I want to join Facebook but be safe?

[achjimmy]

I hate Facebook (sorry to the followers) but with kids activities, events  etc its getting difficult to live without which IMO sucks. So my question to the sane and levelheaded Swaggers is , any tips on signing up that keeps my info to a minuim?

[Variflex]

Quite simply, there's only as much of your info on Facebook as what you put on there.
It certainly is a handy tool for keeping in touch with friends, family, events etc

[xcvator]

You can't  but you can minimise the damage that can be done. I use the simple aproach, would I stand on my roof with a megaphone and announce to the world what I was putting on FB, if the answer is "NO" then don't put it out there 

[Nay-DMAX]

What has already been said put only what you want on there and if you do start and FB account you can go in to your privacy settings to limit what people who are not your friends on there can see

[SteveandViv]

I agree. Be very frugal with what you share. Do not put in phone numbers or addresses and set the settings to safe. If it is for the kids and they want there own (Our 12 year old does) then tell them that you MUST be friends with Mum and Dad, i not then you will block Face Book (If you need a hand with that let me know) IF you notice stuff happening the just un-friend that person immediately.

[achjimmy]

Thanks, I signed the Misses up first ,    turned all the privacy settings on but in that minute still got a friend request from some stranger Fcuk there's some losers in the world?

Signed her up for the footy team home page and we will see how we go.

[achjimmy]

I agree. Be very frugal with what you share. Do not put in phone numbers or addresses and set the settings to safe. If it is for the kids and they want there own (Our 12 year old does) then tell them that you MUST be friends with Mum and Dad, i not then you will block Face Book (If you need a hand with that let me know) IF you notice stuff happening the just un-friend that person immediately.

Thanks Steve

I might add we had a incident with face book some 3 years ago resulting in my eldest getting into some biff. After that I blocked FB on the router and it killed there impetus for it early. But as above I can see now it has become necessary to find out sh1t like is the game on today or can I go back to the shed and continue to strip the Warn down 

[TheTaylors]

I had an incident on facebook a couple of years ago, where someone accessed my photos, they were not on my friend list and I thought I had the privacy settings on.
I have just rejoined after 3 years, and check my settings weekly, as facebook very kindly updates it's settings regularly and you do sometimes need to reset your 'stuff' to private.
Unfortunately, the f book is good for keeping in touch with friends and family, but do be careful about what you put on there.
Good luck.

[SteveandViv]

Thanks Steve

I might add we had a incident with face book some 3 years ago resulting in my eldest getting into some biff. After that I blocked FB on the router and it killed there impetus for it early. But as above I can see now it has become necessary to find out sh1t like is the game on today or can I go back to the shed and continue to strip the Warn down 

Cool. The best thing we did was that they had to be our friends. I'm like you, hate it with a  passion.

[Chippy76]

Facebook is only as bad as you make it ..... I currently have less than 50 friends. and my rule is that my friends are people Id like to sit down and have a beer with.  I dont beleieve facebook is evil, only the people that perpetuate the stupidity on it.

I have a 13 yo son ... he doesnt have a FB account. However when he does his mother and I will be his first friends. We will also have access to his passwords etc etc.  He knows the rules on using the internet in our house (the computer is in the lounge where we can all see, and innapropriate  sites are blocked)

Dont be scared of the technology. We love FB as a way to stay linked to our family who live interstate. and with the correct safeguards it is a great tool.

Cheers Chippy

[JCAT]

Something you might want to consider is signing in under an assumed identity, a pseudonym if you like, that way only the people you want to friend can easily find you.

Had an issue a few years back with a Victim of Crime trying to friend me. That crushed it for me, no more Facebook.

My wife and I used the same account and found all we were doing was lurking around reading about what other people were up to. There is a term for that I believe. My other pet hate is when people post negative crap all the time bagging one thing or another.


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[Brucer]

Privacy on Facebook is a contradiction in terms. If you really value privacy then you'll steer well clear of Facebook. Even with the privacy settings all set conservatively, Facebook data mining can figure out more about you than you could possibly imagine. Everything you put up; posts, photos, videos belongs to Facebook to do with as they please. Even if you trust Facebook there's the array of apps developers that can mine your information for their own purposes.
I'm not saying don't use Facebook. It's really very cool and undeniably useful, but if you are still a Facebook virgin then think about whether you really want to join the flock. Getting off it is not as simple as it should be. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Facebook

[Socks]

Facebook is only as bad as you make it ..... I currently have less than 50 friends. and my rule is that my friends are people Id like to sit down and have a beer with.  I dont beleieve facebook is evil, only the people that perpetuate the stupidity on it.

