Monday, March 21, 2016

Farewell to Facebook

or: Goodbye to all that.

Drang's Statement of Principles
Those of you who have been following these scribblings may recall seeing last June that I posted a post called Attention, Facebook Friends!, in which I explained that Facebook was telling me that, in order to access my account there, I would have to provide them with scans of government issued photo ID, or certain acceptable alternatives.

I used that post to tell Facebook what it could do with that idea.

Facebook is a private firm, it can set the requirements for use of it's services at whatever they want to.  The thing to remember is that, as Chris Byrne says,
If you're not paying for the product you ARE the product.
It's free, they make a shit-ton of money off of advertising and selling the members information.

I get it.

I also know that my business is my business.

Among other things I see people at work get all worked up about so-and-so said this or did that. I don't want those loons looking me up and sending me friends requests.

I've also heard too many accounts of those oh-so-tolerant, freedom loving clowns on the left "doxing" someone for something that was said on the Internet; while I have no illusions that this account could not be traced back to me, I want to make it as hard as possible.

(Note that the first purpose listed in that Wiki article for "doxing" is to "aid law enforcement", which is a crock; it's usually some commie posting the address of someone who has the temerity to disagree with them...)

And, I dunno, maybe my background as a Secret Squirrel/MI Geek had something to do with it.

Now when I set that account up I honestly don't remember seeing something that said "Account must be in your legal name", although I was vaguely aware that that was the policy. Maybe I didn't look hard enough. Maybe I ass-you-me'd that a well-established Internet presence, including a moderately successful blog, would count. I dunno.

I don't care.

It's hard enough maintaining Personal Security in the modern age as it is, I am just not comfortable with the idea of handing over copies of ID to some faceless strangers. Barn-door late, of course, considering that my own government hired a bunch of ChiComs to set up the Personnel Database, and now Beijing has access to my and my wife's data, but just because the horse is gone is no reason to open the pig pen up, too, to coin a phrase.

(So, Zuckerburg goes jogging in Beijing to prove it's not all that unhealthy in an effort to get the Chinese to open up to Facebook...
(Seeking Access to Facebook in China, Zuckerberg Courts Risks - The New York Times)

So last week I clicked on a link to an article that someone posted to their Facebook page, and while there just for shits and giggles I clicked on the "Log In" button, and it worked. Cool.

It was cool because, in the 9 months or so since I lost access, a bunch of people have migrated away from other venues where I could interact with them regularly, and were hanging out on Facebook. I didn't even notice it, because I could just go to Facebook and talk to Tam about her latest blog post, for example, or hang out with The Cool Kids in a Facebook Group. Since I'd never even been invited to be one of the Cool Kids before, it was... Cool.

But.

My business is my business.

My information is my information, my identity is my business, and if I tell you my name is "D.W. Drang", you can damned well like it or leave it.

Yes, I'm aware of the irony, considering that Facebook is telling me "All your data are belong to us, like it or leave it."

When I was able to get back in I thought perhaps they had relaxed the policy a bit. Maybe I could have the account in my legal name and have that private, all anyone would see would be my "nickname."

Nope.  You can have a nickname, but it will be displayed right next to your legal name.

And, yes, I can make a Facebook page for the blog, but it must be associated with a legal name, which will be visible to anyone looking at the blog's page. they said I have until March 22nd to send them the goods.

UPDATE: And I forgot to mention that, when I got back in last week, Facebook said I have until March 22nd to upload the goods.

So, no.

Repeat after me:
My business is my business.
My information is my business.
My identity is my business.

6 comments:

Tam said...

"Repeat after me"

I'll repeat after whoever I want to repeat after.

;)

Drang said...

Yep.

I was just old enough to watch The Prisoner when it was first on.

Also when I discovered Heinlein.

Plus, some things in the family history (both sides), let's just say the whole ornery, contrary curmudgeon thing comes naturally.

Maybe that's why most of my friends are on the Internet...

Old NFO said...

:-) Well said, sir!

NotClauswitz said...

I have sorely missed the action and patter at Tam's blog, but not enough to go Facebookin' so I remain a mere speck in the electron-soup of all that.

Drang said...

TBH, I joined Facebook when some company was giving something away and they way to enter was to Like/Follow their Facebook page.

Drang said...

Aaaaaand, it's gone.