Facebook

Start topics here about Dune that are not bloody likely to be screwed with by me.
Post Reply
User avatar
Nekhrun
Archivist
Posts: 1409
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2007 3:12 pm

Facebook

Post by Nekhrun »

I never paid any attention to facebook before, but I went over there out of curiosity and see that there are a number of Dune groups. I've made a couple of posts, but as time permits, I'm hoping that a few of those posters come over here. There is no love for KJA on many of those threads.

Do any of you have facebook accounts?
GamePlayer
Posts: 1156
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2008 1:38 pm
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Post by GamePlayer »

My friends have been trying to convince me I should register for almost a year now and I've resisted. I realize that it's a good way to remain in touch, especially since some of my friends seem to be electronically challenged (try replying to an e-mail!). But frankly, theres a lot of people I don't want to remain in touch with.

I've never really been a "social butterfly" kind of person and I've never had that ridiculous "friend catalogue" that some people keep in their black books, cell phones or crackberries so they can ring up a "friend" (and I use the word loosely) to fit every mood. I take my friends very seriously and I have a small but important circle of roughly a dozen family and friends. More importantly, I don't want to run into any of my ex-girlfriends, many of whom are social networking junkies. I can almost GUARANTEE that several of my ex-girlfriends are on Facebook and they are the kind of girls that would just love to say hello. No thanks. I'm not interested in keeping these braindead relationships on Facebook life support.

Having said all that, my friends have tried to persuade me that Facebook can be customized for privacy and I can limit my personal details. I trust my firends, but I'm also warry of their motive to get me on this latest internet craze. Perhaps you could fill in a few details from a neutral point of view?
"What are we to call him, this Player of Games?"

"The books of Kevin J Anderson and Brian Herbert lie in a realm of uncertainty between self-conscious absurdity and genuine failure"
User avatar
Nekhrun
Archivist
Posts: 1409
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2007 3:12 pm

Post by Nekhrun »

Well, you certainly wouldn't be able to find out much about me from looking at the profile I just created. Especially since the email account I use for that kind of stuff isn't one I particulary care about (no offense to those of you who have used that one :wink: ).

I used the name Nekhrun and only really plan to use the account for Dune related items. So far, it seems a little cleaner than myspace. I doubt that anyone who who knows me would be able to find me as my Dune obsession remains an internet aspect.

I dropped the Undeleted address on a couple Dune groups for anyone who might want to come see what all the fun is about. On others I just mentioned my opinion of the new books. :evil:
Last edited by Nekhrun on Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Omphalos
Alien Overlord
Posts: 5680
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 4:24 pm
Location: The Mighty Central Valley of California
Contact:

Post by Omphalos »

I have a my space account that I dont use too much. There are some Dune groups there, but only one that I have found that has any regular posters. I have never tried Facebook. Are the Dune groups hopping?

BTW, if you want to invite someone here, thats cool with me. You may want to PM me, because I have a very sensitive spam detector that may result in a few false-positive rejections.
Something is about to happen, Hal. Something wonderful!

-James C. Harwood, Science Fiction Writer, Straight (March 5, 1956 - May 25, 2010)



The Omphalos Umbrella Page
GamePlayer
Posts: 1156
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2008 1:38 pm
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Post by GamePlayer »

Well, I was basically looking for confirmation of the system for personal security. My friends tell me that if I join Facebook, I can basically create a profile that limits what can be seen by just anyone versus the profile information that MY Facebook friends can see. Is that so?
"What are we to call him, this Player of Games?"

"The books of Kevin J Anderson and Brian Herbert lie in a realm of uncertainty between self-conscious absurdity and genuine failure"
Omphalos
Alien Overlord
Posts: 5680
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 4:24 pm
Location: The Mighty Central Valley of California
Contact:

Post by Omphalos »

GamePlayer wrote:Well, I was basically looking for confirmation of the system for personal security. My friends tell me that if I join Facebook, I can basically create a profile that limits what can be seen by just anyone versus the profile information that MY Facebook friends can see. Is that so?
Im sure it is. They usually put in at least that much so that parents can protect their children who flock to sites like that. My Space has all kinds of minimum protections like that. The way it works there is that eveyone can see that you have a profile, and your main picture, age, city, etc (though you can block that stuff too), but can only see the main page with all the links and info if you approve them in your friend list. Then you can boot people as you see fit. which reminds me I still gotta go nuke Hyppo from my My Space list, if she has not beaten me to it yet, that is!
Something is about to happen, Hal. Something wonderful!

