# Th'hell, Facebook? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 15, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thhell-facebook/658426 "2013-05-15T17:19:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thhell-facebook/658426/1 "2013-05-15T17:19:57Z")
I remember Facebook recently forcing everyone to a timeline-style page, whether they wanted it or not. I finally was forced late last year. Now I look at my page, and it’s no longer a timeline, but with my details on the left and my posts on the right. Did they abandon the timeline? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thhell-facebook/658426/2 "2013-05-15T17:31:05Z")
They abandoned the two-column, butterfly-ballot timeline, because it was the most incompetent user interface ever conceived. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thhell-facebook/658426/3 "2013-05-15T18:04:53Z")
So after all the willful ignorance of people’s protestations of the timelines, they only _just now_ realized they were stupid as crap? ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thhell-facebook/658426/4 "2013-05-15T18:08:11Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > They abandoned the two-column, butterfly-ballot timeline, because it was the most incompetent user interface ever conceived. You make me laugh so much. But yeah, this. They forced this incredibly stupid thing on its users, somehow not realizing it was stupid, before soon realizing that it was, in fact, stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thhell-facebook/658426/5 "2013-05-15T19:54:32Z")
Hmm - I stopped going on Facebook because I didn’t like the interface. Maybe I’ll go back. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thhell-facebook/658426/6 "2013-05-15T20:51:26Z")
It was kind of like the butterfly ballot, in a way, except that it only led us all into less than a year of misery instead of eight. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thhell-facebook/658426/7 "2013-05-15T20:56:39Z")
It’s still sort of timeline. They just nixed having the alternating view and went back to having all the info on one side, the comments on the other one. Still confusing, but not as much. I still spend most of the time in the News feed, not the home pages. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thhell-facebook/658426/8 "2013-05-16T08:52:10Z")
Did you know they also did a flip-flop on the sort by Most Recent in News Feed? It was there, then it wasn’t, now it’s back. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thhell-facebook/658426/9 "2013-05-16T14:16:08Z")
I find it hilarious that one of the biggest companies in the world – whose entire business model revolves around online experience – can’t figure out what they want their website layout to be. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thhell-facebook/658426/10 "2013-05-16T14:20:31Z")
Dude, they change the layout so that everyone can go, “Facebook’s changing their layout!” and all the people who haven’t logged on in 3 months go see what the fuss is about and boost CPMs and then some of them get back into the facebook groove for a while before falling out again and then Facebook changes its layout and the cycle starts again, lather, rinse, repeat. It’s a cynical ploy not indecisiveness. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thhell-facebook/658426/11 "2013-05-16T14:26:46Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Did you know they also did a flip-flop on the sort by Most Recent in News Feed? It was there, then it wasn’t, now it’s back. You have to watch that, it seems to change all the time. I have to change my sort back to Most Recent a couple times a month or more. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thhell-facebook/658426/12 "2013-05-16T14:31:09Z")
Get the social fixer extension and never worry about it again. My FB has been on Most Recent for about 2 and a half years now and I never have to think about it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thhell-facebook/658426/13 "2013-05-16T14:53:30Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > They abandoned the two-column, butterfly-ballot timeline, because it was the most incompetent user interface ever conceived. Good to know that I’m not the only one who was so peeved by the “butterfly” style layout. I was happy to see them nix the idea–that was the main reason I avoided clicking on anything that would force me to the “Timeline” view last year or so. Eventually, I was forced to use it, but it seemed for awhile at every turn through FB, they wanted me to click on something that would have me accept the Timeline view. I use Facebook frequently and I like it and what it’s done for my business. But I don’t understand why they need to keep meddling with it. I migrated to it over MySpace for its sparse, clean, intuitive interface. Almost every “upgrade” has made it uglier, IMHO, and only this past decision to go back improved anything (although it wasn’t so much an improvement as rolling back an ill-conceived design.)