A bit more on FD

[rabidsamfan]

The defenses are starting up, claiming that FD is just an archiving service, and after all people can do screenshots and save on their own computers etc, and what's all the fuss about? .../users/subbes/1112291.html is one of the defensive posts. I haven't bothered arguing with them there, and I don't suggest that you do either, but... (edited to cut out the direct link. I don't want to catch any more of these idiots attention than I have to.)

"Fr*ienditto allows for the archival of friends-only entries."
It takes a private entry and turns it into a public entry. And then sends the entry out on an RSS feed! (At the minimum it was going to a community on LJ, but if you understand RSS you know that's not the only place it would go.) It does all this without the permission, or even the knowledge, of the original author. It does this knowing that LJ set up friends-locking as a way of limiting distribution, and that whether or not the TOS mention the possibility, the fact remains that there is a tacit agreement among us to respect the right of other LJers to limit distribution of entries.

Frien*ditto phishes for passwords. There have been a couple of memes and quizzes that have done that too, but I skipped them. I understand, and I hope most people do, that if someone has my password they not only have access to my entries, but to my profile, and to the personal information that might be there. Certainly if I put a private locked entry at the beginning of my journal for emergency purposes, they would have access to that too. Yes, protecting that password is my responsibility, but it is still unethical for anyone to try to persuade me to give it to them! There are plenty of new computer users out there, and youngsters, and I don't blame the sheep when a wolf starts tearing out throats.

ETA: And the worst thing about this whole mess is that now I'm too worked up to WRITE, &%^$$#&#!
Goes back to staring at list of drabble requests and trying to think...

ETA2. The asterisks are intended to foul up search engines while I sleep. see earlier entry. Don't know if possibility is real, and am too flipping sleepy to follow through.

Comments

[semyaza.livejournal.com]

Some of those who responded to that post that you link to have rather--how shall I put it--dubious reputations, and are not to be credited. What this morning's version of the Frienditto site said was that the posts would be made private if one became a Frienditto member. Very unethical, to say the least. I don't know how anyone can believe that this is merely an innocent archiving service or in any way comparable to saving posts on one's hd.

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

That's why I didn't answer anyone there. I figured the last thing I wanted was them trolling my LJ.