PET PEEVE

[+humboldt flier]

I am a tad puzzled why the current sign on page has Facebook in the Primary Position.

[+Mudfrog]

I am a tad puzzled why the current sign on page has Facebook in the Primary Position.

 

Noticed that too. I just don't know what the fascination is with facebook...

[+Cardinal Red]

I am a tad puzzled why the current sign on page has Facebook in the Primary Position.

 

Noticed that too. I just don't know what the fascination is with facebook...

I think it's some kind of brainwashing cult.

[+GFandZ]

I am a tad puzzled why the current sign on page has Facebook in the Primary Position.

 

Noticed that too. I just don't know what the fascination is with facebook...

I think it's some kind of brainwashing cult.

 

I am very anti-facebook and do not care for it when sites do this. Please be aware that if you sign in using facebook you are sharing your geocaching profile information with Facebook........

[+L0ne.R]

Because it's so prominent, it feels like Facebook bought up Geocaching.com.

[+humboldt flier]

Because it's so prominent, it feels like Facebook bought up Geocaching.com.

 

It has that feel to it

[+ocklawahaboy]

I refuse to use Facebook too. I did hear a comment at a local event that no one in our area relies on gc.com for event listings anymore and that they have all moved to Facebook. Geocaching.com is about as much of a social networking site as I'm interested in being involved in. If they make facebook much more involved in things, I'll have some decisions to make.

[+kenttela]

Not that it will do one bit of good, but count me among the group against facebook being the primary log on. Groundspeak should be a little more "elite" and not follow the herd.

 

I also agree that events should be handled on GC.COM. That is the proper place for that. It has no business being spread all over the world on a social network.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I also agree that events should be handled on GC.COM. That is the proper place for that. It has no business being spread all over the world on a social network.

 

Could you elaborate what you mean by "events should be handled on GC.COM"? If it's what I think you're suggesting I would disagree.

 

As an example, there is a organization that I have worked with that has a robust website and a relatively large community that uses it. One of the things they do is provide a page on their site which has a list of relevant events (conferences, workshops, training opportunities, etc.) that could be considered relevant to the community. Instead of "handling the events" as part of the web site they chose to use Google Calendar for posting all the relevant events. Because they did that I was able to write a bit of reusable code that extract Events created by this organization and aggregate the list with events from another related organization. What made that easy was that Google Calendar has a usable API for extracting events so that organization did not have to write their own and because they're using a well known Event commodity service all that data is reusable by others that might want to integrate that organizations events into their own system.

[+Max and 99]

I am a tad puzzled why the current sign on page has Facebook in the Primary Position.

 

I don't use Facebook and I really don't like the Facebook sign-in as primary on the GC sign-in page. So annoying!

 

SO glad to hear that others feel the same way.

[+humboldt flier]

As one who is peripherally involved with law enforcement in "The Emerald Triangle". F.B. involvement has been strongly discouraged ... for some very obvious reasons.

 

I have no real beef with FB being on the GC page - but consider this rather weak analogy;

 

Suppose I go on Chrysler's web site looking for one of their products and the first thing I see is a prompt to Ford or General Motors. ( just saying )

 

Why wouldn't a company tout themselves first?

[+BigChiefS4]

That's a bad analogy because GC and FB are not competing with each other.

 

If you don't want to use it, then don't use it. It's as simple as that.

[+Mom-n-Andy]

If you don't want to use Facebook to log in, then don"t! No need to get your knickers in a twist. Just log in the usual way. So what if FB's first in the list of login options? The geocaching site login form is displayed prominently right there below it.

 

I imagine that Facebook is paying Groundspeak for this. An alternative might be for Groundspeak to charge more for premium memberships, or to discontinue free memberships. Those options would bug me more than having an easily-ignoreable Facebook login option.

