Tuesday, October 04, 2011

How Many Days Until Zappadan?

Cal Schenkel tagged me in this photo...



....and I removed the tag.


A few times a year, seems like clockwork, Facebook goes ahead and changes the layouts, changes privacy stuff, etc. I'd never been that comfortable on Facebook, and I only really joined because the Filipino Clan had abandoned the Yahoo Email Group, and they all migrated to Facebook. If I wanted to see all the photos, I had to join. But, after 2 years on Facebook, I've had enough.

Facebook would love it if everyone's privacy settings were set to "everyone", because that is their business model. The most amount of personal info that is shared with the most amount of people is going to earn them the most amount of advertising dollars. I keep waiting for someone to steal my identity using the fake birthdate that I changed to another fake birthdate, and that "Only Me" can see. Ha! Why can my friends share my info with their apps? I'll know where the identity was stolen from when the fake birthdate shows up with it.

Some "friends" will not even notice I am gone. That guy I knew from High School that sent the friend request, then never had 2 words to say, the friend of a friend from the blog world who never bothers to comment on the blog, the person with 426 friends, and their total just dropped by one and they have no idea who is no longer their "friend", they're just collecting "friends" as trophies to put on the mantel.

I knew my days were numbered there about a month after I joined. I cracked a Mitt Romney joke on the wall of an old friend, a Massachusetts Republican, a guy I've known since 1971, and he "unfriended" me without saying a word! It's a wonder I lasted that long. Sometimes it got ugly, like the times I called out all my Catholic family and friends about the priests raping children, the Vatican covering it up. I was met by silence from most, except that one guy from High School who had the total meltdown, threatening violence for talking bad about The Church. Good times, good times.

Wasn't all bad, though. Chatting with Bill Griffith or Steve Lafler was great fun, but not enough to keep me there. Also, I'm heading into the cold weather drawing season, got a couple of comic books I want to finish up, and I also want to start investigating some of the digital drawing tools for making vector drawings with an eye towards making animated cartoons. I don't have time for Facebook.

So, I methodically untagged every photo I was in, deleted every comment I made, removed every post I made, every link, every video from my wall and the walls of my friends. I deleted every photo I posted, then deleted the albums they were in. I deleted everything, and I'm sure when you reach a certain number deletions, it trips the "OH My God, He's Deleting Everything,Let's Slow Him Down By Making Him Click On Everything 5 Times" Facebook Algorithm. Fuck you, assholes! When I got everything deleted, I unfriended everybody, then "Deleted" the account, which is not the same thing as "Deactivating" the account. They deliberately make the delete button more difficult to find, and I suspect some people who want to delete their accounts mistakenly think that deactivating the account is the same thing.

11 comments:

Cirze said...

Good decision.

I've never had a Facebook named account for the reasons you mention and so many more (govt. agencies are also collecting data on everyone).

You should be aware though that nothing is ever deleted from Facebook's databases.

Nothing.

Love your blog!

S

zencomix said...

Yeah, I realize nothing is really deleted, but I imagine the data is a bit more fragmented when you delete stuff.

Coffee Messiah said...

Hi ya - heard you met a co-worker - we'll have to make it out there again one of these days - one of us has no job and the other doesn't make enough for the both of us (me) thus will check out OWS in indy in a few days and see if indy-anna is on the bandwagon - will post a video or something, unless we get arrested which is a better possibility here I am sure = Cheers to you and yours ~

veri - ranta ; )

zencomix said...

Small world! Did you get the package?

Coffee Messiah said...

Since she didn't mention it, I wasn't sure - but started a card to send you - may take a few days though to finish - thus, now that I know - Thank You kindly, appreciate it and will see you soon in the snail mail = Cheers!

veri: n0 grout b

John said...

If you're concerned about your privacy, you might upload unrelated pictures and files with the same names. If your stuff has already been copied and re-sent you just have to live with your past.

Kip W said...

When I left Facebook, I put up an explanation and quit, not considering that the explanation would go away when I did. I wonder how many of my phrendz thought I had just dropped them?

I got whines from FB for a while, but they seem to have gotten the hint at last.

Capt. Bat Guano said...

I here ya, I only joined to shut my freind up, and gee, guess what? He doesn't "go there anymore", for the same reasons I used in my defense of not joining. FB the fucking reunion that never fucking ENDS!

zencomix said...

The creepiest part is Facebook following you around on your internet travels, even when you aren't logged in. I'm not going to get a separate browser just for Facebook.

MrDithers said...

For Zappadan: http://mosaicartnow.blogspot.com/2011/09/orsoni-prize-2011-winners-announced.html

zencomix said...

Nice find, Mr Dithers!