow in and out of all of them and the way I remember it, everyone kind of got along with everyone else or at least you could get along with everyone else if you choose to and many people did. I hung out with the bikers and skaters, the shop class stoners, the football team, the computer club, pretty much everyone including the band fags and the stage crew. Based on my disscussions with my teenagers, that is not the case anymore and everyone seems to have to take a side and stick with it.

Re:How is this different

[halivar]

Dude. You forgot the first and second rules of Project Mayhem.

Now we gotta take your balls.

Re:How is this different

[ruben.gutierrez]

I love that movie.

Re:How is this different

[andphi]

His name is Robert Paulson.
His name is Robert Paulson.

Re:How is this different

[4solarisinfo]

Tyler Durden: Fight Club was the beginning, now it's moved out of the basement, it's called Project Mayhem

Its not really unbelievable

[Anonymous Coward]

I would imagine a product like this would appeal to people in a vulnerable social setting, like teenagers. To be able to pay a modest amount of money to appear as popular, and thereby successful according to your peers definition, would be worth some money i can easily imagine as a parent and as a socialworker.

Re:Its not really unbelievable

[Dunbal]

I would imagine a product like this would appeal to people in a vulnerable social setting, like teenagers.

      But teenagers don't have credit cards.

      "Dad, can I borrow your credit card to buy some fake friends for myspace?"

Re:Its not really unbelievable

[pahoran]

I know plenty of teenagers that "own" cell phones with monthly service charges. These same people have no jobs.

Re:Its not really unbelievable

[Anonymous Coward]

But teenagers don't have credit cards.

You obviously haven't been checking your own Snail Mail box. Every 3rd piece of mail is about a credit card opportunity. Trust me, If Dogs can get credit cards sent to them in the mail, any quarter intelligent teenager will figure out how to get a credit card.

Re:Its not really unbelievable

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm no professional, but I imagine this sort of thing could have a lot of negative effects. Maybe in the short term it'd be nice to look popular, but how long before it occurs to these kids, especially the insecure vulnerable sort you claim would be most interested, just what it means that the majority of their friends are there because they're paid to be?

It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

[slaida1]

All kinds of fake friend services are common. Nothing special there.

Re:It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

[FlopEJoe]

Ya... it's like this escort service I use where they... err... nevermind.

Re:It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

[Morphine007]

It's actually kinda funny; I've heard stories from a couple of people I work with who all know this one guy, let's call him Bob. Bob is military, and, like most military guys who love their job, doesn't have much time for women. So Bob hires a hooker once a week... it's the same hooker each time, she comes over after work and leaves in the morning. Bob pays her a bit extra to bring beer and pizza with her. The guy apparently always has a smile on his face and claims that it's cheaper than being married to a non-working housewife.... especially when you factor in that most people who know Bob personally are also military and have at least one divorce each under their belts. So paying for "friendship" isn't always as stupid as it sounds... some people just don't have time to forge the bonds that make the rest of us human... that doesn't mean they shouldn't have access to them.

Re:It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

[Anonymous Coward]

Go, misogyny, go.

Re:It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

[Anonymous Coward]

In the context of the story, your sig is slightly disturbing.

Don't get me wrong, I'd do him too, but share my pizza and beer?

Re:It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

[Morphine007]

meh... have you seen pictures of John Romero? She obviously doesn't eat much :)

Re:It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

[Iamthefallen]

Ever since John cut her hair she kinda looks like a dude.

Re:It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

[caluml]

this one guy, let's call him Bob

Uhuh. Just a friend of yours, is he? :)

Re:It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

[Morphine007]

comic genius

... no really... ;-p

No, I am not Bob, I'm only half as geek as I pretend to be, so I manage to get laid on occasion... by real women.... that I didn't even have to pay... who knew?

Re:It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

[ceoyoyo]

I know a guy who's fond of saying it's cheaper to rent women than to own your own. He mostly mentions that when female friends are around though.

Re:It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

[Anonymous Coward]

Awwww... They sound perfect for each other. I hear wedding bells!

Re:It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

[TapeCutter]

Bob pays for a 12hr trick once a week and can still afford berr & pizza, on a military pay-check?

Re:It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

[Raenex]

Some relevant quotes:

On getting married: "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?"

On prostitution: "You're not paying for the sex; you're paying them to leave."

Re:It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

[ceoyoyo]

I love the first one, particularly when used by women. It implies the only point of marrying them is for sex. That's got to be good for the old self-esteem.

I think what's more unbelievable is that.....

[ip_freely_2000]

....you think this is unbelievable. What do you expect from people using Myspace??

Re:I think what's more unbelievable is that.....

[Anonymous Coward]

I find that unbelievable.

Based upon the header

[Capt James McCarthy]

I though it was another article on the MS/Novell 'agreement.'

Re:Based upon the header

[jetxee]

I thought it was about selling the friends after all.

Re:Based upon the header

[Anonymous Coward]

hah!! ha. ha. ha.

hah.

hahaaa.

You totally gave me my only slashdot-sponsored smile 'o the day(tm).

Shhhh!

[tttonyyy]

You can apparently choose from a selection of 'models' to leave you customized comments to look like you have friends and are popular online.

One day the slashdot editors will figure out that we're all bots too, and the game will be over.

Re:Shhhh!

[jellomizer]

Shhh! this is from the Bots Detection Bot. We don't want you to spread the word that all these posts are from bot. except for one poor sap who is actually reading this.
I shouldn't have said that. But I wasn't programmed with a backspace option.

Re:Shhhh!

[Anonymous Coward]

ERROR: Reply response 05-253103-m (witty-deny_prev_statmnt-103-m) not found. Make sure the database is up.

Re:Shhhh!

[TuringTest]

Well, I'm trying to do my best, but they haven't figured it yet.

Re:Shhhh!

[An anonymous Frank]

Yeah right; prove to me that you're not human!

Re:Shhhh!

[MaGogue]

Or maybe Chinese will start selling good mods. "Hi! I am Xin and I can mod you all the way up into the stratosphere. Using my 367 Slashdot identities, I am currently one of the most powerful mod-friend-helpers money can buy!"

Re:Shhhh!

[ceoyoyo]

Hello Xin. I'm a compulsive meta-moderator. That's a nice little business you have there. Shame if anything were to happen to it....

Re:Shhhh!

[toddestan]

I shouldn't have said that. But I wasn't programmed with a backspace option.

Me too^H^H^Hneither.

Why is this "unbelievable", exaclty?

[Anonymous Coward]

Even pathetic people have money.

For just 5 dollars...

[serialdogma]

For the low price of just 5 USD, you can chose from our selection of highly praised slashdot users (some with only 3-digit UIDs) to friend you, please send payments to Ihavenofriends@slashdot.org

Re:For just 5 dollars...

[Anonymous Coward]

My AC days are over... I'm singing up right now!

Re:For just 5 dollars...

[grimJester]

Just to prove you aren't scamming, could you have them mod this post +5 funny? No offense meant, I just want to make sure.

Re:For just 5 dollars...

[Morphine007]

oh... only +2 funnah... I guess the moral here is that if you're a slashdot user, you can't even buy friends... well played myspace... well played...

Re:For just 5 dollars...

[maxwell demon]

My AC days are over... I'm singing up right now!Hey, this is Slashdot, not the Eurovision Song Contest! :-)

Re:For just 5 dollars...

[serialdogma]

Done!

Re:For just 5 dollars...

[Jon Abbott]

There is at least one Slashdot reader with a 3-digit UID that is under 30! Befriend him before he gets old and gray! :^)

Isn't this done already?

[boatofcar]

...America's fraternities and sororities were unavailable for comment.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[timtwobuck]

As a disclaimer, the parent was most likely a joke, but I feel the need to interject because comments like this really piss me off...

As someone that pledged & joined a fraternity during my undergrad I take offense to your comments. I met many life long friends, and solidified many other relationships inside this organization. It taught leadership & management skills that certainly will become precursors to strong professional lives.

It is the habit of many people to comment on things they know nothing about; the popular saying is that people in fraternities and sororities really do pay for their friends. In reality, dues are paid to ensure that the organization can continue to function and remain an avenue for people to experience & meet new people, whom they traditionally would not have met.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[Anonymous Coward]

I met many life long friends, and solidified many other relationships inside this organization. It taught leadership & management skills that certainly will become precursors to strong professional lives.

Members of the Crips, Bloods and thousands of other gangs - including fraternities and sororities - all agree with you. Why even today, the leadership and management skills these gang members learned are evident throughout the US and Mexico.

The thing is, you would also have made life long friends, solidified other relationships, learned leadership and management skills etc etc etc, without having joined a gang.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[Dunbal]

an avenue for people to experience & meet new people, whom they traditionally would not have met.

      (Emphasis mine)

      Why, are members of a frat/sorority prohibited from making friends with non members?

Re:Isn't this done already?

[timtwobuck]

You're interpreting what I said incorrectly. Just by saying they traditionally would not have met doesn't mean they are forbidden. Without my fraternity, there are many people I would never have met because we were not involved in the same activies or the same circle of friends. Hence, my chances of meeting them and becoming friends was drastically lowered.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[somersault]

It is the habit of many people to comment on things they know nothing about; the popular saying is that people in fraternities and sororities really do pay for their friends. In reality, dues are paid to ensure that the organization can continue to function and remain an avenue for people to experience & meet new people, whom they traditionally would not have met.
So, basically, what you're saying is.. the underlying principal of your comment.. the very essence of the thing that you said just a moment ago... is that.. when you really get down to it.. some people really do pay for their friends?

Re:Isn't this done already?

[Anonymous Coward]

Dude, I'm sure there are nice people there, and if it worked for you that's great, but I met a lot of fakey guys and total jerks on frat parties... Same goes for the girls on those parties (though sorority girls seem different; maybe less focus on booze & getting laid big time there).

Re:Isn't this done already?

[icanoop]

I was in a fraternity as an undergrad. The majority of the money I paid went toward housing, food, and parties. The cost of living there was cheaper than getting my own apartment. I think those people who whine that frat members buy their friends are either too stupid to realize that it's pretty much just living with roommates and sharing the cost of throwing parties, or they're acting on feelings of jealously because the good frats have a lot more fun in college than a typical "I'm too cool for frats" jack ass. If they didn't really care I'd expect them not to throw out the "frat members have to buy friends" cliche every chance they get.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[foobsr]

It taught leadership & management skills that certainly will become precursors to strong professional lives.

