Large Scale Central

NT/OT Facebook, is it worth it?

General Discussion
#21

If anyone cares to get in touch with me; I welcome them to TELEPHONE me, or send me an EMAIL…better still, if they really care, they can write me a letter. The old fashioned POST OFFICE still gets mail to me, and I cherish any letters I get from my friends.

It’s wonderful to make contacts with new friends, by way of the internet; but following up with a telephone call, often seals that email contact, into a true friendship, with better understanding, and feelings.

I may be considered, very “OLD FASHIONED”, and not with it, but I value my many, many friendships, that seem to survive very well without this thing called Face Book. I don’t need a third party to help me communicate. A third party that won’t let me UNSUBSCRIBE, completely.

The only thing I ask of my friends, is the sharing of trust. I give them my full EMAIL ADDY, TELEPHONE NUMBER, and SNAIL MAIL ADDRESS. I request the same from them.

I very seldom, if ever, correspond with anyone that only uses a phony name, or will not state where they are located. If they won’t trust me, with their real name, then why should I consider trusting them…

Fred Mills

#22

Vic Smith said:

John yeah that’s the message I get when looking at the page I get redirected to when I log in.

Wendell, I’m on their primarily because some news sites require a Facebook account to participate in discussions. Also some family members found me but beyond them I haven’t done much. I think I got tagged because I haven’t sent out any friends requests besides to my wife. I guess that if you don’t send friends requests to hundreds of complete strangers they think your wierd or something.

John pointed to the ‘rules’ that they are trying to get you to abide by. I believe part of the issue is that they are ‘selling’ you to advertisers, and need to confirm your age so you don’t get ads for diapers, or (vice versa) they don’t send Playboy ads to a 12-year-old. I’d give them a fuzzy photo.

I don’t use FB but I’ve had an account for years without any incidents. I occasionally (once a year) look at it to see what my sisters are up to. I also monitor a private group for our FL condo.

As long as you stay on top of the ‘privacy’ settings [i.e. make everything private not public,] and avoid signing in to any other website using the FB signin, you should be fine.

#23

I have been on FB for a while, I actually find it the easiest way to get in touch with people…especially when you don’t have a correct telephone number!

Seems most people check there messages on FB more often then a real email address, plus there are a lot of groups I have joined that have a lot of good info (USA Trains, G-scale trains, and various music and production groups).

Posting and sharing photos is easier then on any other site that I know of, I have thousands of pictures posted on FB.

But never have been asked to provide proof of who I am.

#24

Well I caved, covered almost everything on my DL and sent a pic in, within 2 hrs my access is now back when I log in. My logic for doing so was simple, even if I wanted to kick them to the curb, I would still need access to my account in order to delete it, either that or get notifications I couldn’t access until the end of time…Uggh!

#25

I was going to say to vic to start a new account but since you are in FB no need to. I personally like Facebook and as long as you only accept people you know and keep everything private to everyone else you will be fine. There are some great FB pages like G scale swap and shop, 16mm association, g scale trains etc… I actually like some of these pages over the forums because you can take a photo from your smart phone and post it very easily and instant. Same goes for videos. It is a great way to share photos with family and friends instantly. My parents love seeing photos and videos of my kids when I post it on FB. You just have to be careful with your privacy settings. I have never had issues to this day. Sorry but snail mail and phone a call cant replace an instant photo to someone on the other side of the world. The important things is dont post something you might regret.

#26

There are so many ways to communicate I have to limit the ones I use… if I was a teenager with no job and lots of free time, then I would be just like them, tweeting, facebook, instagram, texting…

But I don’t fit that category… also sometimes I like to carry on a conversation, like a string of private emails back and forth, or a forum where you can keep a thread to a single topic.

When I go to farcebook, it seems like I am in a room with people with the attention span of a kid. It’s ok if that floats your boat, but not entertaining to me…

Greg

#27

Yeah Greg, some of my families posts are pretty inane, but I guess its more convenient than getting a phone call in the shower. :wink:

#28

Like Shawn; I keep my FB profile locked down pretty tight and I haven’t expanded my circle of friends beyond those that I know well from personal contact. I’ve had numerous friend requests from members here that I ignore just to keep my circle of FB friends tight. I use it primarily to keep in touch with my kids. My oldest hates to talk on the phone so with FB I at least know he is alive and well. I’ve had to block some folks because they post too much crap too often - but in general I enjoy using it.