-James C. Harwood, Science Fiction Writer, Straight (March 5, 1956 - May 25, 2010)



The Omphalos Umbrella Page
GamePlayer
Posts: 1156
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2008 1:38 pm
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Post by GamePlayer »

Yeah, see that's just what I'd feared. I don't want just anyone to see my picture or know who I am. And I also don't want it so that if I do authorize people to see my profile, they haven't a clue who I am.

If I could use a screen name and avatar for the public face on Facebook (like here at the AU) and then have my real name and picture just for friends that I personally authorize, that would good. Otherwise, no way.
"What are we to call him, this Player of Games?"

"The books of Kevin J Anderson and Brian Herbert lie in a realm of uncertainty between self-conscious absurdity and genuine failure"
User avatar
Phaedrus
Posts: 318
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2007 12:18 am

Post by Phaedrus »

Facebook can absolutely be customized in that way.

In fact, if you want, you can put your real name and all your real information on your facebook account, but make it absolutely impossible for you to be found. There's an option that makes it so that only your approved friends can even know your account exists. If you searched "John Doe" for someone with that name, your account would not come up in the search results.

I had that for a while, but changed my account so that I can be found, but my picture isn't shown, and my page can't be accessed unless I approve the person who "friends" me.

And yes, you can make it so that other people can only see a "limited" profile, so that your friends can see everything, but other people(that you approve) can only see what you want them to see. It's very nicely customizable for privacy.

Oh, and facebook used to be really awesome, until they made it so third-party individuals and groups can add "applications." I reject requests to add about 5 applications per day, as I hate them, and prefer the simple facebook layout. Less is more.
"It means ruin to choose to think for oneself if one can't think." -Jens Bjorneboe
GamePlayer
Posts: 1156
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2008 1:38 pm
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Post by GamePlayer »

Oh, I see. Well, that sounds ideal! I'll have to give it a try. Thanks Phaedrus
"What are we to call him, this Player of Games?"

"The books of Kevin J Anderson and Brian Herbert lie in a realm of uncertainty between self-conscious absurdity and genuine failure"
GamePlayer
Posts: 1156
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2008 1:38 pm
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Post by GamePlayer »

Interesting:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/20 ... 4/facebook

It's a somewhat too alarmist article for my tastes and more than a bit slanted, but I do appreciate the selling point of the piece, the concept of the human relationship as new advert commodity :shock:
"What are we to call him, this Player of Games?"

"The books of Kevin J Anderson and Brian Herbert lie in a realm of uncertainty between self-conscious absurdity and genuine failure"
User avatar
The Phantom
Posts: 597
Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:06 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by The Phantom »

I've got Facebook and it is quite useful. it's the best way i've found to organize events efficiently. I'm also part of three Dune groups, one of which is 1700 members large. It's not as active as some other groups I'm in, but there is some decent discussion. There are also some true fanatics, (one guy talks pretty much only in Dune terms)
User avatar
Nekhrun
Archivist
Posts: 1409
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2007 3:12 pm

Post by Nekhrun »

bryanvdk wrote:There are also some true fanatics, (one guy talks pretty much only in Dune terms)
The Preacher is over there?
User avatar
Phaedrus
Posts: 318
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2007 12:18 am

Post by Phaedrus »

GamePlayer wrote:Interesting:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/20 ... 4/facebook

It's a somewhat too alarmist article for my tastes and more than a bit slanted, but I do appreciate the selling point of the piece, the concept of the human relationship as new advert commodity :shock:
Interesting. I'm reading a book called Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television for my English class this term, and it makes a lot of the same anti-technological propagandist arguments that are put forth in this argument.

Basically, "Oh noes! If we use this technology, we'll be alienated from other human beings, nature, and eventually reality, and then the people controlling the media will be able to tell us what is real and what isn't, and we'll all be mindless drones. DESTROY THE MACHINES!" What a load of shit. You won't be alienated from anything or anyone if you just take the time to understand what you're doing. Turn off the machines and take a walk, or go hang out with friends, and the danger goes away. People can't control you with machines like that unless you allow them to do so.