[+rockandroll_acdc]

Wow your right. i have mine to log me in automatically so i never notice it. But i did log off and sure enough there it was. I have mixed feelings on it. I would prefer GC from all my listing and logging finds. When it comes to GC events. Unless i missing something. It would be nice to have a page for that,

[+DragonsWest]

Because it's so prominent, it feels like Facebook bought up Geocaching.com.

 

It has that feel to it

 

A valid worry. Facebook is like some internet cancer, one which many sites appear to embrace for the following logic: Because everyone else is.

 

Remember what mum said, "If Jimmy jumped into the jaws of bone cracking, flesh rending, soul consuming death, would you do it to?"

 

Interwebs are full of idiots. I only expect the fascination to fade, as it did with MySpace. My Facebook experience is decidedly underwhelming. The interface is a massive pain to deal with, it nags me constantly and further, when I haven't logged in for a while, it sends me emails, "Hey! Hey! Yoo hoo! You have notifications! You should definitely check in to see how essential they are to your life!"

 

Facebook could fold tomorrow and I would never miss it. But for now they are a fairly well funded company buying stuff up. Hope they don't look at Geocaching ('tis a silly place.)

 

Back when I was in college I worked on a communications system for students, which aside from the web, had a lot of the same functions. So they are far from a new idea, but are simply the latest incarnation. I think there's still plenty of space for someone to develop an internet gathering place with easier functionality and less intrusive.

[+Bamilbis]

1335457061[/url]' post='5027469']

If you don't want to use Facebook to log in, then don"t! No need to get your knickers in a twist. Just log in the usual way. So what if FB's first in the list of login options? The geocaching site login form is displayed prominently right there below it.

 

I imagine that Facebook is paying Groundspeak for this. An alternative might be for Groundspeak to charge more for premium memberships, or to discontinue free memberships. Those options would bug me more than having an easily-ignoreable Facebook login option.

No way is FaceBook paying Groundspeak. It is in FB interest to get their brand all over the Internet, but they are so large with so many users that is is more in GS interest to tap into that massive scale. If I log in with FB and tie the accounts now when I find a cache it get posted to my wall. My friends see it and word spreads. It is hugely in GS interest to use FB, not the other way around.

 

 

[+Mr.Benchmark]

A valid worry. Facebook is like some internet cancer, one which many sites appear to embrace for the following logic: Because everyone else is.

 

Remember what mum said, "If Jimmy jumped into the jaws of bone cracking, flesh rending, soul consuming death, would you do it to?"

 

Your mom was more eloquent than mine, apparently!

 

Interwebs are full of idiots. I only expect the fascination to fade, as it did with MySpace. My Facebook experience is decidedly underwhelming. The interface is a massive pain to deal with, it nags me constantly and further, when I haven't logged in for a while, it sends me emails, "Hey! Hey! Yoo hoo! You have notifications! You should definitely check in to see how essential they are to your life!"

 

MySpace was sold to people who had, apparently, absolutely no idea what to do with it and more or less just sat on it. Facebook is, unfortunately (because I don't like it), much more innovative. One of the key things you really need for a site like that is activity. FB was clever to integrate games into their site, this occupies a lot of people. (This is one of the reasons I HATE FACEBOOK - I don't care if you just killed a bear in frontierville, and I am not going to join your crew in mafia wars...) Caching provides, potentially, interesting stuff to post though, so it makes sense. And it allows more people to see geocaching.com and discover caching. (Probably that's mostly a good thing - surely most people aren't crumudgeons like I am?)

 

Other reasons, other than zynga games, I hate facebook:

1. It's so awesome to read the same internet meme posted from a bunch of different people all on the same day

2. Stupid political posts - I don't care if I agree with you in general or not - most political posts I read on FB are *S*T*U*P*I*D* (Come to think of it, I think I won't log in to FB again until say February next year...)

3. Sports posts - I'm connected to the internet, otherwise how could I read FB? I can get the sports scores, it's real easy...

4. Angsty FML posts. If you are dying, have lost your job and are about to lose your home, or are otherwise hopelessly and thoroughly doomed, please post away. Otherwise, shut up.