#29

The key is to limit your friends. If you want a more private conversion then you can use the messenger. If you get that one person that complains a lot or posts those stupid sayings then I unfriend them.

#30

Shawn Viggiano said:

…If you get that one person that complains a lot or posts those stupid sayings then I unfriend them.

What if that person is family??? (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-sealed.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-yell.gif)

#31

Vic Smith said:

Shawn Viggiano said:

…If you get that one person that complains a lot or posts those stupid sayings then I unfriend them.

What if that person is family??? (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-sealed.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-yell.gif)

Vic

Most northeastern flatlanders just make EX LAX brownies and take them to the family reunion at the firehall. Just make sure that you rave to that family member on Facebook how great they are a few weeks in advance!

Vic needs the hat!

#32

You can elect to keep a friend but not see the posts they make.

#33

Hey Vic. About 4 years ago, I joined Facebook to accomplish some other thing I thought was important. Actually, it was to complete a people-search for a gentleman who had researched and drafted certain drawings of V&T rolling stock, and I was hoping to acquire some full-size prints. Haven’t used FB since. But right after I signed up, wow, what a deluge… like, obscure distant relatives I’d never spoken with, high school female friends (as of 30 years ago), a couple of aunts who were eagerly looking forward to staying in daily contact, and secondary contacts of all the above… Ugh. No workie.

The gentleman never responded. But every day since, my junk folder is filled with new FB pings that I have to ignore. And everyone I’ve ever know thinks I’m insensitive… Oh well, maybe that got that right! (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)

#34

Vic Smith said:

Shawn Viggiano said:

…If you get that one person that complains a lot or posts those stupid sayings then I unfriend them.

What if that person is family??? (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-sealed.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-yell.gif)

Haha I actually booted my mom off for a while because of the stupid quotes and stupid comments she would make. The only way I let her back in was if she cut the crap…

#35

I hate FB and never wanted anything to do with it. But my business associate insisted that I should have an account on FB to promote my adventure games apps. Unfortunately it turns out that you can’t have a business page on FB without having a personal account. (Though I have to wonder how the big corporations get away with it??)

I got flooded with “friend” requests, mostly from from strangers and a lot of them from some small African country. I only accepted one friend request, from a close relative, only to discover that most of the stuff this person posts is pretty deranged. I still keep getting notifications every time he posts more trash, despite my best attempts to shut off those notifications. I would simply “unfriend” this person but don’t want the drama. (That’s one of the many reasons I hate the whole “social media” experience.)

Since then I’ve posted a notice on my personal account that explains that I do not accept “friend” requests from anyone, on any site.

#36

The first time you register you do get all the requests but that dies down. When you unfriend someone that person doesnt know it unless they look for your name. I get a lot of friend requests from people that are on the FB pages like G scale trains etc… I almost never except them, never understood why someone would want to be my friend when we never even talked. Maybe to get as many friends as possible. I keep my personal page as that. I dont really post my train stuff, I keep that to the specific groups like G scale trains or 16mm Association. I mainly use my personal facebook page to capture moments that I might otherwise loose. Once its on your FB page you will have access to that photo where as it can get erased from the phone. Some people even use FB for their garden railroads, like a blog. I always liked that idea.

#37

Go to your page on FB. Click on ‘friends’. Find the friend who posts insane junk, hover over their name. A little box will pop up. There is a ‘follow’ button. Click it so it is NOT checked. You will still have the friend but the insane stuff they post will not show up in your feed. Once they start taking their meds again you can elect to follow them if you wish. I don’t personally like FB but it is a pretty powerful medium and it helps me make money so I accept it.

#38

I like it because it’s fast and easy to post pictures. I can stay in contact with friends and family instantly. Been on for years and never had a problem. I run an app for facebook on my phone that streamlines it and makes it even easier. As far as identity, they already know who you are.

Terry