"Following" Someone

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

So you are demanding that we take the same information that has been provided here multiple times by multiple people and send it to you in a personal email?

Why?

Could I get a copy in 11 point, Calibri bold face font, please?

 

[Minnesota!]

Bet there is a shortage of tin foil...

 

[phorsenuf]

I think some of what's confusing me is that in social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc), being followed is a highly desirable thing. It's everything. It's so desirable that there are entire companies devoted to finding followers for you. Companies, personalities, bloggers, regular people brag about how many followers they have. Having a lot of followers can open doors for people who are trying to promote a blog, a brand, etc. Outside of the DIS, being followed is a Good Thing, and following someone is a compliment, or at the very least a friendly gesture. How well you know the person or company you follow doesn't even figure in. People click the follow button on a whim.

To people who participate in social media, following someone = being nice, whether you know them or not.

So it surprised me, a lot, to see people seeing following as bad manners at best, and creepy/sinister at worst. Something to be blocked, or turned off, and apologized for if you do it by accident.

See, to me it makes sense. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and others do rely on likes and followings, especially if you have a site that requires followers. Like you said, blogs, stores, brands, etc. But here on the Dos, that doesn't really apply and nobody needs followers to promote them. In fact, since advertising and selling is a no-no here, then the comparison can't really be made between them.

I know I said upthread that I do find *it* a bit creepy, in the overall scheme of things it doesn't affect me really. I just find this conversation very interesting.

 

[wvjules]

Bottom line, people are uncomfortable with it and nothing will be done about it so stop complaining.

 

[fly girl]

I haven't been on the Dis in months but just returned a few days ago. Happy to jump back in!

Moving on ...

I read this thread yesterday early afternoon and said, well I'm not followed so I really don't know how I feel about this. Low and behold 2 hours later, followed!

I will preface that I wasn't here the day that person joined and created a lot of new threads. (That could also skew how I see this, I'm not sure.)

This is an open forum where you can read anything even if you haven't joined. I try for the most part to keep certain things private. IMHO I truly think the person doesn't grasp what the follow function does/doesn't do.

It doesn't bother me. I don't think I'd respond to PM's though. However, I rarely PM.

 

[sam_gordon]

Bottom line, people are uncomfortable with it and nothing will be done about it so stop complaining.

So simply because people are uncomfortable, things should change? I mentioned up thread... what if I'm uncomfortable with people quoting me and I think the quoting feature should be turned off? What if I'm uncomfortable with "likes" because I don't have as many as someone else and every time someone "likes" another's post, I feel bad. Can we get the "likes" turned off?

Personally, I think threads should automatically be locked after 6 months of no activity. There are others who agree with me. I guess we can stamp our feet and say "our feelings are being ignored" and "we're entitled to feel this way" also.

Do I think moderators make the right decisions 100% of the time? Of course not. Many times I've questioned why they allow 'x' when it comes from a certain poster, but not allow it when it comes from another poster. That's the way they operate, and if I don't like it, I can stop coming here.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I think some of what's confusing me is that in social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc), being followed is a highly desirable thing. It's everything. It's so desirable that there are entire companies devoted to finding followers for you. Companies, personalities, bloggers, regular people brag about how many followers they have. Having a lot of followers can open doors for people who are trying to promote a blog, a brand, etc. Outside of the DIS, being followed is a Good Thing, and following someone is a compliment, or at the very least a friendly gesture. How well you know the person or company you follow doesn't even figure in. People click the follow button on a whim.

To people who participate in social media, following someone = being nice, whether you know them or not.

So it surprised me, a lot, to see people seeing following as bad manners at best, and creepy/sinister at worst. Something to be blocked, or turned off, and apologized for if you do it by accident.

That's up to the individual user, though. (At least on Facebook, I don't use Insta or Twitter to know.) People who are marketing something will try to build a large following, but that's likely not the case for the average person who is using it as a platform for to post their opinions, jokes, cat pictures... which is more in line with how people use the DIS since we're not allowed to promote here. I can, and do, control who is allowed access to my Facebook page by only accepting friend requests from people I personally know, and I have the option of controlling who follows me by restricting it to friends only. I'll never receive a notification that some stranger is following me on Facebook because I have my settings as such to not allow that.

