Facebooooooook

I was just wondering, how many of you girls/guys have people you've met on this here site, on FB as well? I was recently asked (I won't say her name in case she doesn't want me to!) if I wanted to exchange mine and we could keep in touch. Am I the only person that gets a little weird about adding people on FB? I really only have people I have met on there in real life (which is ironic I'd have an odd fear about adding people, seeing as I met my bf online 7 years ago)  I only have one woman I've met on these forums on there, but that was after we really got to know one another. Probably taking social networking too seriously..

But, yeah, just wondering.. I am a bit inarticulate today, forgive me. D:

My FB is all real-life friends, family, work colleagues, and I think 2 or 3 other people that I have talked to online for a fairly long time. 

I have quite a few UKY friends on my FB list. But don't feel you have to. I have plenty of friends who will only add people they actually know in real life - if that's what you decide to do, everyone will understand.

I have quite a few UKY friends on my FB list. But don't feel you have to. I have plenty of friends who will only add people they actually know in real life - if that's what you decide to do, everyone will understand.

I agree with this--I have uky'ers but wouldn't mind if someone didn't add me

I'm the same as Chary and HG.  There are now many people on my FB I've not met in person, but I enjoy their company nonetheless .

It's a mixed bag really- I've added a few people from this site or others as facebook friends, and so far I haven't had any major problems (besides just unfriending them or ignoring their crazy posts) But I know a few people who have had to actually get restraining orders or close their accounts because they added someone and they turned out to be a nut-bar!  In the end because I have kids, I've decided to put people I've only met online in a group together and give them a certain security setting.  Family, friends ect... can have access to everything else.  Makes me feel better.
 

I have a couple of long timers on here, and have met a few people IRL who have later added me to FBook. I never add people but if they ask to add me and I *know* them more than a few exchanges then I normally will. My Facebook is so incredibly dull anyway unless you're a 14 year old boy then it's gold dust. There's very few pictures of me, lots of pictures of food and lots of games industry news/gossip

I've added people from another forum I visited (mostly so we could all play Farmville together *shame*), but I did put them on stricter privacy settings than my IRL family and friends.  But I also have my younger cousins on stricter privacy settings as well, just so I don't have to worry about what I post so much. 

It's easy enough to set up groups of people and restrict them to what you want them to see if you are worried!

Facebook has settings that you can use, to allow you to only allow certain people to see everything.
You can create lists, and put some people on as Restricted.
I do use that feature.
So, I have people that can see everything I post, posts that the whole world can see, and posts that only my closest friends can see.

That said, I have had some very, very good, and some very, very bad, experiences with adding people from expat sites and pages to my personal fb wall.

So, now, if and when I add someone new, who I have never met in person, I set them to the Restricted list, and if all goes well, and we get to know each other a bit better, and I feel I can actually communicate with them regularly and freely, and safely, I eventually un-restrict them.

The thing is, many studies show, that if people have never actually met, it increases the likelihood that they will, if they are imbalanced, or unhealthy, inconsiderate and possibly combative and abusive to people online.

And, it is hard to tell, sometimes, how someone actually IS through their online posts. People online often misunderstand others, because physical social cues are not included in the conversations - it happens to me all the time. My sarcasm does not translate well. I have been accused of being everything under the sun, when in fact I am just kidding, or being ironic.

Sometimes people just go online to find someone to pick a fight with. They actually LOOK for things to 'take the wrong way' and enjoy having a go at people. They get a thrill out of making trouble.

So, one must be a bit careful.

But, I have also met several people online and formed real life, personal friendships with them, and they have become an important part of my social scene and support group! One of my closest friends in London is someone I met on a facebook group page about a year and a half ago! We go out for coffee about three times a week, and we talk on the phone all of the time. So, ya never know...

And, several of the people who are on this board have mentioned that they met their spouses through facebook! So, people even fall in love on facebook (and other online sites), which I personally think is awesome - So "Modern Love" of them! 

Try creating a restricted list, and a close friends list, and adding people that way? It only takes about 5 minutes to do it, unless you have 50 million friends!

I'm the type that doesn't add people I don't know on my facebook. For me, facebook was my way of keeping in touch with all my friends and family with ease, so I don't really want a million people I don't know on my facebook as they bog it down with feeds I don't care about, which detracts from me being able to see whats going on with the people I actually DO care about!

However saying that, UK Yankee people are my ONE exception! I have met a few, will hopefully meet a few more soon, and have some I haven't met at all, BUT we have many things in common (For example, one of my UK Yankee/Facebook friends is someone who moved here from the exact town I used to live in, so we can reminisce about home, etc.) So yeah, I don't mind UK Yankee peeps on my newsfeeds, especially if we have things in common and can share a laugh or two.

Feel free to ask for mine and no, I wouldn't be offended if you weren't comfortable adding me before meeting me. You have to do what's right and comfortable for you!

I have quite a few people from UKY who are my friends on FB. It all started with Farmville, many moons ago as well as the Holiday Gift Exchange that we do every year.

I was a bit apprehensive at first, but I've met a couple of people in real life from here since then and overall my UKY Facebook friends tend to be more interesting than most of the others! 

But ultimately, it comes down to what you're comfortable with. People can't hold that against you!

I've added a few people from other sites and it hasn't been a problem, but I think you need to do what you're comfortable with. As Chary said, I think people will understand if you want to limit you friends to people you know in real life. If a person is offended by that...well you probably dodged a bullet! 

But I also have my younger cousins on stricter privacy settings as well, just so I don't have to worry about what I post so much. 

I've done that with my cousin's children as well as some elderly relations and friends' mothers, etc. I call it my 'no swearing' list.

I really love that on Facebook you can wipe people from existence which you can't do on UKY, so on UKY they go on ignore but you can still see their posts when you reply and that they exist.

On Facebook I can wipe people who's comments I don't enjoy from the face of the earth, so even though we have mutual friends and might make comments on other people's Facebooks/statuses etc, I NEVER have to see their stuff! WOO!

cheesebiscuit, DITTO.