Should PackRat have its own destination site...
...instead of running on FaceBook?
We are getting more concerned about the security issues and the use of personal information on FaceBook.
The Chef's have their reasons for choosing FaceBook which can be read HERE, but is PackRat a good enough reason for us to continue our FaceBook accounts?
Hopefully this blog can be used to air our opinions on FaceBook and also a place for the Chef's or anyone with connections at FaceBook to put our minds at ease.
Some interesting comments have already been made on KAHrules' BLOG.
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seanhussey on Dec 03, 2007
FB will respond to this and you'll be able to change privacy settings, I'm sure.
The reasons for going to FB are very compelling. It's much easier to get a huge userbase when you've got 30 million potential users right there, spreading the word for you. They already go to FB daily, so there's no extra site to check. And any updates are put right in front of your face. It's incredibly easy to get lots of users if you have the right type of app with enough viral elements.
Trust me on this. More people sign up for FB every day than will leave based on this.
elnitido52 on Dec 03, 2007
1. Facebook - the CIA conspiracy
2. Facebook's Beacon More Intrusive Than Previously Thought
After I read those articles and consulting Wikipedia Criticism of Facebook
I decided to deactivate my Facebook account...a few more IB members also did...that means, I won't be able to play PackRat...I stay safely running on my IconBuffet...
dyar on Dec 03, 2007
Why? They only have my name, a throw away email addy and I change my IP address several times a day anyhow.
See JBVision's comments.
josh
on Dec 03, 2007
Okay, I have to respond to a couple things here...
First, the CIA + Facebook link is complete conspiracy theory bunk. You're giving the US Government way too much credit. They're not *that* smart.
Second, the Beacon stuff... well, that you're just going to have to decide what bothers you. Beacon doesn't bother me that much. They did the right thing by making it opt-in. Just opt-out if you don't like the gig.
If you think Facebook tracking your actions through cookies is something new, then you might want to avoid using Google as a search engine as well. Welcome to the interwebs.
FWIW — We are continuing to evaluate many avenues to distribute PackRat through, however for the time being the launch window will be Facebook-only.
misterhaan on Dec 03, 2007
it’s one thing for a site to track what you do on that site (doesn’t apache log all requests by default?), but it’s a different thing for a site to track what you do on other sites. i haven’t looked into this thing much, but if data about what i looked at on ebay finds its way onto facebook, i don’t really like that sort of thing.
of course, the benefit of people i’ve lost contact with being able to find me using facebook outweighs facebook (and presumably microsoft since they do the ads on facebook) paying attention to what i look at on certain sites. actually, the part of this issue i’m interested in the most is how ebay can tell facebook i searched for digital cameras (i didn’t actually — this is just an example) and facebook associates it with my facebook account. seems to me that my browser shouldn’t allow that sort of thing.
misterhaan on Dec 03, 2007
huh, my blockquote tag seems to have broken the formatting of my comment.
aaroncampbell on Dec 03, 2007
I joined facebook just to try packrat. However, I dislike it very much, and will probably let my account fade into oblivion.
JBVisions on Dec 03, 2007
CIA conspiracy huh. Given that the British Govt have just managed to lose the financial information of 25 million people having burned it to some CDs and put them in the post, I think there are far less complicated ways of screwing our lives up than monitoring every move of many millions of people wandering round the web.
Steax on Dec 03, 2007
Quote:
Second, the Beacon stuff... well, that you're just going to have to decide what bothers you. Beacon doesn't bother me that much. They did the right thing by making it opt-in. Just opt-out if you don't like the gig.
Err, the opt-out doesn't work as expected. They will still transfer information, even if logged out. (That alone is making me anxious) Facebook is more than tracking my actions - they're doing it while giving me little in return. Google gives me a search engine to explore the web, facebook gives me packrat.
ZsaZsa on Dec 03, 2007
Yeah, I won't be going on Facebook. I have deleted my account.