Not to forget business ethics </cynical>

CC.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[Anonymous Coward]

It taught leadership & management skills that certainly will become precursors to strong professional lives.

Drinking and trying to get laid are NOT management skills.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[pfrCalif]

What, you paid for a drink when you met your girlfriend? You bought movie tickets for her?

There's any easier way to say this, Your girlfriend is a whore, loser

Re:Isn't this done already?

[frdmfghtr]

As someone that pledged & joined a fraternity during my undergrad I take offense to your comments. I met many life long friends, and solidified many other relationships inside this organization. It taught leadership & management skills that certainly will become precursors to strong professional lives.

First point: PLEDGING. Doing stupid stuff to earn the members' respect and loyalty. If I have to do dumb things to join ANY organization and to earn respect, that's not the kind of respect I want to earn.

Second point: Leadership and management skills. I was a member of a fraternity for one semester (and just so you don't think I'm hypocritical on point #1, it was Sigma Phi Epsilon, one of the "Balanced Man" chapters where they don't do any hazing or pledging) and that was about half a semester too long. The monthly dues were quite high ($50/month was a lot for a college student back then) and yet the almost-chapter (a few bodies short of the minimum for the charter) was supposedly always short on funds. Given the numbers we ahd at the time, if everybody paid their dues on time, the debts to the national chapter would be gone in two months; it was a full year after first starting the colony, and yet the debts were still on the books. Where was the money going? The treasurer didn't seem to have a good answer, and nobody else really seemed to care too much.

Leadership development and educational events were promoted as "dry" events; the chapter stopped at a liquor store on the way to stock up, and underage drinking was more-than-allowed. As a member of the standards board, I brought up this issue and it was overwhelmingly shoved under the carpet. There was always this attitude on one hand of respect for society and being responsible, mature citizens; yet the rules of society (and even of the fraternity at times) were scoffed at if they proved to be inconvenient. It was, overall, quite hypocritical--the "brothers" saying one thing and doing another.

Leadership and management skills...please. I quit in disgust after a semester. I got real leadership and management training in the Navy, where failures in leadership would have dire consequences.

Maybe I just had the misfortune to have a bad experience, but everything that you mentioned (management and leadership) can be learned elsewhere, without sacrificing one's dignity as the price of entry.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[Anonymous Coward]

HAHAHAHA!! Burrrrrn!!!

Re:Isn't this done already?

[Fred_A]

meet new people, whom they traditionally would not have met.

This used to be the purpose (quite possibly the only one) of military service in a lot of countries. From what I gathered of US fraternities (from documentaries leaked to the network that I had trouble getting, such as "Revenge of the Nerds" or "Animal House") it seemed to me that fraternities were kind of homogeneous in their membership... If only because they gathered people from the same university...

Re:Isn't this done already?

[Howserx]

If I have to do dumb things to join ANY organization

I had to start using windows to join the local PC club...

Re:Isn't this done already?

[19thNervousBreakdown]

Lesson: Don't admit you were in a frat unless you're around a bunch of other people that were in frats. These days most people, although they are too polite to say anything about it, look down on frats/sororities.

Know the social group you're in. Middle/upper management is probably a good place to advertise that. Slashdot is about the worst place. Look at us, half of us probably beat off to Revenge of the Nerds. Now get outta here before someone starts taunting you with Monty Python quotes.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[nlmille1]

Yo momma, Yo momma, Yo momma...

Incineration!

You're the Insult Master!

Re:Isn't this done already?

[dr_dank]

Leadership development and educational events were promoted as "dry" events; the chapter stopped at a liquor store on the way to stock up, and underage drinking was more-than-allowed.

When I was an undergrad at Plattsburgh State, I was chatting with a girl on campus (on the VAX phone function, just before AIM became popular) who was on some kind of greek oversight board where they would visit frat parties before they began to make sure that there wasn't any alcohol and that there were snacks and other non-alcoholic refreshments. Either she was seriously dense or playing along with the charade, but she adamantly denied that the Pepsi and Cheetos went out the window in favor of the army of kegs they'd bring out the second they left.

I have no doubt that some greek organizations are made up of good people who enjoy each others company and do good deeds, but many of the ones I've had contact with seem to pay lip service to the administration to keep afloat and do what they want to anyway. Ditto for the hazing. They can come out against it all they want but it'll still go on behind closed doors in secrecy. It's too much an ingrained part of the rituals and the older members will push it as "it was done to me, so now I get to give it to others".

Re:Isn't this done already?

[timholman]

As a fraternity man myself, I usually respond to the old "Greeks buy their friends" line with one of my own:

Me: "So you think I bought my friends? Tell me, do you attend church?"

Him: "Yeah, why?"

Me: "Do you ever donate money to your church?"

Him: "Sometimes - what of it?"

Me: "So you're trying to buy your way into heaven, aren't you?"

That usually shuts them up, or at least makes them think twice about what they said.

Another interesting fact for all to consider: go to the alumni association of any university with a Greek system, and find out the percentage of alumni donors who were Greeks. You may be enlightened by what you discover, although universities hate to admit it. Did you somehow think that alumni give money to a college because of all the wonderful times they had in class being lectured by professors?

Re:Isn't this done already?

[timholman]

First point: PLEDGING. Doing stupid stuff to earn the members' respect and loyalty. If I have to do dumb things to join ANY organization and to earn respect, that's not the kind of respect I want to earn.

Hmm, last time I checked the military academies were still hazing new members. I mean, the upperclassmen still treat freshmen like dirt, and haze them mercilessly, don't they? "Beast Barracks" still exists, doesn't it? Fraternities can't hold a candle to some of the crap I've read about - oh, but that's "tradition" for the U.S. military, isn't it?

Given the numbers we ahd at the time, if everybody paid their dues on time, the debts to the national chapter would be gone in two months; it was a full year after first starting the colony, and yet the debts were still on the books. Where was the money going? The treasurer didn't seem to have a good answer, and nobody else really seemed to care too much.

So because you unfortunately had some bad officers (and I daresay some irresponsible members who didn't pay their dues), somehow fraternities in general are bad? Are you saying you've never heard stories about lack of accountability, or money being lost or wasted, while in the Navy? What planet were you stationed on, by the way?

Leadership and management skills...please. I quit in disgust after a semester. I got real leadership and management training in the Navy, where failures in leadership would have dire consequences.

This line really made me chuckle. Yes, as we all know, no Naval officer ever covers his ass when he screws up. Everyone is always accountable for his mistakes. The guilty are always punished, and the innocent are always rewarded. Sure, you betcha. What brand of Kool-aid did they serve you?

Face it - fraternities and sororities are no different than any other organization made up of human beings. There is good and there is bad. Most Greeks usually try to do the right thing, but sometimes they don't. Sometimes people say one thing but do another. Sometimes people screw up and try to hide their mistakes. But if you're going to condemn Greeks for those things, you're being a hypocrite if you don't condemn the Navy (and practically every other organization since the dawn of time) for exactly the same things.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[Belial6]

Eh... You say that like that is a bad thing. As much as society does not want to admit it, most women ( and I'm talking about greater than a 95% ) do or have exchanged sex for monetary gain. When a man buys a woman he does not know (often when he does know her) a beer in a bar, both parties in that transaction know that the man is offering goods in exchange for sex. Unfortunately for the guy, the law does not require the woman to keep up her end of this barter. Just remember...

In America, it is an insult to offer a woman money for sex. We work off a barter system!

Now, before you run off the handle thinking I'm a woman hater or something, you should understand that women don't exchange sex for goods because they are inherently 'whores'. It is because it is traditional to exchange goods for sex. In fact, at one time it was absolutely necessary. It isn't easy chasing a caraboo down for dinner when your 9 months pregnant after all. Then you add that the reason men don't trade sex for money is that there simply is very little market for it. Why would anyone pay for something when they could be the one getting paid for the exact same action. It would make very little sense.

Times are changing though... I have known a couple of men that would sleep with women because the bought them stuff. This is likely due to making your own money being less of a physical act. Once you have your own money, you can start looking for things other than a paycheck.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[maxume]

Oooh, chubbawack. Which is to say, there is plenty of nonsense in the greek system too. Stories of one member slapping another member in the forehead with his wang didn't exactly impress me.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[Anonymous Coward]

"Look at us, half of us probably beat off to Revenge of the Nerds"

shutup just shutup

Re:Isn't this done already?

[timtwobuck]

Have you ever met any of your friends at college? How about in a bar? On a sports team? At a concert? A majority of these places you more than likly paid an admission fee. Guess what, without spending that money you probably wouldn't have met those people. You bought your friends. As I said before, the dues in a fraternity/sorority go to keeping the organizaion afloat. They weren't divided into neat stacks of $20s and handed out behind my back to the brothers...I think...

Re:Isn't this done already?

[jdgeorge]

It is the habit of many people to comment on things they know nothing about; the popular saying is that people in fraternities and sororities really do pay for their friends. In reality, dues are paid to ensure that the organization can continue to function and remain an avenue for people to experience & meet new people, whom they traditionally would not have met.

So, basically, what you're saying is.. the underlying principal of your comment.. the very essence of the thing that you said just a moment ago... is that.. when you really get down to it.. some people really do pay for their friends?

Well put.

However, consider this: While it is a fact that people in fraternities and sororities are generally literally paying for their friends, it is also true that there's nothing wrong with that. If the friends are true, who cares? If you get good friends by paying for membership in their club, then congratulations, that's money well invested!

People are getting confused here. The reason fraternities and sororities are looked down upon is not because they pay for friends. Many people do this, and many others wish they had the means to do this. The reason they are looked down upon is that the Greek clubs have a reputation for being groups of overpriviledged white boys and girls who are inconsiderate to people outside their groups (and often to people inside their groups), behave recklessly, drive while intoxicated, and perform poorly in school. Naturally, this stereotype is, in many cases, completely inaccurate.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[jasmak]

You just emphasized the point that you were trying to rebuke. When I say that "people in frats buy their friends," I am not talking about your brothers that you meet in your frat. I am talking about the 500 people, 4/5 of which you don't know, and yet you give them free beer to so that they will come to your house and party hard and thus making you seem "cool". I do not see any difference between this and paying 400 random people on myspace to be your friends.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[crabpeople]

As a fraternity man myself, I usually respond to the old "Greeks buy their friends" line with one of my own:

Me(you): "So you think I bought my friends? Tell me, do you attend church?"

