Give Up the Fight For Personal Privacy?

KlaymenDK writes "Over the last decade or so, I have strived to maintain my privacy. I have uninstalled Windows, told my friends 'sorry' when they wanted me to join Facebook, had a fight with my brother when he wanted to move the family email hosting to Gmail, and generally held back on my personal information online. But since, amongst all of my friends, I am the only one doing this, it may well be that my battle is lost already. Worse, I'm really putting myself out of the loop, and it is starting to look like self-flagellation. Indeed, it is a common occurrence that my wife or friends will strike up a conversation based on something from their Facebook 'wall' (whatever that is). Becoming ever more unconnected with my friends, live or online, is ultimately harming my social relations. I am seriously considering throwing in the towel and signing up for Gmail, Facebook, the lot. If 'they' have my soul already, I might as well reap the benefits of this newfangled, privacy-less, AJAX-2.0 world. It doesn't really matter if it was me or my friends selling me out. Or does it? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter. How many Windows-eschewing users are not also eschewing the social networking services and all the other 2.0 supersites with their dubious end-user license agreements?"

Comments

secret identity

[OglinTatas]

appropriate to this topic:
cat and girl

mod parent up!

[Reality Master 201]

Goddammit, we have to remember what matters!

Take the opposite approach.

[khasim]

Add photos that you aren't in and tag them as you.

Then add backstory for them.

This photo was taken at my sister's friend's cousin's lesbian wedding in Monaco. That's me on lead guitar.

Since you cannot always hide information. You can always try to obscure the facts with the fallacies.

Re:Take the opposite approach.

[beef curtains]

This photo was taken at my sister's friend's cousin's lesbian wedding in Monaco. That's me on lead guitar.

While your whole suggested "backstory" made me chuckle, the "lead guitar" bit was the cherry on top.

The big problem that came to mind is that, were I to try this idea, 80 people would leave Captain-Obvious-style comments on said photo:

"Dude, that's not you"
"Who is that guy?"
"OMG UR SOOOOO FUNY THATS NOT U"
"lol thats not you man!!1!"
"You crack me up, just like you did last Friday at that party you guys had at your place at 1234 W. Main St. in downtown Whoville, corner of Main and 1st (Main is one way going east...if you pass the Kwik-E-Mart you've gone too far). Have fun on your two week vacation during which time your apartment, unit 2E, which has no security system and a bedroom window that unlatches if you jiggle it hard enough, will be empty!"

Okay, maybe that last one was a bit over the top...but you know what I mean :)

Re:Take the opposite approach.

[Mr. Bad Example]

> Add photos that you aren't in and tag them as you.
>
> Then add backstory for them.

They'll still be able to tell those photos aren't you.

None of the people in them will have tinfoil hats on.

Re:Take the opposite approach.

[Anonymous Coward]

Security by obscurity has never really worked. I predict it won't protect your privacy either.
    --Sincerely, Anonymous Coward

Re:Take the opposite approach.

[chill]

I envision a Photoshop and/or GIMP plug-in to automatically add tinfoil hats to people in pictures...

Re:Take the opposite approach.

[Amazing Quantum Man]

The NYTimes thinks I'm a 98 year old woman in Afghanistan, who makes less than $20K/yr as the CEO of her own company.

Re:Take the opposite approach.

[bhrgunatha]

Mom?

Re:Take the opposite approach.

[clickety6]

My friend created a false online persona for himself to use for these types of sites - Ethel Murgatroyd, an 80 year old, extreme sport fanatic, , gangsta-rap-performing, Barry Manilow-loving single grandmother supporting 25 dependents with a penchant for kittens, X-Boxes and Ak-47s.

You should see the confusion this causes in the directed spam that arrives at her email account!

Let me get this straight

[blitzkrieg3]

You won't give close friends the ability to post on your wall, yet you have no problem letting the whole world know that you were listening to elvis 2 hours ago?

Basically, We're Doomed

[mkcmkc]

I decided quite a while ago that resistance was futile. Most details don't really matter, but it might be prudent to think about what would happen if you ever wanted to run for office or if the political winds shifted further to the right.

As for me, though, this is not a problem, because I love my country and especially that wonderful President of ours. God has truly blessed us to give us such intelligent, caring, and well-groomed leaders. My goal in life is to someday meet one of them so that I can adore him in person.

Re:How is this any different from the real world?

[Bogtha]

I LIKE JUNO REACTOR AND SEX

Actually, KlaymenDK, the hardcore privacy nut that posted this Your Rights Online submission, prefers 80s music, as you can see by browsing thousands of songs he has listened to recently.

Re:How is this any different from the real world?

[glittalogik]

80's music seems appropriate for a 34y/o, but I wonder if it distracts him when he's concentrating on a board game or working on his 2004 VW Golf in his Copenhagen, Denmark, garage.

Re:I don't get it...

[kesuki]

"Whenever I've ever heard anybody say anything like "their Facebook 'wall' (whatever that is), it's always been with a condescending "I'm too good for crap like that" tone."

i'll fix that for you. I don't give a crap about facebook because i'm anti-social and have a mental illness that makes me extremely happy to have as little human contact as possible. When i play video games online vs human opponents i avoid the in game chat capabilities. talk? to my allies or opponents? no thanks. even when there are strategic advantages to communication i STILL avoid it.

yeah, i post to slashdot, yeah, i even journal here, but the way people post here is almost like not interacting with fellow human beings. i write what i write here, mostly to read it myself.

i mean the mind does need to have things to think about, but one does not need real human contact.

i realize that for some isolation from other human beings can cause their minds to fail with mental illness. for the others like me it's a nice break from having to interact with people.

Re:Man are you on facebook?

[thomasw_lrd]

What are these friends you talk about? I send my mom messages too, but I usually use the dumbwaiter. It's better than walking up the stairs to ask for a snack.