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Facebook Adds Friend Stalker Tool

Posted by Soulskill on from the can't-win-for-losing dept.

nk497 writes "Facebook has added a new tool that brings together conversations and photos between friends onto a single page, but — as usual — has crossed the creepy line. Not only does clicking the See Friendship tool let users view photos, comments and events shared between themselves and their friend, it also offers a search tool to do the same between any two mutual friends, making it easy to see everything any two people have ever said to each other Facebook. As usual, the site should have tested the function out on their users first, with one saying: 'I've always wanted this! And yes, I'm a creepy stalker.' Also, as usual for Facebook, all users are automatically opted in, and there's currently no obvious way to turn it off."

6 of 357 comments (clear)

  1. RAWK by mark72005 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sweet, this will make it much easier to jump to conclusions about which of my friends are secretly bumpin' uglies

  2. If people seem stalkerish.. by jDeepbeep · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why the worry about your "friends" doing stalker-ish things to you? Didn't you accept their request (or they yours) based on some level of familiarity and/or trust? It's not strangers watching you. It's people you agreed to let into your little online life.

    --
    Reply to That ||
    1. Re:If people seem stalkerish.. by slim · · Score: 5, Interesting

      But I also have a lot of not-so-close friends, acquaintances, people I'm friendly with. Whatever you want to call it, there are degrees of friendship. And Facebook doesn't recognize that.

      Yeah it does, if you can be bothered with the admin.

      You can create groups, and categorise your contacts into them. Then you can specify how much of your profile and your activity can be seen by each group.

      I have a "limited profile" group, into which I place people who ask to be a "friend", when I feel it would be rude to ignore them, but don't really want them to see everything.

      You can also choose to prevent friends-of-friends from seeing your stuff.

      At worst, the defaults are possibly a bit too open.

  3. Solution by papasui · · Score: 5, Funny

    Delete your Facebook account like I did. Although I'll admit that the first week of not knowing what crops my friends were growing was a little hard on me..

  4. The AntiSocial Network by NYMeatball · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm as big of a facebook hater as the next guy, but it seems like Slashdot's favourite pastime is getting on a social network for being, well, social.

    If their inference is that facebook should become an antisocial network, I think Slashdot honestly has that market segment covered pretty well already.

  5. I think Seinfeld says it best... by Chameleon+Man · · Score: 5, Funny

    To reference an episode of Seinfeld...

    GEORGE: Ah you have no idea of the magnitude of this thing. If she is allowed to infiltrate this world, then George Costanza as you know him, Ceases to Exist! You see, right now, I have Relationship George, but there is also Independent George. That’s the George you know, the George you grew up with — Movie George, Coffee shop George, Liar George, Bawdy George.

    JERRY: I, I love that George.

    GEORGE: Me Too! And he’s Dying Jerry! If Relationship George walks through this door, he will Kill Independent George! A George, divided against itself, Cannot Stand!