As someone who never had a FB account and who closed my twitter account in 2008, I can validate that this makes life better.
Social networking is too much trouble to be worth it. Best to do it the old way and have coffee with friends.

No Facebook here, either, just Twitter. I've started nuking people I follow, particularly when all they post are links to their Tumblr. One, I don't want to click through before even knowing if it's something I care about. Two, the only people who use Tumblr are teenagers or teenager wannabes.

So what I gather from the article is that I should unfollow Carrot Top on Twitter?

No FB or Twit account here, but since the new "Notes" feature popped up on Fark, I've been deleting favorites. My test is simple...the first time I see someone in green #3 that I haven't seen in a while I ask myself why I favorited them in the first place. If I can't recall the reason, I unfavorite them. They didn't know they were favorited in the first place, so they won't feel badly when I unfav them.

Of course, I've added new favorites since the 'notes' system was put in place, and each of them has the specific reason appended. The inevitable result is that my fav list will start growing again, since I'll no longer be able to use the "I can't remember why I favorited them" excuse to unfav them, but I'll deal with that if and when it becomes an issue.

No facebook, no twitter, no linkedin, no myspace.

It was only in the last few months that I broke down and started registering accounts to make comments.

/unbowed, unbroken, unrepentant Web 1.0

Sweet, another "I'm to cool for those things" thread.

It's "you're cool", not "you're okay"

Depends. I used my imaginary friends to help edit poetry and short stories.

Most of my fellow Twits are industry professionals, so...

I purged my Facebook account a year or two ago. I'm down to less than fifty now, and they're only people I know well and have had real conversations with.

I realized one day that one of the 'friends' was from high school, and I only added him so I could look at his pictures and hoped he was still failing at life. And it clicked: that's probably the only reason the farker added me, too.

It's become a lot less cluttered and much more tolerable.

Flappyhead: Sweet, another "I'm to cool for those things" thread.

I'm so cool I don't even use the internet

I don't even know what a Twitter is.

I was on FindaPix until the site went down. You've probably never heard of it.

Now I'm just on Fark.

WayToBlue: It's "you're cool", not "you're okay"

This.

There's also an "I'm out" at the end.

Get your classic movie quotes correct or avoid them completely.

rev. dave: As someone who never had a FB account and who closed my twitter account in 2008, I can validate that this makes life better.
Social networking is too much trouble to be worth it. Best to do it the old way and have coffee with friends.

Amen!

This article is, simply, beautiful. It's been so damned difficult to explain to acquaintances that, no, I don't maintain a social networking presence, and even if I did, I wouldn't "friend" you - not because I don't like you, but because you're just somebody I know.

I have a small pool of friends. These are people from whom I avoid asking anything, because they would do whatever I asked - and I would do likewise. They value my company - not who I am, what I have, or what I can do for them. Frighteningly enough, I talk to them. Like, in person. I write them letters, by hand, because that way they know I took the time to think about them and what I'd like to say to them. My friends are special to me.

The asshat in Hyderabad who wants to send me a job posting for an unrelated gig in Virginia (I live in Washington)? The moron scraping my personal info so he can push some grotty plastic geegaw? The twit running eight different Facebook accounts just so they can get the "ULTIMATE FARM!" that wants me to play in that same level of hell just to send them virtual items? The dickhead who last saw me in high school, more than two decades ago, and hasn't spoken to me since? The idjit pushing their "conservative cause du jour", and wants me to sign a petition to ban Sharia law in Alaska?

They're not my friends. I don't want to know them. I don't want them to know me. I'm not antisocial - my friends and coworkers see me as gregarious, and typically interesting to be around - I'm just anti-parasite. Social networking is still too exploitative to be of use to me.

FormlessOne: They value my company - not who I am, not what I have or what I can do for them.

FTFM

Why?

I'm antisocial as the next person, but I'm not proud of it. It's a mental disorder, not a path to enlightenment. Get over yourself.

