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Topic: Facebook Without My Face |
Ben Elder
From:
La Crescenta, California, USA
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Posted 13 Oct 2016 11:55 pm |
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I would like to visit companies', artists', events' etc. Facebook pages, since it seems information is otherwise inaccessible. Is there a way to be on FB and NOT post, NOT friend, NOT game, NOT stalk women from my earlier life, etc.? And can I do it under a name (organization or company that I make up) other than my own?
Fools' names and fools' faces and all that...
_________________
"Gopher, Everett?" |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 14 Oct 2016 3:43 am
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I joined FB to locate someone; the server wouldn't let me in until I picked a friend.
It didn't understand why someone wouldn't join and not look for friends.
(I recall the announcement: 'Charlie McDonald only has one friend.')
I made up everything (location, school, work), so maybe you can call yourself anything you want.
I don't do any of the things you don't want to do, but it didn't keep FB from sending me lists of 'people you might know.' |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 14 Oct 2016 5:22 am
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3 or 4 years ago, I made a completely fictitious account, just to satisfy myself that I wasn't missing anything. It was all fake except a legit junk email address. I think my name was Jaybob Howdy, operating out of Cut And Shoot, TX.
I didn't have to have a "friend" or any of that. I did the bare minimum required to get inside the gate. I'm not even sure if I was inside the last gate and I never bothered to learn about Facebook or use it, but I did have a so-called "account".
I just made one "post" (I think maybe to something called a "wall", kinda like talking to yourself?) about the time I got drunk with Edith Piaf, Admiral Hyman Rickover, and Jerry Lee Lewis when the 4 of us were down in Florida drinking wine and milking snakes. That didn't seem to endear me to anyone as near as I could tell. No response at all--no friendships.
Who needs that? So I made my account "inactive" and let it sit for a couple of years. About 6 months ago, I deleted the account, which generated a bunch of spam emails to the email address I had to give up when I joined.
I'm not sure what I'm missing out on, other than yet another confirmation that the Internet is mostly a sewer. I certainly haven't missed it and only rarely find a situation where I halfway wish I still had an account.
I suppose I could sign up again if it turns out there's something on it I can't do without. They tell me that Facebook is quite the addiction, so I'm probably better off being in the dark. |
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Dave Potter
From:
Texas
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Posted 14 Oct 2016 7:40 am
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While we're opining about Facebook, IMO, the genius of Facebook is that it feeds peoples' insecurities. It provides them the opportunity to demonstrate to the entire world just how wonderful they are (in their minds), and to acquire lots of "friends", most of whom are in fact total strangers. But that's huge for anyone who always wanted lots of "friends", but had none.
Years ago, I too got a Facebook account just to see what the hoopla was about. The "people you might know" emails quickly became tedious, and I opted out, recognizing the whole thing as just mental masturbation.
I don't have any "social media" accounts now. It became clear to me that most of those who do are people I don't want to know, and email works fine for online communication with people I do know - the ones who count in my life. |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 14 Oct 2016 7:46 am
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You can create a new account on Facebook, but must use a believable name. Facebook has a real name policy in place, except for certain special interest groups, like entertainers, artists, activists, Indians, etc. All others are asked for their real name.
With your account in place - select a very strong pass-phrase to protect it - go to your privacy settings. There you can make all posts visible to "Only Me." Then give whatever details you want in the About page. Don't give permission to Apps to post in your name (games, Twitter feed, scams for Luxury RVs, etc).
With your privacy set to this level, anything you post will only be visible to you, when you are logged in. You will be able to view other members' profiles and posts, unless they have locked down their privacy setting to Friends Only (typical setting). In order to view their posts you must send them a friend request. If they accept, you can view their posts, unless they are set to Only Me, or Hidden From Timeline.
Happy Hunting!
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 14 Oct 2016 8:15 am
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| Dave Potter wrote: |
the genius of Facebook is that it feeds peoples' insecurities. It provides them the opportunity to demonstrate to the entire world just how wonderful they are (in their minds), and to acquire lots of "friends", most of whom are in fact total strangers. But that's huge for anyone who always wanted lots of "friends", but had none.
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Yeah, pretty much right on---Facebook is a perfect fit with this culture of narcissism that we are all enduring (or enjoying, depending on your point of view).
I've heard that the younger set places a lot of emphasis on the number of Facebook "friends" they have and can be very competitive and argumentative about it.
Can't easily think of anything more pathetic. |
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Georg SΓΈrtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 14 Oct 2016 8:37 am
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I use my real facebook account mainly as a news channel, to keep track of things that are not likely to show up in ordinary "news" channels. Works quite well with a bit of tailoring at my end.
ESET takes care of security. Social Fixer lets me organize stuff on "my" facebook pages to my liking, and keeps adds away.
I only accept "facebook friends" that I know personally and/or recognize within my fields of interest. Keeps the number, and noise, at reasonable levels, and lets me communicate with people I actually want to communicate with. |
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Dave Potter
From:
Texas
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Posted 14 Oct 2016 8:41 am
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| Mitch Drumm wrote: |
| Facebook is a perfect fit with this culture of narcissism that we are all enduring...Can't easily think of anything more pathetic. |
I agree. A while back, I was astounded to learn that one can actually buy a "selfie stick" with which to more effectively express one's narcissism through better "selfies". That elevates narcissism to an art form, IMO.
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| I'm not sure what I'm missing out on, other than yet another confirmation that the Internet is mostly a sewer. |
Yep. And the sad thing is, it's a reflection of our contemporary society. Not good. |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 14 Oct 2016 9:25 am
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"Elder Ben" would probably work.
