Whether the problem is auto correct or whatever, you are right it IS a good idea to check out what one has posted.

People are taking their time to post a recommendation maybe sometimes to give a favored business a boost but other times just to reach out and help others. I wish the problem with politics today was too many reaching out to help and not getting it perfect.

Facebook seems to throw those recommendations in after you hit enter on your post. I have been surprised to see them show up in comments I have made, because I didn't put it there. I have no idea how to stop it.

I have not noticed this on facebook until recently. When I have it has been something asking if I wanted to post a link to the business. As far as queries I find it easier to just post what I am wanting in the computers regular search area along with the city name or area I am looking in. Even there some suggestions are wierd.

But you can edit them out afterwards.

Lucille, I don;t think it's the problem of reaching out, but rather the problem of people not paying attention when something seems wrong. someone just now wished a friend Happy Birthday on a post about something else (this is a small town and everyone seems to have grown up here and know everyone else) and the FB link is to an event venue in Nigeria.

Facebook does like to throw things at you without you knowing, such as Recommendations. You have to see that it has plugged it in, delete it (which isn’t always easy depending on your device). If you are selling something, it tries to apply a “sell” feature that it has. I’m in a couple of groups that allow or encourage sales, and they do not allow the “sell” feature and ask posters to remove it if FB plugs it in.

Sometimes you don't realize it's added a recommendation until later. I don't always go back to read some of my answers on other FB pages but when I do and I see that I've made an error, I'll edit the post to correct it. I rarely use the recommendations, but did twice on one post just yesterday because a member in my community wanted to know what restaurants in the area are good, so I left both the ones we enjoy in my post. Normally, I would have deleted them. I've never had one come up that wasn't in my city though.

I don't have a Facebook account. My wife does, for a small number of her friends in spread out places who use it to keep their own friends and family informed in groups by invitation only. . One of our kids does the same and it's easier for them to know we've seen what was posted than to go over the same items from a cold start in audio and video calls.

My wife will call me to look at things that might be of interest to me from her small number of contacts and I have to say I don't think I'm missing anything otherwise. I don't know if there's a different female vs maie user share for its regulars but I know none of my friends use it regularly to communicate. Phone, email, text messages, and video calls seem to be more than adequate.

I'm not on Facebook and have resisted joining for years but now I plan on joining. It seems like there are many small businesses who use Facebook rather than maintaining their own web site. I don't plan on posting anything myself but that may change as I become more familiar and confident with it. Our other home is in a small community of 48 homes and they've started a Facebook account to share information. Last month Consumer Reports had a detailed article on how to use the privacy settings which I need to follow.

Facebook and Nextdoor have been throwing in some unrelated suggestions lately. I resisted joining FB, but decided to a few years back to keep in touch with family. If it weren't for the family, I would drop it.

@maire_cate, my son started a carpet cleaning business back in the fall. It literally fell into his lap! The only source of advertising he has used so far, is his company Facebook account. He does have a website as well, but most people find him through Facebook and he's soooooooooo busy!

Tidyer Cleaning on Facebook

Tidyer Cleaning Services (his webpage)

Debby, I'm sorry, but I don't think advertising is allowed on Gardenweb. Your post will probably be flagged if it isn't removed.

I've been on Facebook since 2011. My grandchildren wanted me to start an account and I've stayed on there, mainly to keep up with family. I don't use it as much as I used to, but I still check in. I've never had some weird ad come up in one of my posts, recommendation, or otherwise. Maybe it has something to do with my privacy settings, I don't know, but I'm glad I don't see them.

sushipup1, I don't think Facebook itself is evil, but I do think the owner is a terrible person, and I'm quite sure there are users who are evil. I think the reason a lot people don't edit their posts is because they don't know editing is possible. I guess they never noticed the three dots above their posts on the right.

I use Yelp instead of FB for finding local businesses, contractors, etc. I have never used FB for this, and I'm really not aware of local businesses here that use FB for their advertising either.

For me, Nextdoor is also helpful because 80% of the people in my neighborhood are on it, and the neighborhoods are very specifically defined and small - at least in Los Angeles. I've not used Nextdoor Cathedral City, as I am already logged into Nextdoor Westchester and am not sure how to change that without losing it. I use a different a laptop in Cathedral City and my desktop in L.A., but somehow Nextdoor knows who I am on my laptop, and I do not know why.

The problem goes beyond Facebook. I blame it on a general lack of interest in accurate writing and the fact that so many people online are "typing" on their phones.

Facebook, populated with many of my family members, lifetime friends I grew up with, local friends, and friends I originally got to know at the KT, has been a sanity-saving community for me during the pandemic.

It may not have been your email address book that they rummaged in. I used to have a family member who would post game like things like "What happened the year you were born". If someone wanted to see what the 'game' was like the opening screen would ask or tell you that by continuing it allowed it to access your friends. Some were only on fb others do mention email. Anyone that has you in their email list would automatically share. My information is in so many places along with everyone's I just ignore.

There is probably a better word for this type of thing but I just used game because I do not know it.

Latest today, someone asked for a repair garage recommendation. One real eply was for JD's garage, corner of Waverly and Church. One link to a place in Indonesia, one for a preschool that at least was in the same town, another link to a garage in New Hampshire, one to a church in North Carolina, another to a local pizza place.

Woodrose, it's no different from anyone here asking, "where did you buy XXX" and 20 people giving 20 different stores where XXX can be bought. And odds of anyone here using my son's services are pretty much zero to nil as he won't travel to the US to clean your carpets. LOL

If I am posting to FB from my phone and I make a mistake there is no way to edit. Those three dots only show up when I am on the computer. I enjoy Facebook and seeing what my friends are doing. If you don't enjoy Facebook just don't use it. I am neither stupid nor evil.

Without FB, companies like DuckDuckGo might not have a clientele.

ghoghunter, I thought that, too. Then my son told me to just hold my finger on my post and the option to edit comes up.

FOAS, typos are one thing I am good at. ;-)

Debby, When you post a link to your own, or a family member's business it's not the same as posting a link to a site where you purchased something. It's considered promoting a business and has never been allowed on Gardenweb. I could have flagged your post, but I decided to give you a polite warning instead. I thought you would appreciate the courtesy, but apparently not. Your son may not be local to me, but there are people on this site from all over the world.

@woodrose, go ahead. Flag it. It's no skin off my back. I'm not a snitch but you go right ahead.

I honestly did not understand what this was even about and I'm on FB daily. I mainly browse from my desktop computer with Chrome, and only occasionally on my smartphone or iPod, and I have not noticed a lack of editing ability. I do not crowdsource business recommendations there, and don't share them either. I don't follow any businesses, unless it's to enter a giveaway, and then I delete them later.

I have a limited number of 'friends' on FB - mainly family - and adjusted my settings to keep things more private.

I agree nextdoor can be a better source, but around here it's a bit of a crapshoot, due to all the crackpots on there.

And yeah, I think that's a bit of misinterpretation of site guidelines, woodrose...

ghoghunter what phone do you use? I have an iPhone and there is an option to edit posts. I'll take a screen shot and show you how to do it if you like.