Facebook deleted my account—and why this matters to you
Facebook users' wishful thinking: Cyberbullying, depression won't happen to me
Comment: Social media use has upsides and downsides (as suggested by that research), but here's the bottom line: Beyond the digital myopia is the stark cold reality that after all of these supposed advances (Facebook being just one of them), we’re now more stressed with less free time, less happy, fatter, less healthy, and if you’re in the United States, have less money even if you’re lucky enough to have a job. Tell me—this is progress?
Facebook permanently disabled my account without first warning me, so I will not be able to access that site again—nor would I want to, considering they had no justification for deleting my account. Facebook deleted the accounts of some of my friends (and many others) without warning or justification, leaving them mystified about why their accounts were disabled. If there were an infraction, their draconian punishment was far worse than the “crime.”
I bent over backwards to be nice and respectful to other Facebook users—even the two nuts I encountered—yet they still deleted my account. Don't think it will happen to you? Don't be surprised if you log on some time and see the following:
. . . leaving you scratching your head in befuddlement about what you could have possibly done to warrant a sudden and permanent account deletion with no way to appeal their inscrutable decision.
Facebook threatens to disable the accounts of people who abuse the reporting feature:
. . . but exactly what is abuse? Reporting more than ten people per month? Per week? Per day? As I explained in another article, one mentally ill person harassed me and another gloated about how blocking him would do no good because he could create an endless number of fake accounts to continue his assault, in addition to the dozen accounts he created daily to spam others on behalf of his employer, which he said was Ralph Lauren.
The fact that he could do that manifests how Facebook users can be victimized by the incompetence and/or apathy of Facebook programmers, who could easily block such abusive people—but they don't, leaving me wondering why they do not avail themselves of such a simple solution known even to beginning programmers.
Facebook is fond of pointlessly threatening users, as I discussed in an article: Tired of threatening messages from Facebook when sending friend requests? What's especially exasperating about those threats is that they could be eliminated if Facebook programmers had enough brains to solve problems logically.
In medical school, we were taught to treat patients as if they were a family member, which is good advice for everyone. Facebook fails this test miserably, just as it strikes out in so many other ways that one could write a book on what's wrong with Facebook. Their glaring conceptual errors are evident to logical people, and their software coding errors are obvious to programmers.
Kicking the Facebook habit
I announced a few months ago that I was planning to delete my Facebook account, so while I am puzzled by Facebook's capricious decision, I am not upset by it. In fact, I am smiling now, grateful to them for helping me kick the Facebook habit. As I will explain in an upcoming article, Facebook is an enemy masquerading as a friend. You don't think so? Wait until you read that article.
Was I kicked off Facebook for criticizing them?
My prior articles on Facebook flaws may have angered them, prompting a wayward employee to retaliate. If so, the thin-skinned Facebook brass needs to listen to the advice given by a wise businessman who genuinely appreciated criticism of their products because it gave him a chance to improve. He viewed them as his best customers; the worst were the ones too apathetic to complain.
It takes maturity to value people complaining about a product or service. Does Facebook have that maturity? You decide.
When people complain about something, they usually have reason to gripe. That's certainly true in the case of Facebook, which is screwing you in ways you would never suspect.
Facebook: the most hated company in America
Facebook is doomed, just like MySpace:
(1) Facebook like an infectious disease, will lose 80 percent of users, says Princeton study
(2) Epidemiological modeling of online social network dynamics
About Face: How Facebook Drove Us Away
Brands Are Wasting Time And Money On Facebook And Twitter, Report Says
Article by LinkedIn influencer Mahesh Murthy: Not Internet but Splinternet. Facebook's new Internet.Org is just as evil.
7 Reasons You Should Quit Facebook in 2015
Facebook was #1 on the list of most hated companies in America, with good reason. They have a long history of violating the privacy of users in ways that would outrage anyone with common sense. When their sneaky tricks are exposed, Facebook typically backs off, professes that they value user privacy, waits a bit, then resumes screwing users in old ways while dreaming up new privacy nightmares. This cycle has been repeated so many times it is utterly obvious they do not value user privacy! It's no wonder that Facebook has been called a “massive spying machine.” Facebook “settled with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over allegations that it exposed details about people's private lives without getting legally required consent.”
Was I kicked off Facebook for receiving inside info on Giffords' special treatment?
As I detailed in another article, one of my Facebook friends sent a private message to me indicating that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords received special treatment. That comes at a politically sensitive time, now that President Obama wants us to think the elite won't receive better care than the rest of us.
Are you next?
Have you ever heard this poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller showing the indifference of German intellectuals after Nazis began purging selected targets, one by one?
In Germany, they came first for the Communists,
And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists,
And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews,
And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew;
And then … they came for me . . .
And by that time there was no one left to speak up.
Comment: Facebook's bias became incontrovertible in 2016 but was obvious from the get-go years ago. LinkedIn has a similar bias.
And then Facebook came for Kevin the doctor … .
