Facebook is one of the most popular, if not the most popular, social networking sites.
Yet it's a strange 'place'.
Fake accounts are plentiful, many promoting porn sites...I often report such profiles but everytime I get back from Facebook that they do not infringe Facebook's "community standards"... whatever the hell they are.
It has taken huge efforts to get race hate pages removed from Facebook..... which again causes one to question what exactly are the "community standards" that Facebook hold so dear?
Yet post too many times in Facebook groups and you'll have restrictions placed on your account.
Post the wrong type of content on your timeline, and you'll have restrictions placed on your account.
You'll be told that you've infringed Facebook's "community standards" but never get any detail.
You are, occasionally, given an option to lodge an appeal. But if you're given the vaguest notification of why your account has been restricted how can you lodge an effective appeal?
There is no phone number for customer support. So your chances of making contact with a human are pretty much zero.
Facebook are known to actively seeking to manipulate the mental health of users. They were caught doing experiments in 2012. Yet claim to be concerned about the mental well-being of users.
In placing restrictions on user accounts they could also be placing additional distress upon the user which would have a negative effect upon the user. Especially if prolonged restrictions on posting on the users own timeline and commenting on user posts.
Should an organisation with as many users as Facebook have not be made to account for the effects of restrictions place in users?
There are also business or income effects to be considered.
Many users use Facebook groups to sell items. When Facebook restrict users from posting in groups there is a direct impact on the finances of such users.
For many of Facebook users this has become a valuable source of income. Should Facebook be held to account for the hardship placed on these individuals?
It is clear to me that...
if you value freedom, Facebook is not the ideal platform.
if you rely upon social networking sites for income, Facebook is not the ideal platform.
if you value your mental health, Facebook is not the ideal platform.
There is a need for an alternative platform with clearer guidelines and a policy which is easy to understand and follow.
