Oh Facebook, what a piece of crap you are

Did you know that if you want to send a message to someone not on any of your lists, and you want it to go to their Inbox, rather than the nebulous sounding "Other" message receptacle, you have to pay $1?

I found that out earlier today. Talk about a ripoff. Just because the stock offering tanked, this is a way to make money? What about all the advertising that pops up, even though you check "not interested"?

This is crap. I hung on to FB as a means to communicate with people I find to be relatives via my genealogy research. I'm not sure that I want to Friend them; they'd probably scratch their heads over a sudden request from a perfect stranger; so I try to message them first. I'm not about to pay to message each one, yet who knows when they get around to checking their "Other" box. I sure never did, until I found out about this scam.

That is ridiculous! Just when I thought I couldn't despise FB any more. UGH.

I recently found an old friend, and think it is rather presumptuous to demand to be added. I figured I would send a message. Nope, will cost a dollar or go into the "other" folder that no one even knows about.

Guess I will pass.

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From a bottle cap message on a Magic Hat #9 beer: Condoms Prevent Minivans
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I want to pick up a bus full of unruly kids and feed them gummi bears and crack, then turn them loose in Hobby Lobby to ransack the place. They will all be wearing T shirts that say "You Could Have Prevented This."

Yeah, I have a couple of people I'd like to message first without being so presumptuous as to assume they'd want to add me. I'm not willing to pay a dollar to ensure they'll actually see the message. I've actually started checking the "other" folder since I found out about this. Maybe others will follow suit.

And do we get e-mail notifications if there is a message to the Other box? I haven't received any Other messages, so I'm not sure.

ETA: Interesting. I was poking around, looking for a general review of the situation. One writer notes that part of the plan may be to establish FB as a competitor to LinkedIn

General comments from the peanut gallery aren't so encouraging. From the Wall Street Journal:

Quote

"So, like, Mom, like I totally need your credit card so I can like totally send a message to like Jake, because he is like totally hot. And like, if that sk$nk Cindy like sends him a message first; well, like, you know... So, like, if you love me, and like if you ever want me to like speak with you ever again, then like, I totally need your credit card number now...

(or I'll just take if from your purse later anyway)"

"They must have hired a Bank of America Executive to find new ways to earn money."

"After they've helped themselves to the copyright in my instagram photos they want me to pay when I want to send messages?

Does Rupert remember when he bought MySpace? Does he remember how much he sold it for? Does Zuckerberg really think his platform won't go the same way?"

I don't get this. FB is supposed to be about communication among the masses. And, as general opinion seems to be, paying introduces a formality and sense of chicanery that is a big turn off.

Yo Zuckster, it is not our fault that your stock IPO tanked. I refused to buy it, because while it held value, it seemed grossly overpriced at 38 bucks a share. Not even Krispy Kreme IPOed that high. (Yes I learned from my Enron debacle…if it seemed overpriced it probably is.) Everyone I know is already bored with FB, and while it is nice for keeping in touch with friends that I don’t talk to regularly (I loathe the phone), the next big thing is right around the bend. Better cover your six and come up with a better plan. Your advertising is annoying enough, and stealing our copyrighted material is just wrong. When is enough enough?

No, you are not notified of Other folder entries. I looked in mine and found messages that were not spam from 2010. I never knew they were there. Nothing since mid-2011 so at least I know people have not been trying to reach me lately.

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From a bottle cap message on a Magic Hat #9 beer: Condoms Prevent Minivans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I want to pick up a bus full of unruly kids and feed them gummi bears and crack, then turn them loose in Hobby Lobby to ransack the place. They will all be wearing T shirts that say "You Could Have Prevented This."

Time to dust off my Google+ page then, I guess.

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"Why children take so long to grow? They eat and drink like pig and give nothing back. Must find way to accelerate process..."
- Dr. Yi Suchong, Bioshock

"Society does not need more children; but it does need more loved children. Quite literally, we cannot afford unloved children - but we pay heavily for them every day. There should not be the slightest communal concern when a woman elects to destroy the life of her thousandth-of-an-ounce embryo. But all society should rise up in alarm when it hears that a baby that is not wanted is about to be born."
- Garrett Hardin

"I feel like there's a message involved here somehow, but then I couldn't stop laughing at all the plotholes, like the part when North Korea has food."
- Youtube commentor referring to a North Korean cartoon.

"Reality is a bitch when it slowly crawls out of your vagina and shits in your lap."
- Reddit comment

"Bitch wants a baby, so we're gonna fuck now. #bareback"
- Cambion

Oh whatever. Abortion doctors are crimestoppers."
- Miss Hannigan

Well, that's a bit bad. Makes me glad I never bothered with Facebook.

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mypersonality.info

"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who haven't got it."
George Bernard Shaw

"An oyster can play catch if u only give it the oprotunity"
Some random YouTube commenter

"hate comments will be deleted!! fuckers!"
Some random YouTube uploader

This really pisses me off because I discovered something else when I went to the "other" folder. There was no mail in there, but a box popped up and said that you can no longer block people who aren't on your friends list from messaging you.

I used that setting because I got sick of messages from nosy people who knew who I was, but just wanted to "see how I was doing" without adding me. It's bad enough that have to I use a fake name on there, but now I'll have to use a profile pic of something else so nobody knows who I am. I really don't like FB and only use it to keep touch with family in Europe. I don't give a fuck about some dumb cunt I went to high school with, or nosy ex-boyfriends.

I hate FB. I was a very early adopter, when your college had to be on "the list" before you could register. Since then, it's become such a clusterfuck that I suspended my account awhile ago and finally deleted it a few years ago (when I was still in my 20s, which many people though was insane- because we're all addicted to social media or some shit?), and I haven't looked back.

Bonus: I am no longer subjected to endless pictures of people's brats.