5. Most people, turns out, are actually fairly boring. Take me for instance - I don't post much on FB because I am, in fact, really dull. You're welcome.

 

Anyway, I won't post geocaching stuff on FB because I assume most people on my friends list might well find my constant stream of "TFTC" logs to be annoying...

Edited April 26, 2012 by Mr.Benchmark

[+the4dirtydogs]

I refuse to use Facebook too. I did hear a comment at a local event that no one in our area relies on gc.com for event listings anymore and that they have all moved to Facebook. Geocaching.com is about as much of a social networking site as I'm interested in being involved in. If they make facebook much more involved in things, I'll have some decisions to make.

Pretty much how I feel too. Heard our neighbors arguing over facebook this weekend. It was pretty funny because the arguing woke us up like at 11pm. Guess his wife is on FB all the time. They shut the windows after they saw our light come on. We live so close they can hear me snore at night.

[+Mr.Benchmark]

BTW, how does the facebook integration actually work? If you are logged in to facebook under your real name, are you able to login to geocaching.com with your geocaching.com handle? Or does it use your real name? Or, conversely, do you need a facebook page with a name that matches the one you have on geocaching.com? What geocaching activity shows up on your FB wall, if you do this?

 

I realized I was pretty snarky in my last post, especially since I haven't tried the FB integration myself. Just curious as to how this actually works - maybe it's wonderful. I still won't do it because I really don't much like facebook (I tried!), but it wasn't very fair of me to blast away at this without knowing what it really does. Also, despite my misgivings, it really is pretty astute of GS to offer some level of facebook integration. This is a big deal now.

 

[+Cardinal Red]

I also agree that events should be handled on GC.COM. That is the proper place for that. It has no business being spread all over the world on a social network.

 

Could you elaborate what you mean by "events should be handled on GC.COM"? If it's what I think you're suggesting I would disagree.

 

As an example, there is a organization that I have worked with that has a robust website and a relatively large community that uses it. One of the things they do is provide a page on their site which has a list of relevant events (conferences, workshops, training opportunities, etc.) that could be considered relevant to the community. Instead of "handling the events" as part of the web site they chose to use Google Calendar for posting all the relevant events. Because they did that I was able to write a bit of reusable code that extract Events created by this organization and aggregate the list with events from another related organization. What made that easy was that Google Calendar has a usable API for extracting events so that organization did not have to write their own and because they're using a well known Event commodity service all that data is reusable by others that might want to integrate that organizations events into their own system.

Any organizaion that wants me to participate in their events will be out of luck if they only use facebook to spread the word. Period. Even if a friend would clue me in to the facebook news, there is a 99.99% chance I would boycott the event just out of spite. I hate hearing all these facebook addicted zombies just gush about it. I hate being told I NEED a facebook account. I HATE FACEBOOK. This is Groundspeek. We don't need a connection, and I'm glad a few of us are sharing our displeasure with Groundspeak.

[+Castle Mischief]

Can I opt out of the Facebook paranoia?

[+Don_J]

I am a tad puzzled why the current sign on page has Facebook in the Primary Position.

 

I don't use Facebook and I really don't like the Facebook sign-in as primary on the GC sign-in page. So annoying!

 

SO glad to hear that others feel the same way.

 

I'm not that fond of Facebook either, but I am a bit confused by what we are calling the "primary position". I see the regular "sign in" link with a Facebook button next to it. It is not required to click that button to sign in and if you don't click the button, nothing on here will be shared with there. Let those that want it, have it. No big deal.

[+Mudfrog]

I refuse to use Facebook too. I did hear a comment at a local event that no one in our area relies on gc.com for event listings anymore and that they have all moved to Facebook. Geocaching.com is about as much of a social networking site as I'm interested in being involved in. If they make facebook much more involved in things, I'll have some decisions to make.

 

Most of our local cachers use facebook like this as well so i end up missing out on some things. What's bad is that we have our own local geocaching website (maintained by one of our generous locals) but hardly anyone uses it.