The DIS is a public message board so, understandably, users cannot expect to have that much control over who sees their posts. At the same time, I think the worldwide, public nature of the boards is exactly why people are feeling creeped out by having someone follow them. To think that out of the thousands and thousands of people who use these boards some unknown entity is taking a specific interest in YOU to the extent that they want to keep a closer eye on your activity, yeah, I can understand people feeling creeped out by that. In this particular case the user is following so many people it should help others to not feel singled out.

I think it's a branding problem. Instead of calling it "following" it should be called "Someone likes what you have to say" or "You're someone's favorite" or "This person thinks you're witty and smart." You know, something a little less creepy than "A stranger is following you."

 

[DopeyDame]

I think some of what's confusing me is that in social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc), being followed is a highly desirable thing. It's everything. It's so desirable that there are entire companies devoted to finding followers for you. Companies, personalities, bloggers, regular people brag about how many followers they have. Having a lot of followers can open doors for people who are trying to promote a blog, a brand, etc. Outside of the DIS, being followed is a Good Thing, and following someone is a compliment, or at the very least a friendly gesture. How well you know the person or company you follow doesn't even figure in. People click the follow button on a whim.

To people who participate in social media, following someone = being nice, whether you know them or not.

So it surprised me, a lot, to see people seeing following as bad manners at best, and creepy/sinister at worst. Something to be blocked, or turned off, and apologized for if you do it by accident.

And that's precisely why I lasted less than a week on twitter. When random people who I've never met and have no connection at all to started following me, I just left twitter. And on facebook I have my followers setting to "friends only" so no random people are following me there either.
Now that I better understand what following on the Dis means, it sounds like it's really not such a big deal. So, unlike on twitter, I've decided that the benefits to staying on the Dis with the follow feature outweigh the un-turn-off-able follow feature.

But no - not everyone thinks being followed is a highly desirable thing and most people like flexibility to customize their social media experience.

 

[sam_gordon]

To think that out of the thousands and thousands of people who use these boards some unknown entity is taking a specific interest in YOU to the extent that they want to keep a closer eye on your activity, yeah, I can understand people feeling creeped out by that.

However, as has been pointed out numerous times, you can get the same information from "following" as you do as "show all posts" or searching. However you (general) would have no idea if I go and read all of your posts or search for your name.

I think why part of us see this as no big deal.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I think some of what's confusing me is that in social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc), being followed is a highly desirable thing. It's everything. It's so desirable that there are entire companies devoted to finding followers for you. Companies, personalities, bloggers, regular people brag about how many followers they have. Having a lot of followers can open doors for people who are trying to promote a blog, a brand, etc. Outside of the DIS, being followed is a Good Thing, and following someone is a compliment, or at the very least a friendly gesture. How well you know the person or company you follow doesn't even figure in. People click the follow button on a whim.

To people who participate in social media, following someone = being nice, whether you know them or not.

So it surprised me, a lot, to see people seeing following as bad manners at best, and creepy/sinister at worst. Something to be blocked, or turned off, and apologized for if you do it by accident.

Being followed because someone enjoys what you post, agrees with you most of the time or knows you is totally different than following someone that you have never met nor ever read a post they have posted.

Sorry, but it isn't desirable to me to be followed by someone that asks, "Did you ever wear pull-ups?"

 

[TipsyTraveler]

However, as has been pointed out numerous times, you can get the same information from "following" as you do as "show all posts" or searching. However you (general) would have no idea if I go and read all of your posts or search for your name.

I think why part of us see this as no big deal.

Exactly. A perfect example of this, Sam, is that I do a search of your username at least a half dozen times a day. I know everything you've ever said on these boards because I've never missed a single one of your posts, but that never bothered you because you didn't know it was happening. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

You mean now I can follow somebody posting ridiculous things and thoroughly own them in every single thread all the while being too lazy to actually use search? Sign me up.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

You mean now I can follow somebody posting ridiculous things and thoroughly own them in every single thread all the while being too lazy to actually use search? Sign me up.

Oh wait. I'm too lazy to use follow too. Dadgummit.

 

[Liberty Belle]

I tell you what, I am seeing what people I would like to follow based on their comments on this thread.

 

[wvjules]

So simply because people are uncomfortable, things should change?

I didn't say, or even imply, that.

 

[SMD]

Has anyone who said they're not comfortable with being followed stated that they have a Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account at all? Or that they have public accounts? Even with a public account you can still block someone from following you on all 3 of those sites. I don't see these situations as completely equivalent.

