It has been a very long time!

It has been literally ages since I last commented on the worth of internet forums. Perhaps that's because its universally accepted that the users of internet forums are generally not to be leant any credence.

Today, on a digital camera forum, somebody asked a question and got ripped to shreds over spelling mistakes and typing errors. The messenger was shot rather than the message being read. It's very reminiscent of high school playgrounds.

Needless to say, the poster responded to abuse about their typing and spelling prowess with an explanation that their laptop keyboard was broken. That elicited get more abuse with users calling the fellow yet more names because they didn't buy another keyboard. As anybody who has ever changed a laptop keyboard can tell you, it's not that easy. I've changed laptop keyboards and it can take an hour easily and that's when you know what you're doing!

By the end, I'm sure the poster's blood pressure was through the roof. They never truly got their question answered but there was a lot of mockery. This kind of think is not restricted to photography forums either.

As many of my regular readers will know, I'm building a motorhome from an old school bus. The forums for that have the same level of idiocy. As with photography forums, there are people that make a good pretence of owning a converted bus but when they offer technical advice, its usually laughably wrong.

The latest laughable advice was to get 4 golf cart batteries to power a microwave. Now my microwave is a 700w model so its not powerful. It still uses 1040 watts of power. I can guarantee that 4 golf cart batteries would become so warm that they could enter a thermal runaway reaction and catch fire.

It all reminds me of what a former workmate once said: internet forums create the most noise, carry minimal technical information and waste the most time. Camera forums are generally good to let off steam and to look for entertainingly ludicrous discussions. For technical accuracy, its better to read what is said about cameras on the back of a packet of breakfast cereal.

Facebook the thief

In the wake of Facebook blocking access to my account after deciding that they wanted me to send them a copy of my drivers license and social security card, I requested that they delete my account including all text, messages and photographs. They have failed to do so which means they have taken my work without payment but then, that's what Facebook is all about.

The reason Facebook is free is because its a great big data collection scam. It's like the laughing gas dentists give to patients to hide the pain of drilling and filling. It's very similar also to GHB - the infamous rape drug. People are lured in by pleasure and while they're being pleasured they're prompted for ever more personal information.

Let's connect you with old school friends, old work mates, long lost relatives etc. Then the Facebook messenger app allows Facebook to track in real time, your every movement. They can work out approximately which stores you visit, which places you visit, how often and with whom. If somebody in your friends list is in the same series of locations, its a fair bet that you're together. Indeed, if Facebook was served with a subpoena by a jilted wife, they could tell exactly where the errant husband had been 24*7 and which other Facebook users had been in the vicinity of their husband, particularly at night!

The fact Facebook doesn't delete data, ever, is scary. This is an organization with the same data collection techniques as the CIA, KGB and GCHQ. In fact, they have more information than the aforementioned combined. Being a commercial rather than a government entity means that nobody notices that what they're really doing is spying on the entire world population.

Facebook is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most sinister threat the world has faced in peacetime. All this data and it is all for sale. Who knows, Facebook could already be selling data to governments around the world that want to monitor their citizens.

Check the junk mail you receive - how closely does it relate to things you've looked at on Facebook? Check your spam - how closely does that relate? How about your junk phonecalls? And the door knockers! If you've told Facebook where you work (which they know already from your geolocation during working hours) how much junk mail do you receive at work? Those silent robo calls - are they really silent or are they trying to listen into background noise in order to ascertain what's happening in your location. Those few seconds before you hang up can give valuable information.

Don't believe the evil of Facebook? Try to delete your account!

How about some animal action?

Yup, its a photo blog entry!