I don't use Facebook or Twitter. I have some friends that are on a telnet-based Talker program running NUTS 2.3.0, and if anyone needs to get ahold of me they can do so there. They may need to unblock a port, but that's relativity simple.

/doesn't need to be told that he's doing it right

StingerJ: No Facebook here, either, just Twitter. I've started nuking people I follow, particularly when all they post are links to their Tumblr. One, I don't want to click through before even knowing if it's something I care about. Two, the only people who use Tumblr are teenagers or teenager wannabes.

I have a Facebook yes, although I'm not sure feeding it gibberish and using it as a known insecure single sign-on service is quite what they'd intended. I have a Google+ as well but I couldn't tell you what, exactly, I'm supposed to do with it.

I have a fair few acquaintances who I play video games with and are on my steam list, but why would I want to tweet, wall or circle a friend when I could just pick up the phone, talk to them and arrange a night out in a more direct way?

I must ask. WTF is Tumblr?

Re: headline

You're CofC and you're okay, you're CofC and you're okay, you're CofC and you're okay - heyy, you're not CofC!

Nope, but I'm Rotary!

/obscure
//I defy you to find it

Ed Finnerty: OMG I SIGNED UP FOR SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES AND NOW PEOPLE WANT TO INTERACT WITH MEEEEEEEE!!!1! POST EVERY TRIVIAL ASPECT OF THEIR LIVES SEEKING VALIDATION FROM PEOPLE THEY DONT EVEN TALK TO

ftfy

Barakku: Most of my fellow Twits are industry professionals, so...

You work for Leo LaPorte?

Or you can be like me and check facebook for like 5 mins a day and leave it at that. Twitter? Not me, but if you follow a band or celebrity I guess its fine.

I'm cooler than all of you. I'm so cool I don't even have a Fark account to tell you how cool I am for staying away from social networking sites.

Or even better...
Just DON'T do it.

I presently have none of these accounts. I did have a FB account but wiped it after one of their more absurd privacy policy changes though I don't recall the exact details.

I don't hate Facebook: It really was nice and handy to keep in touch with friends far and wide. But so is email or a cell phone.

StoneColdAtheist : My test is simple...the first time I see someone in green #3 that I haven't seen in a while I ask myself why I favorited them in the first place. If I can't recall the reason, I unfavorite them. They didn't know they were favorited in the first place, so they won't feel badly when I unfav them.

I only favorite hot nerd girls, so it's easy for me to remember.

rev. dave: As someone who never had a FB account and who closed my twitter account in 2008, I can validate that this makes life better.
Social networking is too much trouble to be worth it. Best to do it the old way and have coffee with friends.

Good idea, I'll call my sister in Australia, other sister in Texas, daughter in Oklahoma and friend in Germany and see if they want to meet up for coffee this afternoon.

A lot of people take Facebook way to far but it's a great way for keeping in touch with friends and family when you can't see them in person.

It turned out that all of my friends were (not so secretly) idiots.

Poke this.

neaorin:
Seriously, if you aren't able to turn a blind eye to online stuff you don't care about, how do you even manage to be on Fark?

Ignore lists the likes of which even god can't imagine?

I have facebook, most of us do, but this article only applies to those that feel a compulsive urge to add people left and right.

otherwise, it's the perfect venue for passively keeping in touch with people you've known from work, class, and other areas in addition to more actively engaging with your best friends and significant others.

look, Facebook is what you make of it, just be responsible and don't use it as your only means of social life.

FormlessOne: I have a small pool of friends. These are people from whom I avoid asking anything, because they would do whatever I asked - and I would do likewise. They value my company - not who I am, what I have, or what I can do for them. Frighteningly enough, I talk to them. Like, in person. I write them letters, by hand, because that way they know I took the time to think about them and what I'd like to say to them. My friends are special to me.

Same here. I have lots of acquaintances, but only a handful of friends. Sometimes may not see them for years at a time, but once you see them again, there are no pretenses and you can get down to BSing and having a good time.

