Facebook removes regional networks, revamps privacy settings

http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=190423927130

by _pius • 17 years ago

27 18 17 years ago

blog.facebook.com

ajg19772• 17 years ago

"Regional networks are hugely popular... so we've decided to remove them".

modeless• 17 years ago

I really like this about Facebook. They're not afraid of change and are willing to make decisions that are unpopular with users but ultimately improve the service.

makmanalp• 17 years ago

The part you omitted is the meat of the argument

ashu• 17 years ago

But omitting it makes it a pointless but sensational one-liner. Win! :/

ajg19772• 17 years ago

But there's no real argument, just a flimsy assertion that this will somehow allow people to better control their privacy.

The inference is that often people are unaware that a network such as "Los Angeles" has millions of users and thus are inadvertently sharing their private data with strangers. Frankly, I call bullshit.

If Facebook was serious about my privacy they would a) Create a single page for security instead of the current maze of pages, b) Change the defaults for new content to just "Friends" and not "Friends of friends", c) Make it far easier to find how to remove yourself from Friends/Fans/Groups than it currently is.

Apart from a), which has been mentioned before but never materialized, you won't see these happening because they go against the interests of Facebook, and Facebook seems quite fearless when it comes to upsetting their users.

jsz0• 17 years ago

Facebook has way too many users for regional networks to be useful in its current iteration.

joshwa• 17 years ago

... and therefore essentially meaningless.

ivankirigin• 17 years ago

They've grown beyond their intended purpose

bumblebird• 17 years ago

The regional networks were pretty useless. Putting the whole of the UK in the "London" group? :/

smh• 17 years ago

Even worse, they put Southampton in the "Portsmouth" group.

whereareyou• 17 years ago

Not long ago Facebook added the option to browse by city, which was a great improvement. When I travel I always look for friends in whatever city I am in. I don't think that removing regional networks will affect this...at least I hope not!

zaidf• 17 years ago

If privacy was the reason for removing regions, why not just remove any privacy stuff associated with regions instead of removing regions all together? Facebook without region info will look awkward. No longer would I be able to visit a city and in a click see friends I should hit up.

machrider• 17 years ago

Of course, the real privacy issue with Facebook is the applications: http://pjf.id.au/blog/?position=590

nsfx• 17 years ago

"...and create a simpler model for privacy control where you can set content to be available to only your friends, friends of your friends, or everyone."

Hopefully they'll keep the more granular privacy settings, e.g., "Allow everyone except these people", e.g., "View your profile as Person X".

Facebook removes regional networks, revamps privacy settings

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