[+Planet]

I am anti Facebook too, and I am afraid my CITO event this weekend is going to suffer because of it. Another cacher offered to put up a FB page for it, but I don't know if that was done. I have no idea how much food to prepare either! Geocaching.com was all the social networking I needed. Oh well. Still not signing up to have people intrude on my privacy.

[+ohmelli]

I have a FB account... and I USE my FB account... sparingly. But I like it.

I have a GC account... and I USE my GC account... not so sparingly.

Never the twain shall meet. Period. I have my computer set to keep me logged in to GC all the time. It is also set to keep me logged in to FB all the time. I'm never ASKED which way I want to log in ... and had I not read this thread I wouldn't have even known that logging in to GC through FB was an option! There are however people who LOVE their entire lives to be entwined AND broadcast to all their friends, relatives, co-workers, associates, school chums, their pastor and the local FBI! Who cares? If that's what they want... let them HAVE it! It does not affect YOU!

 

Can't we all just play nice together?

[+Mr.Benchmark]

There are however people who LOVE their entire lives to be entwined AND broadcast to all their friends, relatives, co-workers, associates, school chums, their pastor and the local FBI! Who cares? If that's what they want... let them HAVE it! It does not affect YOU!

 

Well ... not entirely. The trouble is, it seems to me, that there are people who you know who pretty much expect you to be on facebook. That is, there are sometimes social consequences for NOT being on facebook. So grudgingly, you join it, and then are stuck dealing with it.

 

I am terrible about this, and am frequently asked "hey, did you see my post on facebook?" I know of real-life friendships that have ended over this stuff. (BTW, people who contact me about their facebook postings are my second least favorite types of communication about communication. My absolute least favorite is when people call me on the phone 3.6 seconds after sending me an email, starting the conversation with "did you read my email!?!?!!!!")

 

Possibly I just need more entertaining friends on facebook.

 

Anyway, can someone who's actually tried the facebook login to geocaching.com explain, please, for those of us who are too timid to try, what happens when you login this way? Not that facts really matter in these types of discussions, but it'd be nice to hear them anyway...

[+BuckeyeClan]

 

Anyway, can someone who's actually tried the facebook login to geocaching.com explain, please, for those of us who are too timid to try, what happens when you login this way? Not that facts really matter in these types of discussions, but it'd be nice to hear them anyway...

 

Okey dokey, just for kicks, I went ahead and linked my geocaching account with my facebook account. And the big difference I see when I log in with facebook is...absolutely nothing! All the pages on geocaching.com look exactly the same; it still shows "Hello, BuckeyeClan" in the little banner, and everywhere else. It also DOES NOT change your sharing preferences from what they were. Just because the accounts are linked, doesn't mean it will automatically update your facebook status when you log a cache. I had that set NOT to share before I linked my accounts, and it did not change that setting. Near as I can tell, it is simply an alternate way to log into geocaching.com, so you don't have to remember a separate login and password. I usually only access geocaching.com and facebook from my home computer, so I usually stay logged into both accounts. I guess if I were logging in and logging out every time, this might be a handy option, but for most people I'm guessing it doesn't make a big difference. That's all it is, nothing to get all worked up over!

[+Mr.Benchmark]

Anyway, can someone who's actually tried the facebook login to geocaching.com explain, please, for those of us who are too timid to try, what happens when you login this way? Not that facts really matter in these types of discussions, but it'd be nice to hear them anyway...

 

Okey dokey, just for kicks, I went ahead and linked my geocaching account with my facebook account. And the big difference I see when I log in with facebook is...absolutely nothing! All the pages on geocaching.com look exactly the same; it still shows "Hello, BuckeyeClan" in the little banner, and everywhere else. It also DOES NOT change your sharing preferences from what they were. Just because the accounts are linked, doesn't mean it will automatically update your facebook status when you log a cache. I had that set NOT to share before I linked my accounts, and it did not change that setting. Near as I can tell, it is simply an alternate way to log into geocaching.com, so you don't have to remember a separate login and password. I usually only access geocaching.com and facebook from my home computer, so I usually stay logged into both accounts. I guess if I were logging in and logging out every time, this might be a handy option, but for most people I'm guessing it doesn't make a big difference. That's all it is, nothing to get all worked up over!

