Getting rid of that gosh darned Facebook!

[Christiern]

I tried it several months ago and thought, for awhile, that I had succeeded. Obviously not, for I keep getting requests from people who want to be my "friend." I know that some of them are legitimate, I mean, people I already know, but most of them are strangers and today it was some deli shop in Honolulu that wanted me as a friend!

I just spent far too much time on that site, trying to find a way out, but those goddam bastards don't give you that option! I even went so far as to invalidate my e-mail address, but they quickly found one of my working ones. Guess you can tell that this thing really has me steamed. One option that appeared to be an exit returned a message welcoming me back!!! Who are these fuckers? How does one get in contact with them?

If anyone here can tell me, I will be eternally grateful. I strongly advise anyone who values their privacy to stay completely away from Facebook!!!

I degoulded the topic title, but remain as mad as ever

Edited May 12, 2010 by Christiern

[thedwork]

I tried it several months ago and thought, for awhile, that I had succeeded. Obviously not, for I keep getting requests from people who want to be my "friend." I know that some of them are legitimate, I mean, people I already know, but most of them are strangers and today it was some deli shop in Honolulu that wanted me as a friend!

I just spent far too much time on that site, trying to find a way out, but those goddam bastards don't give you that option! I even went so far as to invalidate my e-mail address, but they quickly found one of my working ones. Guess you can tell that this thing really has me steamed. One option that appeared to be an exit returned a message welcoming me back!!! Who are these fuckers? How does one get in contact with them?

If anyone here can tell me, I will be eternally grateful. I strongly advise anyone who values their privacy to stay completely away from Facebook!!!

i had (am having) the same experience w/ facebook. checked in once to be able to see something/someone (so long ago i don't remember what/who) and am now forever deleting what i consider to be spam a few times a week after giving up on how to extricate myself from their web. not the biggest deal, but pretty fucking annoying and a far cry from cool.

[Aggie87]

I think the emails are from people who want you to join FB, not FB itself. So if you get one from somebody you know, it's them sending you an invite. Or it's businesses that have you on their mailing list, for whatever reason.

I am already on FB, but still get occasional invites to sign up from friends who have just recently joined, and didn't realize I was already on there. Just delete 'em, that's all.

[Christiern]

I finally found a page that allegedly let me "deactivate," but I've been there before and the junk still comes to my inbox. I don't want to deactivate, I want to QUIT! The fact that everything is so convoluted and one cannot directly address these people is proof that they are not being entirely honest. I am not a paranoid sort, but they are obviously holding on to personal information that they are not entitled to. This gets me so mad that I have found myself borrowing from Gould's vocabulary—damn!

[Christiern]

I think the emails are from people who want you to join FB, not FB itself. So if you get one from somebody you know, it's them sending you an invite. Or it's businesses that have you on their mailing list, for whatever reason.

I am already on FB, but still get occasional invites to sign up from friends who have just recently joined, and didn't realize I was already on there. Just delete 'em, that's all.

Aggie, deleting them does not work and, if it did, we should not have to go through all that. They should have it so that one or two click ends the association forever! And I don't know why some deli in Honolulu should have me on their mailing list! I have never been to Honolulu and the last time I went to a deli was 40 years ago! I realize that the "invites" come from subscribers and not Facebook itself, but Facebook not only encourages this sort of thing, they facilitate it.

As I rummaged around, trying to find the permanent way out, I came across a series of messages from people who were experiencing the same feeling of entrapment. I hope this eventually gets to the attention of the government so that these bastards can be forced to stop.

[JSngry]

What would happen if you just never went to the site any more?

[Ken Dryden]

I think one of the mistakes is using one's regular email address on FB. I used my journalist email address and quickly realized my error, substituting a different one, though I should have come up with one for nothing but FB.

It's not a good idea to list your birthplace or birth date.

When I get friend requests from women who are not in jazz and totally unknown to me (particularly if they are single), I'm pretty suspicious and usually decline befriending them.

One thing I'm tired of is the repeated requests to "Become a Fan of..." If I don't have 20+ recordings by the artist, or have never seen him or her perform, or don't know them personally, I'm unlikely to bother.

Don't get me started on the gifts or the time-wasting games on FB, I have no interest at all.

[Christiern]

Jim, I did not go to the site for over a year, and then only to attempt getting rid of it. Even if one doesn't go there, those damn "invitations" and what-have-you clutter up one's regular inbox. Something really has to be done about this.

I think one of the mistakes is using one's regular email address on FB. I used my journalist email address and quickly realized my error, substituting a different one, though I should have come up with one for nothing but FB.

It's not a good idea to list your birthplace or birth date.

When I get friend requests from women who are not in jazz and totally unknown to me (particularly if they are single), I'm pretty suspicious and usually decline befriending them.

One thing I'm tired of is the repeated requests to "Become a Fan of..." If I don't have 20+ recordings by the artist, or have never seen him or her perform, or don't know them personally, I'm unlikely to bother.

Don't get me started on the gifts or the time-wasting games on FB, I have no interest at all.

The mistake is to ever access FB in the first place.

[Dan Gould]

This gets me so mad that I have found myself borrowing from Gould's vocabulary—damn!

C'mon - you can fucking do better than that.

I hope this eventually gets to the attention of the government so that these bastards can be forced to stop.

In your nanny-state dreams.

I don't know what your problem is - Facebook invites are too difficult to delete? This is really a problem in your life? Is the rest of your hi-tech system so good you never get any other unwanted spam, and so this aggravates you to no end?

