Didn't we say it would happen?

[HillyWallaby]

And now it has. Can we please get rid of the bloody awful facebook link thingy now?

If we all become paranoid about what we say and where it can go THIS FORUM WILL DIE. Or at least it will just turn into nethuns.

I think that's the case Valar from reading what was posted

if someone deliberately linked a thread to facebook they could do that anyway, even without the bloody button

i could copy and paste a link to this very thread onto facebook without going anhywhere near the thing!

so, unless the person who linked it to FB did so accidentally beause it's so easy to do (which it isn't) then it isn't the fault of mn or of the button

OK fair enough - apologies. As I said, I didn't like the idea of the fb button being made more prominent in the first place and I am a bit oversensitive to all possibilities of crossovers between MN and other sites, and RL atm due to some weird stuff of my own lately.

As you were.

I think that the thread has raised issues of personal safety and the wisdom of having profiles and revealing too much about yourself. So whilst your initial point is no longer relevant, the thread in itself is useful.

I agree with Valar - I think if there's one thing we should all take out of this it's that we need to be careful when we reveal anything about ourselves.

Yep. I've linked a couple of threads to my social network because I thought they would amuse people. They knew that I was a MNer, and that one of my names was one of the hundred on that particular thread. You just cut and paste the address.
If a malicious person C wanted to reveal to person B what person A had been saying about them behind their back then they are perfectly capable of doing so without a FB button. (caveat - I don't do FB, so I know there are dynamics I'm not getting here)

I'm not sure that continued speculation of how A found B's postings on here is going to achieve anything. It's happened, it's crap, but it serves as a reminder to us all how public this is whether we try to hide things or not.

Anyone can link whatever the hell they want and there is fuck all that can be done about it whether it's liked or not. I don't give a stuff, personally, and won't tend to post things of a sensitive nature on here.

If someone is going to link something on here to FB they will absolutely be doing it deliberately - it's either a press the button jobby and then say yay or nay, or it's a cut and paste job - both options are impossible to do by mistake.

I'm sorry there has been upset and I really hope everyone is ok but the Facebook button is an irrelevance. I think blaming Facebook misses the point and does nothing to prevent this sort of thing happening again.

exactly MissKittymiddleton

Yup, absolutely.

I'm glad this has been cleared up.

I know FB is considered evil around here, but let's not get hysterical about it. It's a website. Like MN is a website.

The real issue is this illusion that MN is private. It's not. It's an open book. And incredibly prominent on Google.

And nothing is ever truly deleted from the internet.

Instead of being afraid or wary or what have you of FB learn how it works. And how things such as 'likes' work between FB and other sites.

Learn how the internet works as well. Don't be all 'oh I'm not technical'.

It's a technical world. You need to be technical to survive.

you don't need to be technical. You need to be sensible

And put your safety ahead of your desire to be centre of attention.

Good post Tee

Absolutely Tee, yesterday i googled 'descaling kettle with vinegar' and MN was the first to come up.

I imagine that could be the case for many sensitive issues too.

I think I caused the misunderstanding. On the thread (now deleted) that was in site stuff I mentioned that I couldn't believe someone had linked it to FB - not the original thread but the one in site stuff asking about the original. Think that is where the confusion came in.

Hope that makes sense

Stick - I read that post and got what you meant, but can see that's what caused the confusion. I have sent you a PM, btw, about something different.

The other thing to bear in mind is that you don't know why someone is linking. It could be they are posting the link with "please be extra careful online." or "Have you seen this thread? Poor X"

I think if someone was up to no good the last thing they would do is click the recommend link.

I occasionally link stuff that's amused me or is interesting - sometimes I email a thread to friends I know are MNers - but I only have 22 friends on FB and I keep it private. I like Facebook but I make sure I understand what I'm using.

Stick - yes, that was it! My fault for jumping to conclusions though - I thought you meant the original had been linked and that was why it was found and withdrawn.

That, too, Valar.

But I do think too many people (and not just on MN) say 'oh I don't understand, I'm not technical' rather than taking the time to learn how things work.

Knowledge is power.

Sorry for confusing you Hilly I couldn't understand why someone had linked the site stuff thread that was all. I probably shouldn't have mentioned it, just seemed very off and of no use tbh.
I wonder if MNHQ are able to see who linked the thread?

No it's me who should apologise to you!