I'm actually making a new profile for people from high school & who I don't know in my every day life for that reason Jen. Someone I went to school with sent me a request; I was not going to accept because I wanted to do the new profile but didn't get to it. I opened FB mobile & saw a post by him where he used the "N*^^a" word- I posted that I don't like the word & that I know the kids use it meaning friend.. he told me off; said it was his page & could post what ever he wanted; then he unfriended & blocked me. I truly enjoyed reconnecting with some people on FB. However, once I decided to delete my account and began going through my list of 248 "friends", there were only a handful - perhaps 10 or 12 - that I really ever had any interaction with and cared to continue to keep up with. Roselvr's story above reminds me of something that happened when I used one of those copy/paste status updates that had something to do with the support of LGBT rights. I have friends and family who live alternative lifestyles and I feel strongly that they should be afforded the same rights as anyone else. One of my "friends", a high school classmate who is presently the chief of a local fire department, had not bothered to say so much as boo to me after friending me, but he did take the time to post a hateful "NO THANKS" after my update. Ummm, really? I deleted his sorry butt. ;-D I really made an effort to be nonjudgmental with what others were posting, but sometimes it was just TOO much to read the racist, homophobic, ridiculous comments that were being thrown about. For me, I'm much better off just e-mailing my 10 or 12 friends. As for the other 236 or so, well, it was interesting to see how their lives had shaped up throughout the years, but after that, there was just nothing there. OK, sorry to have highjacked your thread Oakley! I know a lot of people who use FB to keep in contact with close friends and family and for them, it works beautifully. So long as you're careful about who you friend - and I think that was my main problem - I just wasn't selective enough - I know it can be a meaningful thing. :-)

Anything you don't know how to do, just google search for the answers. Just remember when filling out your profile information, don't give out your personal information. I have seen some people say that they don't use their real names, but as far as I know...everyone that I know uses their real names....I don't know a soul that uses some fictitious name. I actually google searched for my name and not a thing came up that was ME on facebook. And if you have your security settings set to where only your friends can see it, then if someone goes to your facebook profile page by searching for your name(within facebook), all they will be able to see is your name and the profile picture you've chosen. On mine, I just use a picture of an animal and not my face...I'm not trying to reconnect with people I've known from the past. Just be careful that your don't accept bogus friends, I used to get that all the time for some reason but I never do anymore.

Nobody can read anything about you that you don't post on Facebook. I do have my phone numbers in my info, but not my address. I have it so only "friends" can see my photos, not friends of friends. And you have to be on my "friends" list to even see my profile. You can't even view my friends list without being on my "friends" list. The gifts and snowball fights are all just for fun. If you don't like all the applications, you can block them. You do have that option. Also, if there is someone on Facebook you don't want to find you, rather than avoid using your name, simply 'block' that person. That way they don't see anything about you, not even that you have an account. I've been on Facebook for a year and a half and really like it. I play Scarab Solitaire almost every day. Also love Scrabble but preferred it before Parker Brothers forced Scrabulous to shut down. Their version was actually better. Facebook is as safe as you set your profile and applications to. That's completely up to you. If my best friend from childhood hadn't put her last name on Facebook, I'd have never found her. I just wish more married women used their maiden names on Facebook too, which is why my last name is hyphenated. I've only found one school friend. You don't have to post your employment, your address, your phone numbers. And if you do post your phone number, you can make it private. Just go into the privacy settings. I hated MySpace, but love Facebook.

I maybe should have started a new thread instead of putting this here, but I'd like to know about something some of my friends have joined, an app that is supposed to tell you who has visited your photos, profile, etc. I can't figure out if people who use that app will be able to identify anyone who looks at their profile, or if it would only identify people who use that particular app.