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WhatsApp Co-Founder Tells Everyone To Delete Facebook, Further Fueling the #DeleteFacebook Movement (theverge.com)

"In 2014, Facebook bought WhatsApp for $16 billion, making its co-founders -- Jan Koum and Brian Acton -- very wealthy men," reports The Verge. "Koum continues to lead the company, but Acton quit earlier this year to start his own foundation." Today, Acton told his followers on Twitter to delete Facebook. From the report: "It is time," Acton wrote, adding the hashtag #deletefacebook. Acton, who is worth $6.5 billion, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nor did Facebook and WhatsApp. It was unclear whether Acton's feelings about Facebook extend to his own app. But last month, Acton invested $50 million into Signal, an independent alternative to WhatsApp. The tweet came after a bruising five-day period for Facebook that has seen regulators swarm and its stock price plunge following concerns over data privacy in the wake of revelations about Cambridge Analytica's misuse of user data. Acton isn't the only one taking to Twitter to announce their breakup with Facebook. The #DeleteFacebook movement is gaining steam following the New York Times' report about how the data of 50 million users had been unknowingly leaked and purchased to aid President Trump's successful 2016 bid for the presidency. For many users, the news "highlighted the danger of Facebook housing the personal information of billions of users," reports SFGate. "And even before the Cambridge Analytica news, Facebook has been grappling with its waning popularity in the U.S. The company lost 1 million domestic users last quarter -- its first quarterly drop in daily users."

307 comments

  1. Well... by burtosis · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's never to late to act sensibly.

    1. Re:Well... by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      The PRISM news should have got most of the users into crypto to reduce their use.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    2. Re: Well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem.

    3. Re:Well... by KingBenny · · Score: 1

      damn, i just opened up an account after ten years again ... i doubt i'll be sold to trump since i'm not even allowed to vote in my own country and i doubt even more the face-A.I. will profile me for what i am. I feel completely reaffirmed in the fact the people have been taking this WAY too seriously the past years. It wont really matter when the bears, the eagles and the dragons start shooting nukes while the hister rises in europe if nostradamus was right and frankly my dear :p i just can't seem to care lol ol ... i think in over 20 years of internet there have been one or two ads i actually clicked that eventually led me to a product i was already looking for i don't think my tinfoil hat is cracking there. And what possible advantage could a billionaire trying to launch a new chatsapp possible have in dissin' facebook hahah, but its probably not a bad idea marcus aurelius narcus got checked for once

      --
      Free speech was meant to be free for all... how can anyone grow up in a nanny state ?
  2. #idontwantsocialmedia by Errol+backfiring · · Score: 5, Funny

    I have a new tag: #idontwantsocialmedia. Now I am going to post this tag everywhere!

    --
    Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
    1. Re:#idontwantsocialmedia by HalAtWork · · Score: 2

      Makes sense, I prefer to socialize directly, not through some weird online broker that tries to insert unrelated noise regurgitated from some pop culture zeitgeist repository

    2. Re:#idontwantsocialmedia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Makes sense, I prefer to socialize directly, not through some weird online broker that tries to insert unrelated noise regurgitated from some pop culture zeitgeist repository

      Agreed, which is why I post as AC here I am here all week try the veal

    3. Re:#idontwantsocialmedia by cyberchondriac · · Score: 1

      Are you, per chance, a swamp dragon? I'm curious if I get the reference right.

      --

      Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
    4. Re:#idontwantsocialmedia by zifn4b · · Score: 1

      Your post should receive special treatment and go to 11!

      --
      We'll make great pets
    5. Re:#idontwantsocialmedia by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Awesome, that's so awesome in fact I'm going to friend you now and read all your Slashdot journal entries!

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      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    6. Re:#idontwantsocialmedia by Errol+backfiring · · Score: 1

      Yup.

      --
      Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
    7. Re:#idontwantsocialmedia by shubus · · Score: 1

      Sign me up! I'd post this on Twitter but I deleted that account after I deleted Facebook.

    8. Re:#idontwantsocialmedia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      what irc network are all these channels people keep posting about on?

    9. Re:#idontwantsocialmedia by dcw3 · · Score: 1

      Makes sense, I prefer to socialize directly, not through some weird online broker that tries to insert unrelated noise regurgitated from some pop culture zeitgeist repository

      That's great for you. I personally have friends and family on FB who live all over the US, and in a few other countries, some of who I only hear from once every few years. FB has allowed me to find old friends who I've lost contact with decades ago. A few of those folks go overboard posting crap that I don't care to see on a daily basis, so I simply change the settings on them...no need to end the friendship. I had a cousin post some shit about the MD school shooting not being covered by CNN yesterday, claiming that was their agenda...I corrected him. And so, yeah FB has plenty of warts, but it also provides a service that I haven't seen available elsewhere, and even if it were, how would you convince all of your peeps to shift to it?

      --
      Just another day in Paradise
    10. Re:#idontwantsocialmedia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Me too, I keep in touch other ways, Facebook looks annoying. I don't want to use it. I've got a lot of people in my life and I'm OK with not being in touch with absolutely everyone in my past.

  3. Money has nothing to do with it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Billionaire wants you to use his new app.

    1. Re: Money has nothing to do with it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just move to minds.com.

    2. Re:Money has nothing to do with it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was about to say something like "Billionare takes to twitter to denounce social media and promote his new social media app" but you are close enough.

  4. The only way to actually "delete Facebook" is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...to get yourself hard-banned.

    So that they do not want you in their graph data set anymore. So that your are poison to their data and "community"!

    Which is surprisingly easy: Just give yourself an offensive fake name, and change as much of your profile as you can to fake offensive shit.
    They will then ban you, block your profile, and demand that you prove that your fake name is real with personal documents that they would never ever get, even if your name was real. Like a copy of your passport, or personal bank statements or utility invoices. So you can’t go back, even if you wanted. And they can' use your profile like that.

    And other "deleting" will still result in a continuing shadow profile.

    If you live in the EU, remember that you have a right to get ALL data they have about you. Make sure you get that if you want it, before doing the changes.

  5. A Billionaire from a Chatting App by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    There's nothing sensible about having become a billionaire from making a chatting app. Nothing.

    This is just some dude who got lucky. His opinion is worthless; a broken 12-hour clock is correct twice a day.

    1. Re: A Billionaire from a Chatting App by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      only connect to it on Edge and it's the only thing I use the Edge browser for.

      Curious...why do you do that?

    2. Re: A Billionaire from a Chatting App by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      MAC addresses don't go very far in network protocols. The only way facebook can get it is if an app has slurped it up and sent it as part of the tracking data. Are apps doing this?! The person above was using a browser. Do browser APIs allow this? I hope not.

    3. Re: A Billionaire from a Chatting App by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I take it you are not too familiar with the OSI model.

    4. Re: A Billionaire from a Chatting App by MachineShedFred · · Score: 2

      You don't realize that MAC addresses don't go past layer-3 routers.

      --
      Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
    5. Re:A Billionaire from a Chatting App by sexconker · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      a broken 12-hour clock is correct twice a day.

      I'm gonna go ahead and assume we're talking about a clock with arms, not some digital shit. But even then, that's not necessarily true.
      It's hands could have fallen off.
      Or it could be moving too fast or too slow, and the frequency at which it momentarily lines up with the correct time is less than twice a day.
      Or it could be moving at the correct speed, but be off by a significant amount, and the mechanism to adjust the time is broken.
      Or its movement could be broken such that it never displays a valid time - for example, the hour hand could be directly on the 3 when the minute hand is on the 6.
      Etc.

      Now, if we're talking about a stopped clock, then sure. As long as it's stopped in a valid time position, it'll be correct twice a day. Mostly.
      What if you've got it stopped at 2 AM in a location that observes daylight saving time?
      What if it's stopped at 12:00 noon but it's orbiting Earth above the equator one and half times per day? (But can such a clock be referred to as "stopped"?)

    6. Re: A Billionaire from a Chatting App by Highdude702 · · Score: 1

      Edge doesn't ask your router for permission to tell the website your MAC Address. It just asks Windows. Can you guess what it's answer is?

    7. Re: A Billionaire from a Chatting App by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good opportunity to spoof your MAC and really confuse things.

    8. Re: A Billionaire from a Chatting App by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      A layer 2 switch is a layer 2 router, even if nobody calls it that. But if you do you'll annoy the shit out of people. Spanning-tree is the routing protocol, it has administrative distances and route metrics, and it's smarter than RIP.

    9. Re: A Billionaire from a Chatting App by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    10. Re: A Billionaire from a Chatting App by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unless you put `em in a higher-layer message deliberately, they don't.

  6. Facebook's business model? by jbmartin6 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    This is ridiculous:

    the data of 50 million users had been unknowingly leaked and purchased to aid President Trump

    Facebook's business is *knowingly* providing access to those data. The only reason Cambridge Analytica was dinged was because Facebook didn't get their cut.

    --
    This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
    1. Re:Facebook's business model? by sinij · · Score: 2, Informative

      Not even that. FB is under attack because wrong-thinking people used its capabilities.

    2. Re: Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      It wasn't because Hillary was a horrible choice as a candidate for president. No, it was hackers. That is why she lost to one of the worst candidates ever.

    3. Re:Facebook's business model? by nine-times · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Well it's not quite that simple. Whether it's because of explicit terms of service or it's users making assumptions, people had some expectations of how the data that they'd given to Facebook would be shared. Cambridge Analytica "got dinged" because they mislead people by claiming they were performing academic research and because they violated Facebook's terms of service.

      Also because their behavior was unethical and disturbing in any case. It doesn't help that they'd been approached by Putin's stooges to influence American elections, and then went to work on the Trump campaign, thereby creating yet another suspicious tie between Trump and Putin.

    4. Re: Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Racists is why she lost.

    5. Re:Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Not even that. FB is under attack because wrong-thinking people used its capabilities.

      You mean like when Obama's campaign was doing the same thing? This is nothing new... when something is free to you, you're the product for sale.

    6. Re: Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Racists is why she lost.

      No, she lost because she's dishonest and people were smart enough to see it. I could write a whole post on the reasons she lost but none of them would matter to you because instead of looking at the real reasons you immediately resorted to the "racist" card.

    7. Re:Facebook's business model? by sycodon · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Not to mention that the data wasn't used to, "aid President Trump".

      He used RNC data, which was more accurate.

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    8. Re:Facebook's business model? by _Sharp'r_ · · Score: 4, Informative

      purchased to aid President Trump's successful 2016 bid for the presidency

      This is somewhat easy to misconstrue. Most people will take that as the data was used in the general election, when according to this story:

      “In late September 2016, Cambridge and other data vendors were submitting bids to the Trump campaign. Then-candidate Trump’s campaign used Cambridge Analytica during the primaries and in the summer because it was never certain the Republican National Committee would be a willing, cooperative partner. Cambridge Analytica instead was a hedge against the RNC, in case it wouldn’t share its data.

      The crucial decision was made in late September or early October when Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Brad Parscale, Mr. Trump’s digital guru on the 2016 campaign, decided to utilize just the RNC data for the general election and used nothing from that point from Cambridge Analytica or any other data vendor. The Trump campaign had tested the RNC data, and it proved to be vastly more accurate than Cambridge Analytica’s, and when it was clear the RNC would be a willing partner, Mr. Trump’s campaign was able to rely solely on the RNC. “

      --
      The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
    9. Re:Facebook's business model? by _Sharp'r_ · · Score: 4, Informative
      --
      The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
    10. Re: Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      shut up ivan

    11. Re: Facebook's business model? by Vermonter · · Score: 1, Troll

      So you're saying racists refused to vote for a white candidate, and instead voted for a white candidate? Boy howdy you're just full of logic!

    12. Re:Facebook's business model? by jbmartin6 · · Score: 1

      Fair enough, I simplified a bit. But my basic point is, CA did same thing with those data that any other Facebook customer does. Perhaps some people are waking up to what it means to tell Facebook all about yourself.

      --
      This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
    13. Re:Facebook's business model? by Zocalo · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Allegedly, in addition to misusing the data Facebook had knowingly provided (albeit under false pretenses of academic research), Cambridge Analytica also went above and beyond the accepted methods of acquiring the profile data using techniques that are skating a thin line between whether they are actually legal or not. Facebook was quite right to ding them. Political partisanship aide (yes, Obama did it too, and FWIW I found that usage rather disturbing as well, although the techniques used now seem to be on a whole other level), it's absolutely unethical and if not squashed now then you can bet that $party_you_dont_approve_of will using it come the next election.

      Psychologically, that angle is also rather interesting - people don't like admitting they were scammed / maniupulated, and often get overly defensive as a method of coping with the subconcious knowledge that it has probably happened to them - it's one of the classic stages of acceptance. The reality is that advertisers, politicians, and other shills do this to us Every. Single. Day. and if you step back from the political partisanship it's pretty clear that a lot of voters on all sides got manipulated and had their well-targetted buttons pushed in the US election, the Brexit referendum, and several other elections Cambridge Analytica was supposedly involved in. Do we *really* want to leave that tool in their box unchecked, and continuing to become more and more effective?