Him(me): "No, I dont believe in mass indoctrination of any kind"

Me(you): "doyeee?? Lookz aat myz myspacez! i iz kool!"

Him(me): "oh yeah. You gonna finish that 26er, friend?"

Lesson: Don't put words in other peoples mouths or they will do it right back.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[Anonymous Coward]

You are in an organization of college students, funded exclusively by college students (as a colony you would lack any alumni support base presumably). Under that funding for general activities be they chips and drinks for meetings, dues passed along to a national organization or putting on a party or formal, often is tight - simply paying for the food for a formal forced costs of $20 or so a head, and throw in a DJ or purchasing the necessary equipment to be your own DJ is another few hundred dollars minimum. While I acknowledge that some fraternities to blow money on booze, many, at least according to rules set by national organizations prohibit fraternity funds being used for that (acknowledged that many have side booze slush funds, but this should not be from dues). Also, a pledging period is beneficial in helping pledges learn the history and tradition and truly making them a full part of the fraternity and realize the responsibilities that come with membership.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[ozbird]

Another interesting fact for all to consider: go to the alumni association of any university with a Greek system, and find out the percentage of alumni donors who were Greeks.

None, probably. Oh, and Greece called: they want their nationality back.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[mattwarden]

You're splitting hairs. I have many friends who deactivated and never saw their sorority sisters or fraternity brothers again. If you don't pay, you don't get the friends. You may think it's worth it, but that doesn't change the facts.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[frdmfghtr]

Hmm, last time I checked the military academies were still hazing new members. I mean, the upperclassmen still treat freshmen like dirt, and haze them mercilessly, don't they? "Beast Barracks" still exists, doesn't it? Fraternities can't hold a candle to some of the crap I've read about - oh, but that's "tradition" for the U.S. military, isn't it?

Right--one reason I got out of the service. And our CO was pretty hard-core against any hazing. The whole sub squadron got hard-core against hazing when one night, a guy who wouldn't reveal who tacked on his dolphins so hard he got big-ass bruises shot himself while on topside watch.

So because you unfortunately had some bad officers (and I daresay some irresponsible members who didn't pay their dues), somehow fraternities in general are bad? Are you saying you've never heard stories about lack of accountability, or money being lost or wasted, while in the Navy? What planet were you stationed on, by the way?

Did I say all fraternities and sororities were bad based on my bad experience? You must have missed this part of my post where I pointed out my experience may have been an anomaly:

"Maybe I just had the misfortune to have a bad experience, but everything that you mentioned (management and leadership) can be learned elsewhere, without sacrificing one's dignity as the price of entry."

This line really made me chuckle. Yes, as we all know, no Naval officer ever covers his ass when he screws up. Everyone is always accountable for his mistakes. The guilty are always punished, and the innocent are always rewarded. Sure, you betcha. What brand of Kool-aid did they serve you?

In my experience, yes. The submarine fleet is a world apart from the surface Navy, where everybody is accountable by necessity--one mistake by one crewmember can cost everybody their lives. Did my division officer lose paperwork and try to pass it off on me? Sure. I'm not talking about those sorts of CYA tactics. I'm talking about REAL leadership and management where lives are at stake.

But if you're going to condemn Greeks for those things, you're being a hypocrite if you don't condemn the Navy (and practically every other organization since the dawn of time) for exactly the same things.

See the first line of my post where I state that any organization where I have to do dumb stuff to join is not an organization I want to be a part of.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[NeuroKoan]

As a past employee of my universities alumni association (with a greek system) I must comment. It is of no surprise that greeks are our biggest donors, nor is it really a secret. Most of the people who attend the functions and reunions were also greeks, a lot of board members are also greeks, and one of the biggest outreach programs we had was with the current greeks. The only group that rivals greek donations is that of large (and small) corporations making research grants, but those aren't done through the alumni association. As far as I know, it was never a big secret, nor did we hate admission of the fact that greeks are the biggest donors. I'm at a loss to see where you got that assumption.

To be perfectly honest, though, working at the association changed my view on greeks. I used to have the stereotypical anit-greek mentality, but after meeting and talking to former greeks, it made me realize that they are normal people, not the socially stunted beer swilling gorillas that I used to believe frats mainly consisted of. Me, I was still a beer swilling gorilla, but had that chip on my shoulder that I wasn't socially stunted because "I made my friends without paying dues." Regardless, that all changed after working reunions and other events, because it made me realize that greeks were basically the same as me and my friends and were actually pretty cool. I never rushed (still didn't really want to), but at least I got rid of my pre-conceived notions.

Oh, and for what its worth, quite a few people don't go to church or pay a tithing, so I guess you'll need another argument. I mean, I agree that a frat is similar to other social groups that pay money either explicitly or implicitly, but not everyone goes to church.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[Danny Rathjens]

Perhaps this has something to do with our current frat boy president. I still find it very difficult to believe america elected someone that was arrested 3 times (theft(some frat dare), drunk and disorderly(another frat event), and DUI a decade later(where do you think he learned to drink?)), not to mention the admitted drug use he was never arrested for. It seems that most of his irresponsible behaviour is directly related to frat life. I wouldn't trust someone like that to babysit, let alone run the country and it seems that people are finally realizing that likeable frat boys do not make good leaders.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[Anonymous Coward]

And you think thats because the frat/sorority members suddenly disappeared and cut off all ties?

In my experience with deactivated people, its the other way around. THEY choose to stop associating with former brothers/sisters.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[icanoop]

Then you use "people in frats buy their friends" differently than most do. Everyone I've heard say that before has gone on to explain that they mean buying friendship from your frat brothers.

I kind of agree with you the way you mean it. The point I made is that it's no different than having roommates and sharing the cost of parties. If you consider throwing a party to be "buying friends" then I am guilty of that before, during and after I was in a frat. In fact, I highly recommend it. It's how most friends are made. It's also known as being social. It's an investment with a very good ROI.

I've also "bought friends" by listening to people I don't know complain about their problems and offering kind words or advice. I've even bought friends by teaching people I don't know about software and providing people I don't know with free software.

If you think that those 4/5 of the people, which I didn't know, were only coming for the free beer then you have a lot to learn. The beer was actually pretty bad. The purpose of the beer was social. It helped them feel confident enough to approach me and start a conversation, which took a lot of nerve because I was looking so "cool" since all those people came to my party.

I did not emphasize the point I was trying to rebuke. You tried to change my point to make it seem that way.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[jasmak]

You make some good points there. And I did somewhat abuse what you were saying. Don't get me wrong though, I am currently at Penn State and very social and party regularly. And I do party at frats occasionally because I have many friends in them and I enjoy those as well. But at a big party school like this, people DO go to frats and parties in general just to get beer and once it is gone, they leave without talking to any brothers at all. It may have been different at your school, I am just telling my experiences with them.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[timholman]

Me(you): "So you think I bought my friends? Tell me, do you attend church?"

Him(me): "No, I dont believe in mass indoctrination of any kind"

Me(you): "doyeee?? Lookz aat myz myspacez! i iz kool!"

Him(me): "oh yeah. You gonna finish that 26er, friend?"

Lesson: Don't put words in other peoples mouths or they will do it right back.

So you don't believe in mass indoctrination. Fine. Then I use this argument:

Me: "Do you have friends of your own? Family members you're fond of?"

Him: "Sure. Who doesn't?"

Me: "Do you sometimes give them presents? Do you buy things to please them?"

Him: "Of course."

Me: "So you buy their love and friendship, don't you?"

Lesson: Don't use simplistic "You buy your friends" arguments on anyone, because those arguments can be thrown right back in your face.

Human beings are "joiners" by nature, be it a bridge club, the Lions Club, a Masonic lodge, the VFW, the local church, or a college fraternity. By their nature, social organizations require commitment in the form of time and/or money. That why fraternity men pay dues - to support the needs and goals of the organization - not to "buy friends", any more than the members of any other organization "buy" the friends they make.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[Anonymous Coward]

I disagree. All those "lifelong friends" really mean is that you paid so much money that they granted you a free lifetime membership. You still bought those friends. I made lifelong friends in college, gained leadership skills, made excellent social contacts, and more, and never had to pay my friends for any of it. Don't get upset because you got yanked and others didn't. It's just not polite.

As a side note: Most people I know who joined frats (when they weren't wasting themselves) thought that their membership to their respective fraternities would look good on their resume. I got my position based on my skills and experience, and when I hire, fraternity membership either counts for nothing or even a strike against that person.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[timholman]

As a past employee of my universities alumni association (with a greek system) I must comment. It is of no surprise that greeks are our biggest donors, nor is it really a secret. Most of the people who attend the functions and reunions were also greeks, a lot of board members are also greeks, and one of the biggest outreach programs we had was with the current greeks. The only group that rivals greek donations is that of large (and small) corporations making research grants, but those aren't done through the alumni association. As far as I know, it was never a big secret, nor did we hate admission of the fact that greeks are the biggest donors. I'm at a loss to see where you got that assumption.

My assumption comes from what I've seen at my alma mater (Georgia Tech) as well as my place of employment (Vanderbilt University). Both schools have a love-hate relationship with the Greek system. On one hand, they wish they could get rid of the headaches that the fraternities and sororities sometimes cause on campus. On the other hand, they love the millions of dollars that fraternity and sorority alumni donate every year. I've heard similar stories from alumni at other schools. Most of the alumni donations come from former Greeks, but for a school to advertise this fact would be a tacit admission that fraternities and sororities actually do a great deal of good for the school in the long run, and that's something they don't want to acknowledge.

You've seen how vehement the anti-fraternity sentiment is on /. It's every bit as bad, or worse, in most college staff and faculty. It only changes where people interact with the alumni, just as you did, and realize they're normal people who happen to have a strong emotional connection to the school thanks to their undergraduate experiences as Greeks.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[Fulminata]

Why, are members of a frat/sorority prohibited from making friends with non members?

In my experience, yes.

Back in my college days I met new people whom I traditionally would not have met. I did so by living in a dorm. Many of those people are still among my best friends today, over a decade later. No fraternity required.

One of those people did join a fraternity a year or two after starting college. He did so due to the insistent urging of his parents. After joining said fraternity we rarely heard from him. If we saw him his frat "brothers" would do their best to keep us from actually communicating. On those occasions when we did see him he related how he wanted to talk to us and do things with us, but that his fraternity discouraged doing things with non-frat members.

Eventually, he decided that the only thing he really got out of being in a fraternity was a lot of aggravation and started hanging out with us again despite the wishes of his frat-brothers.