Totally agree. I recently defriended a whole lot of people and now only have people who I actually know. I can't see the point of being friends with people who I don't know or who I used to know but don't know now. Make sure you have the privacy settings string and you'll be ok. And don't post stuff you don't want the public to see. Keep it light

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[DaveR]

My tip is this, if you allow it on your phone, make sure the settings of your phone are such that it wont link everything together. My world was turned upside down by someone linking every different thing together on my phone, and it was the biggest hassle. I had a separate work email, private email, back up email for junk sign ups and then FB, nothing was linked until a Telstra smarty pants "Fixed" it for me.
If the above happens, your phone numbers are viable on FB

They change the settings a lot, so keep an eye on it.

[Bird]

if you worried about people seeing stuff you dont want public then pull your modem off the wall and throw it out..

The only way to be 100% safe, is not to have your info on the interwebs..

[Vk3bq]

You should also invest in a tin foil hat!

[fuji]

Something you might want to consider is signing in under an assumed identity, a pseudonym if you like, that way only the people you want to friend can easily find you.

Had an issue a few years back with a Victim of Crime trying to friend me. That crushed it for me, no more Facebook.

My wife and I used the same account and found all we were doing was lurking around reading about what other people were up to. There is a term for that I believe. My other pet hate is when people post negative crap all the time bagging one thing or another.





Hmmm sounds like Myswag

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[Tjupurula]

Facebook is the lovely place where my daughter was referred to as a "stinking black coon" and advised to get her "boong a..e" off the internet.  Not something I would recommend to anyone.  She just thanked them for the advice, and has not been on that site since.
Regards
Tjupurula

[MarkGU]

if you worried about people seeing stuff you dont want public then spend a bit of time in your privacy settings( and check it once a week or so). no one but who is on my friends list can see anything i post. 

[shrek4]

The thing is, like all people, there are some good and some bad. The downside to people using social networking is that often the 'keyboard warrior' effect is too strong. That is to say, they write or post things on the internet that they would never actually say or do in real life.

I think ruling out the access to such a tool like Facebook based on the actions of one idiot is a darn shame.

Personally, I am on Facebook but I limit the people who are 'friends' with me to people I actually know and wish to interact with (the latter rules out me not having a number of my family as FB friends  ).

I ensure my privacy settings are high and regularly review them. I am a Assistant Principal in a high school and often have students look me up on the internet (they're clearly bored) and they find precious little from Facebook. They have more success from forums such as these esp. when they figured out my number plate is the same as my forum name here and saw the myswag sticker on my Pajero  .

Point is, I'm quite fine with what I put on the internet, I'm very concious of my online activities and the digital footprint I leave. Facebook is a useful tool to connect with family and friends. Nobody sends emails or letters these days. They all do it via Facebook. If I didn't access Facebook I'd be on the out. I love seeing photos of my nieces and nephews and I access some Facebook groups which are like mini communities such as this.

So, yes it can be a good thing and if you're not aware, can also be a pain. Like everything in life do your research before you jump in with both feet. If in doubt ask someone for help. I'm happy if you want to shoot me a PM, but no, I won't FB friend you 

[Frostd]

I totally agree with what MarkGu and Shrek4 has said.  I first got into Face Book, when we moved from Blue Mountains to Northern NSW 4 years ago, simply to keep in touch with friends back in Sydney and across Australia.  Being in the business, I am in, you have to have your security settings set to the highest and check them regularly, as FB often changes them to the default setting.  Check your name by logging off FB and doing an internet search on you name & Face book, if your name comes up and you can see posts/photographs, your security settings are not strict enough.  Only friend those people you know, or have been referred to by others you trust. My daughters are on FB, but as Steve said, be a friend and follow up on their security settings.  I sit down with the girls and ask them who their friends are on FB.  FB can be a great way of finding friends, who you have not seen for many years.

[dazzler]

Keep in mind that a lot of young en's dont post on facebook as much as instant message each other (the thing in the bottom corner).

I heard this is where a lot of the inappropriate stuff takes plus and even being friends with them wont let you see it.

I have FB for extended family and a few close friends.

[achjimmy]

Thanks again all. As mentioned signed her up and will see how it goes. Consider myself relatively tech savvy but I just don't like certain things about Facebook and i knew i would get good sensible banter here about. At this stage we are not going to friend anyone, if we want to know how they are going or how the hols were I will call or write. Just want it for school and sport sh1t.

You are pretty much screwed today with what ever you put on the Internet. I thought pretty hard originally about even posting stuff about my cars and gear here and on other forums. But in 5 years its been pretty good and when I sold the Paj my thread on it actually helped as the guy had followed and admired the build and knew the cars providence! It was a easy pleasant sale.

Tjupurula that's just abhorrent and another thing I hate about modern day Communication. If you are really so inclined say that to somebodies face and deal with the physical consequences, can you still spear people mate?

[Frostd]

Don't forget to tag the Myswag Facebook site.

[achjimmy]

Don't forget to tag the Myswag Facebook site.

Not SWMBO 's she might be able to keep an eye on me ?