Why Facebook ?

[modeller]

Can some one tell me the pros and cons of joining 'facebook' or any other forum as well as Answer Bank ? In particular with respect to preserving ones anonymity.

[jno]

depends - what do you want to do? It lets you stay in touch with friends individually or en masse (as do phones, emails, and pen and paper and so on), and you can adjust your privacy levels as you wish. I started an account, quickly got bored, and did't go back; younger people spend hours on it.

[flobadob]

Staying in touch is a biggie.

[ummmm]

If you want to stay anon then join in a made up name and don't put personal details on there.

[Ellipsis]

Facebook is not really there to preserve anonymity. It's primary function is to stay in touch with people that you know - friends, family, etc. Beyond that there's a lot more, but that is at the heart of it.

Anonymity is one thing, privacy is another. Facebook traditionally wasn't great at stopping you sharing intimate details with anybody who happened upon your profile. Nowaday both it and its members are a lot more savvy, and privacy settings mean you can share as much or as little as you like with who you like - e.g. share pictures of your recent beach holiday in Spain with your relatives in New Zealand, without your work colleagues or next door neighbours being able to see them.

[naomi24]

//share pictures of your recent beach holiday in Spain with your relatives in New Zealand, without your work colleagues or next door neighbours being able to see them. //

The most private way to do that is to attach the pictures to an email. Don't 'do' Facebook'. Too intrusive.

[jd_1984]

FB IS potentially intrusive, although there are a variety of security and personal settings that one can apply to ensure your posts are limited to only those that you have requested or accepted as friends.
So in a sense your anonymity is preserved as you should know the people that you are communicating with in the first place.
It is great for keeping touch and uploading pictures as you would do in a journal, so you have a record that is constantly being uploaded with recent events.
On this site, you can perhaps be more outspoken than you would be on FB as you are pretty much annonymous to us (unless some people knoW one another off AB). I take people at their word on here, but in all honesty I dont know if people are who they claim to be and whether their advice is based on knowledge or opinion. But you risk that when you pose a question on AB.
My advice, log in to FB and keep your friendship circle small. Ensure your privacy settings dont allow "friends of friends" or strangers to view your page and you should be ok!

[hc4361]

FaceBook isn't intrusive as far as I'm concerned. I use a made up name and only people I know and trust in real life are my FB 'friends'.
I have the privacy set so that I can't be contacted by anybody except my friends; nobody can find me by searching; nobody but my 'friends' can see my posts.

My friends are scattered all over the world and we all know each other. It is a quick convenient way to keep in touch as a group.

Not the way FB is intended to be used, but it works for us.

[ChillDoubt]

Depends. Do you want to keep in touch with friends?
Or do you want to see who has now got a boyfriend/girlfriend, who hasn't/no longer has, what the weather is like in the next street, look at someone's school photo when they were 9 years old, see just how deeply they love their dog/cat/goldfish/snake, marvel at hte latest must-have dining table from IKEA, have a look at someone's holiday snaps from Bali 1999 or see how the construction of their conservatory/shed/kennel is coming along....?

The choice is yours!

[hc4361]

ChillDoubt, you need new friends.

[naomi24]

hc, the reason I say it's intrusive is because although I'm not a member, other people have put information about me, and pictures of me, on there. I don't like it - but I have no control over it.

[ChillDoubt]

Got plenty thanks hc4361, we just tend to interact in person and don't measure each other against the possessions we may or may not have.

I need FB like a submarine needs a catflap.

[ummmm]

Facebook is great.

[hc4361]

naomi, that is bad. I wouldn't like it either.

[hc4361]

ChillDoubt, it is difficult for this band of friends to get together when we live in the UK, NZ, Australia, South Africa and Spain.

We certainly don't brag about new possessions etc.

[divegirl]

I just love how people are so snobbish when it comes to FB. No one forces anyone to use it and if you try it and don't like it then walk away.
Any one who is a regular user will have 'that mate' who has to share every moment of their life... don't like it? Remove them from your news feed...simples.

Naomi... I would suggest that it is your friends at fault here not FB... I have had pictures put up of me that I didn't like [mainly because I look fat] and ask my friends to remove them....job done.

Its a fun 'tool' like any other part of the internet but I see no need to belittle those who choose to use it.

As for the OP's question. Facebook isn't really comparable to Answerbank, there is little point in using FB if you wish to remain anonymous as the whole point of it is to be in contact with people you know and if you choose to, make new friends.

Lisa x

[modeller]

Thanks for you answers. I'll not bother . Is there a forum that would compliment Answer Bank e.g.
Yahoo answers

[ummmm]

I think AB is a bit unique.

[Booldawg]

FBs quite handy for organising things. I'm putting a bike ride together in June and have set up a group for all those involved. Its a good way to keep people informed without having to repeat yourself.

[rockyracoon]

I love FB, especially as family in Ireand can see photos of the kids, these could of course be emailed, but then there would be no banter from many different rellies adding comments.

FB has a billion users, some have have bad experiences, this is down to poor choice in friends and/or not enough understanding of internet privacy, millions use it everyday and have no problems, I haven't, and as Divegirl says, if someones annoying you, just delete them from your newsfeed.

And of course, it has the added bonus that friendships from here in cyberland have found their way into our real life, for me, I think that's great.

[Sparkles62]

I find facebook great for keeping in touch, got 7 children, all grown up, 6 grandchildren, family and friends, never had any trouble. I'm on AB, using a 'handle' that I dont use anywhere else and dont view AB on facebook, just use the AB site, which I love, and it keeps me busy enough. X