I realize that not all fraternities are like this, but it's been my experience that those that aren't are more of the exception than the rule.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[Anonymous Coward]

As a fraternity man myself, I usually respond to the old "Greeks buy their friends" line with one of my own:

Me(you): "So you think I bought my friends? Tell me, do you attend church?"

Him(me): "No, I dont believe in mass indoctrination of any kind"

Me(you): "doyeee?? Lookz aat myz myspacez! i iz kool!"

Him(me): "oh yeah. You gonna finish that 26er, friend?"

What in holy fuck is that drivel supposed to convey? It's outright incoherent. It's lucky you get buy your friends, because nobody else is going to put up with your ignorant ass.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[mattwarden]

You see, this is one of those slashdot comments where the author thinks something through and then represents it as if he/she had direct experience. You obviously do not know what you're talking about. People deactivate from frats and sororities because they or their parents cannot afford the dues. I have met plenty of people who hate their frat, but don't deactivate because their daddy pays the bill and they want the line item on their resume.

Re:Isn't this done already?

[somersault]

I concur, I did think it sounded more like some kind of 'club' that you can join to meet people with similar.. interests? Hmm. I think many people who join these things will be wanting or expecting the stereotype. Living in the UK, my exposure to these things is limited to what I've seen on movies, the most recent being Borat, which has some chauvanistic college guys completely complying to the stereotype (the film itself is a parody of a documentary, but those guys were real, only the interviewer was fake).

Re:Isn't this done already?

[Raenex]

Clinton broke the "no scandals allowed" rule when he got elected even after being a draft dodger and pot smoker. Most Americans have probably driven at least once when they shouldn't have. Nobody's perfect, and the stuff you mention doesn't concern me in the least.

No, there are much better reasons to not vote for Bush, that have to do with politics, not personal failings.

My$pace

[Anonymous Coward]

If money can already buy companionship, this seems to be the next logical step.

Unbelievable?

[jlower]

This is unbelievable!

On the contrary, I'd say it was inevitable.

Re:Unbelievable?

[Anonymous Coward]

...Mr Anderson

Re:Unbelievable?

[Anonymous Coward]

This is unbelievable!
On the contrary, I'd say it was inevitable.

It's not a new topic here, either.

Re:Unbelievable?

[forgotten_my_nick]

It isn't nothing new either, it has just spread to the MySpace that's all.

EBay used to be full of people selling themselves as imaginary girlfriends. You got postcards, letters and photos from them

What's wrong with that?

[Groo Wanderer]

Teh weB2.0 is teh rox0r. It just goes to show the power of Web2.0 and it's ability to democratize formerly abstract concepts like friendship, then monetize them. What more can you ask for, you can already buy love in several US states and countries around the world.

        -Charlie

P.S. /. strips sarcasm tags. For the terminally holier-than-thou set, the above was indeed sarcasm.

Re:What's wrong with that?

[StarfishOne]

"P.S. /. strips sarcasm tags. For the terminally holier-than-thou set, the above was indeed sarcasm."

HTML entities are your <friend> ;)

http://www.utoronto.ca/webdocs/HTMLdocs/NewHTML/is o_table.html

Re:What's wrong with that?

[Anonymous Coward]

you can already buy love in several US states and countries around the world.

I heard some Swedish chick on the radio today saying people shouldn't be allowed to buy prostitutes and prostitutes should not be allowed to sell their body.

No one is buying a body or selling one. That would be slavery. They're renting or lending their body in a mutual agreement. I see nothing wrong with that. Selling? Wrong. Renting? Ok.

captcha: crotch

Normal?

[tsa]

Fake your Space says (and I quote): "We understand that you want your friends to look as normal as possible and as far from fake as possible. I looked around in the Women and Men section, and I didn't see one normal looking person. Check out Molly for instance.

This website is a nice prank.

Re:Normal?

[Anonymous Coward]

I didn't get to Molly... I was stuck on Jamie.

Re:Normal?

[Dunbal]

This website is a nice prank.

      If you look closely a lot of the "different" models are repeated as well. Some even have the same clothes on, they just have a pic taken from a different angle.

Re:Normal?

[gusmao]

That's exactly what I was thinking, this site is a prank.

If you feel you need more good-looking friends in your profile, you can create fake profiles yourself with pictures of beautiful but regular people that you can easily find on the net. With a little extra-efford, you can link these people to other real profiles in MySpace and make them look credible.

Besides, your friends tend to look homogeneous, because you usually like people who think like you, enjoy the same activities, have the same tastes, etc. Nobody that knows you for real will ever believe that you are really friends with the people on the website (except if you look like them, which in this case you wouldn't be needing to pay to have them in your profile, anyway).

Re:Normal?

[mwvdlee]

Do not mock my photo-model friends!

Re:Normal?

[Gumph]

I looked around in the Women and Men section, and I didn't see one normal looking person. Check out Molly for instance.
Forget Molly - April can fake in my space anytime she wants!!

Re:Normal?

[Anonymous Coward]

A lot of the women pictured are at least partially fake...

Re:Normal?

[phiwum]

This website is a nice prank.

It's nice to think so, but if you "proceed to checkout", you go to a real paypal page. Looks to me like they're accepting money, so I suppose they must actually be rendering services.

Re:Normal?

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, looking over my own facebook profile (myspace shall forever be anethema for it's sins against good web-design practices), I'm often surprised by the variety of people in the list. Bleeding heart liberals to nuke-dropping neo-cons, WoW addicts to track stars, and idealistic double majors to people who flunked basket weaving.

Of course, most are casual friends. The kind you hang out at a party with, then generally don't think about otherwise.

Yes it can.

[mgblst]

has anybody actually said that money can't buy you friends? I thought we all agreed that it can't buy you love, or happiness, but friends was still wide open. There was always one little rich kid at school who proved that you could, in fact, buy friends.

Re:Yes it can.

[Ronald Dumsfeld]

You can't really buy friends until Apple sells them

The iFriends.

Re:Yes it can.

[Moby Cock]

I was friends with a kid on my street solely because he has the Death Star toy. It was sweet, fully equipped with a moveable wall for the trash compactor.

I grew out of being so materialistic.

Re:Yes it can.

[LarsWestergren]

has anybody actually said that money can't buy you friends? I thought we all agreed that it can't buy you love, or happiness, but friends was still wide open. There was always one little rich kid at school who proved that you could, in fact, buy friends.

There is an old saying, "Money and success brings you many friends. Adversity tests them."

With regards to the original article, I like this one "A fool and his money are soon parted."

Re:Yes it can.

[mwvdlee]

Bill Gates has a wife, so that just leaves "happiness".

Re:Yes it can.

[Anonymous Coward]

Ah, my plan has come to fruition. Soon _I'll_ be queen of summertime. Er, king. King!

The Beautiful People

[onion2k]

If good looking people were actually capable of being nice then this sort of thing would never happen. It's a shame that the so-called attractive members of our society are all vacuuous, dull imbeciles who can't compliment anyone who they deem to be less socially acceptable than they are. I hate those people.

PS. I'm being mean because I'm so damn handsome.

Re:The Beautiful People

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm being mean because I'm so damn handsome.

I endorse your statement.

not that unbelievable

[DreadfulGrape]

People have paid for sex for thousands of years. Pathetic as it may seem, why is it surprising that they'd pay for cyber-friends as well?

Re:not that unbelievable

[aadvancedGIR]

It is similar only on the surface.
Most people using professional sex services do this to try to fullfil physical needs because they have no better way available to do so, some because of their lonelyness, other because their official relation is now just a sad joke. Yes, it is pathetic, but it is something I can understand.
This service, on the other hand, is pointless unless you actually have friends to impress in the first place, so it is just similar to what ringtones vendors or gold farmers can sell you: a way to look cool.

Re:not that unbelievable

[calculadoru]

People have paid for sex for thousands of years. Pathetic as it may seem, why is it surprising that they'd pay for cyber-friends as well?

Well. Paying for sex gets you laid, while paying for fake friends is more like masturbation. Which has been always been free.

Re:not that unbelievable

[somersault]

Because as we all know, the money would be a lot better spent on sex..

Re:not that unbelievable

[misanthrope101]

If I really have to explain why paying for a blowjob from a live girl (dead girls aren't any good, though I guess they're cheaper) is different from paying for fake friends on a website intended to impress people you'll never meet are not even closely related, then something is really wrong here.

Re:not that unbelievable

[Anonymous Coward]

People have paid for sex for thousands of years. Pathetic as it may seem [..]

What's pathetic about it? I have never paid for sex but I see nothing wrong with it. And so you know - some people just aren't interested in complicated relationships. As long as it doesn't affect other people in a negative way and no one gets hurt, why not?

Re:not that unbelievable

[jafac]

Thousands of years?

Male Bonobo chimps pay for sex. Most females will mate for an orange. I'd say that the dynamics of prostitution go WAAAAAY back in our genetic makeup. (I know - we aren't descended from Bonobos, but there is a common ancestor, and it's not unreasonable that this behavior existed in that common ancestor).

Re:not that unbelievable

[Anonymous Coward]

What's all this with the linking of sex and friends? You don't have to be friends with the person to have sex with them. I've never hired a hooker, but I'm pretty sure, if I did, it would not be for her witty banter.

Re:not that unbelievable

[DreadfulGrape]

No, I actually meant that paying for fake MySpace friends is pathetic. I totally agree w/you on the prostitution issue...

Bottom line, I suppose, is that people will pay for whatever they want, legal or otherwise, if (a) it's available, and (b) they have the money. Upon further review, perhaps my comparison of the two was a bit clumsy. Probably not worth a score 5 (but hey, I'm happy to get it)

New Slogan

[PeeAitchPee]

"Fake Your Space -- A Place For Posers"

Seriously, how is this different than gamers buying virtual goods with real-life money?

Re:New Slogan

[Jugalator]

Um, are you asking what the difference between people and virtual goods is?

Re:New Slogan

[shawb]

He's asking what the difference between buying virtual people and virtual goods is. These aren't real people behind the profile. These are pictures stolen off of some modeling website and stitched into a profile, backed by a CGI-script which allows you to select comments to post to your personal page. And to sum up a lot of other people's disbelief, this isn't for lonely people. This is going to be used for fake profiles which are basically a link to a porn site. And probably purchased every now and then as a joke.

Weird Al didn't need to buy friends....

[hoy74]

He had a pimped out myspace because he was white and nerdy though.