 

Thanks very much. That does indeed seem pretty innocuous. I still don't love FB, but this seems like a non-issue.

[AZcachemeister]

WELCOME to facecaching...errr...geobooking...ahhh...twitbooking...hmmm...

 

Today you don't see any difference, and so you have been lulled into a false sense of complacency/security.

 

Can I use my Geocaching ID to log into Facebook?

 

Hmmm, why not?

[+J the Goat]

My absolute least favorite is when people call me on the phone 3.6 seconds after sending me an email, starting the conversation with "did you read my email!?!?!!!!")

 

 

My big one is the people who don't answer when I call their cell phone but when I send a text immediately afterwards (leaving a message of sorts) they text me right back. On occasion it's situation appropriate, but I have friends who just won't answer their phones. Drives me nuts.

[+ohmelli]

My absolute least favorite is when people call me on the phone 3.6 seconds after sending me an email, starting the conversation with "did you read my email!?!?!!!!")

 

 

My big one is the people who don't answer when I call their cell phone but when I send a text immediately afterwards (leaving a message of sorts) they text me right back. On occasion it's situation appropriate, but I have friends who just won't answer their phones. Drives me nuts.

 

I have KIDS that will not answer their phone! I was FORCED to learn text messaging to be able to communicate with them! And I am a slooooooooooooooooooooow texter!

[+Mudfrog]

Anyway, can someone who's actually tried the facebook login to geocaching.com explain, please, for those of us who are too timid to try, what happens when you login this way? Not that facts really matter in these types of discussions, but it'd be nice to hear them anyway...

 

Okey dokey, just for kicks, I went ahead and linked my geocaching account with my facebook account. And the big difference I see when I log in with facebook is...absolutely nothing! All the pages on geocaching.com look exactly the same; it still shows "Hello, BuckeyeClan" in the little banner, and everywhere else. It also DOES NOT change your sharing preferences from what they were. Just because the accounts are linked, doesn't mean it will automatically update your facebook status when you log a cache. I had that set NOT to share before I linked my accounts, and it did not change that setting. Near as I can tell, it is simply an alternate way to log into geocaching.com, so you don't have to remember a separate login and password. I usually only access geocaching.com and facebook from my home computer, so I usually stay logged into both accounts. I guess if I were logging in and logging out every time, this might be a handy option, but for most people I'm guessing it doesn't make a big difference. That's all it is, nothing to get all worked up over!

 

Thanks very much. That does indeed seem pretty innocuous. I still don't love FB, but this seems like a non-issue.

 

I'm not a computer guru by any means, i sure don't know how everything works with the internet, and i'm not a paranoid person. But, i have read a few things about facebook and how it uses it's cookies. Type in keywords "facebook cookies" into your favorite search engine and you'll see some of the articles that come up. Some of the pages may simply be opinions and paranoia but there are a few that go into more detail on how facebook cookies work. Yeaaa, i know that tracking cookies are everywhere but if any of the articles are halfway true, then it seems facebook uses them a bit differently than most sites.

[+BigChiefS4]

You can't believe everything you read on the Internet...just what we need is more FUD.

[+kenttela]

What???!!!! I can't believe everything I read on the internet???

 

You mean to tell me all that money from Nigeria isn't coming? The guy on facebook swore to me it was all true.

[Andronicus]

My absolute least favorite is when people call me on the phone 3.6 seconds after sending me an email, starting the conversation with "did you read my email!?!?!!!!")