How about this: block the Facebook email notification addy. Then you'll never have to see another aggravating FB notification again.

:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[kinuta]

I've just got a new pc and new e mail address so thankfully I'm rid of Facebook.

The idea seemed interesting at first but when a couple of my students wanted to be my ' friends' and had access to information about me I started looking for a way to extricate myself from the thing.

Mission accomplished.

Edited May 12, 2010 by kinuta

[Aggie87]

The mistake is to ever access FB in the first place.

Not necessarily - I think it depends on what you expect and want from Facebook.

I've reconnected with friends that I haven't heard from in 20+ years, and family members that live elsewhere that I've been happy to get to know a little better.

Plus, I'm in the middle of a long-distance relationship right now, and it's a way for us to "chat" live when we're also doing other things, where the phone isn't as convenient or necessary.

And I've gotten to know a number of O Board members much better through FB as well. Some of which will remain lifelong friends.

For me that's worth the inconvenience of a few emails, which are sent to an address that is used for stuff like this (and buying from amazon, etc). Those get deleted like the rest of the spam.

[Ken Dryden]

I invited a veteran jazz artist a few months ago to join FB, though he declined. Guess who turned up on it this week?

I guess the chance to network is worth some of the hassles.

[.:.impossible]

Im not sure I've ever gotten a facebook related email, except to confirm membership. You need to change your settings Chris. This doesn't sound right. I'm pretty sure that I could disappear for months and only folks that HAVE my email address could contact me.

[Big Wheel]

You can also just filter the notifications or (like I do) shunt them off to a never-used inbox...

[Tim McG]

TBH...I think you are over reacting just a bit here, Chris.

My two cents.

[Christiern]

Over reacting? Tim, I really don't think so. Facebook is fine for people who find it useful, are lonesome, or just like this sort of socializing. My complaint is that FB locks onto anyone who makes the mistake of signs up or even just gives them a shred of personal info. The way they suck you in and then make it impossible for you to drop them is outrageous and, I submit, an infringement. Believe me, Tim, I am not by any means the only one who has tried to shake thee bastards. Dan and others suggest that one simply change mailbox or re-direct traffic. Sure, there are ways in which one can make it difficult for them to contact you, but why the hell should anyone have to go to that length? If they weren't so damned devious, they would give you a simple option to unsubscribe and have all the stuff they have gathered on you deleted. I am not so sure that someone in authority won't eventually look into that and force these creeps to stay out of other people's business.

[Van Basten II]

What bugs me is that despite never registering on it, I have people that I never heard of are asking me to join the site

[Big Wheel]

What bugs me is that despite never registering on it, I have people that I never heard of are asking me to join the site

1. Are you sure these are legitimate emails sent through Facebook and not attempts to phish your personal info?

2. Can't you just filter these emails or report them as spam so they go into your spam folder in the future? Repeated, unwanted, unsolicited email is practically the definition of spam.

[BERIGAN]

Well, I have found a whole gaggle of cousins I had either lost contact with or didn't even know of! (My Great Grandfather had 18 children, in the old country!) I rarely get folks that email me to become a facebook friend that I wouldn't want to become friends with.

I am forgetting what I read above exactly, but can't you just switch your default email to a new one that you will never use???

If you are getting requests from people that you are not familiar with, have you checked on facebook to even see if the request is there??? If not, like others have said, it's like those ebay/paypal phishing emails and has nothing to do with facebook.

[clifford_thornton]

I'm pretty sick of facebook these days (surprise) but what would happen to those 580 friends???

[Noj]

I'm fairly certain there is a way to delete an account, but if not I'm sure it's possible to log in to Facebook and adjust the preferences to not receive emails of any sort. It works similar to the way the automatic email function for private messages works here at org.

[Guest Bill Barton]

To permanently delete a Facebook account go to:

Account (upper right of page)

>

Help Center

>

Privacy (padlock logo)

>

Privacy Policies and Internet Safety section

>

Deactivating, deleting and memorializing accounts

>

Deleting accounts

>

How do I permanently delete my account?

After you've entered this section with the above heading, at the end of the second paragraph there is a link under the word here. Click on the link and you get a separate "Delete My Account" page. Click on "Submit."

After this is done, DO NOT LOG IN TO THE ACCOUNT AGAIN! If you do, the pending deletion will be cancelled and you'll have to start all over again.

Hope this helps, Chris. According to the legalese gobbledeegook I read in the Help section, deleting an account deletes all of your information from their system/database.

[Ted O'Reilly]

I'm glad I never had anything to do with it (yet, "friends" have invited me to join).

Facebook seems more like Assbook.

[Jazzmoose]

It seems that the only contacts I've had on Facebook are either people that I see here anyway, or people that I see in 'real life' anyway. The 'long lost' contacts...well, it makes it more obvious why they're 'long lost'...a quick catch-up is good for another twenty years.

[Free For All]

I've really enjoyed participating on FB. I've hooked up with folks from the distant past (and as Moose said, that's about all the contact I need). I've never had any of the problems Chris is talking about- I was instructed by a friend how to do the preference settings when I joined (which basically consisted of unchecking everything but a couple options). I can't help but wonder if this is the source of Chris' problems.

I don't share anything too personal or inappropriate for many reasons, not the least of which is that many of my students are there. I consider it a very public place so I keep things very general.

So, all things considered, my experience has been very positive.