Facebook Hypothesis: Intel Domesticates the Internet

[JackRiddler]

It doesn't matter who owns it. It doesn't matter who thought of it first, or who made the best movie about it, as clearly that's already been made, without much room for a sequel.

This is what it has become: an attempt, steered in part and as best as intel can claw its way in, to domesticate, to render controllable, if not altogether harmless, the promise that was Internet.

We all get the Internet we deserve, and right now that's Facebook. Idiots.

Discuss.

[8bitagent]

I can barely remember life before myself and every single person I know was addicted to facebook on a daily basis

[82_28]

This is why I do not "facebook" and never ever will. I've gotten a number of people to "close" their accounts with my persuasion.

If you have a business, it is good and I have seen some of the fruits of that. However, as a sole soul, no human should ever offer themselves like that to a database of popularity and reminisces. I've used my GFs account to look up some people and get in touch old skool (via "electronic mail"), but anything I can do to avoid databasing and persuade others to not be databased themselves, I do. But, it's a losing battle. I realize.

If I'm thinking it and it's entirely peaceful in intent, I've come to realize, is potentially criminal. Anything to overturn any kind of rooted cart, says I. Don't do what they say. Do the opposite. Do nothing to harm. Do nothing out of violence. But disagree vehemently when push comes to shove. Where was the movie about the dude who invented email?

Exactly.

It's domestication. Nobody will ever know the history about how this great global and verging on interplanetary network came about. It shall be portioned out to them via time spent doing nothing, thinking nothing and never getting to know the unknown humanity and environment around them.

And, even when you do meet them in real life, they still fall back on the familiar algorithms, the hatreds of no importance, the differences of opinion, in which they can be gods in their own right. RI has a bit of that these days, and it is sadly, disturbing. Discussion, shooting the shit, bantering, debate are out and depends on what is acceptable. You are affiliated with your algorithms and nothing more.

I say fuck that shit and intend to carry on.

[Stephen Morgan]

Seems to have pretty much killed off myspace, after that was purchased by Murdoch too, and Bebo and the like which used to be the in-thing with people I know.

I've never used any social networking site and never intend to.

[crikkett]

It doesn't matter who owns it. It doesn't matter who thought of it first, or who made the best movie about it, as clearly that's already been made, without much room for a sequel.

This is what it has become: an attempt, steered in part and as best as intel can claw its way in, to domesticate, to render controllable, if not altogether harmless, the promise that was Internet.

We all get the Internet we deserve, and right now that's Facebook. Idiots.

Discuss.

My ISP doesn't do telnet anymore. Any suggestions for non-google-based access?

[coffin_dodger]

Weapons for sale on Facebook in Libya BBC News 6 Apr 2016

A new study suggests there is a growing market in the illegal trade of guns and weapons in Libya via social media sites, in particular Facebook.

The report covered 18 months and found sales of a wide range of items - from handguns to rocket-propelled grenades.

Most were offered for sale on "closed" or "secret" Facebook groups.

The illicit sale of guns is a violation of Facebook's terms of service, and a spokesperson said they encourage people to report any such postings.

cont - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-35980338

can someone who is on Facebook explain this to me - for it makes no sense to me.

If these weapons were offered for sale in "closed" or "secret" Facebook groups, how would anyone other than a co-conspirator in such weapon sales gain access to the "closed" or "secret" groups to be able to see and "report any such postings" to facebook?

Surely the only people with any kind of access to these groups are those in the secret groups - and Facebook themselves. And by extension - is Facebook turning a blind eye to this? Or enabling it?

*edited to add : or maybe Facebook just hasn't got a clue what's happening on it's foreign language subsiduaries
*edited again to add : gotta love the subtext too - 'behold the Western Wonders we give to these people - and look what they use them for! Savages!'

[tapitsbo]

I've heard that folks who tried making their own meshnets (serious ones) were targeted pretty viciously. Then there are the hacker deaths, etc.

[justdrew]

Weapons for sale on Facebook in Libya BBC News 6 Apr 2016

A new study suggests there is a growing market in the illegal trade of guns and weapons in Libya via social media sites, in particular Facebook.

The report covered 18 months and found sales of a wide range of items - from handguns to rocket-propelled grenades.

Most were offered for sale on "closed" or "secret" Facebook groups.

The illicit sale of guns is a violation of Facebook's terms of service, and a spokesperson said they encourage people to report any such postings.

cont - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-35980338

can someone who is on Facebook explain this to me - for it makes no sense to me.

If these weapons were offered for sale in "closed" or "secret" Facebook groups, how would anyone other than a co-conspirator in such weapon sales gain access to the "closed" or "secret" groups to be able to see and "report any such postings" to facebook?