      --
      UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
    14. Re: Facebook's business model? by Teun · · Score: 0, Troll

      Oh yeah, in that case a majority of the 2016 voters were racists because Hillary won with close to 3 million votes over the orange one.

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
    15. Re:Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh bullshit. Cambridge analytics is blatant about what they do. Facebook just used the "academic" justification as a CYA, while going into this eyes wide open.

    16. Re: Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, U Boris.

      Feckin' Russian trolls pretending to bash Russia, it's hilarious.

    17. Re: Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Well, that's a hardcore Bernie/Hillary supporter for you. Their little universes have been crushed by the election results and their logic has gone into a tailspin. Instead of admitting they lost because there was something wrong with their candidates, it's the other guy that's just evil.
      Not that Trump is in any way ideal, he was simply less, 'less desirable' than Hillary for most states; but they can't let it go.

    18. Re:Facebook's business model? by cyberchondriac · · Score: 2

      But that makes for good headlines, doesn't it? As if Zuckerberg would ever have done anything willfully to support Trump. The idea is beyond absurd. The FB newsfeed favors liberal media by a landslide, citing chiefly CNN, HuffPo, NYT, and WaPo.

      --

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    19. Re:Facebook's business model? by syn3rg · · Score: 4, Informative

      I think he was referring to the reactions over who used the data, not that is was used:
      A former [Obama] campaign director, Carol Davidsen, tweeted that "Facebook was surprised we were able to suck out the whole social graph, but they didn't stop us once they realized that was what we were doing."

      --
      The contents of this message have been doubly encrypted by ROT13
    20. Re:Facebook's business model? by Dread_ed · · Score: 1

      "...people had some expectations of how the data that they'd given to Facebook would be shared."

      If Facebook users had any idea how much information Facebook has on them they would be incensed. If they knew how it was used they would be mortified and outraged. Facebook's entire value, and continuing existence, is predicated on the users never finding out how much data Facebook collects about them and how that data is used.

      The misleading that Cambridge Analytical is accused of is pretty much common practice with any advertising-revenue based app you install. They are free because you pay with your human reality fingerprint: the imprint your behavior leaves on your electronic devices including where you go, what you do, what you say (ostensibly not voice communications), who you say it to, when you say it, who your parents are, who your friends are, what makes you mad, what makes you sad, what makes you happy, what makes you respond, what you say in response to what other people say, your word choice, your education level, your political affiliation, what you purchase, when you purchase it, how you pay for it, what advertising was delivered to you before you made the purchase, how you move your mouse on webpages, what search terms you use, how much time you spend on webpages, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Advertisers believe this information is the key to controlling your behavior.
        When you click yes on an EULA for an app on your phone, chances are you give that app permission to access every other app on your phone and all of the data contained in those apps.

      If you don't want your information misused, and you are a Facebook user, you aren't very smart. The whole intention of Facebook is to trick you into giving up your whole life to Facebook so they can sell it to people who have one purpose: to use asymmetric information disparity to intentionally control and manipulate you without your consent or knowledge. If that isn't the textbook definition of misuse I don't know what is.

      --
      When the only tool you have is a claw hammer every problem starts to look like the back of someone's skull.
    21. Re: Facebook's business model? by Dr.+Evil · · Score: 0

      No, they're saying they voted for a racist.

    22. Re: Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How to detect a Straw man with close to 90% accuracy: look for the phrase "so you're saying".

    23. Re: Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WTF does Hillary have to do with anything? Even if everybody agreed Hillary shouldn't be president, WTF reason did they have to vote for Trump? That's in the same ballpark of anti-Americanism as voting for Hillary. Those candidates should have lost 0-0, but you people voted for them. As far as I'm concerned, it's your fault that America loses every single fucking presidential election.

    24. Re:Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not only that, Obama use the same data the same way when he ran for re-election.
      If you give your data away, expect it to be used against you.

    25. Re: Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're not too bright, are you?

      That is a rhetorical question. You can tell by the question at the end of a question.

    26. Re: Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do I know what rhetorical means?

    27. Re: Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is that why Obama also won two separate terms?

      Hillary lost because she is unlikable and no where near as intelligent as the media portrays her, which is obvious whenever she speaks. Add to the fact that she is a criminal that was afforded benefits that none of us could even dream of getting, like being let off the hook before even being questioned by the FBI for a crime of disturbingly gross negligence. Finally, she unethically crushed the candidacy of Bernie Sanders (by accepting debate questions in advance of debates and colluding with the DNC to push him out).

      Had the Democrats run a different candidate, then the "racists" probably would have voted for that candidate or actually shown up in in the first place.

    28. Re:Facebook's business model? by Sloppy · · Score: 1

      people had some expectations of how the data that they'd given to Facebook would be shared.

      But they didn't have any expectations of [limits to] how the data they gave to Facebook would be used.

      Everything Cambridge Analytica did, Facebook also tries to offer the same service, and they want to do directly. Facebook could have just as easily sold the same targeted ads, just been more in direct control. Whichever way it had gone, all users had opted into getting tailored propaganda, and also (through empowering Facebook with their contribution to the network effects) all users implicitly endorsed that all other users should get tailored propaganda too.

      Why does anyone care that Facebook acted as a middleman instead of doing it themselves? It's the same result either way.

      All of Facebook's users already knew Facebook is for this, and had plenty of moments to think, and they decided: let it be done. Maybe you don't consent to it anymore (though really: are you sure you don't anymore? have you deleted your profile yet?) but you consented to this happening back then. If you're still on there, then you are still set up to receive a targeted ad. If you're still on there, providing Metcalfian value to Facebook's graph, then you're still ok with everyone else receiving targeted ads too, including easily-manipulated fuckwits.

      It really pisses me off that people opt into things they know are harmful, and then complain about it. But at least, if your complaint is sincere, then do something about next time. What's next, you gonna smoke 4 packs a day and then complain about your lung cancer? The "I'm too stupid to have known cigarettes are bad" argument might have flown in 1968 but, please, stop trying the "I'm too stupid" line in 2018. Whether the rest of us believe you or not, it's a bad message either way.

      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
    29. Re:Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If Facebook users had any idea how much information Facebook has on them they would be incensed.

      No. They wouldn't. Western society breeds narcissistic, avaricious, greedy people. They don't care what fb is doing with their data because fb is free. Period. Everything else flows downhill from that. Rome fell. Ottoman Empire fell. its just a matter of when for Western society.

    30. Re:Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You have no clue what we're talking about, do you?

    31. Re: Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe I agree with your position, but even if sharing your broad position, what would an individual do? A number will have no one to vote for, but may choose Trump because the options are so limited anyway.

      WTF does Hitler have to do with anything? Even if everybody agreed Hitler shouldn't be president, WTF reason did they have to vote for Stalin? That's in the same ballpark of anti-Americanism as voting for Hitler. Those candidates should have lost 0-0, but you people voted for them. As far as I'm concerned, it's your fault that America loses every single fucking presidential election.

    32. Re: Facebook's business model? by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      ....AND facebook made the mistake of taking a personal stance on one side of thw issue. If they were adults capable of just being secular lovers of freedom they would be much less susceptible to pop-group think and persecution. They painted themselves in a corner. Part of growing into adulthood I guess. Tone at the top is weak.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    33. Re: Facebook's business model? by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      Which set of ethics are you referring to? Assuming everyone shares the same ethics guarantees you will be left holding the bill while those who are masters of the universe define thier own ethics and convince you to hand them your shit. Grow up.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    34. Re: Facebook's business model? by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      Spot on. As this story unfolds Im left wondering why this is treated as abnormal. The general awareness of reality in pop culture is low and slow.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    35. Re:Facebook's business model? by thsths · · Score: 1

      And Whatsapp is better? They knowingly upload and store your address book when you use the app, despite the fact that it is clearly illegal under EU data protection law. Facebook at least asks first.

    36. Re:Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good lord. Have people lost all ability to question and evaluate?

      You quoted and linked a Major Garrett article. The article makes statements as though they are fact with absolutely no quoted sources. This makes the statements obviously untenable. Basically, one must accept the authorship of the article to be omniscient in order to accept the assertions as presented. So it is not a matter of sources and statements being quoted in order to form a story. It is just the author stating things like "the data wasn't used after a certain point" and the reader would just have to accept that the author has an omniscient mind that can detect the use of info in a large complex group of political actors.

      Total crap. Complete stinking turd hanging from the anus. I mean really. Can't liars even make themselves appear credible at first glance?

    37. Re:Facebook's business model? by _Sharp'r_ · · Score: 1

      I thought the source for the article was obviously Brad Parscale.

      But here's a similar Reuters article which identifies it's sources more explicitly:

      A Trump campaign official said the campaign used the Republican National Committee for its voter data in 2016, not Cambridge Analytica.

      “Any claims that voter data were used from another source to support the victory in 2016 are false,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

      In past interviews with Reuters, Brad Parscale, who ran Trump’s digital ad operation in 2016 and is his 2020 re-election campaign manager, has said Cambridge Analytica played a minor role as a contractor in the 2016 campaign.

      He said the campaign used voter data from a Republican-affiliated organization rather than Cambridge Analytica.

      --
      The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
    38. Re: Facebook's business model? by LordWabbit2 · · Score: 1

      Precisely my point, the only reason Trump won was because people felt they HAD to vote either democrat or republican. If both candidates sucked (which they did, Trump just sucked less) they should have voiced it by voting for one of the underdogs instead. To be honest, without googling (and I am not American) I don't even know the names of anyone else running for president, do they even exist or have a chance at winning if they do? I had hopes Trump would shake things up (and I suppose he has) and break America away from the shackles of the corporations who actually run and own America, but alas, every time he tries he gets lambasted and shot down in flames in the senate or in court, I wonder who is paying for all that? Companies like Montesanto et al, that's who. Americans are already being forced to grow and eat food that would not be allowed anywhere near the EU, and no one in the US seems inclined to ask WHY. Because they are being brainwashed by mainstream media which is owned by... the corporations. The big mega farms growing this crud, owned by corporations whose only interest is to maximize profits, long term health effects be damned since they will be almost impossible to prove and the corps have more lawyers which would tie up the case for years, if not decades. Which doesn't matter because the Judge sitting in attendance has political ambitions and needs to get his cut of the corporate pie so he can pay another corporate to brainwash people into thinking he is the best candidate.

      --
      There are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third is statistics.
    39. Re: Facebook's business model? by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      No, she lost because she's dishonest

      In a universe where that were true, absolutely nobody would have voted for Trump. For most of the complaints I've seen about Clinton, Trump's worse.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    40. Re:Facebook's business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "which identifies it's sources"

      Did you find an article that identifies your incorrect apostrophe usage?

      PS: it's means it is.

    41. Re: Facebook's business model? by Newander · · Score: 1

      It exists. It just doesn't count.

      --

      Jesus saves and takes half damage.

  7. It's dying anyway by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    The young people are no longer there anyway, only meemaw and peepaw are staying there and they don't vote anyway.

    1. Re:It's dying anyway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yeah, everyone knows young people turn out to vote in way higher numbers than senior citizens. /s

    2. Re:It's dying anyway by StikyPad · · Score: 2

      I think you've got it backwards, as far as voting. Turnout rates are pretty much directly proportional to age.
      https://media.npr.org/assets/i...
      https://www.npr.org/2016/05/16...

    3. Re:It's dying anyway by Khyber · · Score: 1

      "Turnout rates are pretty much directly proportional to age."

      Only because the older you get the more you realize your vote matters.

      Get the younger generation to figure this out and half of the problem, if not more, would not exist.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    4. Re:It's dying anyway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've found exactly the opposite. The older I get the more certain I am that my vote means absolutely fuck-all. It's ridiculous to assume votes matter. The assclowns running the circus are always gonna be the assclowns running the circus. And somehow they keep getting ever more asinine.

    5. Re:It's dying anyway by Pfhorrest · · Score: 1

      The older I've gotten the less I've felt that my vote matters. Which hasn't changed my voting behavior, just how enthused I am about the whole process, but still. The first time I got to vote, I was super excited to be making a difference in the world, until the news called the election before I could even get to the polls after work on the west coast. And the feeling of futility has only increased since then as I've learned more and more about politics and political science. Voting is an extremely low-cost action though, so even if there seems to be negligible reward to doing it, meh, might as well anyway.

      --
      -Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
      "I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
    6. Re: It's dying anyway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah. That is why the elite is so mad about Trump. Because voting changes nothing???

      Several elitists have been musing to kill Trump. That means we have serious change through voting.

  8. Not really deleted :sadpanda: by Robert+Goatse · · Score: 2

    Delete all you want but FB still retains all the information you shared.

    1. Re:Not really deleted :sadpanda: by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      Fortunately stale data is often worse than no data.

    2. Re:Not really deleted :sadpanda: by Teun · · Score: 1

      you have to login into something via Facebook

      Uh?
      I know there are sites allowing you to log in with FB or Google credentials but AFAIK there is always an option to have a unique username and password.