Although, I think this is an interesting take on the Butlerian Jihad. Facebook and Myspace as the enemy make a lot more sense than those crazy robits that some idiots wrote about.

Heh, someone should bring this up on DN. We've already got some crazy nuts advocating the elimination of machines that some people use to control other people, right here in the present. It's easy to project that to religious fanaticism.

The only question is, was Frank Herbert an optimist, thinking it would take thousands of years for us to get to the point that a few people in power use machines to control everyone else?
"It means ruin to choose to think for oneself if one can't think." -Jens Bjorneboe
GamePlayer
Posts: 1156
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2008 1:38 pm
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Post by GamePlayer »

I agree. A lot of these alarmist opinions should come along with a good dose of teaching about responsibilities. Especially responsibilities to yourself. Sure some of these things are bad if abused, but isn't everything? Television, alcohol, fun...all these pursuits are harmful if they take over. Besides, one thing these opinions of doom never seem to take into account is the fickleness of human nature. We simply bore easily and what is all the rage today will simply be supplanted by something else later down the line. That something else might be television, or the internet or whatever comes next. At the very least, we have a choice to participate or not.
Last edited by GamePlayer on Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"What are we to call him, this Player of Games?"

"The books of Kevin J Anderson and Brian Herbert lie in a realm of uncertainty between self-conscious absurdity and genuine failure"
Omphalos
Alien Overlord
Posts: 5680
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 4:24 pm
Location: The Mighty Central Valley of California
Contact:

Post by Omphalos »

Phaedrus wrote:Basically, "Oh noes! If we use this technology, we'll be alienated from other human beings, nature, and eventually reality, and then the people controlling the media will be able to tell us what is real and what isn't, and we'll all be mindless drones. DESTROY THE MACHINES!" What a load of shit. You won't be alienated from anything or anyone if you just take the time to understand what you're doing. Turn off the machines and take a walk, or go hang out with friends, and the danger goes away. People can't control you with machines like that unless you allow them to do so.
Those arguments, IMHO are bunk. People who write that think that we need human communication for some silly metaphysical need to make contact with others. That is a pants-load. The reason we crave human contact, in addition to occasional touchey-feeley, is to observe and learn from their behaviors and the consequences there of, and to trade information that is personally useful to us. How do TV's and computers not satisfy all of those needs?
Something is about to happen, Hal. Something wonderful!

-James C. Harwood, Science Fiction Writer, Straight (March 5, 1956 - May 25, 2010)



The Omphalos Umbrella Page
User avatar
Freakzilla
Archivist
Posts: 3453
Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2007 12:56 pm
Location: Duluth, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Post by Freakzilla »

I like being dissassociated from other people. They're all nuts.
They were destroyed because they lied pretentiously. Have no fear that my wrath
will fall upon you because of your innocent mistakes.

~Leto II, God Emperor
User avatar
Tleilax Master B
Posts: 308
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:44 pm

Post by Tleilax Master B »

Freakzilla wrote:I like being dissassociated from other people. They're all nuts.
Hehe, my sentiments exactly. :D
Image
GamePlayer
Posts: 1156
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2008 1:38 pm
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Post by GamePlayer »

I enjoy being disassociated from SC. Everyone else I'd be cool with :) :P
"What are we to call him, this Player of Games?"

"The books of Kevin J Anderson and Brian Herbert lie in a realm of uncertainty between self-conscious absurdity and genuine failure"
User avatar
SandChigger
Archivist
Posts: 4577
Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2007 9:11 pm
Location: Sietch Tigr, near Arrakeen
Contact:

Post by SandChigger »

GamePlayer wrote:I enjoy being disassociated from SC.
:shock:

:cry: :cry: :cry:
GamePlayer
Posts: 1156
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2008 1:38 pm
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Post by GamePlayer »

LOL :) I'm kidding of course. You're like Seinfeld...

"How can anyone not like you?"

Actually, with perhaps the exception of mandy, I think SC's pot smoking critter is probably the most friendly looking out of us all :)
"What are we to call him, this Player of Games?"

"The books of Kevin J Anderson and Brian Herbert lie in a realm of uncertainty between self-conscious absurdity and genuine failure"
Post Reply

Return to “Dune Talk”