The most I've ever asked of any of them was to pick me up at the airport (when I go to see them) and I do likewise when they come to visit.

Facebook is a great way of telling me where my ex-girlfriend isn't going to be.

Every once in awhile, I think about setting up a FB or Twitter account. Then I read articles like these and "poof" those thoughts disappear in a puff of logic. I came close to dropping Google over Buzz, but it's so darned useful having a Google Calendar tied into my phone.

I think most people have a very hard time turning down friend requests, and are similiarly afraid to unfriend anyone, so they take the easy way out and let their friend list balloon into a bloated festering carcass of inanity.

NaziKamikaze: WayToBlue: It's "you're cool", not "you're okay"

This.

There's also an "I'm out" at the end.


Get your classic movie quotes correct or avoid them completely.

Looks like that's been fixed for you.

I am proud to say that (most) of the folks I follow on Facebook, Twitter, and G+ (yes, I actually use G+) are people that I actually interact with on a regular basis, either in real life or via the internet. I'd say less than ten percent are folks like Felicia Day, Wil Wheaton, the Mythbusters, Marian Call, and so forth; folks that I actually do pay attention to but have very little chance of actually interacting with, save perhaps for a minute or so at a convention.

<CSB> Actually, at a local con my brother and I spent a good five minutes talking to Herb Jefferson, Jr. when we spotted that he was wearing a U.S. Navy command ballcap. Dude's pretty awesome, and does a lot with the USO as well, which we found out when it was mentioned that we - my brother and I - were both veterans. And then there's the fact that a lot of the nuBSG actors are awesome folks. Mike Hogan is a party animal; found that out at DragonCon '09. And a buddy of mine ended up having breakfast with Eddie Olmos and his family during day one. Guy was sitting, eating at the food court in BSG BDUs, and heard someone ask if they could join him at his table. Look up, and it's the godsdamn Admiral himself. </CSB>

Why?

I don't use twitter, because I just don't have the interest. But I use facebook.

It's fairly mindbogglingly simple to unfollow everything, set everyone to 'no, really, don't post this to my wall', and then manually re-add people I actually care about. Took me a half hour the only time I've had to do it.

Having people collecting dust isn't a big deal, it's a motherfarking digital storage system. And if I get froggy and WANT to talk to an old buddy, I can just...search my friends list. And message him. Or see if he has a number or IM or email listed and contact him that way.

If you don't want to use it, fine, whatever. But don't act like having a huge and useless buddy list is some sort of sign of dysfunction.Though I just checked and I have less than 200 friends, so I probably don't qualify for the list anyway.

Don't have FB or Twit, don't have anything, don't follow anyone. Its not because I'm trying to be cool or hip, it's that I just can't be arsed. If I wanted to see a mate, I'll go see them face to face, spark up a fat one and have a pint with them. Can't do that over the intraweeb (well, you can, sort of, but it's not the same (and you can't shag them when they've passed out))

But one you gain momentum,

Stumble.


/I hate you all. except you, you're cool

ftfa:"Have you had sex with this person?
You might again someday. Do not unfriend.

Do you hope to someday have sex with this person?
Keep 'em. You never know."

Yeah, that.

I don't have FB. I've considered getting Twitter, but I can't imagine who(whom?) I'd want to follow. I'll just stick with FARK for now.

I deleted my Facebook account last month, and only use twitter for following the latest news without tweeting anything (Though, sometimes I use it as a poor man's long distance texting. IE: Direct messages to my friend in England since my phone is simplistic in nature). Yes I have Google Plus, but I only ever use it for the hangout feature. I don't share anything there, and only have one friend I follow so I can hangout with them. Since everyone else I know on there has stopped using it ages ago. :P

Who I follow on twitter.

NASA

Space X

BBC Breaking News

Wired

New York Times Science

Etc.

You get the idea.

I don't regret it, the people who are most important to me I talk to on a regular basis. They can call, e-mail, or whatever if they have something worth saying. Otherwise its not all that important what I'm doing, or they're doing every second of every day.