Facebook Chat is Stupid

[i7omahawki]

For all you facebookians out there, I have a question: have you ever had a meaningful conversation on facebook?

Here's how an average conversation goes between me and a facebook friend:

Me (thinking): Oh god, that person's online. I hope she doesn't start a conversation with m-
Them: HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII BAAAAAAAAABEZZZZZZZZZZZZ HRU???
Me (thinking): I'm in deep shit now. If I go offline, it might hurt their feelings. If I talk with them, I could be in for as long as an hour.
Them: WHY YOU NO REPLY :'(((((((((((((((((((((
Me: Hi, (Person's name). How are you?
Them: HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
Me: ... That's nice.
Them: OH HAHAHA YOU SO FUNNEH
Me: ...
Them: so... watcha doin
Me (thinking): What do you think I'm doing? I'm on facebook aren't I?
Me: Nothing much...
Them: OH GOTTA GO LUV YA BYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEE <3

Stupid? Useless? Annoying? I think yes. I'm constantly bombarded with people starting useless conversations with me. Please tell me ONE thing facebook chat is good for.

Umm, I think you're blaming facebook for YOUR choice of friends, which is a bit absurd. That's like my complaining about my phone company because all of my friends have annoying voices.

Facebook chat isn't a great IM, no, but its quick and convenient for arranging and planning things, which is generally what Facebook is for anywho.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

I think you just need better friends, OP.

I second this.

I have a Facebook to keep up with friends and family who currently live far away from me, and I have a general rule of only friending* people that I know in real life.

And not to sound like an elitist prick, but I don't make friends with the kind of people who would say things like "HRU???" in an IM chat or a text message.



*I hate that the internet turned "friend" into a verb.

 

[zhoominator]

For all you facebookians out there, I have a question: have you ever had a meaningful conversation on facebook?

Here's how an average conversation goes between me and a facebook friend:

*Stupid conversation*

Stupid? Useless? Annoying? I think yes. I'm constantly bombarded with people starting useless conversations with me. Please tell me ONE thing facebook chat is good for.

Uhhh... chatting to people? I use it all the time during the summer to chat to people that I don't get to see very much outside of term-time. Just because the people who friended you on facebook can't use it in a mature manner, that's not the chat system's fault. I'm quite phone shy and don't like sitting in front of a webcam, so Skype's pretty much out of the question.Facebook is something I use anyway because it's an easy way to contact other fellows and to remind me of coming events I want to go to (plus I use email for work or study related things rather than social things) so why not use the instant messaging system.

But regardless, meaningful conversations? Maybe this is just me, but I believe that meaningful conversations should only ever be made in person unless that's completely impossible. So no, but neither would I have one on the phone, or by text, or by email, or by letter.

I may as well say that e-mail is stupid because I get lots of junk mail or that the telephone is stupid because the receptionists I have to phone up are mostly arseholes. The invention isn't stupid, people are.

Frankly, I get sick of threads telling me how I shouldn't be using things or that I'm thick for doing so. If it is of no use to you, fine. But don't tell everybody that it has no application when there are very obvious ones that you just don't happen to use and/or need.

If you were to be criticising the system of the chat however, I would be much more sympathetic. Why is it now that my instant messages and "private messages" use the same system. I often use the chat in the presence of other friends and I don't want them seeing everything I've said in the other messages. That's bullshit.

 

[Kolby Jack]

Nothing wrong with the chat.
You just have stupid friends.

uh yeah i know right hes wailing on the chat but its the person talking thats clearly annoying

solution, pick better "friends"

This. Or if you honestly want them to shut up, just tell them to shut up. As long as you don't know them in real life, who gives a crap how they feel?

 

[Mr. Bojangles]

It's nothing to do with the chat, it's your friends. Or at, least your Facebook friends.

 

[Pat8u]

tell me about it I was playing facebook games when some person who I really would like to forget about talks to me about if I still play the playstation (primary school Memorys incoming *patrick runs away and hides but they are catching up and hes hit by them*)

Parents are also annoying on facebook

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Well someone's grumpy today aren't they?

If bad grammar, bed spelling and abuse of the caps lock bother you so much you could always just, y'know, not use the chat, or don't have those people as friends, or just be honest with them that it bothers you. As annoying as that person must be, you going and bitching about them behind their back to a group of total strangers makes you out to be a bit of a condescending douche, which in my book is worse than dumb and annoying.

 

[commodore96]

If you have a smart phone say you were on that, therefore you can tell them you didn't see it.

 

[ZRendZ]

Congratulations you share an opinion that about 90% of the internet has.
As for the way people talk this isn't facebooks fault, just the retards who think the internet is an excuse for poor spelling. It does really irritate me when people lengthen wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooords like thissssssssssss. what makes it worse is when the word is shortened lyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyykkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk that. usually when people talk like that i either say "Are you texting or something?" or "Would you write like that in an exam?"
-shrugs- I don't really use social networking, unless Tumblr counts.

 

[Jodah]

Step one : Get annoying message
Step two : Pretend you are afk
Step three : ???
Step four : Profit!

 

[Ace of Spades]

I have had meaningful conversations on facebook chat, but that's more to do with the people rather than the chat system itself.

 

[Icehearted]

Social networking is all pretty awful to me. Forums are fine, we're here for a common interest, but Facebook and twitter, crap like that. I've never had any interest in it, or the kinds of people that use it regularly.

 

[alandavidson]

I think you need better friends.

 

[Weslebear]

That's just the cretins that happen to be online at all times no matter what, it's like the have a fucking rota.

I haven't appeared online on FB chat in 2 years.

 

[AgentBJ09]

I don't have Facebook, but I will say that LolBot usually displays the best gags of the site anyway, so I don't have to waste my time making an account to see them.

Failbook does the same kind of thing, and it shows a lot of the worst of Facebook, which are even more reasons why I refuse to open an account.

 

[Shiny Rabbit]

I think the only problems with Facebook chat are the connections constantly dropping (and it being generally terrible).

I have meaningful chats with my girlfriend on there all the time.

 

[omega 616]

snip

appear offline? Be firm and tell them to shut up or just not talk back?

I have had serious talks and such, it just depends on what friends you have. If you have a lot of Californian girls then I assume your chat would look like that, if you talk to more serious people you will get better conversations.

 

[Smerf]

once google plus is out of the beta (or whatever it is in) im gonna get off facebook for good