I'm sure it won't bother 70-80% of the facebook users, so that's good for the Chefs.
anti on Dec 03, 2007
Yahoo has used a web beacon for years. There is an explanation and opt out link here. I believe that link is for US citizens, the rest of you may wish to consult the privacy policy for your area.
ZsaZsa on Dec 03, 2007
And according to this article eBay is going to use it soon. Oh noes!
Jem on Dec 04, 2007
I would rather PackRat wasn't on facebook, yes. Not necessarily the privacy stuff, I just don't want another account for somewhere else..
Steax on Dec 04, 2007
Quote:
I would rather PackRat wasn't on facebook, yes. Not necessarily the privacy stuff, I just don't want another account for somewhere else..
Ironically, that was one of the reasons why the chefs picked Facebook in the first place.
I would really really enjoy it if it were integrated into the existing schema with IB...
seanhussey on Dec 04, 2007
@Steax: Facebook doesn't give you anything? But you could Win a Prize!! :)
Jem on Dec 04, 2007
"Ironically, that was one of the reasons why the chefs picked Facebook in the first place."
..but we already all have accounts here at IB, so why not integrate it here? That's what I didn't get.
I already made it clear in another post what I think about social networking sites like facebook :p
jameshilton on Dec 04, 2007
I think one of the reasons for putting PackRat on Facebook was to attract a wider audience.
justG on Dec 04, 2007
I don't get the paranoia, but hey, to each his/her own. I'm fine with IB launching PackRat on Facebook.
aaroncampbell on Dec 04, 2007
I can't say that I'm paranoid. I don't think facebook is out to get me...but at the same time, I don't like facebook much. Having said that, I'm liking IB less and less as well, so maybe that's not the solution either.
jameshilton on Dec 04, 2007
@aaroncampbell: Why you liking IB less?
aaroncampbell on Dec 04, 2007
It gets rather boring when you run out of stamps. Don't get me wrong, the icons are still nice, but the game is pretty much non-existent. I've had 0 stamps for over 6 months now. I get stamps with the few new sets that are released, but they are always promised to people, so I get a few stamps and immediately shoot back to 0. There is no longer any challenge, etc. The icons are nice, but the game is boring.
dyar on Dec 04, 2007
One of our Members teej has developed a game on Facebook. IIRC, he has received over 530 referrals to IB from his Facebook game. PackRat could be a big source of referrals for IB, I just wish they would all come through my account.
Teej
on Dec 04, 2007
The move to Facebook is to bring PackRat beyond just the IconBuffet userbase. Obviously, not all IB members want to go to Facebook, but that's a sacrifice they'll have to make.
dyar is right, I made a Facebook app that doesn't have the same quality IB does. Yet I have a TON of users (>750,000) and it's possible that I get more traffic than IB.
If some guy in his spare time can get a ton of users to his game, think of what Firewheel can do with their influence in the Web Design community and with the power of the best designers on the web.
Steax on Dec 04, 2007
I think it'd be best if Iconbuffet is integrated with PackRat, instead of PackRat with Facebook.
Firstly, it'd give more initiative for all of us on IB to try out PR, because there's the incentive if no longer needing to manage a separate account.
Second, new players of PR will also want to try out IB, for the same reason.
Third, the general community base will expand, because people will see that we have 2 "games" now, and that would simply make people have more things to do. I mean, if we run out of IB stamps then we can still hang around for PR fun, instead of waiting for a refill.
Fourth, if Firewheel is going to produce a new game again, they can just integrate it back here.
More when I get to school later...
minienvelope on Dec 04, 2007
Depending on what PackRat is, it may or may not be a good thing to integrate it with IB. But I think that it's individual enough to be able to have its own site instead of using facebook.
I don't mind really that they're doing it the current way, but that just means I won't get to see what it is (because I don't want to sign up for facebook).
jameshilton on Dec 06, 2007
Facebook caves after privacy faux pax, Report from PC Advisor magazine HERE