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
    3. Re:Not really deleted :sadpanda: by burtosis · · Score: 1

      It does make it harder for third parties to scrape your data.

    4. Re:Not really deleted :sadpanda: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's also the problem with Cryptofeces Lepidoptera Creimerus. You can never truly get rid of shit-moths. The moment you step on the last one, a hidden egg-case hatches a completely intact shit-moth, ready to annoy.

      Cryptofeces Lepidoptera Creimerus infestation is a serious problem. Not only are they capable of reproducing asexually like amoebas, they can also lay eggs hermaphroditically in unexpected places. They can disguise eggs as something useful to fool the unaware, sometimes pretending to be a haiku author, blogger, vlogger, or IT closet cleaner.

      Very dangerous. They can seemingly reproduce out of the cosmic background radiation, even if you step on twelve of them, there's always one you miss.

      Don't be fooled by the C. Lepidoptera Creimerus's innocuous, rolly-polly [youtube.com], and almost friendly appearance; despite its great size, stupid demeanor, and bedraggled toothless appearance, they have the hardiness of a tardigrade.

      Only a concerted, targeted downmodding campaign has been shown effective in controlling this dangerous pest.

      Experience shows that stopping such a campaign leads to C. Lepidoptera Creimerus returning within days.

      Don't let it happen again!

    5. Re:Not really deleted :sadpanda: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      creimer sock puppet post to build up his karma!

      CREIMER' SUBMISSIONS UPDATE:
      Note also that creimer is trying to regain karma by getting his submissions published as articles on /. so make sure to go to:
      https://slashdot.org/~_sharp'r...
      https://slashdot.org/~crreimer
      https://slashdot.org/~cdreimer
      https://slashdot.org/~criss69
      https://slashdot.org/~Anonymou...
      https://slashdot.org/~FatCashe...
      https://slashdot.org/~ILoveFat...
      https://slashdot.org/~IHateFat...
      https://slashdot.org/~IAteFatC...
      https://slashdot.org/~ITapeFat...
      https://slashdot.org/~IApeFatC...
      https://slashdot.org/~IPrayFat...
      https://slashdot.org/~FatCashe...
      and mod down his submissions as well. The great thing is that you don't even need mod points to mod down a submission, just click on the "minus" icon!

      Yes, believe it or not, creimer owns all the above sock puppet accounts. It is a mystery why Slashdot management tolerates it!

      creimer wrote:

      I don't bother with mod points. I'm doing something much more sinister. It took ten story submissions ? I'll have to double check the number ? to move cdreimer's karma from neutral to excellent without ever being exposed to the capricious mods. Mmmmmwwwwahahahahahahaha!

      https://slashdot.org/comments....

      Danger, Will Robinson, Danger! Creimy is posting more than 2 posts a day. Hurry! mod down otherwise /. will go to hell again!

      Note: you can mod down even if already at -1 to lower karma and to prevent lost /. users to accidentally mod up.

      creimer wrote:

      All you need to do is find a website with a permissive TOS, say, Slashdot, create a Python script to scrape your own comments, sprinkle Amazon affiliate links in various posts, and then re-post past links whenever possible. Won't be long before you start making "coffee money" each month.

      https://slashdot.org/comments....

      C.D. Reimer is a renowned Slashdot collaborator, as he puts it himself; "Because of the quality of my posts and my article submissions, I'm a highly rated commentator and moderator."

      But does anybody ever wondered what "C.D." stands for? Well, it stands for Creimy Dumpty of course!

      Creimy Dumpty sat on the wall,
      Creimy Dumpty had a great fall.
      All the king's horses
      And all the king's men
      Couldn't put Creimy Dumpty
      Together again.

      Creimy's siblings video and theme song, very realistic, especially the pants, just like Creimy's:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      With "Vice President Pence Vowing US Astronauts Will Return To the Moon", we are sure they will need miracle workers up there, here is what it would look like. Note that Creimy takes care of bringing a lot of food to the moon as depicted below:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      Creimy's real pictures:
      Before the sex change:
      https://ibb.co/cc7Ddw
      After the sex change:
      https://ibb.co/gVad65

      Creimy's "enterprise-level" chair, he ta

    6. Re:Not really deleted :sadpanda: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uh? Go figure!

      You just replied to a creimer sock puppet karma whoring post to build up creimer karma!

      Shame on you!

      CREIMER' SUBMISSIONS UPDATE:
      Note also that creimer is trying to regain karma by getting his submissions published as articles on /. so make sure to go to:
      https://slashdot.org/~_sharp'r...
      https://slashdot.org/~crreimer
      https://slashdot.org/~cdreimer
      https://slashdot.org/~criss69
      https://slashdot.org/~Anonymou...
      https://slashdot.org/~FatCashe...
      https://slashdot.org/~ILoveFat...
      https://slashdot.org/~IHateFat...
      https://slashdot.org/~IAteFatC...
      https://slashdot.org/~ITapeFat...
      https://slashdot.org/~IApeFatC...
      https://slashdot.org/~IPrayFat...
      https://slashdot.org/~FatCashe...
      and mod down his submissions as well. The great thing is that you don't even need mod points to mod down a submission, just click on the "minus" icon!

      Yes, believe it or not, creimer owns all the above sock puppet accounts. It is a mystery why Slashdot management tolerates it!

      creimer wrote:

      I don't bother with mod points. I'm doing something much more sinister. It took ten story submissions ? I'll have to double check the number ? to move cdreimer's karma from neutral to excellent without ever being exposed to the capricious mods. Mmmmmwwwwahahahahahahaha!

      https://slashdot.org/comments....

      Danger, Will Robinson, Danger! Creimy is posting more than 2 posts a day. Hurry! mod down otherwise /. will go to hell again!

      Note: you can mod down even if already at -1 to lower karma and to prevent lost /. users to accidentally mod up.

      creimer wrote:

      All you need to do is find a website with a permissive TOS, say, Slashdot, create a Python script to scrape your own comments, sprinkle Amazon affiliate links in various posts, and then re-post past links whenever possible. Won't be long before you start making "coffee money" each month.

      https://slashdot.org/comments....

      C.D. Reimer is a renowned Slashdot collaborator, as he puts it himself; "Because of the quality of my posts and my article submissions, I'm a highly rated commentator and moderator."

      But does anybody ever wondered what "C.D." stands for? Well, it stands for Creimy Dumpty of course!

      Creimy Dumpty sat on the wall,
      Creimy Dumpty had a great fall.
      All the king's horses
      And all the king's men
      Couldn't put Creimy Dumpty
      Together again.

      Creimy's siblings video and theme song, very realistic, especially the pants, just like Creimy's:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      With "Vice President Pence Vowing US Astronauts Will Return To the Moon", we are sure they will need miracle workers up there, here is what it would look like. Note that Creimy takes care of bringing a lot of food to the moon as depicted below:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      Creimy's real pictures:
      Before the sex change:
      https://ibb.co/cc7Ddw
      After the sex change:

  9. Signal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I've been using Signal for a year or so, it's much better than it was and is built to be secure (no back doors)

    1. Re:Signal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How do you know it had no back doors? Is it open source?

    2. Re:Signal by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      Furthermore Signal relies on centralized servers. That is crazy if you think that is secure.

    3. Re:Signal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And even more than that, it wants your phone number before it lets you use it.

      The fuck? IRC never demanded my phone number before letting me chat with friends.

    4. Re:Signal by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      Signal only uses servers for relaying encrypted messages, which are no more or less secure there than they are in-transit, where they could be captured just as easily, if not more so. Public keys are also stored on their servers, but you can (and should) always validate public keys face-to-face or through side channels, at least for communications you care about. You will also receive a warning if someone's public key changes.

      Also, since it leverages the same encryption, WhatsApp is pretty secure for user-to-user chats (but less so for group chats), as long as you don't backup to iCloud, where it stores your history in unencrypted form.

    5. Re:Signal by ctilsie242 · · Score: 1

      The ironic thing is that FB Messenger uses Signal for private messaging as well, if you hit the "Secret" button.

      I personally like Signal, since the RedPhone/TextSecure days, and even though a determined attacker might be able to do some tomfoolery, the protocol is good enough for all but some ultra confidential things (which are sent as GPG ASCII armored files, or are pointers to a downloadable TrueCrypt container with the keyfiles and passphase sent via separate channels.)

    6. Re: Signal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      iCloud backups are now encrypted.

    7. Re:Signal by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      Meta data is still recorded - who you sent messages to, when you sent them, and the approximate size.

  10. Forbes has a better analysis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2018/03/19/the-problem-isnt-cambridge-analytica-its-facebook/#385336e658a5

    The problem isn't Cambridge Analytics. Obama's campaign was much worse about digital snooping. (Getting DVR viewing history? Seriously?)

    But neither of them has abused their power nearly as much as has Facebook internally. The part about FB researching depressed early teen Australians for advertising purposes is probably just one of many extreme examples.

    Time for FB / Google / Amazon to be broken up using the old trust busting laws.

    1. Re: Forbes has a better analysis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Broken up? Like the way we break up big banks and big cable and big airlines and big telco and big pharma?

      So long as we have Republican Kangaroos in the USSC and Republicans running Congress and the White House...and so long as Corporations are People (thank you, Kangaroos!) with Rights, and so long as unlimited campaign money is "free speech"... Facebook Google etc can do whatever the fuck they want.

    2. Re: Forbes has a better analysis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and so long as Corporations are People (thank you, Kangaroos!) with Rights.

      Your're welcome, because without this, liberals would not be able to push their progressive agendas.

    3. Re:Forbes has a better analysis by bangular · · Score: 1

      Good luck. The credit data of basically every American eligible for credit was leaked and nothing was done.

    4. Re:Forbes has a better analysis by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Amazon to be broken up using the old trust busting laws

      The same Amazon that was only recently approved to merge with a retailer to become even bigger? You have a lot of sociological hurdles to overcome before you can dust of those old forgotten laws.

    5. Re:Forbes has a better analysis by Khyber · · Score: 1

      "(Getting DVR viewing history? Seriously?)"

      Sold by the DVR/TV companies, obviously. Nothing illegal or unethical on the campaign's part, perhaps on the part of the equipment/service company.

      "Time for FB / Google / Amazon to be broken up using the old trust busting laws."

      I get the feeling that would fail as they're currently not acting as egregiously as Microsoft did in the 90s, though many of the other elements are there.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    6. Re: Forbes has a better analysis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Christ, you are a fucking partisan moron.

    7. Re:Forbes has a better analysis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thanks for the info, Pavel!

    8. Re:Forbes has a better analysis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Breaking up Standard oil made Rockefeller the first know billionaire and changed nothing.

    9. Re: Forbes has a better analysis by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      Oh yeah....democrats are going to break up those monopolies...just you wait see....golly gee willlickers....

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    10. Re:Forbes has a better analysis by walllaby · · Score: 1

      Mod parent up! The EquiFax leak was even worse—it wasn't even opt-in. The best you could do is learn to freeze your credit and pray for the best.

      The American psyche has learned to accept free gifts in the form of online software because what could be better than "free?" Okay: so maybe my generic information is getting stored on some monolithic benevolent company's servers somewhere, but so what? What are they going to do with my photos of me in my dinosaur costume?

      Some small part of me wonders if the genesis of this cultural zeitgeist wasn't started by Napster...the internet is where you go to get "free stuff." You used to have to pay for email from the likes of Juno! Now the general public would scoff at the idea!

    11. Re:Forbes has a better analysis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Google kinda did that already...https://abc.xyz/

  11. Super psyched! by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

    This movement is so influential that I'm going to finally break down and sign up to claim my facebook shadow account just so I can delete it! Sure, it won't actually be deleted and they'll probably get more info on my than ever but damn it will feel good! ;)

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  12. What about the other side doing the same? by RabidDawg · · Score: 4, Informative
    1. Re:What about the other side doing the same? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Two wrongs don't make a right.

    2. Re:What about the other side doing the same? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What about it? There are no "sides" to this with respect to hyperpartisan politics. Everybody came to the conclusion that Cambridge Analytica didn't help Trump's campaign almost a year ago, including the company. That's not the problem at all. The problem is Cambridge Analytica came into possession of this data through illegitimate means and held onto it after they promised Facebook they'd delete it. They didn't do that and Facebook didn't care. The story is Facebook doesn't protect users' information.

    3. Re:What about the other side doing the same? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      What do you mean, "the other side doing the same"? What is the same about it? From your own link:

      In 2012, the Obama campaign encouraged supporters to download an Obama 2012 Facebook app that, when activated, let the campaign collect Facebook data both on users and their friends.

      According to a July 2012 MIT Technology Review article, when you installed the app, "it said it would grab information about my friends: their birth dates, locations, and 'likes.' "

      So your complaint is that, as opposed to a firm that hid their true intent and then used that data for other purposes, Obama got his info from an Obama branded app that explicitly stated what info it would be gathering? Oh yes, tottally the same thing. Just like when I asked my buddy if I could borrow a $10, it was exactly the same thing as mugging him and taking his wallet, right?