Interests: banjo
That should do it. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 14 Oct 2016 10:11 am
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| Mitch Drumm wrote: |
| I've heard that the younger set places a lot of emphasis on the number of Facebook "friends" they have and can be very competitive and argumentative about it. |
Not true. Facebook is mostly populated by older adults, and I've never seen anyone brag about how many "friends" they have. My own criteria is this: if your profile picture shows you playing a steel guitar, or if you are a local music fan, I'll accept your friend request. I probably reject as many as I accept.
I do have a lot of Facebook friends. People who are curious about my personal likes, dislikes, and political views can read my Facebook page. It's where I share my opinions, promote my gigs, and post links to things that I enjoyed reading. I also have a Twitter account that mirrors my Facebook posts. I don't remember how I set that up, but everything I post on Facebook is also posted on Twitter.
One band that I'm in does a lot of promotion on Facebook. It actually works! People show up to see us because they saw the gig on Facebook. They "follow" the band there. It's a lot better than having a web site that nobody visits.
Lastly, most of my extended family is on Facebook. We share a lot of things privately and send messages to each other. It's a great way to keep in touch.
_________________
-πππ- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 14 Oct 2016 10:50 am
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| b0b wrote: |
| Mitch Drumm wrote: |
| I've heard that the younger set places a lot of emphasis on the number of Facebook "friends" they have and can be very competitive and argumentative about it. |
Not true. Facebook is mostly populated by older adults |
That could be true now.
I was just relating what I was told by a high school age Facebook user in the early days of Facebook, circa 2009. Teenagers shaming others for having fewer "friends" as some measure of self-worth.
I wouldn't be surprised if young hipsters have moved on to something that isn't so associated with something as unseemly as "older adults".
But I haven't had a conversation with anyone of high school age in years and have no attraction to social media. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 14 Oct 2016 12:58 pm
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Teenagers don't socialize on Facebook. There's a great article in this month's Wired about how teens use social media, if you're interested at all. I found in fascinating. There are very intricate social protocols that they follow, that they must follow, to avoid being shunned by their peers. Of course, these things have always existed in teen society. Their use of social media isn't much different from the cliques and other connections we made in high school.
_________________
-πππ- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Dave Potter
From:
Texas
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Posted 14 Oct 2016 4:47 pm
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| b0b wrote: |
| Their use of social media isn't much different from the cliques and other connections we made in high school. |
That makes sense to me. I never had any use for the "cliques" that permeated my high school social activities - wasn't concerned I "didn't fit in" - so it follows naturally that I have no use for today's "social media", decades later. |
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Tom Mossburg
From:
AZ,
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Posted 17 Oct 2016 10:27 pm Facebook
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Seems to me no matter how you try to disguise yourself, they'd still get your IP address everytime you signed in. So they'd have that fingerprint. That'd open you up to Russian and East European hackers!
_________________
MSA Studio Pro U-12 x 2, Telonics |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 17 Oct 2016 10:32 pm
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The Steel Guitar Forum has your IP address, too. 
FWIW, all you'd get from my IP address is that I'm a Comcast customer from Cloverdale, CA. Whoop dee doo.
_________________
-πππ- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Tom Mossburg
From:
AZ,
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Posted 17 Oct 2016 11:22 pm Oh No
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OMG say it isn't true Bob. Oh well I guess I'm safe. I'm with Cox. Had an issue the other day and they couldn't even find me as a customer! OK back to the Facebook thread. I'll bet there are tons of fake accounts out there.
_________________
MSA Studio Pro U-12 x 2, Telonics |
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Dave Potter
From:
Texas
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Posted 18 Oct 2016 5:45 am Re: Facebook
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| Tom Mossburg wrote: |
| Seems to me no matter how you try to disguise yourself, they'd still get your IP address everytime you signed in. So they'd have that fingerprint. That'd open you up to Russian and East European hackers! |
Like B0B, my IP public IP address reverses to my ISP - not a lot of information. The actual IP address of my PC is different still, and invisible to the internet. It's assigned by my router, and masked through the magic of router Network Address Translation (NAT), making it considerably more complicated for hackers to actually dig out any meaningful information on me.
I rarely worry about hackers - realistically, I think they're much more interested in penetrating servers like those of the RNC, DNC, and others throughout the federal government. |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 18 Oct 2016 7:18 am
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For the majority of the customers of all major ISPs, your IP address only reveals the name of the Internet Service Provider and what particular DNS server they may provide to you. It can be likened to an apartment building that has one main address, but lots of private post boxes inside. There is more information on an envelope mailed to your mailbox than can be found in your IP address.
Exceptions do exist, but don't apply to common users.
There seems to be some paranoia about revealing your IP address. Some people have good reason to do this, including political activists and whistle blowers in countries that might have them executed for speaking their minds. These folks must conceal their actual IP address by going through proxy servers and Onion routers.
Now, taking this to a logical extension, if you happen to get the attention of law enforcement due to an investigation into some illegal online activity, a subpoena can order your ISP to reveal your actual physical address. You are after all known to them as their customer.
If your computer happened to have been hacked and has a proxy server installed, criminals could be using your IP address to conduct fraudulent or otherwise illegal activity, concealing their actual IP. Make sure you scan for malware every day or night, with the best security program you can afford.
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
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Tom Mossburg
From:
AZ,
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Posted 18 Oct 2016 10:09 am Ip
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Chloe O'Brian can find out everything.
_________________
MSA Studio Pro U-12 x 2, Telonics |
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