 

 

My big one is the people who don't answer when I call their cell phone but when I send a text immediately afterwards (leaving a message of sorts) they text me right back. On occasion it's situation appropriate, but I have friends who just won't answer their phones. Drives me nuts.

 

I have KIDS that will not answer their phone! I was FORCED to learn text messaging to be able to communicate with them! And I am a slooooooooooooooooooooow texter!

Get a phone with a slide out keyboard (sorry, iPhone dosen't have one. Look for Samsung)

[+DanOCan]

Most of our local cachers use facebook like this as well so i end up missing out on some things. What's bad is that we have our own local geocaching website (maintained by one of our generous locals) but hardly anyone uses it.

We have the same issue in our area. Our local FB page has fractured the conversation so some it takes place on FB and some on our local forums. If you don't keep up with both you're missing some of the conversation.

 

Both methods have their advantages. Since I'm using FB on a regular basis anyway it's easy to see new postings without having to make a specific effort to check the forums. Also, my experience has been that since people on FB are using their real names (for the most part anyway) the conversation tends to be more civil than when using forum nicknames.

 

The forums are better for discussions because you can quote posts and keep your comments more in context.

 

I haven't seen any situations where events were created on FB and not listed on gc.com, unless it was some sort of gathering that would violate the gc.com guidelines such as "We're getting together for no other purpose than caching." Many times the gc.com events will have a corresponding FB page for sharing things that are more commercial in nature and verboten on gc.com.

 

We had a recent discussion and there seems to be a divide as to which people prefer. From what I can see, the newer cachers (typically the younger demographics) prefer to use FB and the veterans still like the forums.

 

As for the FB logon integration? I'm fine with it. It's the way things are going. All the attempts at creating that single source of truth for Internet authentication (such as OpenID) have failed whereas FB signon is actually making inroads.

[+Straight-Cache-Homey]

I don't like to use my Facebook login for anything other than Facebook. I have a VERY uncommon last name, of which maybe 15-20 in the US have that we know of. We assume we are related to everyone with my last name since it is so uncommon. I'd really rather not have my name all over the Internet if I can help it.

[+Castle Mischief]

I don't like to use my Facebook login for anything other than Facebook. I have a VERY uncommon last name, of which maybe 15-20 in the US have that we know of. We assume we are related to everyone with my last name since it is so uncommon. I'd really rather not have my name all over the Internet if I can help it.

 

I don't think it actually does that and the good news is that you don't have to.

[+Straight-Cache-Homey]

I don't like to use my Facebook login for anything other than Facebook. I have a VERY uncommon last name, of which maybe 15-20 in the US have that we know of. We assume we are related to everyone with my last name since it is so uncommon. I'd really rather not have my name all over the Internet if I can help it.

 

I don't think it actually does that and the good news is that you don't have to.

I understand that that's not the case on this site, I was referring to the Facebook login in general on most sites. Commenting with FB posts your name and profile picture, etc. It's annoying when some sites don't give you the option.

[+DragonsWest]

What???!!!! I can't believe everything I read on the internet???

 

You mean to tell me all that money from Nigeria isn't coming? The guy on facebook swore to me it was all true.

 

Reminds me of a quote from about 50 years ago, "If it's in the news, it must be true!" None other than Bullwinkle Moose (and Jay Ward )

[+BCandMsKitty]

That is really irritating!

Get FB off the login windows, or at least put it down in the corner somewhere!!

[+bladesedge]

Topical New News always goes top left corner. Its prominent to let people know they can use it instead. In time I'm sure it will be in a less prominent position.

 

Putting it there has done it's job - you all know you can log in via FB now. If it was a tiny button underneath you might not have taken any notice as thats where FB alternate logins always hide. In 3 months time you might have notice it was there when you were sure it never used to be.

[+Turtle_Sask]

I don't care if they want my age and what not I just don't want on my news feed on FB saying like "Michael found "cache forever" go out there and find it with Michael today!" I have noticed other sites like yahoo that you don't even integrate with facebook and if you read an article they post under your name saying you read that article, and when you go to your profile it is not there so you cant delete it.