      And then the article talks about

      More important, the campaign could deliver carefully targeted campaign messages disguised as messages from friends to millions of Facebook users

      but then says

      the team blitzed the supporters who had signed up for the app with requests to share specific online content with specific friends simply by clicking a button.

      . So the messages might have been sent by the campaign, but it was the people's friends that specifically took the action to authorized sending on their behalf.

      The only difference, as far as we can discern, between the two campaigns' use of Facebook, is that in the case of Obama the users themselves agreed to share their data with the Obama campaign, as well as that of their friends.

      The users that downloaded the Cambridge app, meanwhile, were only told that the information would be used for academic purposes. Nor was the data to be used for anything other than academic purposes.

      Yeah, so the only difference between them is the HUGE FUCKING DIFFERENCE WHICH INVALIDATES THE ENTIRE ARGUMENT. But yeah, other than that....

      +4 Insightful, my ass

    4. Re:What about the other side doing the same? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That doesn't excuse this side at all.

      You're trying to refocus the argument.

    5. Re: What about the other side doing the same? by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      These types of agreements are used in every industry. I would never delete data. It is far to valuable. Any analyst who comes upon valuable data keeps a copy for themselves. Data security and governance is very weak to non-exsistent in every company.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    6. Re: What about the other side doing the same? by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      To quote Trump....."wrong." CA didnt mug anyone. They merely demonstrated the effectiveness of fb data governance by doing what they had to do to comply. Nothing.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    7. Re:What about the other side doing the same? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The "other side" did not do the same thing. The other side collected data with an app released by the Obama campaign labelled as a campaign app. That app stated what the data policy was and they followed that policy. Deception and honesty are antonyms, not synonyms.

  13. #neverhadsocialmedia #idontexistunlessuronirc by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    :)

    captcha was 'disband'

  14. Where were they 10 years ago? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And why are Google, Amazon, Twitter et. al. not being included? It would be a lot more meaningful if the motivation weren't strictly political, as all of these companies are crooked, and all of them built their businesses using a version of Facebook's model. Though I hope there's serious comeuppance for Zuck, he is just one among many.

  15. Facebook-free by DaMattster · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I deleted my Facebook account back in the beginning of November 2017. I am now 120 days free from the bullshit! There is no way I will ever go back. I hope more people join the movement to delete Facebook and lead richer, fuller lives.

    1. Re:Facebook-free by monkeyxpress · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Since about 2-3 years ago I stopped using Facebook for personal stuff and now just post carefully curated things on it. I basically treat it as a public profile, so that if recruiters/customers etc go snooping for me they can have a look at some photos of my dog and see that I go on holiday every now and again. Pretty much like another linked-in.

      Most other people I know do the same. We've moved family and friend groups to other networks, or just use email.

      Does anyone actually share their life honestly on Facebook anymore? I don't even get many original posts from 'friends' now as my feed is always clogged up with adverts and viral videos. Personally I think the whole platform has jumped the shark, but will survive because lazy HR directors want to review job candidate's social media accounts instead of doing proper interviews.

    2. Re:Facebook-free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How can you be sure your data is gone ?

    3. Re:Facebook-free by jellomizer · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I never bother deleting it. You can also just stop using it.

      The biggest problem with Facebook, is the attempt to try to show that your life is a success, while others are doing the same thing. So you just kinda see things from peoples good day. I got promoted today! (While they are still underpaid for their skills). Look at my new apartment! (because I got evicted from the old one). Look at my New Car! (The last one was in a wreck). Look at my world travels (You are in the military, on shore leave and about to be redeployed or you job is throwing you across the world and that picture is the only site seeing you are doing before locking yourself in an office for the rest of the day)

      That and you see a combined posting of hundreds of people at least one of them is having a good day, so you feel like your few good days a year is somehow worse then others.

      In many ways Facebook has stopped us from growing up, we are reminded on a daily bases of all your inadequacies of your childhood.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    4. Re:Facebook-free by Dr.+Evil · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Trouble with deleting your profile is that somebody can trivially impersonate you by creating a new profile in your name.

      Your shadow profile still exists too... everyone who has you in their contacts likely uploaded your phone number, email and possibly home address, your face is in people’s photos, the exif data puts you at specific places at specific times, etc.

      All your old measages still exist in the profiles of the people you communicated with. Your social media footprint is still in their database.

      Better to keep the profile and lose your login.

    5. Re:Facebook-free by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      They've all gone to Instagram. Facebook is for memes and political crap. Instagram is for personal shares. Yeah I know that's not much better, but the crowd has gone there.

      I'm willing to bet a significant percentage of the #deleteFacebook population have kept their Instagram accounts. :)

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    6. Re:Facebook-free by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      The account data of social media has to be of value for ads and be used to a real person to stay of value.
      Correct useful data about music, politics, sport, hobbies, food, holidays, interests, cars, banking, authors, news, faith, products and services used. All connected to a real person who shops and links about brands and looks at ads and shops online.

      How to really make sure the data goes?
      Mix in some US freedom of speech on topics that will have other nations and international ads not able to function with the account.
      The value of that account is then negative globally as it has to have real time spent on reducing visibility to that account.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    7. Re:Facebook-free by Teun · · Score: 1

      My problem is I never made a FB account, they did it for me.
      Years ago they send me a mail inviting me to join my friends and family on FB.
      Due to EU legislation they had to offer me the ability to unsubscribe from their annoying mail but rest assured, they still have my data.
      How they got it, including my mail address?
      Stupid 'friends and family' uploaded their address books to FB.

      So now I wonder if EU law is strong enough to not only delete my unwanted and never used account but to also force FB to remove my mail address etc. from the uploaded address books.

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
    8. Re:Facebook-free by Teun · · Score: 1

      Spot on!

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
    9. Re:Facebook-free by BlueStrat · · Score: 1

      How to really make sure the data goes?
      Mix in some US freedom of speech on topics that will have other nations and international ads not able to function with the account.
      The value of that account is then negative globally as it has to have real time spent on reducing visibility to that account.

      I imagine that posting your drawings/paintings/Play-Dough sculptures of Muhammad having sex with swine and dogs, along with posts reprinting articles from local EU papers detailing Muslim 'refugee' rapes of, and attacks on, natives of the EU would suffice admirably. :)

      Strat

      --
      Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
    10. Re:Facebook-free by ctilsie242 · · Score: 1

      I wonder how good Diaspora is these days. The concept of having small "social networks" that communicate with each other is nice, although this was done before. Everything FB does has been handled by other protocols, with FB's main advantage being a "one-stop shop". Messaging is handled by a slew of protocols. A "wall" is a web page that WordPress or similar can handle well. Web forums replace groups. For videos, an open S3 bucket is good for downloads, or perhaps someone just keeps a torrent seeded.

      My concern about FB is that they can do what they want. If they want to change a conversation between two people, they can. If they don't like one political view, they can hush it, and nobody can do a single thing about it. This is why moving to a decentralized network is important.

    11. Re:Facebook-free by cyberchondriac · · Score: 1

      +1 Someone mod up insightful

      --

      Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
    12. Re:Facebook-free by Dread_ed · · Score: 1

      Nuke Facebook's servers from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

      --
      When the only tool you have is a claw hammer every problem starts to look like the back of someone's skull.
    13. Re:Facebook-free by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      and lead richer, fuller lives

      If you need to delete something in order to do this then you were doing it wrong. Personally I lead a fuller life as a result of Facebook. There's a great many things (e.g. underground music festivals) that are exclusively advertised via facebook these days.

      I don't actually post anything to Facebook, but like any service, you get out what you want from it.

    14. Re:Facebook-free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don’t have a TV.

    15. Re:Facebook-free by swell · · Score: 1

      Cute. You really think it's deleted? How trusting! Maybe you don't have access any more, but everyone else does.

      There is no deleting. Not only that but there is no shelter from FB. I have never had an account there but they still gather information about me from friends, business associates and family. I'd love to know what they've got on me but asking them would simply confirm that I exist and make their file look more valid.

      This is no different from the credit reporting agencies in the US that gather your financial information from a variety of sources without your knowledge or consent. There is no escape.

      --
      ...omphaloskepsis often...
    16. Re: Facebook-free by c6gunner · · Score: 1

      I deleted Facebook and I don't even know what an Instagram is.

    17. Re:Facebook-free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Trouble with deleting your profile is that somebody can trivially impersonate you by creating a new profile in your name.

      You know who would be best at doing this impersonation?

      You.

      Go impersonate yourself. One day on Facebook, I suddenly aged 16 years. Give you any ideas?

    18. Re:Facebook-free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Before i deleted my Facebook account around 10 years ago all i posted was negative Facebook stories no one cared.

    19. Re:Facebook-free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good work. I'm pushing 1 decade without it! I'm older than you maybe. I didn't need twitter hashtags to do it either as I don't use that crap too. I use reddit, telegram, whatsapp, viber, and discord and I'm cutting a lot of that crap out too. I think I'll keep my reddit.

    20. Re: Facebook-free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's another lump of crap that will be the rescue barge for facebook. I think facebook own it. Not touching it.

    21. Re: Facebook-free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You sound like a Russian Terrorist who wants to use Information Weapons!

      Didn't you know that Civilized Speech must be curated by a commission of elite Marxists, bankers and Weapons makers?

      Comrade, repent!

    22. Re: Facebook-free by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      Been FB free for probably six months now. Feels good. Wife deleted it from her phone a while back and has felt the positive difference as well. Lead by example.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    23. Re:Facebook-free by TeknoHog · · Score: 1

      I only got a FB account for organizing art projects a few years ago, and I keep it that way.

      It helps that I've seen enough life online since the 1990s. I still find it hilarious how the cool kids who laughed at us geeks back then, were soon hooked on FB and smartphones themselves, and they're finally starting to realize what a bad idea it was.

      --
      Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
    24. Re:Facebook-free by walllaby · · Score: 1

      Everything FB does has been handled by other protocols, with FB's main advantage being a "one-stop shop". Messaging is handled by a slew of protocols. A "wall" is a web page that WordPress or similar can handle well. Web forums replace groups. For videos, an open S3 bucket is good for downloads, or perhaps someone just keeps a torrent seeded.

      True, but we had these things before Facebook. Facebook beat out the rest of the market. It's simpler, the design is attractive, and it's where you can find everyone.

      As a nerd, I liked the distributed services you mention. But if I want to organize events with people in real life or find things to do in my area, guess where I'm going to look.

    25. Re:Facebook-free by LordWabbit2 · · Score: 1

      Way cool, I like this! I am going to start posting pics of myself on Mars or something, starting with training and stuff, with photoshopped pics of me with astronauts and stuffs. Lets see how smart FB's auto tagging algo's really are. Since I suck at photoshop I doubt I would fool a human, but then I am not trying to!

      --
      There are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third is statistics.
    26. Re: Facebook-free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I never ever used Facebook, thankfully. Email, texting, and actual voice phone calls keep me connected the old-fashioned way.

  16. Set fire to your phone & computer by ne7minder · · Score: 1

    What FB has on you pales in comparison to what Apple & Google have stored about you via your phone & internet use. Looks like it is back to desktop phones and encyclopedia!

    1. Re:Set fire to your phone & computer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Looks like it is back to desktop phones and encyclopedia!

      Didn't all big encyclopedias stop making dead-tree versions long ago?

    2. Re:Set fire to your phone & computer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Apple does not collect user data. They go through extreme length to avoid it.

      https://www.apple.com/privacy/

      https://www.apple.com/privacy/approach-to-privacy/

    3. Re:Set fire to your phone & computer by LordWabbit2 · · Score: 1

      Maybe they did, but you can download wikipedia and run it locally, they even zip it up for you in one big file.
      Actually considering the amount of data there (some would say it's the sum of human knowledge) it's still small enough to fit on my phone.

      --
      There are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third is statistics.
    4. Re:Set fire to your phone & computer by LordWabbit2 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, and I believe them too!

      --
      There are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third is statistics.
  17. Have Mercy!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Been humpin' on your mom all day!!!

    1. Re:Have Mercy!!! by Locke2005 · · Score: 0

      My mom is DEAD you necrophiliac!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  18. Down the earthwire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    0.0.0.0 facebook.com facebook.net facebook.*
    0.0.0.0 twitter.*
    0.0.0.0 instagram.*

    and so on...

    1. Re:Down the earthwire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      0.0.0.0 facebook.com facebook.net facebook.*
      0.0.0.0 twitter.*
      0.0.0.0 instagram.*

      and so on...