I used to post on Twitter pics from events and I definitely attracted some unwanted followers that needed some boundaries and it changed what and when I posted.

Personally, I think threads should automatically be locked after 6 months of no activity. There are others who agree with me. I guess we can stamp our feet and say "our feelings are being ignored" and "we're entitled to feel this way" also.

Do I think moderators make the right decisions 100% of the time? Of course not. Many times I've questioned why they allow 'x' when it comes from a certain poster, but not allow it when it comes from another poster. That's the way they operate, and if I don't like it, I can stop coming here.

I think that old threads should be locked too. But how will that suggestion ever be heard if no one suggests it? I don't think the answer is to just leave when you don't agree. I don't think there's anything wrong with asking for features to be changed. This is a for profit message board run by a travel agency, so one would think they'd want to hear what features their customers (and sources of revenue) want. But then after there's been a discussion and the board operators give their answer, the people complaining either have to accept to or move on. On this thread people have been criticized for feeling uncomfortable in the first place and for daring to complain for ask a question. Maybe there's an unwritten rule that you can never state your opinions on board features that I missed somewhere. That can't be good for membership either.

Sorry, but it isn't desirable to me to be followed by someone that asks, "Did you ever wear pull-ups?"

I thought that thread crossed a line too. Several of the 30 threads I saw were personal to the point of being uncomfortable, especially when taken all at once. I thought that was was well past a line that should have been drawn 15-20 threads sooner.

I tell you what, I am seeing what people I would like to follow based on their comments on this thread.

So it's ok for you to imply negative things about people that you don't agree with, but it's not ok for them to have expressed an opinion in the first place? It seems like the mods aren't going to disable the follow feature, so why not just let the people who are uncomfortable vent and stop reading and responding to the thread if they bother you.

 

[SirDuff]

So it's ok for you to imply negative things about people that you don't agree with, but it's not ok for them to have expressed an opinion in the first place? It seems like the mods aren't going to disable the follow feature, so why not just let the people who are uncomfortable vent and stop reading and responding to the thread if they bother you.

I thought it was a compliment - as in they posted such witty/interesting things that he/she would like to read more of what they wrote.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Has anyone who said they're not comfortable with being followed stated that they have a Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account at all? Or that they have public accounts? Even with a public account you can still block someone from following you on all 3 of those sites. I don't see these situations as completely equivalent.

I used to post on Twitter pics from events and I definitely attracted some unwanted followers that needed some boundaries and it changed what and when I posted.





I think that old threads should be locked too. But how will that suggestion ever be heard if no one suggests it? I don't think the answer is to just leave when you don't agree. I don't think there's anything wrong with asking for features to be changed. This is a for profit message board run by a travel agency, so one would think they'd want to hear what features their customers (and sources of revenue) want. But then after there's been a discussion and the board operators give their answer, the people complaining either have to accept to or move on. On this thread people have been criticized for feeling uncomfortable in the first place and for daring to complain for ask a question. Maybe there's an unwritten rule that you can never state your opinions on board features that I missed somewhere. That can't be good for membership either.


I thought that thread crossed a line too. Several of the 30 threads I saw were personal to the point of being uncomfortable, especially when taken all at once. I thought that was was well past a line that should have been drawn 15-20 threads sooner.


So it's ok for you to imply negative things about people that you don't agree with, but it's not ok for them to have expressed an opinion in the first place? It seems like the mods aren't going to disable the follow feature, so why not just let the people who are uncomfortable vent and stop reading and responding to the thread if they bother you.

lol I'm not doing that at all. I'm noticing people who appear to be of the same mindset as I and/or who make me laugh, therefore I would like to follow them. And I decided to go ahead and use the feature and I have followed them.

How is that a negative thing?

And people can post their opinions until the cows come home, I don't care. I just don't like to see innocent people get their feelings hurt.

 

[SMD]

lol I'm not doing that at all. I'm noticing people who appear to be of the same mindset as I and/or who make me laugh, therefore I would like to follow them. And I decided to go ahead and use the feature and I have followed them.

How is that a negative thing?

And people can post their opinions until the cows come home, I don't care. I just don't like to see innocent people get their feelings hurt.

Sorry, I misread that. I thought it said people you didn't want to follow based on replies. Carry on.

 

[sam_gordon]

I didn't say, or even imply, that.

Then I apologize.