[+Indy.Sparkles]

I think its a great idea. If it bugs you... get over it and log in the normal way. Like its been said... what if they charged more for premium or discontinued free memberships? I think this is a stupid concept for people to get all angry over. I have a caching facebook group even!!

[+Dan2099]

I think its a great idea. If it bugs you... get over it and log in the normal way. Like its been said... what if they charged more for premium or discontinued free memberships? I think this is a stupid concept for people to get all angry over. I have a caching facebook group even!!

 

I agree with you. So what they linked to fb a social networking site, geocaching can be a social activity...I have a fb account but it's not linked to my geocaching account but I do post pictures of cool finds and talk about it on their, it's also got a few of my friends out playing which I think is a good thing.

[ll JK ll]

I ignore the FB login button every time I visit GC.com.

 

I have a FB account, but use it sparingly. Mainly it's for sharing pictures of my daughter with family and getting updates on bands I like and products I use. I do not obsess over it like a lot of people, and I totally agree that it's sad how some people use it as a soapbox for their problems or to post endless memes from the internet.

 

It doesn't bother me that GC.com allows FB login, and from their perspective it makes a lot of sense to buddy up to the social networking giant because of FB's vast user base.

[+ByronForestPreserve]

I think stuff like this will eventually harm FB. I stopped visiting the site because of all of the automated posts...Runkeeper, Pinterest, articles, and so on. I hardly see "real" posts anymore, just a list of my friends' histories generated by third-party logins. Likewise I'm sure my friends don't want 30 notices in a day from me that I found geocaches (not that I would ever set it up that way). Seems that FB is getting further and further away from its entire purpose for existing. Or maybe it's just morphing and this is the kind of stuff people want to know about each other???

[+TL&MinBHIL]

Groundspeak wants to tap into the nearly 1 billion user base that occupies facebook. Why, because they want more members here for their own revenue. Here's the catch 22...many people here who say it's great and tell you to stop complaining and just get over it will eventually be complaining about the influx of newbies (and in their minds, bad caches) that facebook brings.

 

I've noticed the hard push to get free members to upgrade to Premium, more so than ever before. I log in now and see a big yellow "Upgrade to Premium" button under my username. A pop-up appears pushing me to upgrade. We're now enticed with Google Maps for Premium members. I get it, they're here to make money, but that Premium membership carrot is being dangled in front of our faces like never before. I get the feeling there's a lot of changes on Geocaching's horizon.

 

Can I opt out of the Facebook paranoia?

As per facebook's typical policy, by default you are opted IN by facebook themselves. In order to opt out, you'll have to dig through a mess of privacy settings to discover the opt out option buried deep within.

 

WELCOME to facecaching...errr...geobooking...ahhh...twitbooking...hmmm...

Be careful. The Zuck likes to send his team of ruthless lawyers against anyone who tries to use "face" or "book" on the internet.

 

Anyway, can someone who's actually tried the facebook login to geocaching.com explain, please, for those of us who are too timid to try, what happens when you login this way? Not that facts really matter in these types of discussions, but it'd be nice to hear them anyway...

 

Okey dokey, just for kicks, I went ahead and linked my geocaching account with my facebook account. And the big difference I see when I log in with facebook is...absolutely nothing! All the pages on geocaching.com look exactly the same; it still shows "Hello, BuckeyeClan" in the little banner, and everywhere else. It also DOES NOT change your sharing preferences from what they were. Just because the accounts are linked, doesn't mean it will automatically update your facebook status when you log a cache. I had that set NOT to share before I linked my accounts, and it did not change that setting. Near as I can tell, it is simply an alternate way to log into geocaching.com, so you don't have to remember a separate login and password. I usually only access geocaching.com and facebook from my home computer, so I usually stay logged into both accounts. I guess if I were logging in and logging out every time, this might be a handy option, but for most people I'm guessing it doesn't make a big difference. That's all it is, nothing to get all worked up over!

