Facebook integration? Really?

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Friskeygirl - I agree entirely.

This morning I wondered how anyone could possibly think this a good idea - malice versus stupidity - and could possibly fail to recognise the harm which could be caused, but thought I'd think a little longer and see what others thought before posting what Alex might take as a personal attack.

The community here is a completely different world from that on facebook, and people can share things here which they couldn't share on facebook. I'd only be embarrassed if my postings here were linked with my facebook profile - which only exists because I'm a member of a sports club which uses facebook heavily - but imagine if you were a 12 year old, coming to terms with a diagnosis and being bullied at school.

Alex - take a look around the more sensitive areas of this site, and do the right thing. Please.

srsly

I agree with everyone in this thread. I even started taking precautions. I make sure I don't have both Facebook and WrongPlanet open on my computer at the same time. I neither know nor understand the logic behind adding the "Like" button, I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time (like sleeping with one's high school crush), but in the end, it could backfire. One of the biggest problems is that the button is located right next to links at the bottom of the page. So someone who has a vision impairment or simply not looking closely could click on it by accident, and next thing you know, his/her personal secrets will end up on Facebook, the epicenter of online socialization for NTs. Next step: some vicious bully could print that stuff out and leave it lying around all over the victim's school. What's after that? One could only hope it's nothing bad.

Long story short: get rid of the button! I'm super-careful with these things, but not everyone is. So if he/she clicks on the button, and my posts are in the thread, they could wind up on that person's Facebook too. Let's face (book) it: that "Like" button will function as a sign: "Come one, come all, harass the dorks who can't defend themselves!" Get rid of it before it turns WrongPlanet into VictimPlanet. Seriously, I'm just trying to be the voice of reason here.

I think you may be right. How many pages does Alex need to realise that people here think this is a Bad Idea?

Or is he just trying to sit back and wait for to blow over? Wait for the 'aspie fear of change' to die down? I find it quite insulting if that's the case as it shows an utter disrespect for the members of his site.

I'm leaving Wrongplanet. I don't like facebook and I hate it's 'like' button, but unfortunately so much of college life and events revolve around it that I would miss out on some important messages if I were to delete my account there. WP is less valuable, so on balance for me, its good points do not cancel out its bad ones and I since I have been forced to chose between the two, bye bye WP.

I used this place primarily as a support site and the threads that I answer were usually support-related. It feels very hollow posting here these days, knowing the direction that WP is taking and seeing how other issues have been brushed under the carpet in the past.

I'll miss some of the members here. I've been here for 3 years and logging on here was part of my daily routine, so I'll miss that. I won't miss the way this place has been run.

What I would like to know is why Alex thought it might be a good idea.

At least with the controversy over Autism Speaks funding his videos and the new non-autistic forum he explained his reasons, however, all we have heard from him on this issue is that it isn't all that bad because links could be posted on Facebook anyway. It is a valid point; but that doesn't explain why it would be good or what benefit any member might get from it.

So, what is the good side Alex. Is Facebook paying Wrong Planet to promote their site?

I doubt it. Maybe he's just decided that the privacy and safety of members here may be sacrificed in order to drive more traffic from facebook.

but... you 'liked' a thread in the adult section yesterday didn't you? which posted the thread in facebook, right?... was that someone else? were you doing that to upset people or was there another reason? because you acknowledge here that people might not be happy with that. it actually made me kind of paranoid and sad.

Last edited by hyperlexian on 14 Oct 2010, 2:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I agree. It is actually frighteningly close. All you need is for your screen to jump around a little (which screens do as new material loads elsewhere on the page). or your mouse to slip, and you can have clicked it without realizing it.

If there is going to a button like that, it should not be near any other click items.

