Facebook is gaslighting the web. We can fix it.

Re:Facebook is gaslighting the web. We can fix it. by chc on Monday November 21, 2011 @05:45PM (#3263180)

I don't see how you can describe the statements "Facebook is gaslighting the web"† and "Facebook has moved from merely being a walled garden into openly attacking its users' ability and willingness to navigate the rest of the web" as anything but wild accusations. You might argue that, as wild as they are, they're nonetheless true — but they are accusations and extreme ones at that.

I certainly feel that Anil's post could have benefited from at least a cursory application of Hanlon's razor.

† For those who don't know, the term "gaslighting" refers to a form of mental abuse where you undermine a person's confidence in their own perceptions and competence in order to retain their belief or loyalty. The typical example is an abusive husband who keeps his wife from leaving by making her feel like it's all her fault.

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Re:Facebook is gaslighting the web. We can fix it. by benregenspan on Monday November 21, 2011 @08:03PM (#3263545)

Agreed. I was expecting a much more substantial argument from Anil, but instead the post offers a list of disparate concerns without any real attempt made to link them together or to justify such strong statements. There are all kinds of explanations for discontinuing RSS import support and for malware warnings that do not point to nefariousness on the part of Facebook.

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