Will you be the next one to be booted off Facebook? Perhaps. After I heard about friends being kicked off Facebook for trivial or nonexistent reasons, I redoubled my efforts to not say anything too contentious. That's exactly what they want: to suppress free speech. To do that, people in power don't need to muzzle everyone; they need only whack a few people, knowing the message will get around that if you dare speak out in an effective way, you will be silenced. If not now, then perhaps six months from now. Once people begin self-censoring their political speech, our right to free speech is being infringed. They want us cowering in fear that if we say too much too well, we will be silenced, so we'd better shut up and let the tyrants in Washington continue to revoke our liberties. The Facebook leaders with more money than brains enjoy deciding who has the right to free speech.
If you analyze people who were booted off Facebook without justification, there is a chilling common denominator: they spoke out in ways that effectively opposed the agenda of our irresponsible government. I did that so well that I was one of the few private citizens targeted by a major liberal media character assassination organization that pays people to smear their political opponents. They are very good at what they do—explaining why their bloggers can earn six-figure salaries for smearing Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham, and Monica Crowley. Adding me to that list seems like a non sequitur, yet day after day in 2010, I was #1 on the big lib smear machine website, displacing those well-known stars.
Why target me when many millions of others are also blogging with passion to oppose Obama's policies? Clearly, they fear me. Years ago, a television producer contacted me after reading my first book. To quote him, “Dr. Pezzi, there are thousands of books on health, but no one writes like you.” He was so impressed that he paid his secretary a bonus to find me after he struck out. I've had enough similar offers to make me think that intelligent people are drawn like honey to my words, which also repel simpletons as effectively as Off!® repels mosquitoes.
As an example of their irresponsible allegations, the far-left liberal smear machine suggested in 2008 that even Bill Clinton was a racist! He responded, “You have mischaracterized [what I said] to get another cheap story to divert the American people from the real urgent issues before us . . .”
Bill Clinton—the so-called first black President—he is a racist? That's about as plausible as claiming that Barack Obama belongs to the Tea Party, yet that was the reckless allegation Clinton faced.
The Obama smear machine will viciously smear other liberals, as lifelong Democrat Kevin DuJan documented, so it isn't surprising they smeared me even though I don't agree with conservatives on every issue, nor do I like Fox News—in fact, I pillory them for good reasons (my political philosophy is an amalgamation of conservative, libertarian, and liberal principles). The Obama smear machine assigned a large group of writers to dig through my extensive writings and take a few selected items out of context to paint a very misleading picture of me. I will later tell the rest of that story. When you read it, you will realize that the smear merchants were so desperate to discredit me that they blatantly lied about what I said.
Want an example? They claimed that I try to sucker people into buying my anti-spam software. Just one big problem: I don't sell anti-spam software, and I never did. Several years ago, I developed a FREE site (MySpamSponge) that anyone can use to eliminate spam. I never charged for it, and I never will. After waiting years for Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, and other geniuses to solve the spam problem, I was so disappointed by their amateurish efforts that I learned to program and created that free site. Offering a useful free site like that is a night-and-day difference from what the smear merchants alleged.
Bill O'Reilly … bigoted?
Or is the far left just jumping the shark?
Bill Maher and a guest branded O'Reilly as bigoted for asking Obama about football during his Super Bowl Sunday interview. Bernard Goldberg termed this flimsy allegation “irrational” and “almost clinical insanity. [...] You have to be out of your mind to find racism in that interview.”
The far-left liberals are clearly using a divide-and-conquer strategy, pitting liberal versus liberal, and conservative faction versus conservative faction, with Obama coming out on top. Don't fall for this. They think we are too stupid to see what they are doing.
UPDATE: A couple years after I wrote this article, I received a nastygram in response from an Obama supporter who appears to be liberal and bigoted.
bigot (noun): (1) a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing opinion, belief, or creed; (2) a person who is obstinately intolerant of any ideas other than his or her own, especially on politics or religion, and has animosity toward those of differing beliefs.
I've angered some conservatives, including conservative friends, by sincerely listening to liberals and agreeing with them on some points—in contrast to most people who listen to opponents just to gather ammunition for a subsequent attack. Any fair-minded (that is, not prejudiced) person who reads everything I've written—not isolated bits of it—will see that I am very open-minded: receptive to new or different ideas and the opinions of others. Open-mindedness is the polar opposite of bigotry.
Once a bigot's small mind jumps to a premature conclusion, he or she basks in perverse small-mindedness, forever patting himself or herself on the back for their pettiness. In contrast, open-minded people like me are willing to change our opinions when there is good reason for that. In my articles in which I side with liberals, fair-minded conservatives would agree that even if they disagree with my conclusions, they could not fault my logic and warmheartedness that led to them.