But I still prefer it gone altogether. I don't think threads should be "liked," although I am open to the idea that WP articles and other intentionally published materials could be. The happy compromise, in my opinion

it isn't a matter of me pressing the button that bothers me - it's a matter of other people pressing it. i am friends with some WP people on facebook who may 'like' one of my threads, and then that thread goes in my news feed on FB... and all of my IRL friends and family can see what i post on here.

i didn't even think about it until yesterday, and i panicked. i changed my avatar on WP as it is a pic i have in an album on FB. my username on here is well-known in other contexts as well.

i should be more careful about what i post on the interwebz (i have trouble discerning what is best kept private in different situations), but having already been indiscreet i don't want my worlds colliding.

I think you've hit the nail right on the head there. Most of us try to keep our WP identities separate from our real world identities because the two worlds colliding would cause embarrassment and possibly much worse. The last thing people here want is for their work colleagues, boss, classmates, parents or other family members, spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend etc nosing around their highly sensitive posts. It doesn't matter if their WP identity is anonymous and not linked to their real world identity but I notice a lot of people don't make that distinction or leave enough clues in their posts (or date of birth visible etc) to tie their WP life to their real world life. People have already commented in a thread in the Random forum how much they like to "stalk" their "friends" in facebook. Once a connection is made between a persons WP username and their real life name it typically opens up a whole load of "juicy" posts for real world associates to peruse through. Everything from their sexuality to their fears, hangups, vulnerabilities etc. I've posted things on WP that I definitely wouldn't want certain people in the real world knowing about.

facebook is based around real life names and real life associates. WP is based around anonymity and sharing our experiences with fellow Aspies and Auties. WP is a primarily a support site. Linking WP and facebook is likely to "out" some WP members who have been careless with their personal details.

No, only people who are friends with that person will see it. You see it in your news feed because it is news about one of your friends. But your Facebook friends do not see your newsfeed. They have their own newsfeed. They only see in their newsfeed stuff that their friends do. So, other than those who are mutual friends with both you and that person, the only way your friends see that is if they look at that other person's facebook profile (and that only if that person's privacy settings allow it) OR if they are in the room with you in person as you use Facebook.

Actually, what they see in their news feeds depends on a combination of settings chosen by you and them. I was surprised one day to realize I was about to post in a thread started by someone I don't know at all - it went into my news feed because my friend was commenting on it. It really made me re-think who I was even willing to be friends with - it is a strange feeling to realize my friend that happens to be married to someone famous and who sends shots from the red carpet might overhear my conversation with another friend on how to keep from being evicted due to financial difficulties. Is that knowledge going to modify my behavior on whose posts I comment on? Will it modify my friend's behavior when they considering posting on one of my topics? We would hope it doesn't, but to the extent someone is image conscious, it might. The default setting by facebook is to allow one extra degree of separation; you have to choose to change that.

In my case I have no issue telling friends and family about Wrong Planet, and my identity here, but the flip is an issue. I post here about my family, and they did not make a choice to become part of any autism advocacy or intimate sharing. Giving the public my real name also give the public their real names, and I have no right to do that.

Plus, there is the little fact that someone once issued a death threat because they didn't like a mod decision I made. Granted, they were 90% joking, but internet actions are read and interpreted by a huge swath of people, and some of them might just be crazy enough to harm someone based on something from an internet message board.

I'd forgot about that, however, that's not an issue here, because the "like" posts do not allow comments. So what I said still applies.

Based on my short time as a moderator so far I can see that keeping one's real world identity and WP identity apart is important. Banning someone could result in real world events if the person was vindictive enough or unstable - and typically those people who do get banned aren't usually the "nice guys" either.

I saw something spill over like this in another forum and a female member was stalked and hounded by another member until she took out a restraining order on him.

Not to mention that many Facebook members, not even of WP, have expressed concerns about what Facebook intend to do with the stuff they have posted on Facebook.

I dont think it is a good idea to get our posts directly linked to an organisation, which many of its members are already feeling unsure about whether they can trust that the people that make the decisions in the management levels of the Facebook company, to do what is in their best interests.

Linking a board which already has sensitive information to a website which may end up farming out their data willy nilly to advertisers and worse one day, is not a good idea.