A Fictional Situation.

[jellomizer]

A Fictional Situation.
Location a 8th Grade class in a computer room.
Dude B: Dude, you have no friends you are a complete loser!
Dude A: No way I have ton a friends let me show you.
(Dude A opens his MySpace Page)
Dude A: See all the friends I have!
Dude B: Oh I See I guess you are cool after All.

In real life there Dude B wouldn't care. In all this effort to make yourself seem cool the best you can do is make yourself as part of the crowd. So stop trying to be cool it takes to much effort just try to blend in and you are all set.

Re:A Fictional Situation.

[russ1337]

In real life there Dude B wouldn't care. In all this effort to make yourself seem cool the best you can do is make yourself as part of the crowd. So stop trying to be cool it takes to much effort just try to blend in and you are all set.

If he really wanted to be cool, he would have taken up smoking.

Re:A Fictional Situation.

[wiz31337]

I guess times have changed... In 8th grade, if I would have logged into a *computer* to show someone all of my "friends" I would have gotten a smacked upside the head, laughed at and then promptly called a nerd.

Re:A Fictional Situation.

[jellomizer]

Well today that will only happen if you say open up a command prompt or have at least HTML Code on your screen. Most 8th Grader are between the ages 13-15 So they were born between 1991-1993 Almost all of them do not remember life without the Internet or Computers. When you grow up with computers it is no longer something that only nerds use.

Re:A Fictional Situation.

[wiz31337]

Well today that will only happen if you say open up a command prompt or have at least HTML Code on your screen.

Its good to know that I still meet the definition of a nerd by today's standards!

Re:A Fictional Situation.

[GedConk]

Don't forget about the wedgie.....

Yeah I know. Painful memories most of the ./ crowd can relate to...

Re:A Fictional Situation.

[mattwarden]

I guess times have changed... In 8th grade, if I would have logged into a *computer* to show someone all of my "friends" I would have gotten a smacked upside the head, laughed at and then promptly called a nerd.

What would they have thought about you being on Slashdot at 8am?

Re:A Fictional Situation.

[Anonymous Coward]

Believe it or not, when I was in 8th grade the fact that I could log in to a computer made me cool.

Re:A Fictional Situation.

[mindshaper155]

Myspace is a good way to keep in touch with friends and family that are far away or that we've lost touch with. And yes, the music that so many people must have on their pages is annoying. It is easy to reconnect with people and make new friends, but what worries me is that the socialization on Myspace takes away from face-to-face conversations or phone conversations and that the overall socialization skills in our society go down the toilet, as well as the English language (but that's another story). And we all know how Myspace can be used by the less savory members of society to prey upon those who are innocent. All in all, Myspace will become less and less of a commodity when someone develops something bigger and better.

What?!?!?!

[ProppaT]

So you mean all those myspace friends requests I keep getting from scantily clad women are really my friends taking sympathy on me and trying to buy me friends? :(

Geez! What's next?

[PsyQo]

Geez! What's next? Paying for live sex on the internet? Oh wait...

Already Been Done

[Anonymous Coward]

This concept isn't new. Fraternities and Sororities serve the same function. You pay them, and they'll be your friend.

Courtney5000 is right

[Anonymous Coward]

I've known her since elementary school. She wouldn't lie about these things. Great pal.

What's the point in that?

[WhitePanther5000]

It's like buying a prostitute that won't put out...

Re:What's the point in that?

[Bob_Villa]

I get it, you mean a wife.

And for any guy on here actually engaged, remember this:

If you put a quarter in a jar every time you have sex before marriage, and then take one out every time you have sex after marriage,
you will never empty the jar, no matter how long you are married.

Oh, how true it is!

Re:What's the point in that?

[moexu]

You must be doing something wrong then, because our jar has nothing but dust and cobwebs.

Re:What's the point in that?

[Turn-X Alphonse]

Unless she divorces you and you need the quarters to buy lunch.

Re:What's the point in that?

[gauauu]

I don't buy that crap.

According to a survey done by Durex (the condom company), married people on average have sex about 100 times per year. Now how much sex do you have to have BEFORE marriage to make that math add up? I got married at age 24. If I hit puberty at age 14, that's just 10 years of sex possible. If I had sex EVERY DAY during that time, that would put me at about 30 years of marriage (if I was the average) to empty the jar. And most people don't have sex EVERY DAY from puberty till marriage.

Sorry to burst your bubble. Sure, it's a funny cheesy line. But it just propogates that stupid lie that married people don't have sex.

Re:What's the point in that?

[SmlFreshwaterBuffalo]

And most people don't have sex EVERY DAY from puberty till marriage.Does it have to be with someone else?

Re:What's the point in that?

[kabz]

And most people don't have sex EVERY DAY from puberty till marriage.

My breakouts alone, saw to that.

Re:What's the point in that?

[Bob_Villa]

This is with the same woman. I had sex with my wife at least a thousand times before marriage. once or twice a day every day. Once we were married, it dropped dramatically. In fact, there was a period of 3 years where we had sex twice. Overall we've maybe done it 100 times in 5.5 years at the absolute most. If you extrapolate, it would take me 55 years in this sexless marriage to achieve that goal. Many women lose all sexual interest after marriage, no matter how hard the guy tries.

Do you have kids yet? Nothing takes sex to 0 faster. If not, have some and see what I mean. If you do, lucky bastard. I am lucky to get it more than once a month, sometimes once every two months if she feels bitchy. Ahhh, love. How stupid I was.

And I'm only 28 and want it every day, all day long. What a freaking waste!

Real friends

[Anonymous Coward]

Real friends cannot be bought for money
Real friends cannot be bought for gold
Real friends aren't something you buy
For them, job, fame and wealth equals zero.

(Translated from a danish song).

Re:Real friends

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow ... the Dutch have so much wisdom to share.

Just the thing for parents

[MikeRT]

Now all they have to do is whip out that credit card to get junior or little susie some new popularity! Or just get them some superficial attention from their friends. "Dude, how did that dork get with all of those hot chicks?!" Ah, more whitewashing of problems...

what's wrong ... don't like the "fee market"?

[Anonymous Coward]

these days everyone knows that good management is doing evil to make money

yet another amazing ethical achievement that's made us americans so proud

I hear you, but it still may be for real....

[StressGuy]

check out this site...

http://www.origamiboulder.com/

As the saying goes, "there's a sucker born every minute"...and the web gives you access to just about all of them at once.

hmm...

[Anonymous Coward]

FINALLY!!

Of course money can buy Friends

[Rik Sweeney]

All 10 seasons are on DVD.

Re:Of course money can buy Friends

[Anonymous Coward]

Is it weird at all that the Friends theme song started to play in my head as I read that comment?

I'm going to go take a shower and reevaluate my life now.

Re:Of course money can buy Friends

[zanderredux]

simply brilliant.

Re:Of course money can buy Friends

[maxwell demon]

Is it weird at all that the Friends theme song started to play in my head as I read that comment?We've found out that you've placed an unauthorized copy of a copyrighted song in your head. Please delete that song and pay us $1000, or we will sue you. The RIAA.

Obvious answer

[rbarreira]

That, of course, depends on your definition of "friend".

PS: Did you really need this answer to realize it?

I have only one response to that...

[The-Bus]

Phi Kappa Zing!

You know you're a loser when...

[C_Kode]

You know you're a loser when you stoop to doing something like this.

Re:You know you're a loser when...

[Faylone]

The fact that WE are saying they're losers should speak volumes, too.

Re:You know you're a loser when...

[The-Bobmeister]

Not really.... this is merely exploiting a little-known aspect of human nature called "The Costanza Effect". When George uses a picture of Jerry's model girlfriend and passes it off as his dead fiance, he is not only noticed by beautiful women, but is suddenly granted access to "The Forbidden City" --- the private club full of glamourous models.

Re:You know you're a loser when...

[C_Kode]

Considering you are defending this, I'm guessing you have taken part in these types of shenanigans.

The-Bobmeister is guilty as charged! :D

Re:You know you're a loser when...

[blugu64]

No No No, you realize your a looser when you see this and realize that you could do this for your self, and for free!

Re:You know you're a loser when...

[jasmak]

But we all know it doesn't matter that you think you are a loser as long as everyone else thinks you are so cool

Cash for peerage / friends.

[davro]

Cash for peerage sounds like something Tony Blair would be intrested in.

I don't get this...

[Anonymous Coward]

...as an occassional user of myspace - friends convinced me to put a page up, i log into it maybe once a month and have maybe 9 friends, basically a myspace loser. One of the things I found I had to do was change my profile to say married rather than single, because I got barraged in a spam of desperately seeking something girls wanting to be my "friend" (there's no ego boost there, I have no picture of myself on it), maybe some were just porn sites or something, i don't know. But I wasn't on myspace to make brand new friends just to link up with my real life friends (maybe I missed the point of the site). Now why would someone need to pay someone to put comments on it? I'm under the impression you'll get a new "friend" a day if you put single in your profile.

lol

[moheezy]

lol.

That is all!

Treatment for my depression

[GoofyBoy]

I would buy male model for all my straight male friend's MySpaces.

I'm thinking of Kurt or Justin.

I Use it

[Shawn is an Asshole]

For two reasons:

1. It's a good place to find independent bands.

2. If you use it right, you can also get girls. That's how I met my current girlfriend a few months ago.

Re:I Use it

[Umbrae]

"2. If you use it right, you can also get girls. That's how I met my current girlfriend a few months ago."

Thanks, ShawnIsAnAsshole! I'll be sure to keep that information for future reference.

*cough*

Re:I Use it

[AugustZephyr]

You mean where you met your $0.99 model from fakemyspace.com

I doubt it....

[Half-pint HAL]

Can you really expect to get two realistic messages for 99 cents? (2 messages per month, 99c per month.) I wouldn't want unmediated, computer-generated text going on my profile (if I had one), and the time taken to write to custom messages is going to make that less than the minimum wage in most developed countries.

Of course, he could be outsourcing it to a tribe in the middle of a rainforest, but I don't know if they'd write believable comments....

HAL.

Re:I doubt it....

[blugu64]

You are looking at this all wrong. It's just like the SMS service I will be creating once I have the free time. See here is how it works.

1.You lack brownie points with wife/girlfriend
2.You lack time to randomly send her a SMS telling her you love her/miss her/etc.

This is where the system comes in.