      Here's something better:

      # Block Facebook IPv4
      127.0.0.1 api.ak.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 api.connect.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 api.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 app.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 apps.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 ar-ar.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 badge.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 blog.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 connect.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 connect.facebook.net
      127.0.0.1 de-de.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 developers.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 es-la.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 external.ak.fbcdn.net
      127.0.0.1 facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 facebook.de
      127.0.0.1 facebook.fr
      127.0.0.1 fb.me
      127.0.0.1 fbcdn.net
      127.0.0.1 fr-fr.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 hi-in.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 it-it.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 ja-jp.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 login.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 profile.ak.fbcdn.net
      127.0.0.1 pt-br.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 ssl.connect.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 static.ak.connect.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 static.ak.fbcdn.net
      127.0.0.1 www.facebook.com
      127.0.0.1 www.facebook.de
      127.0.0.1 www.facebook.fr
      127.0.0.1 zh-cn.facebook.com
      # Block Facebook IPv6
      fe80::1%lo0 facebook.com
      fe80::1%lo0 login.facebook.com
      fe80::1%lo0 www.login.facebook.com
      fe80::1%lo0 fbcdn.net
      fe80::1%lo0 www.fbcdn.net
      fe80::1%lo0 fbcdn.com
      fe80::1%lo0 www.fbcdn.com
      fe80::1%lo0 static.ak.fbcdn.net
      fe80::1%lo0 static.ak.connect.facebook.com
      fe80::1%lo0 connect.facebook.net
      fe80::1%lo0 www.connect.facebook.net
      fe80::1%lo0 apps.facebook.com ::1 www.facebook.com ::1 facebook.com ::1 login.facebook.com ::1 www.login.facebook.com ::1 fbcdn.net ::1 www.fbcdn.net ::1 fbcdn.com ::1 www.fbcdn.com ::1 static.ak.fbcdn.net ::1 static.ak.connect.facebook.com ::1 connect.facebook.net ::1 www.connect.facebook.net ::1 apps.facebook.com
      # block IPs above

  19. Just as bad by DarkRookie · · Score: 1

    WhatsApp is just as guilty as Facebook

    --
    The millennial that doesn't like most of the stuff designed for millennials.
    1. Re:Just as bad by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      WhatsApp wasn't before Facebook bought them. They provided end-to-end encryption and a sane business plan (free for a year to get people hooked and then $1/year). Facebook made it free and then had to monetise it by trying to data mine it (in spite of not doing so being a condition of the EU competition regulator approving the purchase).

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  20. Deleting Facebook.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    WhatsApp Co-Founder Tells Everyone To Delete Facebook

    Friend of mine proudly told me one day that he deleted Facebook, but to my great disappointment, the next day I was still able to ping it.

    I hope someone manages it though.

  21. We know that already by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But people who know they should #delete FB don't have FB in the first place.

    --
    Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    1. Re:We know that already by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      True. I was smart enough to shut it down in 2008 but not smart enough to not open it in the first place.

  22. Don't delete your account .. edit the data by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    to what ever is non identifying to you

  23. So: by ledow · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So:

    "We sold you all out to them years ago, including all your data, for money to become billionaires. Now we are telling you that you shouldn't ever give them your data and should delete your account with them immediately."

    Tell me a) why I should listen to you, b) how you think this makes you the hero?

    1. Re:So: by sinij · · Score: 1

      a) Even bad people can give you good advice

      b) Why are you framing this as an altruistic move? it could be the case that they now seek to make money from you by selling you means to partially restore your privacy.

    2. Re:So: by ledow · · Score: 1

      a) Yep, but there's this thing called "reputation".
      b) I'm not. But it's framed as such. "Look, even the Whatsapp guy says he wouldn't tolerate this and wouldn't have done it", where that's EXACTLY what he did, to every WhatsApp user.

      And you can't un-sell your data.

    3. Re:So: by bingoUV · · Score: 1

      Before selling to Facebook, do you have evidence that Whatsapp was as much of a privacy violator as Facebook ? Or a significant fraction thereof ?

      They never had advertisements, and promised they will never have. They had subscription charges - though didn't insist on the charges for some countries. I know people who refused to pay up and hence their Whatsapp account got disabled. Whatsapp is not one of the major companies, AFAIK, which gave people free stuff in exchange of raping their privacy.

      In selling, Acton may not have had much of a choice. If majority shareholders decided to sell, he might as well get a good price for his share. Even if he had a choice, calling it "where that's EXACTLY what he did, to every WhatsApp user" is going too far because, say, you giving me up to terrorists for money does not make you a terrorist. Merely a greedy mercenary.

      --
      Bingo Dictionary - Pragmatist, n. A myopic idealist.
  24. Only apps can app apps! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is simply AppsApp apping Appbook, and only apps can app apps!

    Apps!

  25. Polute the Data? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why not just like every random thing, friend the widest range of people possible, share posts from everyone you can. If we can force the algorithms that are sorting our data into providing meaningless results we can impact their revenue.

  26. Let me guess by Zontar_Thing_From_Ve · · Score: 2

    I deleted my Facebook account back in the beginning of November 2017. I am now 120 days free from the bullshit! There is no way I will ever go back. I hope more people join the movement to delete Facebook and lead richer, fuller lives.

    Let me guess. You still have a Twitter account though. At worst Facebook is super annoying, but you can make a case that Twitter is actually doing real harm to human society, yet which of the two do you still probably have? Yeah.

  27. Yes, Signal is open source. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yes, Signal is open source:

    "Free for everyone. Signal is made for you. As an Open Source project supported by grants and donations, Signal can put users first. There are no ads, no affiliate marketers, no creepy tracking. Just open technology for a fast, simple, and secure messaging experience. The way it should be."

    Works with Android, iPhone, Linux, and Windows.

    "Stay private. Signal messages and calls are always end-to-end encrypted and painstakingly engineered to keep your communication safe. We can't read your messages or see your calls, and no one else can either."

    1. Re:Yes, Signal is open source. by pnutjam · · Score: 1

      Why not keybase?

    2. Re:Yes, Signal is open source. by pots · · Score: 1

      So how do they make money? I'm not seeing how this dude is going to make back his $50 million investment.

  28. Poison the well by darth.hunterix · · Score: 1

    Better yet, poison the well. You know, friend random people, have no ties with most of actual friends, post random shit, like some pages you doesn't really care about... Generally speaking hide your genuine activities in a noise. And do all of this from Virtual Machine. And setup a script uses this VM's browser to go to random pages to generate fake footprints. As they shadow profile you anyway, you may as well take some advantage of their infrastructure giving nothing in return.

    --
    What is best in life? Hot water, good dentishtry and shoft lavatory paper.
    1. Re:Poison the well by Fly+Swatter · · Score: 1

      Sounds a lot easier to have never been there in the first place.

    2. Re:Poison the well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You have nothing better to do with your time than to set up a fake system to hide your real Facebook presence? Isn't there some sort of a life out there worth living? Or maybe even in there, but not revolving so much around Facebook?

    3. Re:Poison the well by darth.hunterix · · Score: 1

      Maybe. But for some people FB may be a useful tool.

      --
      What is best in life? Hot water, good dentishtry and shoft lavatory paper.
    4. Re:Poison the well by burtosis · · Score: 1

      I plug in Alexa and let it listen to hours of random YouTube videos from a dummy account. I can only imagine it's a self inducing insanity for any listening algorithms.

    5. Re:Poison the well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Where can I get a copy of Brivs Mekis' "Life and How to Live It"? I would post a random passage from that book every few days.

    6. Re:Poison the well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think poisoning the well would be a more successful campaign than trying to get people to delete their facebook. I've done the usual stuff that most /. users have done that do have a FB account, fake info and all. It's a lot easier to keep up with all my friends and relatives kids pictures and stories than trying to get them to email that to me. If a majority of users just started to randomly like stuff that 's outside their normal tastes it would go a long way in regards to confusing the advertising algorithms.

  29. Show me a good FB replacement... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you show me a good FB replacement, I'll jump. Otherwise, why bother, as there isn't anything else there that offers what FB does.

    1. Re:Show me a good FB replacement... by oh_my_080980980 · · Score: 1

      You mean there aren't dozens of other narcissistic platforms....

    2. Re:Show me a good FB replacement... by Teun · · Score: 1

      I can't possibly imagine anything useful for the users of Facebook that couldn't be done in a better and safer way.
      Let's start with good old email and for texting and phoning without leaving a fat trail there is Signal.
      If you really insist on exposing your oh so interesting life on the net you can use one of the blogging platforms, for regular text there is usenet.

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
    3. Re:Show me a good FB replacement... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let's start with good old email and for texting

      How cute that you think email is not harvested for every shred of data.

      All those gmail addresses were just given out by the goodness of Google's pure heart.

    4. Re:Show me a good FB replacement... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let's start with good old email and for texting

      How cute that you think email is not harvested for every shred of data.

      All those gmail addresses were just given out by the goodness of Google's pure heart.

      It's even more adorable that you think Gmail, the gold standard for lack of privacy, is the only alternative. It's too bad no one here knows how to set up a mail server and a domain....oh wait....

    5. Re:Show me a good FB replacement... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And it's even cuter that you think that "setting up your own mail server" matters a bit when the vast majority of those you email to you will be using gmail or another equivalent data mining service. Even most of the companies you might email have their domains hosted on gmail.

      GMail *owns* email now.

    6. Re:Show me a good FB replacement... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you show me a good FB replacement, I'll jump. Otherwise, why bother, as there isn't anything else there that offers what FB does.

      What exactly does FB offer?

      Personally I decided – after about seven years of being on it – that as games go, the FB game is pretty boring. So I've quit posting, I've quit liking the things that other people post. I don't read the suggested articles. I still look at what my close friends are posting – pictures mainly. Many of them were never able to figure out how to share things on line before FB came along.

      I'm up to three months now.

    7. Re: Show me a good FB replacement... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is mewe.com

    8. Re:Show me a good FB replacement... by mark_reh · · Score: 2

      I had a FB account for about 2 months back in 2008 or 9. Then I saw photos one one of my inebriated classmates from a party that had happened over the weekend and the potential for self destruction hit me like a ton of bricks. I figured that potential employers were going to start scraping that stuff and all it takes is a couple dumb pictures to cost you a job. I went through all photos tagged with my name (no, none of that type) and untagged them, then deleted my account and never considered going back.

    9. Re:Show me a good FB replacement... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What, exactly, does Facebook "do"?

    10. Re:Show me a good FB replacement... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And it's even cuter that you think that "setting up your own mail server" matters a bit when the vast majority of those you email to you will be using gmail.

      ...which you should block at server level.

    11. Re:Show me a good FB replacement... by tsa · · Score: 1

      If you lose your job or don't get a job because of a few dumb pictures then the company is not worth working for. Everybody does dumb things every once in a while. If they don't understand that they are not worth your time.

      --

      -- Cheers!

    12. Re: Show me a good FB replacement... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Try https://www.idka.com/en/

      Actually itâ(TM)s nicer than Facebook.

    13. Re:Show me a good FB replacement... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      why does there have to be a replacement? its the idea of the service thats the bane of society, not the name.

    14. Re:Show me a good FB replacement... by mark_reh · · Score: 2

      No one is going to say to you "you didn't get the job because of photos of you wearing a dress on FB". You'll never know why you didn't get that job, you just won't get it. Your attitude is fine as long as your parents have a basement you can live in, but if you need a job to eat and pay your bills and other things that adults do, you'll take what you can get, good company or not.

    15. Re: Show me a good FB replacement... by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      Yes. Abstinence.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    16. Re:Show me a good FB replacement... by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      It's like LinkedIn, but for people you haven't worked with.

      It *should* just be for connecting people. I got on it late but it still sort of fits that purpose. The snag though is that it does tons of other stuff, and evil stuff. Like ads, tons and tons of ads. That I know longer see because adblock works. And news, which is a completely pointless feature unless I'm doing it wrong; I can see 3 headlines to follow, which is dumb because I can pop up tons of headlines from lots of other websites instead. And a lot of featured links they want you to follow that will tell you the ten weird things to annoy your pet, which is really just another place to shove ads at you (also blocked by adblock). The main problem is the boatloads of monetization that facebook overlays on top of a very simple concept. (I still use google plus, and it works better with fewer ads)

      But mostly it just reminds you that your friend had a birthday and you forgot to send a card.

  30. Re:The only way to actually "delete Facebook" is.. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Why not just have a real profile with fake data?

    Having valid information is good. Having bogus information that you know is bogus is also ok. Having bogus information you cannot tell from valid information is death to a database.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  31. So he looks like a dumb pleb by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    By using Edge, Facebook will record him as just another dumb prole.

    Plus, by using that one browser for nothing else, there's less of a chance that he'll leak other information to Facebook.

    1. Re: So he looks like a dumb pleb by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      Just use container tabs in Firefox. They're built exactly for this purpose, or even having two accounts on the same website open simultaneously.

  32. why? by gDLL · · Score: 1

    Why is "Twitter is actually doing real harm to human society" ?

    how is twitter different than day to day life for you ? just asking.

    1. Re:why? by Teun · · Score: 1

      You have to ask?
      Just look at the crap Trump spouts via Twitter, it's fodder for a 3rd world war.

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
  33. What does Facebook offer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I don't use Facebook; it makes no sense to me.

    As far as I can tell, it just offers a way for people to pretend having an enviable life.

