# Somebody splain Facebook (and its add-ons) to me **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 8, 2008, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-splain-facebook-and-its-add-ons-to-me/476198 "2008-12-08T02:59:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-splain-facebook-and-its-add-ons-to-me/476198/21 "2008-12-08T14:48:33Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > Or maybe you want different things than what Facebook offers, which I think is more personalized and based on pre-existing relationships rather than meeting strangers. This is it. I’m already in touch with my friends. My reason for an online presence is networking. My MySpace page concentrates on one of my two major interests and I want to meet people with similar interests. I find MySpace is easier to use for this purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-splain-facebook-and-its-add-ons-to-me/476198/22 "2008-12-08T14:54:51Z")
Facebook has surpassed MySpace in daily volume. Facebook attracts all ages. I’m just sayin’… ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-splain-facebook-and-its-add-ons-to-me/476198/23 "2008-12-08T15:28:18Z")
So interesting that this popped up today. I just became a Facebook member on Friday and am totally addicted. I was surprised, though, not to be able to find an “about” section or tutorial anywhere. Does one exist and I’m just not looking in the right place? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-splain-facebook-and-its-add-ons-to-me/476198/24 "2008-12-08T16:26:59Z")
My kids (all grown) invited me to join because they all frequent it and it keeps them in contact with each other. So I joined. But all those apps just make me leary about adware and spyware intrusions, so I never click on them. Otherwise, it helps me stay in touch with them all. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-splain-facebook-and-its-add-ons-to-me/476198/25 "2008-12-08T16:33:20Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > So interesting that this popped up today. I just became a Facebook member on Friday and am totally addicted. > > I was surprised, though, not to be able to find an “about” section or tutorial anywhere. Does one exist and I’m just not looking in the right place? I just joined yesterday. There’s a help link at the very bottom of each page. It includes a “getting started” guide. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-splain-facebook-and-its-add-ons-to-me/476198/26 "2008-12-08T19:25:59Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I can live without that though. Plain white backgrounds are easy to read. But I want there to be something there to read. This may be a reflection of your friends and how they use it. When I first got Facebook, it was boring and not very useful. I had like 50 friends, none of whom seemed to update really often. I checked it once a day, for about five minutes. Now I’m in school and have 200 friends and many of them use Facebook a LOT. We write back and forth about what we’re studying and how far we’ve gotten in the econ problem set and post pictures and comment on them. I have it open a lot now, and use its chat feature all the time. I don’t even have MySpace. (Well, I made a page once, but I’ve never used it.) It looks so damned horrible, I can’t stand it. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-splain-facebook-and-its-add-ons-to-me/476198/27 "2008-12-08T22:02:47Z")
Thanks for the responses, all! It’s a weird, ongoing mystery to me. One friend has sent me five dishes from the potluck. OK, I sent something back. Now what? They unlock more dishes…but ultimately, what? She keeps throwing snowballs at me; maybe I’ll just catch them and not throw any back. Won’t that be fun?! Confession: I had a wild hair up my ass when I started, so I set the language for my page to “Pirate.” And I went as a pirate for Halloween, so… Anyway, navigating around the arrrplications etc. adds to the mayhem. Sometimes I go in there, look at all the junk awaiting me, and just abandon ship. ---
**Author:** ![Bacon\_Salt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@Bacon\_Salt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bacon_Salt)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-splain-facebook-and-its-add-ons-to-me/476198/28 "2008-12-09T00:47:23Z")
Is too much, let me sum up. > [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > One friend has sent me five dishes from the potluck. OK, I sent something back. Now what? They unlock more dishes…but ultimately, what? Ultimately, it’s just a silly timewaster. Or a useful add-on to your procrastination toolbelt. “I could work on this paper on heraldic symbolism in 1500s France or… I could Superpoke everyone in my friends list.” You could arguably ask the same of a wide open sandbox game or a flower garden or reproduction. > [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > She keeps throwing snowballs at me; maybe I’ll just catch them and not throw any back. Won’t that be fun?! Well, that’s the “risk” you take with these sorts of applications. Also, I didn’t know there was a Pirate language option until just now. It’s awesome! ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-splain-facebook-and-its-add-ons-to-me/476198/29 "2008-12-09T01:18:47Z")
> [@Bacon\_Salt](#): > > Is too much, let me sum up. > > Ultimately, it’s just a silly timewaster. Or a useful add-on to your procrastination toolbelt. “I could work on this paper on heraldic symbolism in 1500s France or… I could Superpoke everyone in my friends list.” You could arguably ask the same of a wide open sandbox game or a flower garden or reproduction. I can imagine teenagers having the energy and enthusiasm for “figuring out” what it means, I guess. > [@Bacon\_Salt](#): > > \ > > Also, I didn’t know there was a Pirate language option until just now. It’s awesome! I like it for the alleged personality it gives me, but remembering what everything means (and having no experience with the site in English), it’s confusing at first. BTW **Bacon** , there’s some sort of “forum” in there that’s discussing which terms to use for the language, so to speak. E.g. “Abandon ship”=log out/sign out, “Mateys”=friends, etc. They also must use some sort of program that changes some text automatically because it lists months like “Januarrrrry.” ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-splain-facebook-and-its-add-ons-to-me/476198/30 "2008-12-09T03:43:41Z")
Update: Of the two women who are pelting me the most, one just sent me “elfyourself.” So I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if the message said, “X just sent you and 20 other people elfyourself”?’ Doper ADD moment: double quotes inside single quotes? I don’t think I’ve ever done that before…it’s correct, isn’t it? Anyway I went to _her_ profile. It says, “X just helped build Armies of Snowmen for 20 friends.” But any mention of elfyourself? No joy. So she’s on…I’m messenging her. I have no idea what I’m about to say… ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-splain-facebook-and-its-add-ons-to-me/476198/31 "2008-12-09T04:32:26Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Facebook looks boring. It’s just a white page and a list of friends. I go to a friend’s page, and I see a plain white page with ‘So-and-so is a fan of This Thing.’ My MySpace page has biographical information I wish to share, video clips, music, a black background that I could change to wallpaper if I wanted to, comments from friends, and so on. > > And yet I keep hearing how much ‘better’ Facebook is. I’m not seeing it. Yeah, that’s exactly why Myspace is campy and annoying as hell. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-splain-facebook-and-its-add-ons-to-me/476198/32 "2008-12-09T05:37:35Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > I can imagine teenagers having the energy and enthusiasm for “figuring out” what it means, I guess. I don’t have a facebook (okay, I do, but I’ve logged on a grand total of once, just to see someone else’s). But let me say this with authority: Teenagers will go through any trial, use any means, and figure out any needlessly complex application or website UNLESS it is directly related to something they have to do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-splain-facebook-and-its-add-ons-to-me/476198.md?page=1)