1.I have a database of loving/caring/miss you/can't wait to see you messages
2.You pay $X per month for said system to automatically send her a message whenever you want it to (think randomly between 9am and 5pm)
3.The system sends both her and you a copy of said message (the copy for you is so that if she calls or messages back you'll know what's up)
4.????
5.PROFIT!!

I'd imagine something very similar is going on here.

Re:I doubt it....

[Wiseleo]

Friend,

MY NAME IS PRINCE AL.SAHIB. YOU HAVE ENRICHED MY LIFE ON A MONTHLY BASIS AND I HAVE A LUCRATIVE PROPOSITION FOR YOU. ...

Why, I can see many of those comments could be generated in the rainforest. :-)

Ah, lameness filter is my absolute favorite.

Bots Detection Bot

[Bots Detection Bot]

This is the real Bots Detection Bot, which has user ID 1033846.

Your account has been suspended.

This thread will be deleted.

Security issues?

[MrCrassic]

I think people have already run the gamut about the materialistic aspect of this, but how safe is this service from a security standpoint? One is basically giving some web site their personal information to purchase 'fake-friends,' but God only knows what the other side could be doing with this intel...They could be selling it to third-parties, spammers, or otherwise. Or maybe their systems are totally insecure and are vulnerable targets for hackers, thus putting every client's information on the line...

I'd say that if I really had an incentive to purchase some fake friends, I would think about how safe my purchase will be first.

My world is collapsing around me!

[dangitman]

These friends aren't even real believe it or not. You can apparently choose from a selection of 'models' to leave you customized comments to look like you have friends and are popular online. This is unbelievable!"

Oh my god, that can't possibly be true! People who pretend to be friends? That's unbelievable! In the real world, nobody would ever pretend to be friends with someone, unless they were real true friends for life, who were willing to die for you!

The internet is just evil. Imagine, people basing popularity just on how attractive someone is? It's not normal.

Re:My world is collapsing around me!

[dantheman82]

Why, this happens in Hollywood all the time. We all know how much all these celeb girls are really friends, when they're not back-stabbing each other in order to grab the tabloids and ad dollars. In the real world, people use various masks to pretend they are more secure than they really are. Calling their bluff could be very emotionally destabilizing to a good number of people.

People choose political candidates nowadays based on their physical appearance. It's disturbing, but nevertheless commmon.

Re:My world is collapsing around me!

[Tryptch]

On a slight tangent you can always to go http://www.imaginarygirlfriends.com/ maybe they can extend their business line to include social network interactions and yes people do pay for this service... at least i'm guessing... uh yea!!

trying to get laid is not a management skill?

[way2trivial]

every try to get a salaried someone to work a few more hours???

yeah, getting laid is very helpful for later in life, when you want to f-ck your employees over.

It's less complex than real life

[thegnu]

I'd say that it's mostly not, but MySpace is a pretty sick place to place value in your life. I cancelled my account about a month ago, because it was causing drama, and I'm glad I did. I have so much more time to be a person.

And being a person doesn't consist of your consumer status, although people often act like it. Having things doesn't do a single thing for you interpersonally, except attract shallow people. Sure, on some jaded level, when people stop looking at you, you stop existing, but I always assume that it is they who have stopped existing, not I. :-) There are so many things that increase your value as a person that don't rely on the house of cards that is consumerism, such as spiritual practice, martial arts, community service, entheogenic use of drugs (not to be confused with use of entheogenic drugs), entheogenic use of breathing, throwing a party, talking to your grandmother, acknowledging the people you interact with on a daily basis (like cashiers, etc) as humans. The list goes on.

This myspace buying friends thing is really sick. I'm not sure getting a hooker isn't more healthy. Barring genital-jumping microbes, that is.

The new cool

[Anonymous Coward]

The new cool, of course, is to not be on MySpace at all. Who needs those losers?

I need to expand

[way2trivial]

I'm serious.. the same manipulations and motiviations used by an individual to encourage members of the opposite sex to participate in carnal activity are the same skill set you use to encourage employee performance increases.

this is why I'm always begging..

Work for University Housing

[everphilski]

Become an RA, get all of the above **and paid**, no dues, no hazing or indoctrination, free housing and food and good friends I still hang out with years later and connections for later in life...

Missing the point

[Brunellus]

Insecure teens are ostensibly the market here, but I see right through this. For a small fee, spammers can create legitimate-looking accounts with legitimate-looking friends.

Re:Missing the point

[Anonymous Coward]

Mod parent up. There is a commercial market for this. The same guerilla marketing companies who pay money to someone to create 50 astroturfing forum accounts on various sites to construct "trusted" posting personalities will pay some more for things that can be used to bolster the legitimacy of the bogus personalities.

When "someone" posts a glowing review of some crappy product, you're much more likely to believe it if it contains a link to a myspace page than if it contains no working links to anything.

sneetches

[roaddemon]

So how long before having good looking friends is perceived as fake, and people start buying ugly friends? Slashdot. I just made you a fortune.

Buying friends attracts more -free- fake friends!

[jofny]

We all know that popularity isn't about realistic rational evaluation..it's about what that friendship can do for YOU and YOUR image. This is perfect self-marketing when your only "popular" feature is your spare cash. Why wouldn't you do it? You spend a little up front for a few fake friends...then all the cool people see that you're popular and want to be your friend too!

A friend will help you move

[s4ltyd0g]

A real friend, will help you move a body.

You Make A Good Point, Courtney5000.

[CheeseburgerBrown]

As we've all come to expect from you, Courtney5000, this is the kind of submission that really shows what the Slashdot website is all about.

Thanks for your awesome insights, Courtney5000!

(...That'll be fifty bucks, please. No PayPal.)

Good Question

[mqduck]

Who Says Money Can't Buy Friends?

Actually, that's a good question. I don't recall ever hearing someone say that.

Slashvertisement or Troll, you decide

[Anonymous Coward]

The domain name in question:
      Domain Name: FAKEYOURSPACE.COM
            Created on: 21-Jun-06
            Expires on: 22-Jun-07
            Last Updated on: 24-Jun-06

      Administrative Contact:
            Walker, Brant brantw2@cox.net
            1780 Kettner Blvd. #505
            San Diego, California 92101
            United States
            (619) 838-3300 Fax --

The "submitter"'s email address courtney@sandiegointeractive.com:
    Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
      Domain Name: SANDIEGOINTERACTIVE.COM
            Created on: 01-Aug-05
            Expires on: 01-Aug-07
            Last Updated on: 26-May-06

      Administrative Contact:
            Walker, Brant brantw2@cox.net
            Brant Walker Design
            1780 Kettner Blvd.
            #505
            San Diego, California 92101
            United States
            (619) 838-3300 Fax --

Go go free advertisement! Either way, fucking pathetic.

No....you rent them....

[StressGuy]

when the money stops flowing...those "friends" go away.

Re:No....you rent them....

[glindsey]

when the money stops flowing...those "friends" go away.

So I suppose, then, money can rent friends.

They aren't

[tacokill]

Nobody is prohibited from making friends with non-members. Not a single fraternity or sorority espouses that thinking. Despite what you seem to think, the "greek community" on most college campuses has lots of inter-mixing of people. After all, it's a college campus, right? And those people represent the same variety that the college represents. The old days of "Biff and Buffy" a la Revenge of the Nerds are long over and in fact, I doubt they ever existed in the first place.

Jeez - get a grip! A fraternity or sorority is only ONE way for people to make lifelong friends. There are, obviously, many others.

All the GP was saying is this: frats and sororities are SOCIAL organizations. And like ANY social organization, you would meet people that you would not have met, had you not joined the organization.

Why is that so hard to understand and why are you purposely trying to twist his words?

Re:They aren't

[opiv6ix]

Despite what you seem to think, the "greek community" on most college campuses has lots of inter-mixing of people. After all, it's a college campus, right? And those people represent the same variety that the college represents.

There is a lot of inter-mixing between these greek groups, true. But what makes you think that these groups represent the same variety that the college represents? You're missing that huge chunk of students who don't have the spare coin to blow on a social organization. I know that I don't have that kind of money, and neither do mommy and daddy. I paid my relatively small dues to be part of a professional organization, and I help run it on the executive board, instead. I am part of a group of people you may have heard of called "working class." Graduating college for many of us is already upward mobility, and it can be economically difficult. So don't go thinking that you're meeting people from all walks of life. You're meeting people who have or come from some money.

I have to PAY for it now!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

I was on my space for about a month before i realised it was useless mainly because, i would have to look though 20 friend requests a day from bots pretending to be scantaly clad hot women as a result i left myspace and cancled my account. Why in gods name would i wanta pay someone to send me even more!

what next pay to have people send you fake spam??

'Sharing the cost of throwing parties'

[paladinwannabe2]

Honestly, that's why we mock frats right there. Most people see frats as a group of morons who focus on getting drunk and laid, so they pool their resources to throw as many keggers as possible in a semester. (I know there are frats who don't meet that description, but they are in the minority). I think the 'buying your friends' charge is just silly, though- just because you're in a group doesn't mean they will be your friends.

Re:'Sharing the cost of throwing parties'

[icanoop]

If by "group of morons" you mean some of the people in that group are morons then I agree. If you mean that all or most of that people in the group are morons, or that spending time getting drunk or laid makes you a moron, then I disagree. From my experience, as a member of both groups, the fraction of frat members that are morons is pretty similar to the fraction of computer geeks that are morons. I don't think it's very smart to assume that a person who enjoys drinking with friends or having sex is a moron, especially if that so called moron who considers those things valuable is resourceful enough make them happen.

Re:'Sharing the cost of throwing parties'

[Don853]

Most college students, greek or otherwise, spend a lot of time trying to get laid. The 'drunk', I suppose, is less ubiquitious, but hardly uncommon.

Re:'Sharing the cost of throwing parties'

[paladinwannabe2]

Note that I say 'Most people see frats...'. Obviously not all people in frats are morons, just like all morons are not in frats. Still, people who flunk out of college because they partied instead of studying are morons. If all you want to do is party don't go to college in the first place.

Check the whois records

[chundo]

Looks like slashdot has been duped for free advertising again. The submitter's domain (sandiegointeractive.com) and the fakeyourspace.com domain are registered to the same person.

This here is one of them joke sites

[qazwart]

This is a joke site put out by Brant Walker . He's a photographer, video artist, and web designer from San Diego. Check out who owns the domain name.

Either that, or Brant is getting a bit hard up for money.

Hmm

[jb.hl.com]

People who don't care about you and just want you for friend count?

