Even worse are the people why post, "In the new year, I'm going to pare down my friends list. Please don't take it personally if I unfriend you -- I am just limiting my circles to those I feel close to. If we haven't interacted in a while and would still like to hear my daily musings, please comment on this post or like it, and I won't cut you."

This is usually followed up by a post reading, "If you're reading this, congrats! You survived my January Facebook purge!"

If you want to cut down your friends list, just do it. No need to publicly assume that your posts are SO interesting that people will be bitterly disappointed when they find they are no longer your "friend."

Facebook is a tool. I use it mostly for RSVPing to events and creating events these days -- and for keeping tabs on events and workshops being held by those in my hobby communities. If you're feeling emotionally damaged by it, deactivate your account, by all means, but no need to throw a diva fit about it.

My wife has always complained about FB.

First it was "No I'm not on FB!"

Now it's "Man! Do I spend a lot of time on FB!"

If it wasn't for FB I would not be exposed to great poetry like this:

"The Italian chef that died?

Did you hear about the Italian chef that died?
He pasta way.
We cannoli do so much.
His legacy will become pizza history.
Here today, gone tomato.
Sending olive my prayers to the family.
His wife is really upset. Cheese still not over it."

I use Facebook because I really want to know what my friends two states away had for supper. And what their kids looked like when they left for school this morning. Or their political leanings on every single issue.

Without Facebook, I'd have no way of knowing these things.

The nasty thing about Facebook is how strangers can post anything they like on your page, which will then come up for anyone who Googles your name. It's like having a TV newsman following you around.

Fortunately, nobody has to join.

What's facebook?

(although, it is kind funny that spellcheck considers "facebook" to be misspelled and that it should be "Facebook" with a capital F)

I'm with Charles. I'm not on Facebook and I don't really 'get' the concept. But unlike Bob's wife I don't complain about it or consider it a badge of honor I'm not on there.

After all, I have a MySpace account . . . I think. I don't know the password anymore, or the user ID. It only had a picture of a cat I don't own on it. I remember I had to get an account. But for the life of me I can't remember why.

Ah, Facebook...
My favorite posters tend to be:
-People who think that sharing or commenting on something is going to get them some money (or blessings, or whatever) Because, you know, Wal-Mart is going to give you a $500 gift card if you re-post this.
-People who routinely announce that they're quitting facebook. They never do.
-People who post messages about unfriending people who don't re-post messages about unfriending people
-People who post pictures of their food.
-People who post selfies regularly. (Nobody is so good looking that I want to see what they look like every day. And you look stupid when you do Kissy Face.)
-People who let us all know that if you disagree with XXX position on XXX, they don't want to be your "friend." (No problem, b*tch, I didn't like you anyway)
-Whiners, complainers, and sh*t-talkers
-Moms who post way, way, way too many pictures of their kids. (Oh, look! Hannah loves the swing! Oh, look! Hannah loves Cheerios! Oh, look! Hannah unraveled the toilet paper! And all before lunch!)

The key to enjoying Facebook is the interest groups. You can find a group dedicated to nearly any subject you can imagine, and there will be people knowledgeable about it. Where else can you engage in conversation with a group of people who collect and restore vintage race cars?

I've wanted to go on Facebook but I have been too shy. Maybe next week I'll be braver.

The nasty thing about Facebook is how strangers can post anything they like on your page, which will then come up for anyone who Googles your name. It's like having a TV newsman following you around.

That's ... not entirely accurate. Yes, you *can* set your profile to 'public' AND allow strangers to post on your page. But why would you do that? Most people have private profiles (meaning only approved friends can see or interact with it).

"Everything is a two edged sword, unless there are three."

I like FB only because it gives me access to ideas and information I might not otherwise be subjected to, Amy Alkon being one fine example. I had never heard of her before I saw something about her on FB (Marc McYoung re-posting?). Amy has been a source of thought provoking information for me ever since. I even keep my liberal idiot friends around because, even though I disagree with them 99.9999% of the time I still find things they post stimulate my own thinking even if only clarifying for me why they are hopeless morons destined to be eaten by radioactive zombie mutant bikers.

I do avoid the endless time-suck games and the click-bate nonsense. I am however old enough to remember when communicating with family or friends was a matter of letters and expensive long distance phone-calls so you didn't interact with the people not in close physical distance on a regular basis. FB and other electronic tools are wonderful, IF you don't let them take over, which runs counter to the perceived interests of those who created them (can't sell you soap if you ain't online 24/7). I myself have written 2 books since being on facebook and had exactly 0 before then so I guess it really is up to you.

"Because, you know, Wal-Mart is going to give you a $500 gift card if you re-post this."

It's amazing how these fortune/money/jackpot memes propagate across media. Remember the "Bill Gates will send you a free copy of Microsoft Office if you copy this to everyone on your contact list" emails? And of course, this was really just an electronic form of the old-fashioned chain letter. I can just picture some prehistoric man sending up a smoke signal: "Ogg send you free spear if you relay signal to next cave!"