Facebook, please?

[Deleted]

OK, I definitely need to be on FB because the organization I spend way too many hours volunteering for has a page and I need to see what's happening there.  And all my friends post stuff on their pages and are grumpy because I don't see it.  But I am really concerned about how to get my settings right, partly because I've seen stuff here and other places about folks getting stalked, irked, irritated, etc.   Yeah, I'm an older model dinosaur.  I don't want to put my stuff out there, like that would be really exciting - "I cleaned the tub today and dusted the living room.  The grocery had 2 for 1 on toilet paper".  I just want to see some pages without jeopardizing my privacy, safety & security.  

Since this board is so knowledgeable on so many topics, can someone give me the abc's on safe FB settings?


 

[Deleted]

It's not about settings, it is what you put on the page. You don't have to fill in any info you don't want to. I find the best thing is to think of it like eating in public. Technically you are just there with your friends, but the reality is that everyone that is interested can see and here you. Behave accordingly. If someone bugs you it is very easy to block them.

[swamp]

In the upper right corner there is an icon of a lock. That's the privacy settings. They're pretty self explanatory. 

And if you don't put anything really personal on there, there's nothing to worry about. 

Anyone who who saw my page would probably bore quickly of the pictures of my kids. 

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Once you get your F/B account & profile set-up, you can control your privacy settings - by clicking on the little Padlock icon in the top right of your page there.

You can also hide feeds too (like the many game feeds for example) if don't want to see them - or even an individual - if they're a "friend of a friend" and not a part of your interests or group.

You can personalize your page to make it to your liking and to suit your needs..

[msventoux]

I have a picture of the animals as my avatar.  I have the privacy settings locked down pretty tightly so I'm really hard to find and not many people can see what I post.  I haven't posted anything on my timeline, but a few other people have posted to my page; some of which I've deleted if it was overly political crap. 

I basically use Facebook to access some business and group pages.  I have friended a number of people, but they're more acquaintances who are from those groups and we use it to keep each other updated on issues related to those activities.  I've blocked some of the feeds because I don't care if they need a cow for one of their games and I don't want to see a bajillion pictures of their kids, since we're not that type of friends. 

I've friended some of my real-life friends also, but I mostly just like certain things that they post or make generic comments.  If there's anything I would be uncomfortable a potential employer seeing,  I'll just say to their faces when I see them. 

[Deleted]

I've been on FB for over 4 years with no major problems. I don't post anything I wouldn't want in the front page of the paper. If I don't have anything interesting to post, I don't post. I do not play FarmVille, or repost recipes, political "posters", or videos of kitties acting cute. I don't click "like" on anything. If it's worth a comment, I comment.

In return I get to keep in touch with the lives of far-flung relatives and old HS classmates.

Go ahead and jump in. It's not that bad.

[truthbound]

Since this board is so knowledgeable on so many topics, can someone give me the abc's on safe FB settings?

Yes. Don't go on Facebook.

[Nazgul Girl]

   I use facebook to keep in touch with my increasingly spread-out family.   I enjoy seeing the posts and comments.   I don't have too many people that I'm not related to on facebook, since I don't want them in my business.   My DD posts pictures of cute animals, Star Trek memes, teaching ideas, and Catholic religious streams, and other family members post things about science and stupid politicians, so I enjoy it all.


  I asked one person who has left the board to be my friend on facebook, but did not get accepted.  Oh well.   I keep getting asked to friend the mother of my sister-in-law, but I can't stand her, and she's just a big gossip, so I don't ever friend her.   Oh well.  

[Deleted]

Thanks, y'all.  I will probably jump in during the next week.  So glad for the input.

[justme]

You can get the security settings pretty tight. Of course, internet isn't 100% foolproof so things could always get out, but if you do the settings right the only way that's happening is if one of your friends copies stuff and posts it. 

My friend has the settings so tight you can't even find her on FB, no matter what you typed in. So she has to find you on FB to add you. Mine's not that tight, but you have to have an account to find me (doesn't pop up in google) and have it set so I have to approve every tag and have changed the settings so a lot of my friends don't see my stuff.

I've been on FB since it started and have zero searchable evidence of it. Or at least searchable within the first few google pages (I think I have up after 5 in both pages and images). The only thing google-able about me is my LinkedIn page (that I made public) and a blurb about a fellowship I want (that is probably thoroughly buried 6 years later). 


One fair warning though - anything you post on the public pages is fair game to a certain extent. I'm not sure how much since it's never popped up in google for me, but it is public so.

[swamp]

I agree that the privacy resetting thing is a bunch of bullshit and having to go back and change it sucks.

Not hard to do, just need to pay attention.

[Deleted]

Jul 23, 2014 11:39:10 GMT -5 alwaysbeoptimizing said:

I have two FB. One for my professional circle that I post on 2x per year and allow coworkers to join (I'm in marketing so everyone is expected to be excited about social, even though that's not how our customers buy/find/evaluate my company). I have a second one with all of my hick relatives and friends from my old hometown that I don't allow anyone from work to join and that I basically post kid pictures/vacation pictures on and use to look at family photos.

DH wanted to join FB so he could get on a page for people with a rare disease he has (polycythemia). He didn't use his real name (I don't think FB likes that); it's his first name, with the last name of the actor for whom he was named. Occasionally someone in the group will send him a Friend request. He asks what that means. I tell him it means that he'll see pictures of their grandchildren, "photos" that are political statements, and recipes that include packaged crescent roll dough, bacon and cheddar cheese. So far he doesn't have any friends.

I agree that it's crappy when FB changes all their settings and the new defaults always mean you end up "sharing" more than you did before. Typically people figure that out early on and start posting about how to fix it and it gets circulated amid the usual grumbling about FB.

I keep my profile private; all you can see is my picture (and previous profile pictures) unless you're a connection. Here's a way to test what others see.

www.facebook.com/help/288066747875915

Last night I was in a meeting with our church vestry to discuss the profiles of our short list of 3 candidates for rector (pastor). Some of us had done Google searches on them before because we had the names. One had an open FB page and it included a picture of him at a BBQ- a roly-poly guy, very casually dressed, with a beer in one hand and a cigar in the other. Half our group thought he was just the right guy for the job; the other half considered it a minus!