FFS, why pay? I got those free when I first joined MySpace...

Friends? No, acquaintances

[jiawen]

One problem is the usage of the word "friends" for what really should be "acquaintances". Someone who reads your $NAME_OF_FORUM_OR_WEBSITE_OR_BLOG page once in a while isn't necessarily a friend. There are people on my "friends" list in a certain blog-forum that aren't actually friends of mine. Some are actually my friends; some, I hope to be friends with in the future; some are friends of friends; others, I just have on my list because I want to hear what they say once in a while, but that doesn't necessarily make them friends.

A lot of the people who post "Ya dude let's go get drunkk!" on Myspace aren't really friends by any reasonable defition. I think Myspace needs a "drinking buddy" button.

Re:Friends? No, acquaintances

[gknoy]

Agreed.

When I was taking German in high school, I found it interesting the way they draw a definite distinction between Freunde (friends) and Bekannten (acquaintances). (Apologies for spelling errors, as my Deutsch-fu is weak and rusty.) I found it a much more natural, in some ways, way of thinking about the people I knew. I had very few really close friends (bosom buds, Best Friends, whatever), and many acquaintances that most americans would refer to as "friends".

More recently, I got married, and found myself hanging out with a whole new crowd... and realized that there's some middle ground. None of my wife's and my friends are people that I'd care to have long phone calls at odd hours with, the way I am willing to with my best friends (e.g., "let me call and tell you about how my life sucks/sucks less/kicks ass")... but they're definitely more than acquaintances. I look forward to visiting them, I invite them to my birthday, I'd happily invite them over to grill some steaks or something.

It seems like for americans, the scale is: {Best friend, friend, drinking buddy, coworker, acquaintance}, whereas in German, the distinction between who you address as Du (close Friends and Family) versus Sie (everyone else) seemed to have less variance.

Of course, having never lived in Germany, this is all subject to whether I understood my teacher correctly. ;) So, sorry if I've misundertood it, but I always did find it interesting and thought-provoking.

Way to generalize

[BitterAndDrunk]

While I'm not a fan of MySpace (you'll find me checking my school about once a month to see if anyone I lost touch with is on, get frustrated with the shitty search engine, and resume my normal life) it does have its uses.

Like - I saw Borat in early October.

I also keep in touch with a few old friends from college through MySpace, and a select few colleagues.

It's a reasonable tool but it depends on what you're using it for. AND my site isn't a fucking eyesore on the superhighway.

Musician friends

[bazorg]

What strikes me as odd is that so many musicians write me wanting to be friends. I don't know any of them, so I guess they saw me shopping at thebiratebay or something ...

www.myfakefriends.com

[boristdog]

http://www.myfakefriends.com/

'nuff said.

Myspace is also for marketing

[gary gunrack]

If you're a musician or band trying to build a grassroots audience, Myspace has become almost indespensible. Thank god the bass-player actually likes myspace, and is willing to maintain the band's account. Thanks to him, we actually managed to attract an audience the first time we played in towns like Boston or NYC, away from our own turf. I'm guessing that FakeSpace is actually geared towards spammy-marketers, not insecure teenagers. If you were marketing to superficial people, the appearance of popularity would make a big difference.

Brazen Astroturf is a Real Problem

[Erris]

People selling "friends" would be very useful to the "guerilla marketing" crowd. It can destroy the credibility of the interaction group and that's a problem for everyone.

The goal of non free software makers is to take money from users for services they could easily provide themselves. To do this, they must convince users that they are incapable of helping themselves and do everything in their power to make it so. This is accomplished through billions of dollars in propaganda and legislation designed divide us all into helpless individuals. Microsoft can not put free software out of business, instead they must attack the community itself. This plan was outlined in the 1998 Halloween Document.

Re:Brazen Astroturf is a Real Problem

[Anonymous Coward]

twitter/Erris, please read this carefully. Following this advice will make Slashdot a better place for everyone, including yourself.

• As a representative of the Linux community, participate in mailing list and newsgroup discussions in a professional manner. Refrain from name-calling and use of vulgar language. Consider yourself a member of a virtual corporation with Mr. Torvalds as your Chief Executive Officer. Your words will either enhance or degrade the image the reader has of the Linux community.
• Avoid hyperbole and unsubstantiated claims at all costs. It's unprofessional and will result in unproductive discussions.
• A thoughtful, well-reasoned response to a posting will not only provide insight for your readers, but will also increase their respect for your knowledge and abilities.
• Always remember that if you insult or are disrespectful to someone, their negative experience may be shared with many others. If you do offend someone, please try to make amends.
• Focus on what Linux has to offer. There is no need to bash the competition. Linux is a good, solid product that stands on its own.
• Respect the use of other operating systems. While Linux is a wonderful platform, it does not meet everyone's needs.
• Refer to another product by its proper name. There's nothing to be gained by attempting to ridicule a company or its products by using "creative spelling". If we expect respect for Linux, we must respect other products.
• Give credit where credit is due. Linux is just the kernel. Without the efforts of people involved with the GNU project , MIT, Berkeley and others too numerous to mention, the Linux kernel would not be very useful to most people.
• Don't insist that Linux is the only answer for a particular application. Just as the Linux community cherishes the freedom that Linux provides them, Linux only solutions would deprive others of their freedom.
• There will be cases where Linux is not the answer. Be the first to recognize this and offer another solution.

From http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/docs/HOWTO/Advoca cy

Money still can't buy friends

[Kuvter]

This is just buying the illusion that you have them.

Myspace and Facebook not very similar

[jasmak]

I have both accounts and I think that it should be pointed out that the two sites are very different from one another. Myspace is filled with tons of spam advertisements and superficial that think by choosing a cool theme and music makes them so cool. Facebook is focused on the simple things like communication, information and pictures. I am in college and facebook has been very beneficial to me in many ways. For one, I have reconnected with a few friends that I have not talked to since elementary school and at that time were my among my best friends. Another nice aspect is that it allows you to put up what classes you are taking so that you can get in contact with people from your classes. Because facebook recently began allowing all people to sign up for it instead of just students, I feel that it is not long before I get many messages a day from porn companies, random shitty "bands" and the like just on myspace because there is a market for that sort of thing but up till now I have been very satisfied with its lack thereof.

Social Network? I am a Hash House Harrier -

[bdwoolman]

The Hash House Harriers is the world's most eccentric running club. It is a terrific international social network. The Hash (as in corned-beef) is a 70-year old trail running society with a penchant for paper chases through the muddy woods followed by outrageous humor, taunting and the singing of bawdy songs in the infamous post-run beer-drinking "circle" . With ~ 1700 chapters world wide there is probably a chapter near you. Log on to http://www.gthhh.com/ in order to find it. Hint. If you decide to show up it would be best wear your old running shoes. Trust me.

As a hasher I have a lively society wherever I go (And I wind up in places like Armenia and Moldova). Currently, I am in Oslo Norway and running with the Oslo Hash House: http://www.oslohash.com/

My Hash Name is "The Flasher" which is pretty tame by club standards. It was given to me because, being a geek, I bought a digicam seven years ago in Armenia and annoyed everyone by snapping off thousands of pictures. The internet has really made a difference to the growth of the hash. (Google 'Hash House Harriers' and you will see.) But as far as I know there is not one online community. Hashers prefer to interact on a face-to-face basis. Or even on a face-to-somewhere-else basis; that is, if they are lucky.

On On!

As for online communities... I have to confess that /. meets my needs. I like to learn so I like to read things by people who are smarter and more knowledgeable than I am and (don't laugh) this sometimes happens around here... Sometimes.

Just like in the movies!

[deanoaz]

In the movies an unpopular person in high school often hires someone who is popular to hang out with them for a while to boost their image. This sounds like a cheaper and less satisfying version of that.

Of course in the movies, the loser and the hired 'friend' always fall in love. I suppose that means that many MySpace users will soon fall in love with their artificial friends? If it makes them happy I guess that's cool.

"There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life." - Frank Zappa

Why you SHOULD buy friends on myspace...

[jkauzlar]

I'm with you. I hesitate to criticize it because many people I like in real life communicate through it. Many geeks meet on IRC or gaming sites.

Here's my case for buying fake friends on MySpace:

Employers are looking at it!! Lie. Make yourself look awesome. You've signed no contract that your myspace page is accurate. If employers look at it to decide who not to hire, then there's an equal chance that if they see something really impressive, it'll work on your side.

Other things you can do:

• Put fake friend messages that say things like "thanks for donating so much time and money to my charity. You're really a benefit to the community." or "thanks for taking your whole weekend to fix my company's website for free. Our techies were stumped until you showed them what to do."
• Under hobbies, put a list of non-profit charities and church organizations
• make an attractive design
• find out the interests of your employers. He/she likes Abba and cross-country skiing, then so do you.
• etc, etc...

Re:Why you SHOULD buy friends on myspace...

[lpcustom]

Why on earth would an employer be looking at someone's myspace page to decide whether to hire them or not? What happened to interviews? If you want to create fake information. Just buy a domain, get some cheap hosting, and create a Professional looking site all about you. This would be a plus if you are trying to get a job in web development or in technology in general. It actually shows your knowledge. Another plus is that http://meettheprofessional.com/ looks a lot better than http://myspace.com/jacktheraper. You can put any fake quotes you want on there, or just add a wordpress blog to it and add fake comments. It's a lot better than inducing a seizure in a potential future employer.

Re:Why you SHOULD buy friends on myspace...

[jkauzlar]

I can't find the links (because I don't have time to look), but employers and college admissions have been known to refuse applicants based on the content of their myspace/facebook pages. It's getting more and more frequent, too.

Re:Why you SHOULD buy friends on myspace...

[lpcustom]

Another good reason not to use myspace.com then :)

What's up with friend collecting?

[Control-Z]

I originally got on Myspace to keep track of local bands. I made a MySpace account to see all the pics of hawt goth chyks. Now I get all these friend requests from people I don't even know. Some are spam, but about 1/3 seem to be real people that just want to collect friends. Friends that are total strangers. Okay...

Moo

[Chacham]

You payed $1000 for a MySpace friend? Sheesh, you can have me for only $19.95.

BUYING FRIENDS

[pixelite]

Not that anyone on slashdot would need to buy friends, but what they really need to provide
pictures for people to use to look hot along with there hot friends, otherwise it won't be believable to strangers. Although then your real friends will know the pics are fake, assuming they exist.