 

Thanks very much. That does indeed seem pretty innocuous. I still don't love FB, but this seems like a non-issue.

 

I'm not a computer guru by any means, i sure don't know how everything works with the internet, and i'm not a paranoid person. But, i have read a few things about facebook and how it uses it's cookies. Type in keywords "facebook cookies" into your favorite search engine and you'll see some of the articles that come up. Some of the pages may simply be opinions and paranoia but there are a few that go into more detail on how facebook cookies work. Yeaaa, i know that tracking cookies are everywhere but if any of the articles are halfway true, then it seems facebook uses them a bit differently than most sites.

Facebook tracks your online activity, even when you're not logged into your fb account. Even when you don't even HAVE a fb account. Any website with a "Like" button tracks your activity to an extent. In the past, facebook's cookies tracked YOU, the specific facebook user, during your online activities. When you logged out, they designed their cookies to alter in such a way that it was still able to track you specifically, not just some anonymous internet surfer. Facebook has come out recently to say they've changed this to be less intrusive. Whether they have or not has yet to be seen. Frankly, I don't believe a word they say because their business is personal data, period. Without it, they have no business. The only sure fire way to avoid this is to manually delete facebook's cookies every time you log out. Or use certain browser extensions available for Firefox & Chrome that blocks their ability to track you. Mudfrog mentioned there doesn't appear to be any difference when linking your Geo acct. to your FB acct. I can almost assure you that there is a difference. Facebook most assuredly gets something out of it and that something is data in some form, which is what they value most. Now that they've gone public, they have one primary goal...to appease shareholders. To appease shareholders, they must make more money. And to make more money, they will find even more ways to become more intrusive into our private lives to gain that which they desire...personal data. I know I make it sound a tad dramatic, but their business is data and selling that data to advertisers.

Edited May 31, 2012 by TL&MinBHIL

[+DonB]

I also agree that events should be handled on GC.COM. That is the proper place for that. It has no business being spread all over the world on a social network.

 

Could you elaborate what you mean by "events should be handled on GC.COM"? If it's what I think you're suggesting I would disagree.

 

As an example, there is a organization that I have worked with that has a robust website and a relatively large community that uses it. One of the things they do is provide a page on their site which has a list of relevant events (conferences, workshops, training opportunities, etc.) that could be considered relevant to the community. Instead of "handling the events" as part of the web site they chose to use Google Calendar for posting all the relevant events. Because they did that I was able to write a bit of reusable code that extract Events created by this organization and aggregate the list with events from another related organization. What made that easy was that Google Calendar has a usable API for extracting events so that organization did not have to write their own and because they're using a well known Event commodity service all that data is reusable by others that might want to integrate that organizations events into their own system.

Any organizaion that wants me to participate in their events will be out of luck if they only use facebook to spread the word. Period. Even if a friend would clue me in to the facebook news, there is a 99.99% chance I would boycott the event just out of spite. I hate hearing all these facebook addicted zombies just gush about it. I hate being told I NEED a facebook account. I HATE FACEBOOK. This is Groundspeek. We don't need a connection, and I'm glad a few of us are sharing our displeasure with Groundspeak.

Amen! +1

[+The_Incredibles_]

There are however people who LOVE their entire lives to be entwined AND broadcast to all their friends, relatives, co-workers, associates, school chums, their pastor and the local FBI! Who cares? If that's what they want... let them HAVE it! It does not affect YOU!

 

Well ... not entirely. The trouble is, it seems to me, that there are people who you know who pretty much expect you to be on facebook. That is, there are sometimes social consequences for NOT being on facebook. So grudgingly, you join it, and then are stuck dealing with it.

 

I"m on Facebook, mostly so my family knows what I"m up to. I do add people if requested, but tend to delete them quietly months later.

 

Facebook can be really annoying sometimes. Like people who do not want to spend time with you, never call you, but want to be your Facebook friend so they can see what you're up to.