Surely the only people with any kind of access to these groups are those in the secret groups - and Facebook themselves. And by extension - is Facebook turning a blind eye to this? Or enabling it?

*edited to add : or maybe Facebook just hasn't got a clue what's happening on it's foreign language subsiduaries
*edited again to add : gotta love the subtext too - 'behold the Western Wonders we give to these people - and look what they use them for! Savages!'

well, it says these people got "the dada" ...

The report was commissioned by the Small Arms Survey, and used data collected by Armament Research Services (ARES) ... one of the report authors Nic Jenzen-Jones from ARES ...

Presumably, they did it by setting up fake accounts and getting those accounts into the groups, probably by asking around for an invite.

I wonder if anyone told them setting up fake accounts is ALSO against facebooks community standards?

[82_28]

Shhhhhhhhh. My account is fake. I use it mainly to keep up with a select few including Mr. Wells, Mr. Rex, Mr. NeonLX, Mr. Blisset, Mr. 8bit etc. I have a strict self-imposed rule that I don't look anyone up from my past unless they're super good friends. RI people know it is me, 82_28. 8bit and Neon and I live chat quite frequently.

But yeah, fake account.

[zangtang]

meshnets targetted viciously & hacker deaths ?

[NaturalMystik]

When I first discovered Facebook, I declared it game changing and told everyone that would listen. After the rise and ruination of EMAIL, Facebook was the new killer internet app. I found it was amazing the rate that old friends and estranged family could reconnect, and become part of each others lives. As my peer groups started catching on, it was incredible how many new people would find it each day. It's the ultimate online game. Collect friends, keep your network happy and buzzing, harvest enough network approval and support to motivate yourself to keep playing. You can't really argue that facebook relationships are the same as real world interactions, but I still think it plays a pretty important role in fostering some sense of togetherness and inclusion. However... The negative side of this is folks prone to depression can easily be triggered, because all they see all day long is all there friends and family doing awesome things, having much more fun than them. It's a highly sculpted and produced version of each persons life.

All that aside, when you start digging deeper, behind the game... There's a lot of scarey sh!t going on behind the curtain. It's created a whole new world of online ad targeting, personal data mining, fraud, hacking, predictive behavior analysis etc... Now when you factor in some of the financial involvement of some Alphabet agencies, government agencies, hackers, terrorists, etc, it gets quite frightening...

For a long time I've been imaging a dark future for the internet, where you first must log into the Facebook before you can do anything else. All of your traffic and business will be accountable to that Facebook profile. I have some amount of faith that the white hat hackers will always have a workaround, and there will always be a 'darknet', but I'm sure the TPTB are gunning for the former.

[NeonLX]

I may pull the plug on my Facebook page. This shit is scary and shit.

My name and my ugly mug are front and center. I could create a fake one and contact only the people I know, as 82_28 has done.

Most days, I get friend requests from gorgeous young women. They are all fake. I'm not sure what the people who create those pages are after, but I ain't playing.

[82_28]

Yeah. I don't click on shit if I don't know already who you are. Even then, the above names are a sample of all I care to read. If they repost someone else's link or whatever I don't add the originator to the "list".

[coffin_dodger]

justdrew said:

well, it says these people got "the dada" ...

The report was commissioned by the Small Arms Survey, and used data collected by Armament Research Services (ARES) ... one of the report authors Nic Jenzen-Jones from ARES ...

Presumably, they did it by setting up fake accounts and getting those accounts into the groups, probably by asking around for an invite.

Sorry to be a pedant, but that still makes no sense to me.

"Presumably, they did it by setting up fake accounts and getting those accounts into the groups, probably by asking around for an invite"

Are you suggesting that the civilians from ARES set up fake accounts on Libyan Facebook, 'asked around' amongst Libyan Facebook users, then posed as buyers of illicit guns to get into these groups, then monitored numbers being bought and sold, across Libyan Facebook, without Facebook's tacit agreement? The same Facebook that is a part of the Security Apparatus of the US, that will constantly be monitoring any fucking thing said on Libya Facebook. Does anyone seriously believe that Facebook doesn't have wide-open access to look at 'secret' or 'closed' groups - that are being hosted on Facebook servers operated by Facebook/CIA staff & algo's that look for exactly this kind of thing!

This entire story stinks. But then, most do.

[NeonLX]

Yeah. I don't click on shit if I don't know already who you are. Even then, the above names are a sample of all I care to read. If they repost someone else's link or whatever I don't add the originator to the "list".

Check yer messages...