Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Privacy update for FT members using FaceBook

This is topic Privacy update for FT members using FaceBook in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 12-14-2009, 06:01 PM:

If you don't already know, as of today, Facebook will automatically index all your info on Google, which allows everyone to view it. To change this option, go to Settings --> Privacy Settings --> Search --> then UNCHECK the box that says 'Allow indexing'. Facebook kept this one quiet.

..don't think that Google needs to gather this info...

-Monte

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-14-2009, 06:18 PM:

I'm not going to do what you suggest just to see if it's true.

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 12-14-2009, 06:36 PM:

There's TWO other people on there with my name! What are the odds of that?

Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 12-14-2009, 06:45 PM:

Thanks for that Monte!

Much appreciated.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-14-2009, 08:27 PM:

Since Googling my name has (for years) shown my participation here on Film-Tech, not to mention a couple of other boards I'm a member of, and of course the Roxy, I officially don't give a crap about this new Facebook development.

I'm not sure why anyone would care about being "found" on Facebook, unless they're trying to hide something. (There are about a dozen other of me in the country anyway so if anyone blames anything bad on me, I'll say the Mike in Hawaii did it.)

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-14-2009, 09:11 PM:

Well said Mike. It's just more paranoia. If you don't want it found, don't post it.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 12-14-2009, 09:48 PM:

..It's just the basis of a principle of an online service that you're a member of has no right in giving your information to another online service without your permission.

(Poor ol' John Smith - thousands show up on Google...)

-Monte

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 12-14-2009, 11:23 PM:

I tried it out by editing my hobbies, interests, etc. Sho'nuff, they pop up all sorts of ads based on shit you type into those boxes. Ain't marketing great!?

I guess if someone jokingly typed in "kiddie porn" in the "interests" or "activities" box he would see an ad about how the FBI was about to kick his front door to splinters and haul his degenerate ass off to jail for the next 80 years!

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-14-2009, 11:25 PM:

I have never seen any ads ever on Facebook. But then again, I use the Ad Block Pro plug-in for Firefox. I wonder if Google Chrome will allow such things like that being that Google just wants to use the information on what you surf to advertise to you.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-15-2009, 01:50 AM:

Facebook is annoying in that it lets people stay TOO private. To have an account you should at least HAVE to post a clear picture of your face. Too scared to do that? Sorry...move along. Without that picture, it makes searching for an old acquaintance extremely difficult! Similarly they should permit searching by high school, college and such to help narrow things down.

Posted by Damien Taylor (Member # 4255) on 12-15-2009, 02:51 AM:

Fine, I'll get rid of happycat.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-15-2009, 04:14 AM:

So I looked further into this and the option on Facebook says:

Allow search engines to access your publicly available info and any information visible to Everyone

That means if you have anything on your profile set so everyone can see it (not just friends, friends of friends, etc), then Google can see it. That's nothing. Whoever wrote the original Status Update viral message going around jumped to conclusions. If your privacy settings are on friends only, you're just fine. Otherwise the only things that Google can really see is your name, profile picture and perhaps location.

Now I think I'll update my status!

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 12-15-2009, 05:25 AM:

Brad,

I've searched by High School many times on FB...you haven't been able to?

Steve

Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 12-15-2009, 10:39 AM:

I use Facebook and am not very concerned about my privacy on there. I have a good set of friends (140, I think, from the local community, with a few out-of-staters). I have very little "public". A few years ago, the default settings seemed to be much more "open" for people in the local networks, but very "closed" outside that. When I recreated the Facebook back in July, after being off of it a year and a half, I decided not to join a network or indicate my employment and schools. It's done wonders for keeping my non-work life separate from everyone else. No coworker or anyone close to one has found my profile yet, and I kinda like it that way so I don't have to worry about the mixing of, say, coworkers, with people from the coffee shop who I socialize with.

Posted by John Lasher (Member # 968) on 12-16-2009, 10:53 PM:

IMPORTANT: If you don't know, as of today, Facebook will automatically start plunging the Earth into the Sun. To change this option, go to Settings --> Planetary Settings --> Trajectory then UN-CHECK the box that says 'Apocalypse.' Facebook kept this one quiet.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 12-16-2009, 11:44 PM:

When you edit your privacy settings, Facebook actually has a pop up that says a lot of the indexing stuff people have been panicking about is a bunch of bullshit. Well, they don't put it like I just did. But it's basically just that. FB gives you a preview of what Google could index. Unfortunately, that alone made me change my privacy settings to a more restrictive stance.
[Razz]

Posted by Caleb Johnstone-Cowan (Member # 3710) on 12-17-2009, 09:42 PM:

So I put John's post as my status on Facebook, hopefully someone copies and pastes it, very good one!

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 12-17-2009, 10:27 PM:

quote: Brad Miller
Without that picture, it makes searching for an old acquaintance extremely difficult! Similarly they should permit searching by high school, college and such to help narrow things down.

I can search that way. You need to post what High School you went to in order for your classmates to find you...

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 12-17-2009, 10:39 PM:

I've gotten in touch with former classmates I haven't seen in nearly 30 years. Yeah, elementary school classmates. Pretty damned amazing considering I was a "Marine Corps brat" who moved from one duty station to another every 2-3 years! Two of the guys in my friends list were classmates in Iwakuni, Japan when I was in grades 4-6. Another one was a classmate both in Iwakuni and Quantico, VA.

Most of my classmates from high school in Quantico, VA are in my friends list. That totally kicks the shit out of that classmates web site where you have to pay $30 per year for the privilege of writing those classmates. I've had much better luck on Facebook and with zero cost.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-18-2009, 12:16 AM:

Yeah, and Facebook doesn't annoy you with those stupid "You have 2 new notes" emails like Classmates does, trying to get you to pay up. I suckered into their free membership but finally deleted myself due to all the junk emails they were sending me, and I still get crap from them sometimes.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 12-18-2009, 09:08 AM:

One of the keys to Facebook is to control WHAT it emails you (if anything). You can let it bother you as much or as little as you want. Same with the various apps. You don't want to know about some game posting...move over the upper right and click the "hide" button to block ALL of the posts for that game.

Yeah, the defaults for the emails are almost always "on" but that is changeable with just a little bit of effort.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 12-18-2009, 01:22 PM:

I have very good luck with Facebook. I'm totally happy. I have reconnected with a ton of people I went to school with, as well as people I have worked with over the years! Some I haven't seen in 15, 20, 30 years! Moreso than I did on Classmates.com - which was a pay site! My first time on Facebook, however, was a couple years ago and it was dead. I only found one classmate. I gave it up and stayed with my Myspace page, where I'd met up with a couple of my school friends.

When I tried Facebook a year later, however, it had really opened up. I couldn't believe how many people from my graduating class were on there... and more join every week or two. It's great.