While I will likely never be a fan of Obama, I went from a reflexive dislike of his policies (virtually all of them) to agreeing with him on various issues, and even defending him and his wife. In my Fox News article, for example, I presented evidence that they are not as “fair and balanced” as they claim. Fox News and their allied partisan hitmen (and women) criticized President Obama and his wife for their normal human flaws, but they turned a blind eye to unquestionably worse actions committed by one of their conservative darlings. That's not fair and balanced, so after years of being a Fox News fan, their ideological intolerance grated on me to the point I became a fed-up foe.
While my political opinions have changed more than I ever thought possible, I still loathe Facebook for very good reasons. People who love or defend that site are oblivious to its many flaws that could be corrected, but aren't, and thus are inexcusable. Wise people will wonder why they are not corrected; wise and smart people will wonder the same but know why.
Spreading the word
I cannot let my Facebook friends know why I suddenly vanished, so I would appreciate it if you would spread the word about what happened to me.
Staying in touch
You can contact me and subscribe to this blog to be notified when I post new articles. Thank you!
Notes:
- Brands Are Wasting Time And Money On Facebook And Twitter, Report Says
- The Hidden World of Facebook "Like Farms"
Comment: Fakebook. - Snapchat CEO Predicts Facebook Will Violently Implode The Same Way Yahoo Did
- What Happens When You Break Up With Facebook: Nothing
- Eat24's Hilarious Dear John Letter To Facebook
Excerpt: “The letter goes on to cite this Veritasium video asserting that Facebook's paid programs to help businesses earn more fans employ click farms that generate fake or irrelevant "Likes" from international locations Eat24 doesn't serve.”
Comment: Fakebook? - Internet Advertising: Paid Search Ads Don't Always Pay Off, Study Finds
Excerpt: “ … advertisers may not be getting their money's worth.” - Fighting Facebook, a Campaign for a People's Terms of Service: “Social media companies say consumers’ loss of privacy is just the cost of doing business. But what would happen if they actually had to bargain with users on equal footing?”
- Facebook devolves into dark web of anonymous hate speech
- Why Facebook is Not Secure
- Facebook is a massive spying machine, says Assange
- Top 10 Reason Everyone Should Destroy Their Facebook Account (One reason: “Facebook is not technically competent enough to be trusted.” That's true. Want proof? One of the many Facebook mistakes allowed people to access Zuckerberg's personal information, which revealed that his latest hobby is slashing the throats of animals. If Facebook can't protect Zuckerberg's privacy, can they protect yours?)
- On Facebook? New Algorithm Can Guess Your SSN (and hence lead to identity theft, which can destroy your life. It's not wise to trust your privacy to a man, Zuckerberg, who thinks nothing of it, and in fact tricks you into revealing data that can give you endless nightmares.)
- On Second Thought: Facebook wants to know why you didn't publish that status update you started writing.
Excerpt: “The same code Facebook uses to check for self-censorship can tell the company what you typed, so the technology exists to collect that data it wants right now.” - On Facebook, ‘Likes’ Become Ads
- On Facebook, Your Privacy Is Your Friends' Privacy
- Using Facebook Gives You No Privacy, Not Really
Comment: Excellent analysis. Conclusion? It isn't wise to use Facebook, which is a minefield of potential risks. - How to Stop Facebook from Tracking You
Excerpt: “Most people don't realize that Facebook can continue to monitor their internet activity, even if they are no longer logged into the site.” - This Is How Facebook Is Tracking Your Internet Activity
- Privacy Attacks in Social Media Using Photo Tagging Networks: A Case Study with Facebook
- 3 Ways Facebook Plans to Exploit Users
- Using Facebook seems to make people more miserable
- The Disruptive Technology That Will Replace Facebook
- Meet The Facebook Conscientious Objectors
Take-home message: Facebook's violations of user privacy will only get worse. - Survey: 1 in 3 Facebook users getting bored with the social network
- Leaving Facebookistan
- Facebook is People!: Why I Quit Mark Zuckerberg’s Online Collective Data Farm
- [Facebook IPO] Status: Liberated—Breaking up with Facebook is hard, but the right thing to do
- More Facebook Friends Means More Stress, Says Report
- QuitFacebookDay.com
- U.S. Federal Trade Commission: Facebook Settles FTC Charges That It Deceived Consumers By Failing To Keep Privacy Promises
Excerpt: “The social networking service Facebook has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public. … The FTC complaint lists a number of instances in which Facebook allegedly made promises that it did not keep.”
Comment: Facebook doesn't just lie, but through their teeth, and repeatedly. - Facebook settles sponsored stories suit for $10M
- Facebook and Your Privacy by Consumer Reports Staff: Shocking ways that Facebook spies on you even when you're not on Facebook, and even if you're not a Facebook user.
- Is Facebook's 'Like' button spying on you? The Facebook "Like" and Twitter "Tweet" buttons that appear on so many websites do a lot more than just help you share content with friends
- Facebook: The Spy Who Liked Me
- 'Like' Button Follows Web Users
- Germany’s Campaign Against Facebook’s Like Button: Just the First Blow Aimed at the ‘Spy Machine’?