    1. Re: What does Facebook offer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, the purpose of Facebook is to provide your personal data to advertisers. Facebook is built to offer maximum value to their primary user community of marketers and YOU are the product.

    2. Re:What does Facebook offer? by gnick · · Score: 2

      ...it just offers a way for people to pretend having an enviable life.

      I use FB to discuss interesting topics with interesting people. It's like Slashdot, only without the trolls and adults act like adults. FB, except for the ads, is entirely what you make of it. I see posts that interest me because of the sources I follow. (CNN, CNN International, and BBC News are a few.) The responses to the posts I share are civil even in disagreement because I'm discussing topics with friends. One of my high-school friends is a huge DJT supporter; I'm very much a critic. I call DJT a liar; my friend calls DJT a visionary; we defend our stances and disagree; and then we play Words With Friends. On /., it's hard to mention DJT, CNN, or FB without calling forth name-calling idiots. If your FB feed is full of pics of people sharing their dinners or whining like children, that's entirely your fault. The only real drawback to discussing topics on FB instead of Slashdot (apart from getting mined) is that we tend to stray wildly off-topic.

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    3. Re:What does Facebook offer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's like Slashdot, only without the trolls and adults act like adults. ... The only real drawback to discussing topics on FB instead of Slashdot (apart from getting mined) is that we tend to stray wildly off-topic.

      Well, that and the fact that you have an overseer watching who you interact with and what you type.

    4. Re:What does Facebook offer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That sounds like "getting mined".

    5. Re:What does Facebook offer? by mark_reh · · Score: 1, Insightful

      "It's like Slashdot, only without the trolls and adults act like adults. "

      There's one very obvious FB user who shall not be named who neither acts like an adult nor avoids trolling. Then there's all the "fake news" that people are dumb enough to read, believe, and pass on to others who are equally gullible. FB and other social media appear to promise a lot, but the negatives they deliver far outweigh anything positive.

      If you want to talk to others with similar interests, join a club and interact with people face to face.

    6. Re:What does Facebook offer? by gnick · · Score: 1

      There's one very obvious FB user who shall not be named who neither acts like an adult nor avoids trolling.

      It's not obvious to me. I must not follow that user (which is ALWAYS an option if there's somebody polluting the service.) Who are you talking about and why can't I avoid him/her?

      Then there's all the "fake news" that people are dumb enough to read, believe, and pass on to others who are equally gullible.

      The news I see posted comes primarily from CNN, CNN International, and BBC News. I've yet to see a story from those sources that I'd call "fake". Sometimes my friends (one in particular) will post inaccurate information, usually in the form of meme. I'll either ignore it or point him to a better source for the topic.

      If you want to talk to others with similar interests, join a club and interact with people face to face.

      Fuck that. I have to interact with people face-to-face all day at work. I don't want to continue that in my free time. YOU join a club; I'm enjoying my hermitage.

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    7. Re:What does Facebook offer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry Bosco you're a boring sophomoric SJW drooler ... so are the FB shills you spew with. Like all progressive spew it pollutes, corrupts and diminishes nearby territory. And the body politic. If somebody XXX your kneecaps I'd buy them a Coors.

    8. Re:What does Facebook offer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FB is very good for coordinating local clubs/groups, especially if it has a large or changing membership. That is about the only think I use it for.

    9. Re:What does Facebook offer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's one very obvious FB user who shall not be named who neither acts like an adult nor avoids trolling.

      It's not obvious to me.

      If it's not obvious to you that mark_reh is talking about Trump, the biggest social media troll on the planet, then you're just a fuckwitted FB shill.

    10. Re:What does Facebook offer? by gnick · · Score: 1

      No, that's not obvious to me. FB != Twitter. DJT is the only reason I have Twitter installed and runs the only 2 accounts I follow. If DJT has a FB presence, it has zero impact on my feed. I don't know who the hell mark_reh is talking about or why that user can't be blocked.

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    11. Re:What does Facebook offer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd also like to know who this "very obvious FB user who shall not be named" is. Who are you talking about?

    12. Re: What does Facebook offer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Voldemort, OBVIOUSLY.

  34. Hashtag progression by LordHighExecutioner · · Score: 2

    #DeleteFacebook
    Ok
    #DeleteWhatsapp
    Ok
    #DeleteTwitter
    Ok
    #DeleteInternetAccess
    ?!? No Twitter account
    cat "#DeleteInternetAccess" >/dev/lpt
    Ok

  35. Better to create fake profiles by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 1
    As people leave, it would be a good idea to create fake profiles.

    It would be a good idea for people to create a few fake profile and donate it to some activist group that can create a series of fake posts, fake news etc and dilute the value of the data anyone still using facebook.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re:Better to create fake profiles by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      I hear the Russians are interested in collecting fake profiles.

  36. Bit too late to buy his conscience back by JoeyRox · · Score: 1

    He sold his soul to FB for $19B. That's an obscene amount of money so I certainly can't blame him. But don't come at us like you're the Pied Piper of privacy protection.

    1. Re:Bit too late to buy his conscience back by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      Come on, he only got six and a half. He had a partner who had to get some. And a bit left over for all the little people.

    2. Re:Bit too late to buy his conscience back by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      There's only so much hookers and blow you can go though before you start missing your soul...

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    3. Re:Bit too late to buy his conscience back by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's only so much hookers and blow you can go though before you start missing your soul...

      You know, with a couple of billion dollars, I'm sure you can find ways to console yourself.

      I'm not extending sympathy.

  37. Re: The only way to actually "delete Facebook" is. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I agree, letâ(TM)s start a #poisonFacebook movement where we all start liking and disliking random things to mess up their data!

  38. Re:The only way to actually "delete Facebook" is.. by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

    They won't let you pick a fictional place to live. I kept trying to pick Arrakis and it was not accepted.

    --
    Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
  39. Only an issue NOW? LMFAO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So, it's only a problem now because Trump? Zuck gleefully handed access to Obama in 2012 and no one apparently batted an eye.

    This is the bigger issue with Facebook and others. Blatant favoritism for one political party, especially these liberal hypocrites. This liberal moral elitism is a bloody joke.

  40. If he wants people to delete Facebook... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... He should give back the money he made selling out and then some for punitive purposes.

  41. Killing FB will make Trump the best president ever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    literally cutting off the noseberg to spite the faceberg

  42. That's the sound of someone who just liquidated FB by SlaveToTheGrind · · Score: 1

    His net worth went from 6.6B to 5.5B just this month. Sounds like he still held a good amount of FB stock, as you would expect. Wonder if he dumped it all to people buying the dip and is now able to speak freely (and also is a touch bitter from just having lost $1B over it).

  43. and WhatsApp and Twitter and Insta-whatever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and WhatsApp and Twitter and Insta-whatever and google-social/voice/docs/mail/ ...

    I have hundreds of facebook accounts. Same for twitter. They are fun. I never share anything personal and they certainly aren't tied to my name.

    I have 4 gmail accounts, which aren't used. Had them before I understood how to use Android without google involvement. I was an idiot before. Now I'm just "that guy" ...

  44. The Age Of Willful Stupidity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In an age with the Internet, unparalleled literacy, live streams from space, virtual walking tours of the moon and mars, supersonic travel, and near instant earthly communication. Never before has human stupidity been so thoroughly proven. Past generations had an excuse, they were not in the age of enlightenment. Despite all this people in modern societies still believe the following:

    Flat earth
    The moon is just a lamp
    Chem trails man (this one admittedly is true considering H20 is a chemical)
    Facebook somehow isn't selling your data despite them advertising it to the WHOLE god damn flat/round/triangular/lizard controlled globe!

  45. OK Mr. Z.Z. Top.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You didn't have to hump me but you did, but you did, but you did ... and I thank you.

  46. Re:The only way to actually "delete Facebook" is.. by Spamalope · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yes! Poisoning the database is the best way.

    Won't someone make a plugin that peer to peer shares your advertising stalking cookies to randomize them? It'd be tougher for them to filter out genuine cookies to keep the poison out. For bonus points report that it's being done 6 months to a year later. Later publicly ask whether they're disclosing this or get quotes for an ad buy to see.

  47. Facebook as 1963 TVs Outer Limits Opening by atrimtab · · Score: 1

    with just a few edits:

    There is nothing wrong with your phone or computer. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. Sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear while building troves data about your location, contacts, personality, religion, politics, interests and most important your trigger points while testing all your reactions. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your phone or computer set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches in to your inner mind and feeds it to us - The Facebook.

    --
    Facebook is billions of individual "Skinner Boxes." And if you use it you are the pigeon!
  48. Friends List by Northdot · · Score: 1

    When you create a facebook app, if you want to access user information such as date of birth or current location, you need to jump through hoops and even upload a video demonstrating how you will use the data.

    However, you automatically get access to the person's friends list, with no specific authorization required from Facebook. This is where much of the abuse is really taking place, and they need to change it.

    1. Re:Friends List by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      If FB kept the friend's list from you, there would be no point in developers making FB apps. Theat's the secret sauce they have.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
  49. Yes I have to ask ! by gDLL · · Score: 1
    Yes, I honestly have to ask.
    And I ask because I deal with nonsense every day live directly from people's mouths. Don't you ? Well if you don't then I would say glass sheltered house/ivory tower.

    Just look at the crap Trump spouts via Twitter, it's fodder for a 3rd world war.

    No, I will not look at that because I have better things to do with my time. Why would you ever follow someone you don't like on Twitter ????

    And no, in the land of grown ups that is not fodder for 3rd world war. Wars are not fought over slightly mean remarks. Please read some history and get out of your oversensitive drama bubble.

    1. Re:Yes I have to ask ! by Teun · · Score: 1

      So you haven't noticed all the main media are parroting Trump's Twittering.
      However childish, they *are* the words of the POTUS.

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
    2. Re:Yes I have to ask ! by dcw3 · · Score: 1

      Who gives a shit what the media is parroting. They're doing that because it's a train wreck that gets them more eyeballs/revenue. That doesn't make it reality. The media is in their own bubble, like it or not, only 7% of the media identifies as conservative (that's from a Washington Post article you can look up), thus creating their own echo chamber...that's not good for either side.

      --
      Just another day in Paradise
    3. Re:Yes I have to ask ! by Teun · · Score: 1

      What I was saying is you don't have to follow Twitter proper to know what is happening on it.

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
  50. Re:Well... 1 million less users... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why, that was just the fake Russian accounts that were deleted.

  51. Another company ruined by Trump... by mi · · Score: 3, Funny

    New York Times' report about how the data of 50 million users had been unknowingly leaked and purchased to aid President Trump's successful 2016 bid for the presidency

    See, how Trump destroyed the innocent company? In 2012 Obama's campaign did the same thing with Facebook data about millions of users, and it was all fine — a testament to Obama's genius, in fact.

    Had Hillary won, Facebook would've been just peachy as well. Damn Trump!! #Impeach!!

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  52. tribal by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 0

    The tribal effect amazes me.

    Obama and co were just super tech geniuses for using Facebook data. Now it's double plus ungood, because something.

    1. Re:tribal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, it's tribal that Trumpists immediately jump on the "But Obama did it, so it's OK" bandwagon without bothering to find out if he did.

      Did Obama partner with organizations that created fake survey apps that had nothing to do with politics, so they could harvest information from unsuspecting Facebook users, or did Obama allow people to voluntarily and knowingly give the Obama campaign information from their Facebook accounts?

      It's the latter. What is wrong with doing the latter? How is it in the same ballpark as doing the former?

      Next up: Trump kicks a dog and beats it to death in Times Square. Trump supporters say it's OK because Obama had a dog once.

    2. Re:tribal by eaglesrule · · Score: 1

      Tribalism and Pavlovian conditioning are a factor to be sure, but it also boils down to money. Trump is good for ratings.

    3. Re:tribal by J053 · · Score: 1

      Obama and co. asked and got consent from people to download a Facebook app that collected their user/friends/likes data. CA got the info without asking, by pretending to be an academic research app. So, like entirely the same.

      Dumbass.

  53. Re:The only way to actually "delete Facebook" is.. by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

    They won’t accept real places either, it wouldn’t allow me to have Plato Crater, Luna. Admittedly this may be proof the “moon” we see really is fake, and the address I wanted, Moonbase Alpha, really has been blasted out of orbit...

    --
    Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
  54. Interesting Comment from Daring Fireball by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    John Gruber of Daring Fireball had this enlightening comment:

    https://daringfireball.net

    "But let’s call a spade a spade. Acton’s outrage now is some of the most hypocritical bullshit I’ve ever heard. Facebook implemented the policy he’s objecting to in 2010, four years before he personally pocketed $6.5 billion of Facebook’s money. Acton knew exactly what kind of company Facebook was when he sold WhatsApp to them."

  55. Why are people shocked? by sdinfoserv · · Score: 2

    Why is this even a story? It's the stated purpose of these companies to sell your information. Eric Schmidt even stated "Google isn't free, the cost is your information".
    It's simple, keep your personal information... personal.
    To all you sheep who purchased Alexa, google home, or Nest.... do you really believe these things are not sending your personal behavior out to be sold, scrutinized, and monetized...
    Do you know there's a HIPAA waiver you release when you accept the ELUA of FitBit or Apple smartwatch?
    Come one people... think.