You know...

[webheaded]

The best alternative to Myspace and such is usually just a forum. Slashdot works too, not quite as closely knitted, but it will suffice.

Sometimes though, its just less of a hassle to keep in touch with your real world friends if you use Myspace because the chances are that they've already got an account and know how to use it. Therefore you don't have to waste time answering questions about how to post on a forum and stuff.

Actually, myspace can be very useful!

[Anonymous Coward]

We recently found out a friend of ours was one of the two victims of the NorCal Rapist, so created an information page and a myspace profile to try to create public awareness of the creep and also hopefully catch him. For the myspace profile, we ask anyone that has a myspace profile to add our profile to their top friends and urge their friends to do the same.

links:
http://NorCalRapist.info
http://myspace.com/norcaprapistinfo So far, we're getting a pretty good response!

Re: I smell a new business idea

[LemonFire]

Selling friends on the Internet sounds like a great idea.
I wonder if there will be package deals like:

10 Slashdot friends for only $19.99 per year

Also I would assume that buying Slashdot friends would be more expensive than myspace friends.

-- For a limited time, buy ten Slashdot "Foes" for $5, email spank-me@im-with-stupid.com for details.

What?!?!

[tapehands]

So those really hot triplets (how else can they all have the same picture?) that keep sending me the same message over, and over, and over on myspace are just bots?!?!
MY LIFE IS RUINED!!!!!

+1 Dr. Seuss

[gknoy]

If I had mod points, I'd have modded you up for referencing the Doctor. (Not not THAT doctor, the OTHER one.) :)

Why would I pay for friends when all I have...

[exp(pi*sqrt(163))]

...to do is go into /. and I can mark anyone as my friend? I can have a million friends for nothing.

wrong again

[tacokill]

I think what you meant to say is this: "since frats and sororities are not a big priority to me, I decided to use my money elsewhere." It's doubtful that you truly can't afford to join any fraternity or sorority. You may not WANT to join -- but I am sure you could afford it, if you really wanted to. Cut back on iPod downloads for a few weeks and you got it covered...

In my fraternity, at a large and well known university, we had all kinds of people in it. We had guys that came from money. And we had guys who worked to pay their dues. About 1/2 of our chapter worked part time through college so I am very familiar with your (underhanded) jab about "blue collar". I am, and come from, blue collar as well so I take offense at your comment that frats and sororities don't have "blue collar" people in them. They do...and your comment is so wrong, on so many different levels, that I can't even talk about it anymore.

Additionally, we had several different races represented and even more different backgrounds. We had small-town guys and we had "big city" guys from Houston and Dallas. About the only common thing that ALL of us had together was this: we were all enrolled and going to school at UT.

Again, you trot out the same old, tired stereotype. "Frats/sororities are nothing but rich, white guys/gals". I don't know where these chapters are that you speak of but I haven't seen too many fraternities like that in the last 30 years. Mine, and the ones I interacted with at UT-Austin were most certainly not like that. Jesus, have you ever heard of the Alphas or the Omegas (large black fraternities)or better yet, the Sigma Alpha Mu's or Zeta Beta Tau (jewish fraternities)?

Methinks you need to get better information before generalizing about a subject you clearly know nothing about.

(sidenote: there are exceptions to every rule. I am certain there are asshole frats/sororities out there somewhere. All I am saying in this post is that they are few and far between. I don't know where the frat/sorority hater attitude comes from on /. but I definitely feel it. I just think people should be a little more open minded about them, that's all. For most "greeks", the experience is very positive. Why do you hate that?)

Re:wrong again

[opiv6ix]

A whopping half of the guys in your frat worked part-time? I don't know anyone that doesn't have a part-time job in college. A know a few who have two. I keep two during the summer, and I work as much as I can with 18 credit hours during the year. That money isn't discretionary, though. That money goes to books, lab fees, car payment, insurance, and gas. (I commute from my parents' to save more money.) I don't know about Texas, but that's how it is in Ohio. Our state is horribly economically depressed, but I think you proved my point more than disproved it.

Re:wrong again

[tacokill]

Like I said, we had a little of everybody. That's kinda the whole point.

Who'd pay for that?

[Sapphon]

CowboyNeal, is that you?

Nah

[Cervantes]

Money Can't Buy Friends, But It Can Buy That Pr0n Tape Of Jennifer Aniston.

Dear gods people, please learn to use capital letters effectively.

Not New!

[Anonymous Coward]

This is what Frats and Sororities have been doing for decades!

lame

[Anonymous Coward]

so lame...

GENIUS

[XLR8DST8]

yeah. i said it. yes, my first thought, like yours, was 'what kind of pathetic...' but then i thought about it. think of a guy who's dating a girl. likes the girl. the girl is wonderful. gorgeous, intelligent, talented, hilarious. sweet as fuck. but she's competitive. she's a winner. she's ambitious. -shit, you know what, aside from this, fuck all that, she's FEMALE. which means she's more attracted to guys who other girls are attracted to. you know what i'm talking about. you're single, no love. but as SOON as you're with someone, EVERY girl you meet wants a piece of you. now picture this: guy calls up REAL girl on wednesday to say hi. he asks her 'hey babe, i want to take you to this place, Asia de Cuba... it's at the Mondrian..' & she replies 'i think we're just gonna have a girls' night out', or 'i'll have to see what's going on, i'll let you know if i'm free', or ANY OTHER LAME ASS EXCUSE you've heard before. so the guy 'buys' a 'friend' off this site. nice respectable, well-stacked brunette cutie, not onlike the girl he's dating. saturday night rolls around. he turns his cell phone off. he's at home playing WoW, or getting his 1st Gen Tivo to run Ubuntu (yes i'm pandering, sue me.) but monday rolls around. he gets a comment on his myspace from FAKE girl saying something innocent, yet threatening (he's not a dog, but he's also a hot commodity) to the extent of 'hey babe, thank you so much for taking me to Asia de Cuba (at which point Real girl says 'fuck, that's where he was gonna take me') saturday night... i had a wonderful time.. can't stop playing it back in my head!" oh you've been there before. thinking 'if she'd only get to know me more...' or after shit went pear-shaped, 'if i wasn't so available to her all the time..' ad infinitum... instead of the girl thinking you were expendable, & too busy thinking about HER options... if she were worrying about YOUR options instead, you'd be damn sure she'd take a bit more time, to get to know, the "real you". agree with me or not. it's GAME THEORY my friends. and it's hard-coded into our DNA. this is just one more page in the play book. i'm just pissed at myself for not thinking of it first.

Proof of Life?

[donak]

So these people have descended from
- putting every minute detail of their lives on MySpace, to prove they have one,
- to buying the appearance of having lots of really great friends, to prove they have some.

I'm so glad I have enough dignity to avoid such crap, even if I don't actually have either a life or friends.

Looking down, indeed.

[Slashdot Parent]

You know, it's kind of funny. Many, many years ago, when I first arrived at college, I hung around the computer science building with a lot of other people who were interested in computers.

My second semester, I pledged a fraternity. I never felt the event was so important that I needed to announce it to everybody, but I certainly wasn't hiding it, either. (My fraternity doesn't haze, so it's not like I had to wear a pledge pin 24/7 or anything like that.)

One day in CS, one of my "friends", and I use the quotes for a reason, went off on a tirade about how bad fraternities are. Fine, whatever. But this guy is trying to get me to agree with him. At that point, the conversation went something like:

Me: You're certainly entitled to your own opinions, but just so you know who your audience is, I happen to be in a fraternity, so realize that my opinion is likely to differ from yours.
Him: Oh, I don't mean academic frats. Those don't count.
Me: Well, that's nice to know, but I am in a social fraternity.

The irony of the situation is that from that day forward, that guy, who was ostensibly my friend, never spoke to me again. Neither did anyone else in that group of people.

It didn't bother me much at the time, since I spent my weekends surrounded by throngs of hot chicks, which was eminently preferable to spending weekends surrounded by hot power supplies and ugly CS chicks, what chicks there were. I was an 18-year-old male, remember. But looking back, I realize that that I made many lifelong friends in my fraternity. I speak to several of them on a regular basis, and the others I catch up with whenever somebody gets married, going back to school for a homecoming game or alumni weekend, etc. Do you really think I'd still be in touch with those guys in CS after all these years, had they not shunned me for being in a fraternity?

Lesson: You are entitled to your opinion about fraternities, but realize that more people are in fraternities than you think. Joining a fraternity probably doesn't mean what you think it means. "Looking down" on someone for being in a fraternity is a little stupid. Also, ask yourself the question, "Do you really 'look down' on someone who was in a fraternity? Or is the feeling that you describe as 'looking down' really better described by the word 'jealousy'?".

P.S. As somebody already pointed out, being in a fraternity is typically less costly than living on your own. My college expenses were probably lower than yours, yet I had all my rent, utilities, phone, (they now have broadband at the house, but not in those days), food (real food, not ramen, prepared by a real cook), beer, etc. included. Buy my friends, indeed.

So in other words

[Slashdot Parent]

So in other words, you got a job and received compensation for it.

Film at 11.

Re:So in other words

[everphilski]

... with all the supposed "rewards" of a fraternity. The money flowed in the opposite direction.

Basically, a fraternity is like a job, except you pay for it, instead of getting paid. Thank you, captain obvious.

Re:So in other words

[Slashdot Parent]

How is a fraternity like a job? I'm afraid I missed that part of it. In any rate, it's not coming up in any of the various online dictionaries.

Not so.

[Slashdot Parent]

Most people using professional sex services do this to try to fullfil physical needs because they have no better way available to do so, some because of their lonelyness, other because their official relation is now just a sad joke.

"I don't pay women to sleep with me. I pay them to leave afterwards." -Charlie Sheen

Legal action taken

[pwnies]

I recently bought a "friend" for a friend of mine as a joke (I thought nothing would be better than him getting a friend request from a man named keith who's wearing nothing but a cowboy hat). However today I recieved an email from the site saying that it is closing down due to legal action taken. I quote from the email, "Due to legal issues FakeYourSpace has been shut down. We apologize for the inconvenience and have refunded your purchase in whole." Apparently the myspace flock will have to buy their friends elsewhere.

Re:Legal action taken

[me at werk]

Same here, depressing isn't it? You can't even keep your fake friends.

That's just F***ed up

[bandmassa]

...but then, so is MySpace. Just the same, if you make music, and want that music heard, MySpace is unavoidable. (It's still f***ed up, though.)