One particular form of Facebook crap: (mild)

See, in the year and a half or so since I finally decided to go on Facebook, much of it has been wonderful. Just recently I’ve reconnected with three woman friends, two of which are now out of town. And that’s just one example.

Now, here’s something I can do without:

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10300233_704482279587234_4561199787554770810_n.jpg?oh=cda20896ab4a6d095391d920bd7f4153&oe=54F01B2B

And here is one comment I spotted that sums up my feelings well enough, although it may have been tongue-in-cheek:

“I feel Like [sic] I’m being bullied into reposting this.”

Another unwanted type of post is the “soft” emotional blackmail of asking for a “hug” and then saying you will know who will and who won’t.

I could go on to something political, something where a complex issue is reduced to a supposed no-brainer (with a suggestion that if you don’t repost you are just a coward). But this post is long enough as it is. And I’d rather see some responses first.

I KNOW that my SDMB friends here will respond if they see this OP. Those that see this but ignore it… WELL! You aren’t really my friends, are you? Or maybe you are just afraid???

:rolleyes:

Chain letters have evolved and adapted to the e-world.

This one is probably a parody of those types of memes, but is just as annoying.

If you’re really a friend to them, you’ll repost it, it takes a second of your time. Or not. Then they’ll know who you really are

I refuse to repost things like this, I hide them immediately and if they come repeatly from one particular person I hide them too.

Reposting shit like this does nothing for whatever the problem is. Getting out in the community and actually, y’know, DOING something is what’s needed.

This is what I usually add: “This type of emotional blackmail is cyber-bullying, and passing this along doesn’t help any of the people mentioned in the story. Don’t succumb to guilt trip glurge like this.”

Or you could just add a comment to their timeline about how fucked up they are for buying into any bullshit FB sign that tries to beg, bully or shame you into re-posting it.

Friends don’t let friends re-post bullshit.

Next time one of those hits my FB feed I’m going to quote you Bubbadog!

I just scroll past. Works beautifully.

I’ll go you one better - I don’t do Facebook.

Regards,
Shodan

Yeah, well, I don’t read books. Or look at faces.

I don’t even have a face. Just a paper plate with holes poked in it.

How we used to long for a paper plate with holes in it. But to no avail - we had to rely on tree bark, with knotholes in it.

And we were grateful for it!

Regards
Shodan

Tree bark? Luxury!

We used mud, and needed to hope it would dry and crack in a pattern that resembles a face.

Piss-shit bleeding-heart garbage is piss-shit bleeding-heart garbage.

If doing so seems relevant I respond with a link to All About Facebook ‘Like’ Scam Posts.

Mud? We dreamed of mud. We had dust, and had to etch our faces into it before the tornadoes took it away.

Well, we had it tough. We had to work twenty-seven hours a day down at t’mill for tuppence a year, grinding rocks into dust with our teeth, and when we got home in the evening, our dad would flog us to death with his 1970s-style death ray.

If I’ve learned nothing else from this place, it is that I have a fellowship with Monty Python-quoting people from all over the world. That is quite enough to take away from here and fill me with a warm fuzzy glow.

That had not occurred to me. There seems to be a “Poe” factor here.

Well put!

I like this too. (Hmm! Can’t get away from using that word.)

Thank you! A very useful site, with its own excellent links outward. :slight_smile:

Yeah–meme posts are interesting. “Meme” itself is an incredibly appropriate word, for three reasons:

  1. Straightforward–a meme is a self-propagating idea, and these posts are able to propagate themselves by hijacking humans’ sensations of guilt and community. They’re cool little non-alive parasitical beings.
  2. Etymological: “meme” comes from a Greek word that means “Imitate.” A synonym for “imitative” is “like.” And what do these posts want you to click? “Like”! Okay, maybe you think that’s a stretch–but I’m just getting started.
  3. English: when I see these posts, I imagine the person posting them saying, “Me! Me!” and desperately begging for attention.

Okay, now I’m done.

Of course, a true Monty Python fan would know (and a true Doper would tell you) that the Four Yorkshiremen sketch actually comes from At Last the 1948 Show. :stuck_out_tongue: