The recent Facebook debacle...(and Ravelry too)

Over the past few weeks I have been sorting out the number of websites I subscribe to. It was all getting a bit much there for a while and I wanted to take stock and clear out the virtual clutter! You know sometimes when you feel like there's too much going on in your head to cope with? It was bit like that....too much to do, too many log-ins to remember, too many places to go and update profiles, too many message boards and too much time spent in front of a computer!

So, while I was taking stock I left a number of sites, including Ravelry and Facebook. Ravelry was too all-consuming for my liking and after a couple of upsetting spats in the message boards (where, recently, the levels of personal attacks and bitchiness seems to have reached fever pitch) I've decided not to use it any longer. I'm a sensitive soul. The I Knit Ravelry group is still going strong with almost 1500 members, and Gerard is still an avid user, but I haven't been on the site for a month now and it's amazing (and a little sad) how much better I feel for it. I still have my log-in to update anything in the group if need be, but I'm prone to taking things personally and I can do without having to worry about where the next sideswipe is coming from when we've got enough on our plate at the moment as it is.

One of the side effects of leaving Facebook, temporarily, as I sorted some things out was that our Facebook Group was taken over by someone else. With a complete deletion of all of our information, events and message boards, the group is now under the control of someone called Birol Metin and is now an anti-Guantanamo Bay group. Even if you agree with the sentiment, you can't agree with the wholesale hijack of a group with 850 members. If you are in the group please use the 'report this group' link to do so then leave....and join our new Facebook Page instead!

There's little chance of the group being restored. Contacting Facebook in itself was a trial which took about 10 days and I have just had the response that, basically, it's not their problem, the group wasn't hijacked; I left so it's fair game for anyone to come along and message all of our members and change anything they like. You'd think that after the recent debacle over Facebook's change of terms and the backlash they had they would be a little more helpful and responsive. I'm amazed they think it instils any kind of confidence in using the site at all. I'm staying on there as I do find it entertaining and useful to keep up-to-date with friends etc but I'm deleting any photos and personal info as I simply don't trust them to protect it.

It's been a bit of a rant today, but it's better out than in my head. I need all my headspace to remember my online passwords and PIN numbers.

Craig