- Security Protocol for Online Banking and Facebook Has ‘serious Weaknesses,’ Say Researchers
- Instagram furor triggers first class action lawsuit
Comment: The Zuckerberg cancer is spreading. - Federal Law Needed to Safeguard 'Digital Afterlives', Expert Argues
- As Facebook grows, millions say, 'no, thanks'
- Why (and How) to Turn Off Socialcam on Facebook (yet another sleazy Facebook app that could give you nightmares—or worse)
- Nine Major Ways Criminals Use Facebook
- How Facebook Helped Screw Up P&G's Ad Budget
Comment: Facebook is highly overrated, and so is the value of advertising on it. - Facebook IPO: Buy or Beware? Beware! The comments following that article demonstrate that Zuckerberg may be smart enough to fool investors whose greed overshadows their common sense, but he can't fool average men and women. Despite all of its flaws, Google helps people in many ways and hence provides valuable services that give investors reason to think that company has genuine, enduring value. In contrast, almost everyone I know is fed up with Facebook's endless privacy violations and exasperating user interface, making users eager to jump ship when a better alternative appears. Remember MySpace? It once was King of the Social Networking Hill, and now it's a pathetic has-been on the market for a fire-sale price. Its users tired of its flaws and moved on. Users will migrate away from Facebook, too.
UPDATE a few days after Facebook's IPO: As Facebook's Stock Struggles, Fingers Start Pointing. I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. Facebook stock will likely go up again as clueless investors concoct new reasons to delude themselves, but Facebook will ultimately flop.
UPDATE 5-29-2012: Facebook shares plumb new depths, valuation questioned Janet Tavakoli, president of Tavakoli Structured Finance, said “The valuation [of Facebook] is a complete bluff. There is still a long way to go down from here.” Excerpt: “General Motors announced it was pulling out of paid advertising on the social network, citing Facebook's unproven track record and echoing potential concerns about the lack of evidence that advertising on Facebook yielded strong returns on investment.” Comment: Wise move by GM. Facebook users are better at ignoring ads than viewing them and buying things as a result of them. There's a simple secret to maximizing the value of online ads, but “genius” Zuckerberg is too busy slicing the throats of animals to think of it. In early June 2012, an insightful commenter said, “Only an idiot would buy stock in Facebook (a.k.a., Flopbook) and expect to get rich. They got rich by scamming people from the start, so why would investors think anything has changed since then?”
UPDATE 7-17-2012: Facebook shares slide as user growth in question
UPDATE 7-27-2012: Facebook’s stock is tanking – did investors get played by big banks?
UPDATE 7-31-2012: Facebook sinks to record low as doubts grow
UPDATE 8-17-2012: Facebook shares clobbered again, down 50% from IPO
UPDATE 8-20-2012: Facebook director Thiel sold 20 million shares after lockup
Comment: What is the common denominator that limits the success of high-tech companies such as Facebook, Microsoft, PayPal, and even Google? They have a glaring lack of common sense (read about one way in which Google manifested their deficiency).
Following articles about Facebook, reader comments reveal pervasive loathing of that site, with good reason. It is technically inept and run by someone not only bereft of common sense, but seemingly bereft of decency. Mark Zuckerberg called his users “dumb fucks” for trusting him—something he has repeatedly proven by heinously violating that trust.
If people were wise and circumspect, they'd delete their Facebook accounts and instantly turn that site into what it should be: a cyberspace ghost town. Even if you don't know about Zuckerberg's affinity for slashing throats … well, let me put it this way: Being normal is overrated. Most people have quirks, and geniuses often have even more of them. Zuckerberg is reportedly a very bright guy, so I'm willing to give him some latitude for being odd, but his personal pathology has been translated into Facebook pathology. That's obvious to me as a doctor, and it is increasingly obvious to many Facebook users.
Here is a comment that should alarm Facebook investors:
Guess who? I suspect that one of the big free dating sites does this, too. Others think that Google does it.
- Eighty-three million Facebook accounts are fake
- Excerpt from The Social Media Bubble (aka The Facebook Bubble): “In the end, you can't help but note the overall frivolity of the social media phenomenon, especially in such grave economic times. Many aspects of the social media boom simply aren't genuinely useful to society, the way a boom in biotechnology or alternative energy would be.” Exactly!
- Sickfacebook.com: an anti-FaceBook blog
- Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?
- 350 million people are suffering from Facebook Addiction Disorder
- Facebook’s Gone Rogue; It’s Time for an Open Alternative
- Facebook tracks your every move, even after logging out
- Facebook tracks you even after logging out
- Facebook Apps May Be Sharing More Personal Info Than Users Realize
- Privacy Paranoia: 5 companies you should think twice before trusting (this includes Facebook, #1 on their list, and Google)
- Facebook uses YOUR face to promote products to other users
- Don't believe in conspiracy theories? Read this about Facebook
- Facebook’s Got a Reputation Problem: Harris Poll (gee whiz, I wonder why?)
