What would it take to make a Facebook alternative with Fluther standards?

It would take time, and a lot of computer nerds.

Fluther standards is what brought me to the site—and made me stick with it so easily. These standards only apply to a number of people though, because so many others just aren’t into keeping things at a certain level, you know what I mean? I like the idea of FB with standards, though. I bet it’d get quite a following!

@Axarraekji Exactly. So many people aren’t into keeping things this nice and friendly. That would kind of sift people out. Have you noticed that every so often, we get a few people but they don’t stick around? They decide that they don’t want to bother (or the mods decide that they can’t), and we don’t have to worry about turning into Y!A. And then we get a few people that decide it’s a good site! And we welcome them happily.

@Jeremycw1 I know a few computer nerds…I might have to ask them about it and see what they think. This would be a great project.

No sellouts for pussy like Mark
—rumor has it it he started FB to get laid, copying Hot-o-meter and lifting babes’ data from files not his own, and he has been whoring ever since. shame shame. he must have gotten some puss by now.

In order for FB to have really have standards, they would need to have people to enforce the standards and we all know how much some people love moderators. Having all the rules in the world only does little good if no one is enforcing them.

It’s being worked on, although at the moment the name escapes me.

I’d be happy if they would just adopt the text styling capabilities we have here. I can’t stand that there’s no way to emphasize something other than putting it in ALL CAPS. For all the rest of the annoyances, there’s always the “hide” button. I use that thing like it’s going out of style.

There have to be firm rules, and a moderator corps to see that they are followed. Facebook is way too public to enforce Fluther type standards. In the future, when Fluther begins to expand to the vast general public we will lose most of the community feeling we now enjoy.

I was in on the beta testing phase of Yahoo, and I assure you it was very much like Fluther in those early days. We had monitors who actually cared about enforcing the guidelines, who were genuinely interested in our suggestions, and took a personal interest in the future of the site. I even got to talk to David Filo, one of the Yahoo founders, about my concerns of the issues, when the corporation hosted an all expense paid award ceremony for the Power Users.

“Mark Zuckerberg, will delete your account if you don’t copy-and-paste the chain to at least 15 other posts?” What exactly does that mean? I haven’t been on Facebook for a few days but I haven’t seen that. What chain?

Anal moderators.

Fluther, just don“t whore yourself.

@YARNLADY do you think Fluther will suck a weenie when it grows up just like Yahoo Answers does?

@anartist Never! Bite your tongue. :P

@anartist I have no idea what you mean by that

I’m not sure it could work with the amount of users Facebook has. Also, the layout of each person having their own page to modify wouldn’t lend itself easily to mass moderation like we have here on a message board system.

I remembered a wordpress plugin that sort of tries to mimic Facebook. So I thought I would try it.

Wordpress + Buddypress = What I got going in 20 minutes

It works pretty well as a mini facebook that you can control.

@theichibun :: You are probably thinking of Diaspora.

I swear I tried and tried but I cannot like FB. I wanted to use it – to spy on my kids – then just to communicate with them – and to stay in touch with friends and relatives abroad. It’s easy to upload a video and photo – even easier to just write something and have everyone read it – yet somehow, I HATE THE DAMN THING and hardly go there. Is it me? It must be me – it’s so popular – I read it has half a billion members?

I’m with @zenele. I just can’t get into FB. I use it for a few things, but it’s not like you can actually have a conversation there.

@YARNLADY you were saying that “when Fluther begins to expand to the vast general public we will lose most of the community feeling we now enjoy.”

@zenele I find FB useful to keep an awareness of what all my nieces and nephews are doing and have found old friends and made connections on it that have been meaningful. I learned of the death of a friend who had moved to Hawaii, and I helped another friend get published. It is what it is, public, no replacement for the intimacy of other friendly contact between known individuals, and seeded with data-mining. Still, it serves a purpose, far beyond Zuckerberg’s original intent.

@anartist I’m not knocking it – I’m just not enjoying it.

@anartist I don’t know what suck a weenie means. I sounds obscene to me and I can’t imagine how it has any place in this discussion.

@YARNLADY—I think he meant suck – as in bad – and added the “a weenie.”

“do you think Fluther will suck a weenie when it grows up just like Yahoo Answers does?”

The more users there are the harder they are to control. It is inevitable.