Facebook. Does it represent the general public?

[Jesda]

http://www.facebook.com/toyota

Read some of the posts from both supporters and detractors.

Until a few years ago, the internet was the domain of a few, fairly intelligent people. I used to be able to get on a Usenet Newsgroup and send someone a money order for some electronics and actually expect to get the item shipped to me. Sometimes, C.O.D. was used to ensure payment. There were rarely disputes or widespread scams. Computer geeks and other types of hobbyists and enthusiasts had a trust.

This was before retards sold scuffed rims as "like new" on NICO, before pop-up ads, and before Nigerians went after the elderly.

It was slow-moving, but it was paradise. I credit the Old Internet with developing some of my political ideology and improving the way I communicate. I sought out communities populated by interesting people with interesting ideas. [..and p0rn.]

Outside of AOL, you had to have a semblance of knowledge to plug in a modem, get your TCP stack working, punch in your TCP/IP settings, and connect to your ISP. And before the internet, you had local BBSes and ham radio.

Maybe its the decline of education, or maybe the presence of a keyboard and cheap communication has enabled the previously ignored members of the population to speak loudly. Say goodbye to spelling and punctuation. Say hello to stencents that run on like dis wif no perids or nutn just typin as mah brain spews stuff cuz my momma did crack lol hahaha hey bebby girl how u doin i jus got deez new tats

It takes the same amount of effort to type intelligently as it does to spew nonsense. Actually, it must be MORE challenging to convert phonetic verbal diarrhea to a new kind of made-up language on the fly. If it takes more effort to look like an idiot, what's the point?

The internet. Its like a bad neighborhood that I can't fix or abandon.

[numbnuts240]

tl;dr

[Eikon]

remember when facebook was for college students only... was highly private and secure and some website called MySpace was king of the idiots and social predators.

[OriginalWheelman]

The problem is simple. The internet has a large population. Because of this, people will almost always find someone who agrees with them. As soon as people find someone else who agrees with them, they feel validated in their opinion. So the internet has empowered the stupid.

[Murdered_T]

Say goodbye to spelling and punctuation. ....... stencents

[krash]

couldn't have said it better myself. I hate people that type like they have down syndrome. Seriously, 1t t4k3s m3 tw1c3 a5 l0ng t0 typ3 l1k3 th1s, and 1 d0nt 3v3n s33 th3 damn p01nt.

And what the hell is up with this "&&" bs?? You don't say "and" two times in a row, or any word for that matter. Take that and your "lls" bulls*** and shove it.

[MinisterofDOOM]

On the subject of facebook: I'm highly irritated by the fact that everyone automatically assumes I have a facebook page. I don't. I won't. I'm not going to friend you. I'm not going to make a facebook page just so you can friend me. Get lost.

[Murdered_T]

couldn't have said it better myself. I hate people that type like they have down syndrome. Seriously, 1t t4k3s m3 tw1c3 a5 l0ng t0 typ3 l1k3 th1s, and 1 d0nt 3v3n s33 th3 damn p01nt.

And what the hell is up with this "&&" bs?? You don't say "and" two times in a row, or any word for that matter. Take that and your "lls" bulls*** and shove it.

Leet speak was invented by the same people that were mostly in the beginning of the internet. The same people that Jesda is crediting. It was used as a code to throw off newer members of the internet. I am not saying I like it I am just stating some info. I think it is retarded also. Sometimes the && is an unknown character, as in someone is sending or typing in a font that your computer does not recognize.

[numbnuts240]

On the subject of facebook: I'm highly irritated by the fact that everyone automatically assumes I have a facebook page. I don't. I won't. I'm not going to friend you. I'm not going to make a facebook page just so you can friend me. Get lost.

^this. every person i meet immediately brings this crap up. "do you have facebook?" no, asstard. i no long want the entire f***ing world knowing all of my business. hey, if i like you, i may grab your e-mail. i'm almost guaranteed to not like you enough to grab a phone number.

[Murdered_T]

I use facebook to promote myself to advertisers and fight promotions. Is that ok?

[szh]

You young'uns.