    1. Re:Why are people shocked? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This. Exactly. Thank you. I just don't understand all the hysteria. What did people think was going to happen when they VOLUNTARILY put all their personal info out there (somewhere unknown) for everyone to see, for free?

    2. Re:Why are people shocked? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a cancer that's spreading like wildfire.

      I opened a bank account yesterday. In order to get interest paid to me on my balance, I'm required to use the debit cart at least ten times each month. (it's NOT a 1% cash-back on purchases like loyalty cards, it's a 1% APR paid on my bank balance.)

      What possible benefit could that be to the bank, unless they are tracking my purchases? Who is profiting from that information -- in other words, who is the final buyer and consumer of that information? And how do they make use of it, exactly? I don't think it's just advertisers. It's bigger than that.

  56. Psychohistory tells us by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    " but Acton quit earlier this year to start his own foundation."

    It's the Second Foundation that counts.

  57. About time by Locke2005 · · Score: 2

    It's taking longer than I expected for Facebook to go the way of MySpace, but it looks like it's finally going to happen. Remember, on Facebook, the product they are selling is your personal data! Google, on the other hand, is advertising supported.

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  58. Hypocrite Much? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Obama admin did the same thing with Facebook's help. Google had a war room in the Oval office. But the Trump campaign legally gaining the same kind of access is where the line is crossed. Nice to know.

  59. Signal looks good to me. FAR better than others. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 1

    From the Wikipedia entry for Signal servers: "By default, Signal's voice and video calls are peer-to-peer."

  60. Facebook alternatives by MobyDisk · · Score: 2

    Lots of people (like me) hate FaceBook because of the business model. But we must understand that FaceBook is a useful service. So any discussion about #DeleteFacebook needs to propose an alternative. The problem is that, in order to get around the "advertiser pays" model, people must be willing to accept some other model. Possibilities are a pay service, or a service where you host the data yourself and control it. The latter has been the way the web worked for decades. My friends and I all had "home pages" on our "web sites." There have been alternatives before, like Diaspora but none have gained critical mass. Oh wait look! Here's a list of them: Distributed social networking.

    At the risk of making this a rant: Internet users today seem to have no concept that "web sites" are anything other than things that corporations buy. Some of those nice corporations let you put stuff on those sites, either for a fee or in exchange for intrusive monitoring. That's not how the web works. I've had my own web site for 20 years, and it costs me about $5/month. This idea that we should have our email addresses all at sites that record, monitor, and sell our emails is preposterous. Back in 1998, many of us predicted that everyone would have their own server in their home that ran their web site. And there would be standard protocols for exchanging social information, running something like OwnCloud. I don't know why that model changed. Is the FaceBook backlash enough to get us back onto that model?

    1. Re:Facebook alternatives by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "But we must understand that FaceBook is a useful service."

      Sez you.

    2. Re:Facebook alternatives by geek · · Score: 1

      But we must understand that FaceBook is a useful service.

      We "must"? No we must not. It has no use other than what mindless twits give to it. The world worked fine before it and will do so after it. There is no fucking "must" here.

    3. Re:Facebook alternatives by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      " But we must understand that FaceBook is a useful service."

      Is it? Why MUST we understand this? I don't see any personal utility to facebook not offered by simple messaging. None at all.

      Oh, there's the sucker vanity of facebook. No thanks. That's utility like a heroin habit is utility. Same for all the rest of facebook except what can be provided by messaging or email.

      Facebook became what it is today because of farmville. Remember?

    4. Re:Facebook alternatives by MobyDisk · · Score: 1

      Ask the millions of people who use it. It sure sounds like it would be nifty to have a page with a list of recent pictures from friends and family. Email is nice, but the concept of a "log" of recent events sounds cool. Personally, I don't find FaceBook works for that because the signal-to-noise ratio is preposterous. But refusing to accept that millions of people find it useful prevents us from addressing the problem.

    5. Re:Facebook alternatives by lexman098 · · Score: 1

      This idea that we should have our email addresses all at sites that record, monitor, and sell our emails is preposterous. Back in 1998, many of us predicted that everyone would have their own server in their home that ran their web site.

      Except that people don't have the desire, know-how, hardware, stable connection etc.. to run their own servers. It's valuable to just let Google do it. The problem isn't centralized email/websites, it's Facebook's business model specifically. They should have done what Google does and refused to hand over their users' data to anyone. You want to use that data for political analysis? Great, we'll do the analysis for you (for a hefty fee) and hand over the anonymized results. This is how Google approaches targeted ads. I'm not sure why they keep getting lumped in with Facebook.

    6. Re:Facebook alternatives by MobyDisk · · Score: 1

      The problem isn't centralized email/websites, it's Facebook's business model specifically...They should have done what Google does

      This is for people who don't trust someone else with their data. You definitely won't want to run your own server if Google's business model is okay with you, and you trust that it will not change over time. I see Google as an advertiser who collects tons of data. I'm glad to know they aren't as blasé about it as Facebook, but that's still not good enough for me.

      Except that people don't have the desire, know-how, hardware, stable connection etc.

      I think you have the technical issues overstated. People run servers all the time.
      Desire: If they wan't their data under their own control, then they desire this.
      Know-how: This argument made sense in 1995, but in 2018 people run servers all the time and don't even know it. Plex Media servers, Bittorrent servers, video games, thermostats, etc. This is no longer a process involving archaic command-lines. Just double-click the app.
      Stable connection: They must have a stable connection to use Facebook anyway, so the requirement here is no higher. I may be biased since I live in a major US city where this is not a problem. But around here, home internet is more reliable than cell coverage.

  61. Did that a long time ago! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Facebook is lame.

  62. Hash rag movements by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

    Nice to see the message of what Facebook has always been seeing the light of day despite selfish hypocrisy driving it.

    Also nice to see "social media" getting some love by lynch mobs they've had a hand in cultivating all these years.

  63. Re: The only way to actually "delete Facebook" is. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    How about sharing and mixing our tracking cookies? That also works with pages that have this "facebook-like-my-shit" button that does actually track you, too, even if you have no account.

    Nothing's worse than a poisoned data pool. Trust your statistician.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  64. Follow the money by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 2

    So, they used Facebook data to help Trump win, making facebook and its owner look like idiots at best and Trump/Russian supporters at worst, making the owner toxic to run himself.

    That has to be some kind of record in political efficiency.

    Anyway, follow the money. Someone is selling FB short.

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  65. Goodbye, Facebook by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 2

    ..and nothing of value was lost.

    1. Re:Goodbye, Facebook by Miser · · Score: 1

      No mod points available, so I'll reply to you.

      Kudos to you sir, couldn't have said it better myself. I've never had Facebook and never will.

      I would however like to know what kind of "ghost" profile they have on me though ...

    2. Re:Goodbye, Facebook by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 1

      That's like wondering if the FBI has a file on you. The only way to find out is to call them and ask; what they'll say, though, is "We do now."

  66. Pluck the Zuck! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Creepy Zuck has been manipulating people for years. Just watching him in public, he clearly exhibits multiple signs of sociopathy. No one should trust him with anything. These latest issues will speed up the demise of Facebook.

  67. Signal is free and non-profit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The nature of a non-profit under corporate law is that it has no beneficial ownership (no shareholders). That means no dividends, no stock trading, etc.

  68. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  69. Re:The only way to actually "delete Facebook" is.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How do you know Facebook doesn't want to profile you if you are "offensive", or after you're banned?
    Who knows what their algos are capable of. Perhaps they can recognize the bullshit, yet still deduce real things from it about your person ("he's scared of us and is trying to resist by misinformation, file under Dissidents").
    I guess they'll happily retain your info until they figure out how to exploit it.

  70. how to really delete fb by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    there's a chrome extension called social book post manager. i recently went through and unliked, untagged, and mass deleted all posts and likes and I'd had fb since the beginning. after leaving it on a slow speed all night a few nights i scraped everything. then i went into the settings and unchecked a million advertising boxes. then i changed my name and put that i live and am from belgium, because they have a law saying if fb doesnt let you delete your account they will charge them $250k a day. i changed emails wiped everything, defriended all my friends, and de-activated. its the only way to get your info off.

  71. Stop lying creimer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you delete your facebook they delete most if not all the account content. Maybe they're doing some shady stuff in the background but that's a different story.

    All of your pictures and stuff is deleted.
    As for your 2nd claim. Please show me one site that REQUIRES a facebook login. I can only think of a few popular apps that are clearly spyware to begin with.

    1. Re: Stop lying creimer by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      The data is not deleted from the analytics platform. Nothing ever leaves the data warehouse.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    2. Re: Stop lying creimer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you a new creimer sock puppet? What the fuck is wrong with you? You reply and argue with the obsessed delusional autistic creimer?

      Since you love creimer that much, here is a story where he is starring:

      Here is the story of creimy the mountain and his royalties!

      This story was inspired by cdreimer, the parent poster. The story was written by a visionary on cdreimer birth date.

      The story of creimy the mountain explained:
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      Creimy is a typical mountain who poses for postcards, living with his wife Ethel, a tree, between the cities of Rosamund and Gorman, California. The main features on his mountainous face are two large caves, resembling eyes, and a cliff for a jaw, which moves up and down when he talks, puffing up dust and boulders.
      click above link to read more, he even destroyed Edwards Air Force Base just by passing by...

      Listen to the audio version here:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      "Creimy The Mountain"

      includes quotes from Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D major (Edward Elgar), Johnny's Theme (Paul Anka), Off We Go Into The Wild Blue Yonder (Crawford), O Mein Papa (Paul Burkhard), Over The Rainbow (Harburg/Arlen), Star-Spangled Banner (Smith/Key), Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (Stephen Stills)

      One, two, three

      CREIMY the Mountain
      CREIMY the Mountain
      A regular picturesque
      Postcardy mountain
      Residing between lovely
      Rosamond and Gorman
      With his stunning wife ETHELL, A tree! A tree!

      CREIMY was a mountain ETHELL was a tree Growing off of his shoulder

      CREIMY was a mountain
      (CREIMY was a mountain!)
      ETHELL was a tree Growing off of his shoulder
      (ETHELL was a tree growing off of his shoulder)
      (hey, hey hey!)

      Creimy had two big
      Caves for eyes,
      With a cliff for a jaw
      That would go up 'n down,
      And whenever it did,
      He'd puff out some dust,
      And hack up a boulder (HACK!) Hack up a boulder (HACK! HACK!)
      Hack up a boulder (HACK! HACK! HACK!) Up a boulder

      Now, one day, now I believe it was on a Tuesday, a man in a checkered double-knit suit drove up in a large El Dorado Cadillac, leased from BOB SPREEN

      ("Where the freeways meet in Downey!")

      And he laid a HUGE, BULGING ENVELOPE right at the corner of CREIMY THE MOUNTAIN, that was right where his 'foot' was supposed to be.

      Now, CREIMY THE MOUNTAIN, he couldn't believe it! All those postcards he'd posed for, for ALL OF THOSE YEARS, and finally, now, AT LAST, his Royalties!

      Royalties! Royalties Royalties! Royalty check is in, honey!

      Yes, CREIMY THE MOUNTAIN was RICH! Yes, and his eyeball-caves, they widened in amazement, and his jaw (which was a cliff), well it dropped thirty feet!

      A bunch of dust puffed out! Rocks and boulders hacked up, (hack! hack!) crushing 'The LINCOLN'!

      I gave him the money He acted real funny He hocked up a rock and It TOTALLED my car!

      Oh, do you Know any trucks Might be bound for THE VALLEY?
      I don't wanna stand here All night in this bar (Dear Lord)

      I don't wanna stand here All night in this bar (No shit!)

      I don't wanna stand here All night in this bar!

      By two o'clock, when the bars are already closed down, CREIMY had broken 'THE BIG NEWS' to ETHELL. And with dust and boulders everywhere, CREIMY, choked with excitement, announced

      "ETHELL, we're going on a VACATION!"

      Yes, and they WERE going on a vacation! (Oh, and ETHELL, ETHELL, ETHELL, like every little woman, she of course was very excited! She creaked a little bit, and some old birds flew off of her.) CREIMY told ETHELL they were going to Yes! They were going to NEW YORK!

      "ETHELL, we're going to New York!"

      But first they were gonna stop in LAS VEGAS

      It's off to LAS VEGAS to check out the lounges Pull a few handles,
      And drink a few beers, (Oh, ETHELL!)

    3. Re: Stop lying creimer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There you are shit posting with yet another fake account, you revenue stream hogging disgusting fat sexist tube of lard, Christopher Dale Reimer!

      You can be sure I will be watching this fake account too. I know this is you because you told me you were working on your freepass 11 file server and you are so dumb that you can't even masquerade yourself properly.

      Now, I told you I was out of meds last week and you didn't even care to contact me you lazy fucker.