- Facebook Privacy Concerns: A Majority of Facebook Users Don’t Trust It (with good reason!)
- Facebook Now Takes Up About As Much Of Our Time As Grooming Or Chores
- AllFacebook.com, which bills itself as “The Unofficial Facebook Resource”
- A Google search for Facebook flaws currently returns over 9 million results.
- Will Facebook Destroy Your Job Search?
- Are You a Facebook Addict?
- Jake Reilly's 'Amish Project:' 90 Days Without a Cell Phone, Email and Social Media (I applaud him for having the wisdom to realize how these distractions harm our lives and the real relationships in them.)
- Facebook Users Ask, 'Where's Our Cut?' Comment: Some investors think Facebook is worth $50/user. Get real. I know one person who clicked on a Facebook ad, and none who bought anything as a result of it. Businesses will realize that they are wasting their money advertising on Facebook. When the ads dry up, so will Facebook, leaving Zuckerberg more free time to slash the throats of animals.
- Facebook Timeline: Disliked by the Masses
- ‘Facebook vacations’: Droves of users take breaks of several weeks or more, study finds
- Facebook "defriending" led to double murder, police say
- Over 3 years later, "deleted" Facebook photos are still online
- Schneier: government, big data pose bigger 'Net threat than criminals
- Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes buys the [liberal] New Republic
- Unthink.com says it is the “anti-Facebook” and will give users complete control over their personal data.
- Facebook Says That If You Use The Site You Agree To Its Bogus Claim To Hold A Trademark On 'Book'
- How The Facebook Bubble Is Driving Online Startups Into The Arms Of Offline Advertising
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”
— F. Scott Fitzgerald
Reference: Imagining dialogue can boost critical thinking: Excerpt: “Examining an issue as a debate or dialogue between two sides helps people apply deeper, more sophisticated reasoning …”
Comments (20)
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Comment #159 by Marni Hand
Contact the commenter via MySpamSponge: alixromanov 
April 3 2011 04:21:52 PM
Missing you on FB
Sorry to hear that you were bumped from FB, but it doesn't surprise me, as I've been hearing about this happening to folks that have a brain. I'm still using your tip to post long messages by adding a photo.
Much luck to you in the future.
REPLY FROM KEVIN PEZZI: It's nice to hear from you, Marni! :-)
Facebook recently deleted the account of yet another one of my friends. Ironically, FB is booting people who've done little or nothing wrong, while their CEO has reportedly done things online that are felonies.
Comment #155 by David Shipp
Contact the commenter via MySpamSponge: captainofmysailboat
March 10 2011 01:07:53 PM
Start a new Facebook page?
Not sure why you don't just start a new Facebook page. I have more than one and I know many others who have more than one.
REPLY FROM KEVIN PEZZI: One of my friends did that after her account was deleted five times (for no good reason, I might add; see the below Comment #127 by Caree, which includes a picture of a woman climbing a ladder). I would consider creating a new account if I knew why I was booted off (and FB respected user privacy), but I might go to the trouble of acquiring thousands of friends only to be deleted once again.
Secondly, I was planning on getting off Facebook before my account was deactivated. Their privacy intrusions are shocking! I encountered one that no one has yet written about that is so dangerous I know I cannot return to that site.
Comment #141 by Anonymous
Contact the commenter via MySpamSponge: iyq
February 21 2011 12:53:10 AM
Facebook's blocking feature is a failure
If someone blocks you on Facebook, they become invisible to you. If the blocker is a stalker or otherwise abusive, you can NOT block THEM--because they are invisible to you!
But they can UNblock you at any time, continue stalking or making lewd, threatening comments ... and then BLOCK you again. And you can't do anything to stop them!
REPLY FROM KEVIN PEZZI: That's exactly true, which is an unforgivable flaw on the part of Facebook programmers, who evidently don't give a hoot about this problem.
Comment #140 by Ki Ritter
February 21 2011 12:16:45 AM
Options
I have had issues with Facebook too. I get frustrated with it. I have explored other social networking sites geared to my specific interests (political), and find them all sadly falling short of even Facebook. I hear from programmers that they "could do better" -- similar to your own claims in this article. But no one has yet. If you find a decent alternative, PLEASE, let me know. Until then, I'll tread water with stupid Facebook.
REPLY FROM KEVIN PEZZI: I already programmed a site (track-this.info) that does a MUCH better job of connecting people than Facebook, but my site connects people via e-mail, which can lead to pages posted on my site or anywhere else. Thus, my site gives people all of the utility of Facebook without Facebook's endless privacy and security issues, but I think people want a site that connects them with their friends in one integrated site.
Facebook has one glaring flaw: despite what their motto is ("making the world more open and connected"), Facebook users are walled off from the rest of the world. This is antithetical to what the Internet is supposed to be about, and I know exactly how to fix it. In fact, one of the keys to that connectivity is visible in this page: the clickable hyperlinks that use another one of my websites, MySpamSponge. I'll explore this topic more in an upcoming article.
