Is Facebook getting too complicated?

People are leaving facebook in their millions and google have created a site that is meant to rival facebook.

I've just taken out my facebook (or Farcebook) frustration out on a duff 20 year old hard drive.I imagined it had Facebook on it. After throwing it to the garden path extremely hard several times just moments ago, I've just physically let out my frustration. The surface has only just been scratched and the hard disk has only seen the start of what I have yet to throw at it, or should that be, throw it at!

Hey biscuitbum, thats the message coming over loud and clear - average person doesnt know how it works! Thats why theyre stuck on 400million! t aint going nowhere no more.

I cant even work out how I send a message any more. Suddenly one day they just change it all. But that's techno dorks for you, change for changes sake....LEAVE IT ALONE and get a life!

So are some of you saying that other social networks aren't a waste of time?

I`ve recently been added as a friend by an ex work colleague, a lovely person, and although I had signed up to facebook, and was delighted to hear from her, I really have little idea how it all works.

Can't understand the fascination with facebook, every break, lunch and on the train home from work my work collegues have their phones clamped in their hands frantically tapping away on this stupid site. "oh he's changed his status" and "WTF has she wrote that on my wall for?" is all I hear and I just think it's saaaaad! If people want to keep in touch then why not phone, email or text? Status: Emma is waiting to have a bath. Zak is cooking. Frank has just ordered a curry........and this is relavent because?

Today is Facebook Suicide day, and in protest against the lack of privacy and many other concerns, people are deleting their accounts.

It is not true that if you deactivate your account it will be deleted after a period of time, you have to specifically request its deletion by going to the following link :

http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_account

Way to go!!!!

I was just listening to the news. Can anyone explain to me why facebook should need a "panic button"? What's wrong with the "off" button on the computer?

This has to be the best site on the Internet at the moment.

http://www.facebook-sucks.com

Gainsborough lad, this is a myth. Perhaps Facebook should charge though. I'd imagine a lot of people would find it a difficult habit to break and would fork out the cash.

I don't use facebook much at all, but a lot of my friends do, facebook has just anounced a £4-00 a month charge for it's users, (£48-00 a year)

If this goes ahead, slowly but surely friends re-united will make a comeback.

Yes get outside in the real world and meet real people its much more fun. I tried Facebook and the main reason for closing my account was the Powers that be logging everything you do and everyone you contact. But I saw no actual use for the site. its for the socially inept and makes them fel they have friends.

Has no one got anything better to do then waste time on facebook !!! Get a life for gods sake!

Towbar: here, here! You've now joined a new enlightened network of people who can see Facebook for the juvenile school playground that it is.

MikeP: sadly this is a new and growing phenomenon. Probably best to call it something like social network spam, for that is pretty much what it is. If you've ever used Twitter you'll know what I mean as it's much worse there.

I closed my Facebook account, which only had minimum data anyway. In fact you can't close it, you deactivate it, and they hang on to your information which appears to still be available to God knows who.

In the last few days I've had messages in my email, via Facebook, from 'friends' whom I've never heard of, rubbish in text language. I don't even dignify such cr@p with a reply.

The idea of Facebook is a good one. I have always felt this, but my reasons for thinking it have changed somewhat over the past couple of years.

Initially, it was a fantastic way to keep in touch with people and break the ice (I was just beginning a new Uni course at the time). Great - very useful. Once I started to get into it, I think I probably did what most Facebook users do and spent far too much time looking up old friends, old flames and checking out who they were friends with and befriending them.

Somehow, I thought that the more friends I made on Facebook the more enriched my life would be.

However, since the evolution of the Facebook interface and the increased functionality with the oh-so-annoying insertions of third-party plugins, I have suddendly realised that the most precious thing abou the newtorking site is that it is there as a constant and massivley irritating reminder of the reasons why we are no longer in touch with a lot of people.

I have now disabled most email alerts from my profile, so it's less of an issue, but recently I was getting twenty or thirty emails a day telling me that I had been invitied to join "Slap James in the Face Society" or to sponsor someone I haven't spoken to for twenty years to do a sponsored walk for their pet gerbil's hip replacement.

I now spend very little time on the website and have drawn a rather sweeping conclusion, well, two of them:

1. The number of friends (I use the term loosely) that you have on Facebook is inversely proportional to the number of friends (mates wouldbe amore acurate word) you have in real life. (I have lots of Facebook friends but revel in having a few close, real friends.)

2. Facebook has become a bloody waste of time. For everyone. For some, a waste of money too.

So, I suppose Facebook started off as a great idea but has outgrown its shoes as far as I'm concerned. Do away with all the accessories and break it down to the basics. That's what it's for.

Well I use facebook to comminicate with people online, fans who share an interest in my music or whetever. I don't play the games often, but it's nice to chat with someone who shares the same interest

I have to agree with most of the comments put on to this site, especially about get a life etc.

Why do I agree, because I wrote this gripe.

The only reason I tried to get on to facebook in the first place was to see some of the things a couple of my grandchildren were apparently (according to other people who had read it) said they had put on and which if true were quite disturbing to me. Before you accuse me of prying, I would consider it more of trying to be a responsible Grandparent. Just to give you an example of the stupity of this and other sites like it and the stupid things, (which in my opinion and I am entitled to my opinion) people put on them, this is what my youngest Grandchild put on hers this weekend, presumably as a joke, or at least I hope it was a joke, the words, " Home Alone this Weekend" now dont you think that might, just might, attract the wrong type of person, to find out where home is and ???? the thought doesnt bear thinking about. Luckily nothing happened but how stupid can you get, and yes we did tell her she was stupid to do it and so did her Mum and Sisters. Being old enough to look after yourself does not mean being able to cope with all situations that may arise.

Hope this explains my reason for writing this gripe in the first place. Couldn't agree more when someone put ' will be glad when this and all other sites like them vanish ', maybe the reason it was created in the first place was well meaning, but like all things created for humans, things tend to get out of hand.

I have been looking for my porpoise on Facebook as I heard it was a good place to look up old friends. But I didn't see my porpoise on there, nor indeed any sea-dwelling animals. Without an aquatic theme, I really cannot see a long-term future for Facebook. I'm looking forward to Fishbook and MyPlaice which apparently are coming out next year.