FORT Koffee Klatch

[Rattus]

Question: Can someone explain to me why someone would send you a friend request when it was well known that you two didn't really like each other? I've never understood that.

Facebook (which I really don't understand the point of if I have to be honest) is just another tool for the "people collector". Before technology caught up to their needs, they were those who got the phone number of everyone who crossed their path because of some fetish to show off their jam-packed phone book so that, apparently, everyone would know how popular they are. Personally I would rather have one really good friend over a thousand acquaintances and I certainly don't care what anyone thinks about my degree of popularity, but whatever gets them through the night, I guess.

[nennie]

I have very few friends on my facebook list and when one of them starts all the games and videos posting on mine I put them on hide and if I need to see what they are saying I just go to their page. Solved my problem.

[prhoshay]

So far, I've just ignored the requests. I hate fake/phony people.

[canuckinchile]

Facebook (which I really don't understand the point of if I have to be honest) is just another tool for the "people collector". Before technology caught up to their needs, they were those who got the phone number of everyone who crossed their path because of some fetish to show off their jam-packed phone book so that, apparently, everyone would know how popular they are. Personally I would rather have one really good friend over a thousand acquaintances and I certainly don't care what anyone thinks about my degree of popularity, but whatever gets them through the night, I guess.

While I agree with you for the most part, because really, who has 1,000 friends etc.? I find it a good way to keep up with my kids. They will often pop into chat, no matter where they are in the world, and so for parents it is a good way to keep in contact. I have also re-connected with a couple of really old friends on FB, and it's neat to see what they are doing now, etc. It's kind of like anything else...all good in moderation

[Critical]

While I agree with you for the most part, because really, who has 1,000 friends etc.? I find it a good way to keep up with my kids. They will often pop into chat, no matter where they are in the world, and so for parents it is a good way to keep in contact. I have also re-connected with a couple of really old friends on FB, and it's neat to see what they are doing now, etc. It's kind of like anything else...all good in moderation

I just can't be cynical about Facebook. It's helped me reconnect with dozens of people I've lost touch with over the years, including four of my closest friends from childhood who live all over the country and who I'd been looking for and couldn't find. I'm also in contact with cousins that I only really got updates on through Christmas cards to my parents. I'm in almost daily contact with my closest friends, I see pictures of children and hear daily news, instead of occasional updates through email or at holidays.

Yes, some people who use FB are "people collectors" and whatever, they're welcome to it. There are many of us though, for whom FB is a useful site that helps us connect with the people we care about. To be honest, I get tired of being made to feel like I have to apologize for using FB AND having people assume I'm a shallow nitwit for liking it.

[Gutmutter]

I'm with you Critical... when my daughter went to Italy for a semester she shared hundreds of pictures that made me feel like I was part of the experience and we managed to chat live with each other several times a week. It's the easiest way to reach all of my kids and you can easily ignore anyone. I keep up with old friends I wouldn't otherwise.

[Eastcoastmom]

I LOVE Facebook and make no apologies for it, either. I am late to the FB game, joining back in 2009, and not ever having used Myspace. I've got about 100 'friends' but truthfully a good half of those are relatives on my side and hubby's side. We have huge families. I've reconnected with friends from grade school who are scattered all over the country. Last year it was a godsend to me as I had fractured my foot and ankle and was immobile for quite some time. Some grade school friends started posting class photos from grade school and we all had a marvelous time going down memory lane. When my beloved dog passed suddenly, my FB friends sent me condolences and their memories of her which cheered me. I get to see photos of the children of my college roommates and hear what they are up to. I try to steer clear of my own sons' pages b/c although they are grown men in their twenties, they don't like it when mama posts something on their wall. I often like to post quotes which mean something to me as my status for the day. My son was in France and Italy for 6 weeks this summer and didn't want to have the added expense of international calling on his mobile phone. He shared with me what he was doing via messaging on FB as well as sharing great photos of his trip. I've made friends from other forums I belong to who live from places as varied as Peru and Vancouver. FB allows me to chat with them in real time and also to share photos and things going on in their lives that I would not be able to do on a message board.

[Critical]

A group of my friends from junior high all reconnected on FB and have planned multiple events/reunions as a result. Sadly, I'm a bit too far away to attend, but I get to see the pics! I'm hoping that one of these times, I'll be able to afford to be there in person and not just in spirit. We all talk about how happy we are to have found each other again because of FB.

About a year and a half ago, my cousin's wife was dying of cancer. I was able to keep everyone in my non-FB connected family members updated without bothering my cousin while he was going through a terrible time in his life - his daughters kept us all posted on FB.

Sure, there are some people on my friends list who I don't know all that well - they're probably trying to enlarge their friends list - but I don't care. By and large, my friends list is populated with family and friends all over the country and FB is the easiest way I've found to keep in touch with them.

[PhoneGrrrl]

I don't mind FB for the most part because my FB friends are generally witty and mild-mannered. I first joined because a good friend of mine from college was posting pics of her kids (in a friends-only mode--she's protective of privacy, obviously) and it was more efficient than emails. My dad has really taken to FB; he's almost 65 (next week) and he joined up about two years ago. Since then he's reconnected with a bunch of old friends from high school and even traveled up to Pennsylvania to have an informal, mini-reunion with them last year. Of course, I hear stories from others about the insane behavior of people on FB. Just Friday I was talking to a friend who had posted a Neko Case cover of a Dolly Parton song on FB and got flamed by a "friend" who was upset with him for crapping on the legacy of Dolly Parton. It was my daily moment of "Who does that?!?!"

That being said, my issues with FB are about their ever-changing privacy settings. There's a post over at iO9 that's updated fairly regularly that's an awesome primer on getting your settings secure.

[dagwood]

I like Facebook and am not ashamed to say I use it. I do have friends I have never met in real life, only on like. I also keep up with my family in other states that way. I got on because of my 20 year reunion, the invites went out that way. I have reconnected with friends from school. It is fun in a way.

As for the games, I just hide them when they come up. I can still see the friend but it hides all the game stuff. No biggie.