To get an idea of what MySpamSponge can do, mouse over the orange link in any of the comments where it says, "Contact the commenter via MySpamSponge." The info box that appears will give you an idea of what that site can do. When coupled with track-this.info or any other site, it vastly enhances the utility, openness, and connectivity of that site so it is NOT walled off from the rest of the Internet.
I programmed track-this.info and MySpamSponge to be as simple or as powerful as users want. While I have a number of pending additions to enhance their capabilities, what I have now is immensely powerful when combined, giving users the ability to do things not possible with Facebook. Plus, I REALLY care about user privacy and security; I don't just give it lip service, as Facebook does.
I'll make an offer to anyone who can bring me enough users to kickstart a site to compete with Facebook: Bring me enough users (at least 25,000) to make it worthwhile to program, and I'll program the site, host it, and make you a part owner.
Comment #138 by Fraza
February 20 2011 09:19:38 PM
They disabled my account, too
Sorry to hear about what happened to you. I had the same thing happen to me this past Monday, my Facebook account was disabled. I was exposing Islam and other things such as fluoride in our drinking water, high-fructose corn syrup, mercury, lead, and other poisons being put in everything from our vaccinations to our hair products and such. Anyway they claim that I had a fake account and wanted some personal info on me including a government ID with my picture, full name, and date of birth.
I sent them everything they asked for and yet I still have not gotten a response back from them. They also wanted to know my Hotmail account and password which I know was very strange. Either way I have no account without any notice or warning.
Comment #135 by Mary Larsen
Contact the commenter via MySpamSponge: buffalomary
February 19 2011 03:02:38 PM
I want you back on Facebook!
Hi Kevin,
I just found out your Facebook page was deleted! I am so sad because of it. :( This is so wrong! I am learning so much from you. Will they let you back under a different name? Is there anything I can do to help you get back?!!
REPLY FROM KEVIN PEZZI: Thank you for your kind words, Mary! I think we should challenge Facebook on their banning me, because as you and other friends know, I did nothing to warrant a sudden and permanent expulsion from that site with no possibility of appeal -- or so they say. With enough public pressure, they will back down or look like fools for not doing it. They have relented before. If they don't do it for me, they will manifest that Facebook is a far-left site in which figuratively walking on eggshells isn't enough to safeguard users from arbitrary deletion.
Comment #133 by Iris Mentus CEO of "American Jihad Watch" • Website: www.americanjihadwatch.com
February 19 2011 10:24:52 AM
Facebook disabled me because I report Jihadis to the FBI!
I am a founder of a watchgroup that monitors strictly Facebook at the moment for jihadi messages, weapons, threats, any type of communication. I always forward my discoveries directly to my contact at the FBI. I DO NOT USE the Facebook report option. Facebook sent me a letter telling me that I infringed on a group of "HAMAS" snipers that I was watching post for the past three weeks that culminated in one of my watchers in Texas (a sheriff) contacting the FBI there because the threat turned valid.
I had a group of 1000 watchers in the USA and around the world 24/7. Facebook disabled ALL their accounts as well! AND MY WEB SITE HAS BEEN HACKED and torn apart, floating in cyberspace! ALL because we dared to take on some "Al'Qassam snipers" and Facebook tolerated their hate messages more than our messages of the threats they posed to the USA! It's unbelievable that we could be brought down this way! Other watch groups were CRASHED on FB as well! This is a violation of our rights. We are only reading info that they post up or messages. I NEVER HAVE EVER entered an account illegally, if I did that then maybe the Bureau would not follow up and I value their input!
I just wanted to send this to you to let you know that we all fear this is a prelude to Facebook becoming JIHAD CENTRAL ... none of their profiles got deleted!
Sincerely,
Iris Mentus
REPLY FROM KEVIN PEZZI: As I discussed in another article, Facebook allowed a nut to rant on month after month, abusing other users with her profanity and threats, which included discussions of shooting people, including a Member of Congress.
Facebook cannot justify why they permit such conduct while banning users like me and your group. One of my childhood friends is a retired federal agent who now volunteers for a group that helps strengthen border security. That group does great work and acquired 5000 friends on Facebook, which deleted them without warning or explanation. I've seen other friends do great work and be suddenly booted off Facebook for no valid reason.
Facebook seemingly wants us to receive the following message: If you are too effective in opposing Obama's agenda, we will make life difficult for you.
We can keep banging our heads against that reality, or we can get off Facebook NOW! Facebook is at war with common sense, so continuing to use that site is only feeding the enemy.
Comment #131 by Laura • Website: www.twitter.com/LauraStraightUp
February 18 2011 08:06:31 PM
ROCK ON!!
Take the deletion as a compliment. You're too smart for Facebook, and you obviously reached too many in their Two-Faced book. Keep speaking out, it's our responsibility to keep speaking out. The media (with the exception of Fox News) isn't informing us.
