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Old 05-20-2015, 08:45 AM
 
1,081 posts, read 2,456,257 times
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I've also gotten some friend requests from people i don't know, and have usually turned them down. There were two people who sent me friend requests because we all were making posts on the FB page for a TV show we all watched, and I accepted their requests. Later on, one unfriended me because she didn't like a comment I made, and I unfriended the other one.

I've also done the same thing you have, writing a short message to someone I didn't know explaining why I wasn't accepting their friend request, because i thought it was more polite than just ignoring them. One time, someone sent me a request because he thought he knew me from a college we both attended. I replied to him that I had no idea who he was, and didn't think we were in the same class (year) at that school. He wrote back asking me if I thought I was doing him a favor by telling him why I wasn't going to add him as a friend. Sometimes you just can't win.

As for your question about whether some of the friend requests you receive are an attempt at phishing or identity theft, I tend to be more cautious with people I meet online. having had a relative who worked in a Sheriff's office and warned me to be cautious about what information I put out about myself online. It's always better to err on the side of caution, especially when dealing with strangers online.
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Old 05-20-2015, 08:46 AM
 
Location: Mount Pleasant, SC
130 posts, read 159,672 times
Reputation: 387
The requests from strangers wouldn't creep me out so much if they could add a sentence about why they are doing it. I just immediately feel like "Why am I on your radar all of a sudden??" Also, some of these people are pedophiles looking for access to pictures of children. For whatever reason, people love to splash pictures of their children all over social media in all kinds of states of undress. This happened to a lady I followed on Instagram. Even after the police warning, she continued to post this kind of stuff on Facebook and Instagram and accept requests from strangers.
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Old 05-20-2015, 08:55 AM
 
1,081 posts, read 2,456,257 times
Reputation: 1182
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtpfoodie View Post
The requests from strangers wouldn't creep me out so much if they could add a sentence about why they are doing it. I just immediately feel like "Why am I on your radar all of a sudden??" Also, some of these people are pedophiles looking for access to pictures of children. For whatever reason, people love to splash pictures of their children all over social media in all kinds of states of undress. This happened to a lady I followed on Instagram. Even after the police warning, she continued to post this kind of stuff on Facebook and Instagram and accept requests from strangers.
That's a very good point about the possibility of some people wanting to gain access to photos of children on your Facebook page. I don't tend to think about that myself since I don't have any kids, but people with kids who use Facebook should definitely be careful about the images that they share via social media.
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Old 05-20-2015, 09:08 AM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,822 posts, read 30,876,901 times
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Many of these accounts are porn accounts.
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Old 05-20-2015, 10:16 AM
 
6,587 posts, read 5,832,938 times
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Case by case basis. Someone thought they knew me from their town, but it turns out we didn't. But looking at their profile I decided we had enough in common to be Facebook friends so I accepted. But mostly I just ignore.

I use my real name because I've hooked up with all sorts of former classmates and old friends and it would be confusing if I (and they) used a made-up name.

But you can totally use a made-up name, if you are concerned about privacy. Facebook doesn't come to your door and demand to see your passport. They may at times demand you send them a scan of your driver's license to prove you're you.

They're chiefly concerned about abuse of their system, which I agree with.

I try to restrict my facebook time to 5 minutes a day. Life's too short.
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Old 05-20-2015, 10:24 AM
 
2,045 posts, read 2,134,784 times
Reputation: 7226
Quote:
Originally Posted by wawa1992 View Post
I give people the benefit of the doubt. I've even talked to someone from Haiti who randomly added me. That's pretty cool and something that people who close themselves off from the world don't get to do. To people who close themselves off, you're just making yourselves miserable inside those walls. Think about it, if you send someone a friend request (voluntarily) you have a reason.

I know it's hard, but the world would be a better place if we all learned to trust each other a little more.
If I want to talk to people from Haiti, I can come to a site like this and do so. Doesn't mean I'm "making myself miserable inside those walls" if I prefer to personally know everyone on my Facebook page. To each their own, but I don't get having 1700+ friends, 90% of whom you've never met in person. What level of interaction are you really having with all of those people?

I keep an extremely small group of FB friends. Because I like to keep up with and genuinely interact with the people I care about, and having people around who I maybe met once or twice clogs up my feed. I also used to be involved in a project that was pseudo-well-known, and people who were fans of this project would try to friend me. No - that's what the project's official FB page is for. You and I don't need to see eachother's vacation photos.

And yes, if someone voluntarily sends a friend request, they have a reason - but it's not always a good one!
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Old 05-20-2015, 10:33 AM
 
2,045 posts, read 2,134,784 times
Reputation: 7226
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoundNinia View Post
The whole point of "social media" is just that, to be social, but as always, people in this coubtry with their loads of issues(anti social/ocd) have to ruin everything they touch.
What? Yes, the point is to be social. With people I know. And I'm a great FB friend to those people - because I have an easier time keeping up with everyone due to not having 1700 strangers on my feed. I'm always congratulating where congratulations are due, commenting, asking "You posted about an ankle injury last month - how is that coming along? Any better?" I think I, with my very limited friend list, am a more social person on social media than the person who randomly accepts any friend request that comes along, and then rarely interacts with those individuals.

Looking at my FB right now, it's all close friends, or people I've known for decades, or close friends of my husband, and a couple of acquaintances in the arts who I network with. How is it antisocial that I want to see all of their posts, instead of the postings of random strangers (which, again, I can get here)?

Last edited by Mimidae; 05-20-2015 at 10:49 AM..
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Old 05-20-2015, 10:46 AM
 
Location: State of the closed-minded
296 posts, read 214,989 times
Reputation: 580
Some of my most fun, worthwhile Facebook friends have been people I didn't know prior to Facebook, we met up as a result of our mutual interest in or fondness for a subject, be it entertainment, technology, animals or any number of other subjects.

Most have sent the friend request to me, after a pattern of me "liking" or making positive comments about something they said, though it is sometimes after I say something first.

We make sure our values are fairly similar, and for myself it makes for a friend list that is small, but unfriending rarely, if ever, happens.
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Old 05-20-2015, 10:47 AM
 
8,012 posts, read 8,168,266 times
Reputation: 12159
Quote:
Originally Posted by wawa1992 View Post
Geeze, people are so paranoid nowadays. "Oh, don't accept that request, there's a 1 in a million chance that something bad could happen." Yes, I've accepted requests from strangers, I have 1,779 friends and probably haven't even met 10-15% of them in person. I've had an OCCASIONAL problem where people have tried to sell me stuff or messaged me and went straight into creep mode. If that happens, I delete them, but I give people the benefit of the doubt. I've even talked to someone from Haiti who randomly added me. That's pretty cool and something that people who close themselves off from the world don't get to do. To people who close themselves off, you're just making yourselves miserable inside those walls. Think about it, if you send someone a friend request (voluntarily) you have a reason.

I know it's hard, but the world would be a better place if we all learned to trust each other a little more.
So these people must be miserable just because you say so despite the fact they actually might have no problem with it all.

I've said it before and I've said it again, not everyone is super social. Not everyone needs or want a lot of friends.
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Old 05-20-2015, 10:56 AM
 
Location: Des Moines Metro
5,103 posts, read 8,544,518 times
Reputation: 9793
I greatly dislike FB. I didn't have an account for a long time. I only have one now because that's the main way some of my relatives communicate.

To their credit, when they upload photos from kid's parties, they don't tag them, and all keep their privacy settings high. The photos are G-rated and there's nothing that would upset a boss or co-workers if the pages were viewed by them.

Still, I don't trust the system. It keeps asking me for my phone number, plus a number of invasive profile questions that I'm never going to answer.
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