You couldn't make this up if you tried!

For about the last 18 months I've been playing with Facebook. Last week I had a notice that I dismissed threatening to block me from access unless I prove I am who I say I am.

Today, I had another notice from Facebook and couldn't log into my account. Upon investigation of this screen:

There was a list of documents I should photograph and send to Facebook. It listed social security cards, drivers license, birth certificate etc...all the personal, private stuff that should never be handed out willy nilly.

Consequently I'm unable to access any of the photography groups I joined on Facebook. Oh well. I got on perfectly well before I opened a Facebook account and I shall get on perfectly well without a Facebook account.

Needless to say, I shall not be providing Facebook with any of the demanded information. Membership of Facebook is entirely voluntary and I find their demands to be pretty onerous. Thus I shall not be a member any further. This now leaves a question of whether I should try to force Facebook to delete my account.

The following is an exact copy of Facebook's demands! I think you'll agree how onerous this is.
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Submit Your Documents

We ask everyone on Facebook to use the name they go by in everyday life so friends know who they're connecting with.

Please provide identification that displays the name you'd like to confirm and use publicly on Facebook. Keep in mind that if you confirm a name other than the one currently on your profile, the name on your profile may be automatically updated with the name you confirm.

Learn more about why we require ID verification and the different types of ID we accept below.

What types of ID does Facebook accept?

You can confirm your identity in 1 of 3 ways. When submitting documentation, please cover up any personal information we don't need to verify your identity (ex: credit card number, Social Security number). We encrypt people’s connections to Facebook by default, including IDs you send to us. We delete your ID information after verification is complete.

Option 1

We will accept any government-issued ID that contains your name and date of birth. Examples include:

Birth certificate

Driver’s license

Passport

Marriage certificate

Official name change paperwork

Personal or vehicle insurance card

Non-driver's government ID (ex: disability, SNAP card, national ID card)

Green card, residence permit or immigration papers

Tribal identification or status card

Voter ID card

Option 2

You can provide two different forms of ID from the following list (ex: a bank statement and a library card, but not two bank statements). The names on your IDs must match each other, and one of the IDs must include a photo or date of birth that matches the information on your profile.

Below are some examples of IDs we'll accept:

Bank statement

Bus card

Check

Credit card

Employment verification

Library card

Mail

Magazine subscription stub

Medical record

Membership ID (ex: pension card, union membership, work ID, professional ID)

Paycheck stub

Permit

School card

School record

Social Security card

Utility bill

Yearbook photo (actual scan or photograph of the page in your yearbook)

Option 3

If you don’t have an ID that shows your authentic name as well as your photo or date of birth, you can provide two forms of ID from Option 2 above, and then provide a government ID that includes a date of birth or photo that matches the information on your profile. We won't add the name or other information from the government ID to your account.



Last edited about 2 months ago

How do I upload my ID to Facebook?

To upload a copy of your ID:

Take your ID and cover up any confidential information (ex: your license or passport number)Scan or take a close-up picture of your IDMake sure you can clearly see your name, birthday and photoSave the photo to your computerGo back to the contact form, click Upload and select the file containing your ID

Review the types of ID we accept.

Last edited on Friday

What happens to my ID after I upload it?

Your ID will be stored securely while we resolve your issue.

Last edited about 2 months ago

Your ID

Save as JPEGs, if possible. You may attach up to 3 files.

First name

Middle name (Optional)

Last name

Submit

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The worth of online searches

Ages ago, for reasons best left buried, I had a photography business. That business was called "SagePhotoWorld" when it was new. It never made a profit because I never could get anybody to view my work. At least that's what I read the problem to be. In fact the problem was more closely related to yesterday's blog, namely that people can do adequate photos on their cellphones.

Subsequently I renamed the business "British Photography" them closed it at the end of 2013. It is therefore quite amazing to find the business as of 2012 still listed online. I've done my best to remove all traces of it from the internet. Clearly it hasn't had much effect.

The website went years ago. The phone number also went years ago and the po box vanished this year.

The problem for the future is that since there is no way to correct the internet, nothing on the internet can be considered even to be mildly accurate. With increasing inaccuracy, its going to become the biggest pile of poo ever. In fact, it probably is already quite poo like!

What no articles?

Yes, it has been a rather long time since I wrote a photography article. The truth is I've been incredibly busy for the past few months. Not only have I been working but I've moved house and been continuing my work to build my motorhome single handedly.

During the build process, during which I've been blogging about the build, I've noticed more people seem to click adverts on the bus build pages and view videos based on the bus build. Another interesting thing is that I seem to get far more hits on the bus build blog than this blog. I'm coming to the conclusion that because everybody with a cellphone has a camera that takes adequate photographs, less people are interested in photography than there were.

I'm still thinking of revamping my photography line up. I'm very happy to have offloaded all the stuff that was totally redundant. I'm almost ready to offload the remains but not quite. It still takes great photos and I was rather taken by the idea of changing to an Olympus mirrorless camera.

Before I fancied the Olympus, I did rather like the Nikon 1 system though is had failings. Now, some of those failings have been addressed in the latest iteration of the 1 system. Thus, its back to thinking about the 1 system again. I'm pretty sure the failings of the current 1 system cameras will be addressed in the next iteration. That gives breathing space.

The tide, I think, is turning against photography as a major hobby for many. Its so universal now that I rather suspect mirrorless cameras are part of the death rattle of the photography industry. Digital SLR cameras cost upwards of $500 each. The lenses cost upwards of $400 each. With mirrorless, the costs are lower but they're still easily beaten by the cost of a cellphone.

Purists will argue about image quality but for the vast majority of circumstances, cellphones provide images of adequate quality. Its only action and low light photography where bigger cameras excel. For the vast majority that doesn't care about sport or low light imaging, costlier cameras are a waste.

If I was starting again, would I get a system that would allow me to do more limited things than a truly comprehensive system? My blogs speak for themselves. What camera do I use the most? My cellphone! Now let's look at the top cameras used for flickr photography these days...

What a surprise! Phones - every single one of them. The point has come where photography has become what it always was meant to be. It is a method of sharing memories and views. It was never about art. Now the cost of a good camera is a cellphone, there's no need for all the expensive stuff. Now photography is universal, is there any interest in photography as an interest or is it now like reading in that everybody can read?