This is proof of what we suspected was going to happen. Our freedoms are slowly diminishing (not slow enough) and we're being pissed on while being told it's raining.
This is being posted across the board, all over Facebook, so More Power To Ya! This is an obvious truth that's going to fly up in the deceptive faces that are hitting the delete button.
When the people hit the delete button, the lamebrained Left will have no one speaking for them or their non-existent careers.
You've got more who support your cause than those who feel so threatened by it they have to ban you, so keep on writing and spreading the word!
:)
Comment #130 by Jo
Contact the commenter via MySpamSponge: banonca
February 18 2011 07:16:54 PM
Conservative site
There is a site called Freedomtorch that will not delete your account. It's pretty informative.
Comment #129 by Anna Dean
February 18 2011 06:59:21 PM
Sorry they deleted you
Just make another profile: same name, different email, and this little gadget will help as well:
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=155754851103704
I wish someone would start a Facebook alternative: an exact copy of FB so everyone could just move over there. Just a blog or a website is not enough!
REPLY FROM KEVIN PEZZI: I agree. Programming such a site isn't terribly difficult, nor is it expensive until the volume of users increases server needs (but by that time, ad revenue could easily pay for the servers). I've already programmed a site that could serve as a Facebook substitute, but again, programming is the easy part. The hard part is getting a critical mass of users.
Comment #127 by Caree
February 18 2011 05:50:39 PM
Kevin, I had the same thing happen to me 5 times!
Hi Kevin, I was wondering what happened to you. I have experienced the same 5 times being disabled by Facebook in the last 2 years.
However, I will NOT let them control me or take away my freedom of speech so I came back each time under a difference email.
I just want you to know how much you are missed!
I will never give up my fight for my freedom of speech and if Facebook thinks they are taking that away from me, all I say is MOLON LABE!
Keep in touch Kevin. You have my email so keep in touch.
You're a GREAT AMERICAN! We must fight for our freedom and liberties.
My best,
Caree
REPLY FROM KEVIN PEZZI: For those of you who don't know Caree, I will explain the significance of her account being deleted five times: it removes any doubt that Facebook is trying to suppress the free speech of conservatives. It takes a lot of work and time to acquire thousands of friends. By repeatedly deleting an account, Facebook makes it more difficult to network with people. It's like climbing a ladder, heading for that top rung of 5000 friends, only to be knocked off before you reach the top. Even if you still keep on climbing, Facebook can keep you down and perhaps make you want to give up. Admirably, Caree does not.
Facebook's slogan is, "Making the world more open and connected." However, they clearly want to make it more difficult for conservatives to connect—even ones like Caree, who did nothing to justify an account deletion. She is a great American who believes in the Constitution and devotes a lot of time to getting involved in our political process. Our Founding Fathers would be very proud of her. If there were a dictionary definition of how to be a model citizen, you'd see Caree's picture next to it.
Comment #126 by David
Contact the commenter via MySpamSponge: myheritageamerican
February 18 2011 04:49:58 PM
Deleted from facebook
I've admired your writings for a long time even before Facebook. Keep writing on.
Comment #125 by Jay Mills
February 18 2011 01:17:51 PM
Bologna!
Some are always more equal than others. We have free speech but then people call it hate and bigotry when someone is not getting their way. Especially with the perverts aka the homosexuals. They are threatening our free speech and the liberals act like they're so nice yet they make some of the most outrageous threats, bully relentlessly, make personal attacks, and slander you with blogs and give out your personal information. The liberals are sick, twisted, sociopaths.
REPLY FROM KEVIN PEZZI: The far-left smear merchants and their allies have broken several federal and state laws to stalk, harass, threaten, intimidate, and libel me. I can't say too much about this now, but in the coming months and years I'll tell the rest of this shocking story. One would need to be mentally unbalanced and totally unconcerned with the truth (and laws) to do what some of them have done.
But why? I am just one person with opinions. If I were wrong, the liberals wouldn't need to attack me to try to deter people from paying attention to me; my readers would just go away and read another blog. Judging by the effort the libs have devoted into assailing me, they greatly fear what I write because it is true and makes an impact.
Comment #124 by Paula Haggerty Mitchell
Contact the commenter via MySpamSponge: conservativefnp
February 18 2011 10:48:23 AM
Deleted
Kevin I was also shocked to find out you were deleted. Your deletion is a concern for me on many levels. I am exchanging emails with some of our common friends to keep in contact with any of them in case one of us is deleted. Keep up the good fight.
Paula...silent no more...
REPLY FROM KEVIN PEZZI: I agree, Paula. We can't be silent. This is an assault on free speech. As I pointed out above, people in power who want us to shut up don't need to muzzle everyone; they need only whack a few people, knowing the message will get around that if you dare speak out in an effective way, you will be silenced.
Obama gets on his high horse and speaks about how free speech is so important to people in the Middle East while the army of bloggers who work for his pal George Soros are busy picking through every word I write, looking for some way to smear me, hoping to deter people from reading my articles. My readers are smart, not stupid, and readily see what the far-left smear merchants are doing.
