I originally got onto Facebook so I could communicate with the students. Facebook is usually up and the university computers are usually down, so Facebook is where we live. I have Facebook groups for some courses, and Blogspot or WordPress blogs for others. As I say, I would be glad to use Blackboard, WebCT, Moodle, or whatever regular course management software you would like me to use. But if I am going to have course websites, they must be accessible; that is why I have given up on what the university has to offer.
I may have the best circle of Facebook friends anyone has or could have. This is why I enjoy Facebook. It gives me excellent news and commentary in a far more literate way than Twitter could ever dream of doing. One must, however, recognize the cheesy, AOL style atmosphere the Facebook chiefs have created, and I must say I cannot abide Mark Zuckerman.
One of the things I most dislike about Facebook is its pretense at protecting your security and privacy when it is in fact invading you and enabling invasion by others as fast as it can. Currently, it will not let me on because I am not at my usual IP address.
Well, DUH, I say. What is the point of a website if you can only look at it on one computer? I am thousands of miles from my usual IP address at this time. Furthermore, I have about six usual IP addresses. What does Facebook think? (This fantasy that one only uses one computer, in one place, by the way, is an example the cheesy, AOL style atmosphere of Facebook.)
Facebook wants me to think it is caring for me by protecting me from those who would steal my logon information — which would probably be the same logon information I use for my e-mail accounts and my bank account (wrong again, Facebook!). Really what is happening is, Facebook has changed my security settings to OPEN and will not let me on to set them to something safer.
It is asking me a security question, what is my birthday? It will not give me another security question and I cannot remember what birthday I alleged was mine when I signed up for Facebook. I certainly did not use my own, because I would never give that kind of information to Facebook.
I have searched through the Facebook forums for a solution to this matter and I can find none. I can find no way to e-mail it a question. Tell me, what should I do? Must I wait until I get back to my usual IP address to access Facebook — assuming it, by then, considers that to be my usual IP address? Can you not tell me of some magic way to get onto Facebook now? Or am I blocked, by Facebook, from “my own” Facebook account forever?
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 
Facebook is confusing. I just use it now for family and local friends. Even at that, one of my friends fills my home page with Farmville stuff, which is real nuisance.
I use it for the town I live in and a few good old friends, and it’s really good for those things. That’s why I don’t want to drop it. But at the moment, it is not letting me on, and I am irritated.
Does anyone know how to get around that security question issue, or how to e-mail a question to Facebook?
Once again, I find it ridiculous that WordPress, BlogSpot, my bank, my university, gmail, Twitter, Zotero, and I can’t think of how many others will allow me to sign on from different computers. Only Facebook will not … it assumes one is such an incompetent that one only understands one’s very own computer, which never moves … this is why I hate Facebook.
I also hate it because that way of pretending it is hyper-private and hyper-secure is so transparently false, such obvious demagoguery.
Anybody who knows me IRL and who can get onto Facebook, could you look at me there and make sure nothing odd has been added to me?