The Gaming Den

A portent of things to come or just my aquarium on Fish World. You decide. Should the Santa Fish be worried? What is the penguin doing at the North Pole? Will the security crab fall into the ocean?

So, are you doing any Facebook things like Fish World or farmville?

http://www.facebook.com/long.island.tzo ... =503541604
http://www.facebook.com/long.island.tzo ... =503541604

I do not have a facebook account but my wife does so sometimes I have to do her farming, zookeeping or fish caring. I put up with it since she put up with me playing travian for almost 2 years. Koresh help anyone on this forum who plays travian.

I don't understand why anyone cares.

The last thing I want in the world is a publicly searchable address book.

-Crissa

I, however, have friends and a past I am happy with as well as positive expectations that have been fulfilled, and so yes I use Facebook but no, I do not play games on it.

I don't really use facebook. I have a profile set up, but I check it about once every three months, if that.

All of the Facebook apps, like Farmville and Fishville and Mafia Wars and all that junk, are at best an amusing diversion, and at worst a waste of time. There's nothing inherently good or bad about them, no more so than Tetris, Solitaire, or Minesweeper, the timewasters of old. If you have a lot of spare time, then go for it - at least they're free. Don't get caught up in that whole scam to pay real money for "special currency" to unlock in-game items. Really, are you gonna pay ten bucks for a few pixels that are supposed to be a llama? Go buy a real game with your real money instead.

Since I got laid off, I find myself with a lot of time to kill, so I'll indulge myself in a few rounds of Vampire Wars or Island Paradise now and again. Would it be better if I spent that time watching TV instead?

And what's with the hate-on for Facebook in general? Much like the apps it pushes, it is no better or worse than an amusement. If you have a lot of friends who also use F-book, it can be tons of fun to trade quips and Youtube videos and photos of your kids and all that stuff. If you don't have a decent-sized community that you belong to on F-book, then it's not just a waste of time - it's a pointless waste of time.

Facebook is totally fun with statuses and such. I frequently trade comments back and forth on statuses (both my own and other's). I also use facebook to argue with my fundie republican uncle. Tetris is a better game than any of the apps on facebook though (no lag, better game design).

CryptoSolipsist wrote:All of the Facebook apps, like Farmville and Fishville and Mafia Wars and all that junk, are at best an amusing diversion, and at worst a waste of time. There's nothing inherently good or bad about them, no more so than Tetris, Solitaire, or Minesweeper, the timewasters of old.

If only. Using any facebook app gives the app's developer full access to your entire facebook profile, no matter what privacy settings you have. I'm sure some developers are reasonable people, and forgo selling your personal information for cash. But when Zynga's CEO admits that he did "every horrible thing in the book just to get revenues," I'd rather not hand over any personal information, much less my full profile. That could include cell phone numbers, home addresses, friends, interests, employers, etc.

I have nothing against facebook itself (helps me keep in touch with a lot of far-flung friends and relatives), nor do I mind pointless, time-wasting games, but saying that there's nothing inherently bad about facebook apps is horribly misleading.

yeah, it's not even unlikely that Zynga is using them for a datamining exercise.

That's a fair point, that F-book apps require full access to your profile. But really, it's not as if the information you put up is truly private, no matter what your privacy settings are. Simply, if you don't want your critical information to fall into the wrong hands, then don't put it up on the Internet in the first place. You wouldn't post your mother's maiden name, or your SSN, would you? Posting your cell phone number or home address is equally foolish. And, sure, they can definitely pull data about you regarding your interests and friends and such, but how can that be used to harm you? Maybe I'm just being short-sighted about this, but as far as I'm concerned, targeted marketing is a good thing. I don't give two shits about professional sports, for example, and because I have shown no interest whatsoever, I don't get offers for sports memorabilia or whatnot. Some marketing profiler somewhere may make that a note that my favorite show is Battlestar Galactica, for example, and place me on a mailing list for offers of other sci-fi TV shows. What's the downside?

What is wrong with targeted ads? Targeted adds are a good thing. Sure I get a lot of ads for match services for 40+ single males, but who cares! There are still a few games on Facebook that still advertise "the old fashioned way" general ads (often movies with sound) that pop up while the game is loading and take several seconds before you can clear them. I'm sick and tired of getting that same Revlon commercial for that eye lash whatever with the round applicator that "explodes color." Untargeted ads make me mad 50% of the time.

It only takes one dishonest developer to mine profiles for private phone numbers and addresses. Last year one credit card company was taken to task for ditching people who shopped at a certain mass market retailer.

Using very specific information without permission is a serious threat.

-Crissa

Oh yeah, I wouldn't post my phone # or home address to begin with, but a lot of people do, so it's still a problem. There's no good reason to give every app developer full access to all that information either. It's a bizarre choice on facebook's part, and one that they don't draw a lot of attention to.

I'd rather not get ads at all, so keeping my email off of any spam lists is a plus. The real world example that came to mind was those websites that show who donated to campaigns for/against gay marriage laws, although most of those contributions are public record. Some of those people got harassed in real life.

In general, I guess, it's just worth remembering that "online" isn't some separate world. Violating my privacy online is still violating my privacy.

tzor wrote:What is wrong with targeted ads? Targeted adds are a good thing. Sure I get a lot of ads for match services for 40+ single males, but who cares! There are still a few games on Facebook that still advertise "the old fashioned way" general ads (often movies with sound) that pop up while the game is loading and take several seconds before you can clear them. I'm sick and tired of getting that same Revlon commercial for that eye lash whatever with the round applicator that "explodes color." Untargeted ads make me mad 50% of the time.

I just wish the "targeted ads" would stop showing me ads for christian dating sites...

Prak_Anima wrote:

tzor wrote:What is wrong with targeted ads? Targeted adds are a good thing. Sure I get a lot of ads for match services for 40+ single males, but who cares! There are still a few games on Facebook that still advertise "the old fashioned way" general ads (often movies with sound) that pop up while the game is loading and take several seconds before you can clear them. I'm sick and tired of getting that same Revlon commercial for that eye lash whatever with the round applicator that "explodes color." Untargeted ads make me mad 50% of the time.

I just wish the "targeted ads" would stop showing me ads for christian dating sites...

America Fuck yeah. My religion says fucking atheist right there.

Depressed woman loses benefits over Facebook photos

When anyone can see simple facts they can do a hell of a lot with them. What if people google you when you're applying for jobs? Anything on the internet isn't private and can be used against you by every dickhead with a grudge. Putting information about yourself into a conveniently searchable format is asking for trouble.

Wow. What a dick move. Apparently, it's okay to treat depression... As long as you don't do anything fun.

How is that supposed to treat depression?

-Crissa

It's not, and that's the point. It's supposed to give a reason not to treat depression, so that money can be saved at the cost of human lives.