I think we should publicly pressure Facebook, directly or indirectly, to either reinstate my account or to justify why they permanently banned me without warning. As you suggested in the message you sent to me earlier, the timing of my account deletion may not be a coincidence, given the timing of Zuckerberg's meeting with Obama. In an e-mail exchange with a friend, Zuckerberg himself called his users "Dumb fucks" for trusting him.
Comment #123 by Anonymous
Contact the commenter via MySpamSponge: iyq
February 17 2011 09:28:24 PM
Your Friends Miss You, Kevin
You are missed, My Friend, and hope you will stay in touch by continuing to send email notifications like the one that first alerted me to the fact your Facebook account was deleted.
Ted Decker
Comment #122 by Sharon Diana
Contact the commenter via MySpamSponge: smartlady2011
February 17 2011 07:10:09 PM
Facebook monitoring postings?
Kevin,
Thanks so much for your response and especially for your kind words. Coming up with this alternative means of communication was nothing short of brilliant on your part! We will prove that there is, indeed, life after Facebook.
I am curious about some things, and with your technical expertise, maybe you know the answers. Does Facebook employ people to monitor the postings of selected persons, or is it done randomly? Do they monitor "notes"?
Thank you for all you do and keep up your good work!!
REPLY FROM KEVIN PEZZI: Facebook doesn't have enough employees to read everything from every user. They generally rely on users flagging content as inappropriate, but once a user comes to their attention for any reason—legitimate or not—it would be easy for them to subsequently monitor everything he or she wrote.
It is also easy to program a site to automatically flag content containing a certain word or phrase, regardless of how that is used: offensively or benignly. All it takes from that point on is some inexperienced and undereducated Facebook employee to misconstrue what was written out of ignorance or laziness, or to deliberately twist it if their political viewpoint is different.
As I will point out in the article I am now writing, Facebook uses a particularly strange brand of logic to decide who to ban from their site. They booted me off without justification, yet I saw another person repeatedly write about shooting people she didn't like.
Comment #121 by Misty Hausmann
February 17 2011 02:50:15 PM
Facebook is abuzz about you being deleted
Many of your Facebook friends have copied and shared this link on their walls. Everyone is abuzz about you being deleted.
There is some activity on Jack Cassell's wall. People are asking questions if you are coming back in another way.
REPLY FROM KEVIN PEZZI: Thank you, Misty, and thanks to all of my friends going to bat for me. I won't go back to Facebook; I could spend over a year rebuilding my friend list only to have them dump me for another nonexistent reason. I will soon write an article on how people can stay connected without Facebook.
Apart from its many bugs and privacy flaws, one of the biggest drawbacks of Facebook is how it makes it so difficult for people to stay connected, as I discussed in a prior article. I had many friends who never saw my postings on their wall, and I never saw any of theirs, even though they and I were quite active in posting content. Thus, while one may have thousands of friends, Facebook heavily filters what everyone sees, as I discussed in that article. We need a better way to connect. I have one solution so far and another on the way.
Comment #120 by Wendy Linden
February 17 2011 12:30:08 PM
Can't believe it!
Dr. Pezzi,
I miss your postings already! Misty posted your link and I shared it. Hopefully all your friends will do the same.
Let me know if you locate to another social networking site or if you should start your own.
I really think of us as friends and you are always such an incredible help.
3 3 Wendy
REPLY FROM KEVIN PEZZI: I feel like you and Misty are part of my family. :-) I will send a private message to you.
Comment #119 by Misty Hausmann
February 17 2011 12:22:50 PM
I feel like I am missing an old friend
I was shocked to find out your account had been deleted. I have become addicted to your posts, comments and notes Dr. Pezzi.
Although we connected through Facebook, I feel like we have become friends and miss you already.
I have posted this link on my Facebook page so others will know where to find you.
You should know that your name is mentioned regularly on Being Liberal and other Lib walls like Dale Richeson. The Libs really do feel threatened by you and try their best to discredit you by twisting your words and perverting your posts. Out of context doesn't even begin to cover it.
I will check back to see what else you will be talking about.
Please let me know if you start something on another social networking site.
Much Love,
Misty
Comment #210 by Anonymous
May 7 2012 08:03:41 AM
Facebook is evil
Facebook is a Big Brother plague that people are willingly infecting themselves with.
REPLY FROM KEVIN PEZZI: Yes, but as mentioned above in Facebook and Your Privacy in the Notes section, Facebook snoops on all Internet users, not just Facebook users. Whether or not you're logged in, whether or not you want anything to do with them, they've given themselves the right to snick their noses into your life. If people were wise, they'd boycott that site and any site that has anything to do with them—even something as seemingly harmless as a LIKE button, which might as well be called a SPY button. If we did that, we'd get rid of Facebook and its myriad dastardly ways of screwing us, and the next big social networking site would bend over backwards to respect our privacy.