      How many times do I have to express the emergency of the situation??????

      The python click script you wrote for my pheromone revenue stream web site suddenly stopped to work!!!!!!

      You fucking incompetent python script writer!!!

      When it works, I get 4000+ clicks a day on my pheromone revenue stream web site but only 5 or 6 without it!!!!

      Now, it seems like you dont care and that you have abandoned me you heartless fucking pig!

      Bonus:
      Here is a story that creimer told me when convincing me what a hard life he had:

      The tree was him and the tree knot was his butt hole!

      So, his uncle packed his fat ass with lard and with his cock! Not that it makes much of a difference but anyway, there it is!

      Signed:
      Ethell, The girl that used to love you and now hates you, burn in hell where you belong you sexist pig!

    4. Re: Stop lying creimer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    5. Re: Stop lying creimer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hahaha creimer!

      creimer has moved the talking with himself to youtube! He created the "King Slayer69" sock puppet on youtube and now argues with himself on youtube! He is more like a "King Dumpty" but anyway.

      CROFLOL!

      Anyway, I already filed on complaint with youtube at:
      https://www.youtube.com/create...

      I included links to creimer posts on slashdot including his sock puppet posts so youtube sees where I am coming from.

      Please complain as well, youtube is far from being "as permissive" as Slashdot!

      Chris' case is getting worse, he spends all day replying to himself as AC on /.

      The tests we ran on Chris have shown that Chris has the intelligence of an ameba:
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      So, technically, he is able to conceive some kind of agenda but it will be silly or impossible to follow on a human scale.

      For example, Chris had an agenda to post anything he felt like on Slashdot which did not work well because it was based on his false beliefs that he had an infinite number of karma points as he wrote here several times.

      Several people here explained to Chris that karma maxed out at some level like 50 or so but Chris kept on insisting that his python script had confirmed that he had millions of karma points!

      Oh well, as I wrote before: "It isn't Chris' fault if he is the way he is. We do the best we can do with him and he is partially integrated into society. We try to cure his abnormal need for attention but he is kind of stubborn and won't listen to anybody."

      For the valuable /. users that might already have read the following, please note that there is an important update.

      IMPORTANT UPDATE:
      Special Education for the Santa Clara County Office of Education has invested money to buy Chris a new chair:
      http://www.keynamics.com/image...

      Information about Christopher Dale Reimer and autistic people:

      Autistic people have obsessions about things normal people don't care. For example, one of our autistic patient went haywire when he realized that there was a penny missing in his pocket change.

      To calm him down, one of our educator pretended to have found it on the floor and gave a penny to him.

      The autistic patient condition went even worse because he realized it wasn't the same penny!

      Chris has an obsession with budgeting every penny. He doesn't understand that most people do not budget to the penny and have a flexible amount they allow for miscellaneous items.

      I am Nancy Guerrero and I am Director of Special Education for the Santa Clara County Office of Education. We use Chris' (a.k.a. creimer,cdreimer) picture in our document because he is the hardest case we have ever had to handle:
      http://www.sccoe.org/depts/stu...

      Our artists were inspired by the low carb diet that Christopher follows scrupulously for the small lunch box and by the picture linked below for the rest. I am sure that you will notice the similarities such as the bump on the side of his chest and more:
      https://ibb.co/gVad65

      Please be easy on Christopher although, I am aware that some of our staff handling Chris post joke comments here and obvoiusly, the Santa Clara County Office of Education disapprove that behavior vehemently:
      http://ibb.co/mRVSaG

      But it isn't Chris' fault if he is the way he is. We do the best we can do with him and he is partially integrated into society. We try to cure his abnormal need for attention but he is kind of stubborn and won't listen to anybody.

      Thank You dear users,
      ---
      Nancy Guerrero

  72. The crazy luddite in me is happy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've never had a FB account, or a Twitter account, or any other internet related account that harvests my personal life. I've never been to any of these websites and have neutralized all of their website tracking capablilities. I have no clue what an instagram is, or a whatsapp, or anything like that. As far as I know, no one has taken a photograph of me in over 18 years. I've never used Amazon to purchase something and I've never even owned a cellular telephone. I'm a millennial and I get by just fine and my life isn't worse for the lack of online participation -far from it, I feel my life is more rich and enjoyable. Though I do know my sacrifices come with an element of inconvienence, I'd rather be secure in the knowledge that my privacy is relatively secure. So when I see all this stuff about FB that's coming out recently I just laugh. What did people think they did with their information? Morons. Everyone who's upset about this deserves everything they get.

  73. Re:The only way to actually "delete Facebook" is.. by Fetko · · Score: 1

    They just know that you're on the Spacing Guild's bad side and there is no way you live there.

  74. Assuming you can by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Most phones bought from carriers will have Facebook installed as an "immutable" app. You can't delete it without rooting the phone.

  75. Open by DrYak · · Score: 1

    Billionaire wants you to use his new app.

    Except that the app is not his (OpenWhisperSystems, by Moxie Malinspike),
    and it is not exactly new either (4 years old).

    In fact, given that Signal uses an open documented protocol,
    you're free to use any other compatible software (e.g.: running on Jolla's Sailfish OS).

    Unlike with WhatsApp which also have switched to the same encryption protocol, but actively tries to detect and kickban 3rd party apps.
    (So you *have* to run a proprietary blob and hope that they have implemented encryption protocol properly and didn't leave a giant backdoor)

    ---

    And Signal protocol is also usable on Facebook's Messenger and Google Allo when these are switched into private or incognito mode.
    But those aren't open source so there's no way to test that they don't do things behind your back.

    At least facebook isn't actively hunting 3rd party apps, giving rise to stuff as purple-facebook plugin that taps into the same proprietary JSON interface as the Android app - but currently, this plugin lacks the manpower to maintain signal protocol.
    And even if purple-facebook starts supporting encryption, you would need *both end-points* to be secure (thus both of them running opensource auditable apps).

    There isn't a 3rd party implementation of Google Allo, for now you need to stick with the official blob (and are dependent on their honest and correct implementation of encryption).

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  76. CREIMER'S SOCK PUPPET POST by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    creimer sock puppet post to build up his karma!

    CREIMER' SUBMISSIONS UPDATE:
    Note also that creimer is trying to regain karma by getting his submissions published as articles on /. so make sure to go to:
    https://slashdot.org/~_sharp'r...
    https://slashdot.org/~crreimer
    https://slashdot.org/~cdreimer
    https://slashdot.org/~criss69
    https://slashdot.org/~Anonymou...
    https://slashdot.org/~FatCashe...
    https://slashdot.org/~ILoveFat...
    https://slashdot.org/~IHateFat...
    https://slashdot.org/~IAteFatC...
    https://slashdot.org/~ITapeFat...
    https://slashdot.org/~IApeFatC...
    https://slashdot.org/~IPrayFat...
    https://slashdot.org/~FatCashe...
    and mod down his submissions as well. The great thing is that you don't even need mod points to mod down a submission, just click on the "minus" icon!

    Yes, believe it or not, creimer owns all the above sock puppet accounts. It is a mystery why Slashdot management tolerates it!

    creimer wrote:

    I don't bother with mod points. I'm doing something much more sinister. It took ten story submissions ? I'll have to double check the number ? to move cdreimer's karma from neutral to excellent without ever being exposed to the capricious mods. Mmmmmwwwwahahahahahahaha!

    https://slashdot.org/comments....

    Danger, Will Robinson, Danger! Creimy is posting more than 2 posts a day. Hurry! mod down otherwise /. will go to hell again!

    Note: you can mod down even if already at -1 to lower karma and to prevent lost /. users to accidentally mod up.

    creimer wrote:

    All you need to do is find a website with a permissive TOS, say, Slashdot, create a Python script to scrape your own comments, sprinkle Amazon affiliate links in various posts, and then re-post past links whenever possible. Won't be long before you start making "coffee money" each month.

    https://slashdot.org/comments....

    C.D. Reimer is a renowned Slashdot collaborator, as he puts it himself; "Because of the quality of my posts and my article submissions, I'm a highly rated commentator and moderator."

    But does anybody ever wondered what "C.D." stands for? Well, it stands for Creimy Dumpty of course!

    Creimy Dumpty sat on the wall,
    Creimy Dumpty had a great fall.
    All the king's horses
    And all the king's men
    Couldn't put Creimy Dumpty
    Together again.

    Creimy's siblings video and theme song, very realistic, especially the pants, just like Creimy's:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    With "Vice President Pence Vowing US Astronauts Will Return To the Moon", we are sure they will need miracle workers up there, here is what it would look like. Note that Creimy takes care of bringing a lot of food to the moon as depicted below:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    Creimy's real pictures:
    Before the sex change:
    https://ibb.co/cc7Ddw
    After the sex change:
    https://ibb.co/gVad65

    Creimy's "enterprise-level" chair, he ta

  77. Nope! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Facebook is a fraud and you're a shill, gnick. Is that too trollish for you? Good.

    1. Re:Nope! by gnick · · Score: 1

      ...you're a shill, gnick. Is that too trollish for you?

      If I was having this discussion on FB, I wouldn't have seen this. None of my friends would have wasted my time with it unless the context made it funny. If somebody did post that, I could choose never to see anything from him again. Score +1 for FB. Thank you for the illustration, AC.

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
  78. I thought the reason CA was dinged by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    was they weren't properly disclosing how the data they scrapped/collected was going to be used before scrapping/collecting it. e.g. they violated FB's Ts&Cs. And they did that because if they disclosed who they were and how the data would be used people a) would opt-out and b) people would know they were being targeted and subsequent advertising efforts would be less effective.

    Now that said, why the *bleep* does FB make it possible to collect that much data without clear notices? When I install an app on my droid it tells me exactly what the app is going to collect. The app author has no control over that message, it's managed by the OS.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re: I thought the reason CA was dinged by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bullshit. CA is blasted by the elite warmongers because Trump does not always play their tune.

      Very soon they will be outraged about Syria killing some more of their moderate Sunni islamists.

      Face it, mainstream media is fully corrupt. Since the rape of Iraq or before.

  79. Re:The only way to actually "delete Facebook" is.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Computers are illegal on Arrakis and in the whole known universe charted by the Space Guild, so if you're a facebook user on Arrakis you're an illegal computer user and may use computers to space-navigate.

  80. Bingo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Marxists and the warmongers of the Deep State are fuming, thats all.

    After rooskies and now CA, what will be their next lie?

  81. Yeah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They violated the war industry and their puppet, Hilda Clinton.

  82. Interestng Trump not Obama made people wake up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So Obama's team does the exact same thing that Trump's team did & nobody freaked out but Trump's team does it & it's time to run 'wake up' to the horrors of FB...Trump wins again. :-)

  83. Illiterate American cretins by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Acton invested $50 million into Signal".

    No, he invested $50 million IN Signal, not "into" Signal.

    Cretins.

  84. Keybase: What is their underlying purpose? by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 1

    Keybase does not seem as well organized or supported, in my opinion.

    There is not much explanation about how they support themselves.

    1. Re:Keybase: What is their underlying purpose? by pnutjam · · Score: 1

      Paid accounts are supposed to support it, and custom work. Although, their site is sparse and low on explanations in general. I wish there were an option to self host, like matrix.

      https://keybase.io/blog/2015-0...
      https://www.quora.com/How-does...

  85. Re:The only way to actually "delete Facebook" is.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The TrackMeNot browser extension is great to send randomized search requests to poison your search list.

    It would be awesome to have something similar for tracking cookies, SuperCookies, and other fingerprinting tools (font database scraping, etc).

  86. Facebook is for old people by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    lol when my little cousin told me facebook is for old people that argue about politics.... thats when i knew shit has changed... and i might be on the cusp of 'old' wtf snap and insta here i come!

  87. Re:The only way to actually "delete Facebook" is.. by dcw3 · · Score: 1

    They won't let you pick a fictional place to live. I kept trying to pick Arrakis and it was not accepted.

    Don't be a meathead dingbat, everyone knows Archie Bunker lived in Queens, Alice Kramden was the one going to the moon...
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    --
    Just another day in Paradise
  88. This is the earliest he could act by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 2

    4 years ago he sold his company to FB. Which means he's been waiting 4 years to finish collecting those billions/unloading the FB stock he got. Now that he's no longer financially/contractually tied to FB, he's speaking his mind.

    --
    Your ad here. Ask me how!
  89. Rediculous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Everyone knows what Facebook's business model is, and has for years.

    I personally don't like it so I don't have a Facebook account, but billions of people are fine with it and don't mind Facebook manipulating them.

    The only reason this is an issue is that the Trump campaign is involved and that that Silicon Valley is more liberal than the DNC.

    In a way, I think it's ironic that one of the most liberal organizations in the country could be destroyed by it's business relationship with The Donald.

    As an independent, the D vs R feud is just so frickin' entertaining. It truly is like watching reality TV or a soap opera ("As the Outhouse Burns"). I'm just really glad I don't have any kids 'cause I can't imagine this country is going to come out the better for it.