Facebook resets email preferences, after it removes gay photo as ‘abusive’

Not only does Google Ads Preferences Manager reset on a regular basis and bugger what your preferences are, Facebook has today reset (at least for myself and one other friend) email settings. ‘Set emails to spam.’

Facebook email preferences

   Why Facebook does this regularly, I have no idea—but this is relatively minor compared to their removal of an EastEnders pic of two blokes snogging because it was ‘abusive material’.
   The homophobic argument is that seeing gay images could affect young people. If that were the case, with all the straight images that we get bombarded with from day one, there wouldn’t be any gays in the world.
   You’d think with the furore going on about the removal of a perfectly innocent photograph—from a pre-watershed soap opera—Facebook would be more careful today. (From what I read, it has yet to apologize to the person who uploaded the photograph as his profile image.) So now they’ve annoyed not only people who support equal rights for the gay community, but all those who hate spam and who took the time to tell Facebook of their email preferences.
   I want to make it clear that I do not believe that the events are linked. But it’s pretty poor to put your foot wrong twice in such a short space of time.


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7 thoughts on “Facebook resets email preferences, after it removes gay photo as ‘abusive’

  1. Three words: Heck. Yeah. Jack.

    Bigoted *and* ignorant? That’s quite a combo there, Facebook. Way to go. #winning

  2. Llew, I’ve heard from a few more folks now, too. It seems to be across the board.
       Jen, I had wondered where the Facebook I got used to in 2009 had gone. Shame to note that it’s still there.

  3. You give just a few examples of many why I left Facebook entirely: total disregard for privacy, total disregard for what the users really want, and unsolicited politics.

    Even if I was somehow thrust into the public eye, I’d never go back. I have my frustrations with Twitter, but at least that service has been a little more trustworthy.

  4. ugh. after seeing the movie, i really thought seriously about leaving FB. just seemed like almost everyone involved in the making of FB were a bunch of twits. unfortunately, it’s kind of integral to the keeping up with my friends, especially when we’re traveling around and stuff. i really wish it weren’t though.

    that’s disgusting. did you fire off an angry letter?

  5. I really wish I hadn’t signed up with Facebook sometimes. Back in 2005, they were much better about user privacy and that just went down the drain. They are ridiculous.

  6. Jak, I haven’t much choice if I want to reach some of our customers but to use this compromised service.
       Paikea (sorry about your comment not going through automatically—I suspect it was due to your using your Eviltwit handle): that’s more or less how I feel. If there were an alternative, with a good audience, started by some more sane people and not a bunch of tossers, then I’d go. Though I understand Eduardo Saverin is a nice guy from a mutual friend. Based on the movie, he’s probably the only sane one out of the lot.
       Jenny, I remember those days. Facebook’s drawcard was the ability to customize your privacy settings.
       I tell you, if an alternative came up and grew to these numbers, or even a twentieth of these numbers, I’d be there. And I bet an alternative will emerge: just as we once thought AltaVista would remain the biggest website in the world, along came Google. Something else will emerge that’s better at user privacy than Facebook.

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