I have been actively using "the Internet" (was called "ARPAnet" back then and only connected universities to the government agencies associated with DARPA) since the days when every machine you wanted to reach had to have an entry in a hosts listing file.

In those years, I have watched the world change - not just the communications networks we use. Dramatically!

We went from simple text e-mail and file copying to Usenet groups to the graphical web as we know it today. Dial-up BBS's went to forums. Simple informational web pages went to video-enhanced sites providing everything you could possible want to know about that site.

At the same time, the number of connected systems has grown exponentially to many, many millions of computers.

As a direct result, use of the Internet has emerged from the domain of "geek use only" to where it is a necessary informational tool for everybody, including novices. With the increased usage comes the increased access by the folks who are simply there for whatever purpose it suits them. They bring along their ideas, good and bad grammar, freedom to say whatever they want, good and bad language, sophistication and idiocy, etc., etc., etc.

But, most importantly, it will continue to change - at an ever-increasing pace! And, in ways that we cannot realize yet. And affect us all directly and indirectly. Many economic and business and communications and human interaction models will adapt, break or be abandoned. What is important is for us to adapt and change with it.

Bad neighborhood? No. Think of it as an open, giant, all-encompassing information open library and communications forum where anyone and everyone can participate.

Choose to take what you want out of it. And ignore the rest.

Z

[Ghostdrifter88]

^this. every person i meet immediately brings this crap up. "do you have facebook?" no, asstard. i no long want the entire f***ing world knowing all of my business. hey, if i like you, i may grab your e-mail. i'm almost guaranteed to not like you enough to grab a phone number.

you have my phone number

[RCA]

All I know is, Facebook before it allowed every one to join was ok. A good way to stay in touch with the people you went to school with and a great way to find people you know on campus. NOW any and every as*hole uses it.

NO, I don't want to go see your bandNO, I don't want to join your FarmvilleNO, I don't plan on going to your event

It's frustrating...

[numbnuts240]

you have my phone number

obtained in true creeper fashion, might i add. it was mostly because you're hot

All I know is, Facebook before it allowed every one to join was ok. A good way to stay in touch with the people you went to school with and a great way to find people you know on campus. NOW any and every as*hole uses it.

exactly. that's why i say no to social networking sites. i guess being an active member of an online forum kind of contradicts that statement, though...

[MinisterofDOOM]

Yeah, but the forum serves other purposes beyond just sharing the details of your life with random internet robots. NICO has taught me a LOT about the cars I own. Certainly today I post a lot talking to the friends I've made here, but NICO is a car forum first. I'm *really* here to answer peoples' questions and ask my own. The socializing is an optional bonus and not the entire point.

You don't join NICO with the intent of posting desceptively-angled pics of yourself to impress random internet strangers. You join NICO because you have a Nissan. That alone means we get a different attitude in our posts. It creates an entirely different atmosphere. One is internet whorage, the other is talking cars with car people.

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

So when do you think the internet will mutate into a Superbrain AI and take over the world?

[krash]

Leet speak was invented by the same people that were mostly in the beginning of the internet. The same people that Jesda is crediting. It was used as a code to throw off newer members of the internet. I am not saying I like it I am just stating some info. I think it is retarded also. Sometimes the && is an unknown character, as in someone is sending or typing in a font that your computer does not recognize.

Yea I get it. But I just don't see what the problem with english is. N talkin lik dis in a wai dat you hav 2 think twice b4 u type anyfin is also pretti retarded.

[Jesda]

So when do you think the internet will mutate into a Superbrain AI and take over the world?

More like an overweight muscular retarded kid.

[seang]

You don't join NICO with the intent of posting desceptively-angled pics of yourself to impress random internet strangers. You join NICO because you have a Nissan.

Nico is a motley place.

the internet has empowered the stupid.

Remember, THE BUMS WILL ALWAYS LOSE!

I have a facebook, but I limit what I put on there to superficial stuff. My friends already know me, so they don't need a bunch of extra info like how f***ed up I am, or every minute detail; they already know how f***ed up SeanG is . It has been useful in finding people from my past - which can be a blessing or a curse depending on the angle I look at it.