NPCER: is it just me, or has FB gotten crappier lately?

[ttt]

Is it just me, or has FB's "top stories" feed gotten significantly worse lately? I'm getting all these "Girl You Went To College With has been friends with Total Stranger for 3 years! Here's a bunch of pictures of them!" and "MLM Salesperson You Don't Know posted a picture to High School Acquaintance's timeline!"

I thought their algorithm was supposed to be getting better and show you more relevant stuff. 

[Velar Fricative]

Yes. It's one of the reasons why I just don't check FB as often as I used to and don't post anywhere near as much as I used to (other reasons include just being busy).

[cattledogkisses]

Yeah. I've basically been done with Facebook since they took away the option to make "most recent" view the default, and took messaging out of the app.

I just check it once in awhile now to keep up with people who aren't on Instagram.


And I'm with you; I hate the timehop stuff and the "so-and-so has been friends for 4 years!" and the random stranger stuff that's showing up in my feed all the time now. I've tried to hide it and it keeps coming back.

[josieposy]

Yeah why exactly am I supposed to care how long Susie and Debbie have been friends?

[IIOY]

Finally, one shitty FP trend that doesn't seem to be impacting me (yet).  I'm still stuck in the "feed completely out of order" phase. People will post photos and I will see them three days later, if I'm lucky. The app is total shit.

[aurora]

Yes! I was just looking around in their settings last week to try to figure out how to reduce the number of people I don't know showing up in my feed after a friend likes their picture. I couldn't find anything relevant to change. Annoying.

[cattledogkisses]

I actually deleted the Facebook app and just use the mobile version. It's loads better than the app. I can easily set my feed to most recent and it will actually stay that way, and I can still use the messaging without having to download a whole new app.

I also use the "hide" feature liberally. Any time I see random people showing up in my feed I click down the tab to the right of the post and click "hide all from [random stranger]."

Those things have made Facebook slightly more tolerable. But yeah, it still sucks.

[Vespasia]

Yes, it's worse than usual. I hid a bunch of people on my feed recently. Now all I get is "Your friend liked total strangers photo" posts and the photo. I don't care!!! I wish there was a way to turn this off.

It also bugs me that my pictures may appear in a random strangers feed. I have it set to friends only but I don't trust FB.

[jinkies]

Agree about the recent posts thing. It drives me nuts. Also, I will look at FB on my phone, then 3 seconds later on the computer and get an entirely different feed. I'm in several groups that coordinate everything through FB, or else I'd probably give it up.

[taratru]

Yes. I was just thinking about how on my phone, all I get are videos. It's super annoying.

[pescalita]

It's really awful. I've hid several of the quotes/minions/random video sorts and I'm about to hide some more.

A HS friend commented on how she wishes there were separate feeds for "real life updates" and "random crap" so you wouldn't miss someone's baby being born in a feed full of minions. That would be a really cool feature.

[oreos]

I'm having the same issue. My feed is also full of randos' pictures that some of my friends have "liked".

[speckledfrog]

I hate that it keeps reverting back to top stories. Those are NOT TOP STORIES to me. The ads that look like stories are what's killing me.

[leeba25]

Yeah the random minions stuff and the "she played the piano. What happens next will AMAZE AND ASTONISH YOU" videos. It is amazing to me that people promote these pages and businesses with crap memes that have nothing to do with the page, and I'm forced* (I know, I know) to see it. I don't know why I still go on FB, I really don't. My visits are becoming fewer lately as a result.

[Deleted]

Yep. I'm trying to get DH to switch to Instagram since he rarely does anything but post pictures. Once I get him switched over I'm going to quit FB.

I deleted almost everyone from high school & college recently and it still didn't help.

[cattledogkisses]

Sept 15, 2015 9:05:40 GMT -5 pescalita said:

It's really awful. I've hid several of the quotes/minions/random video sorts and I'm about to hide some more.

A HS friend commented on how she wishes there were separate feeds for "real life updates" and "random crap" so you wouldn't miss someone's baby being born in a feed full of minions. That would be a really cool feature.

I had a friend say that we should be able to hide posts by subject matter, which would be awesome. Hide all MLM shilling, game requests, animal abuse photos, political rants, mirror selfies, etc. 

[itsme]

All I have been seeing are people's likes. It is dumb.

[heyjude]

It's always been crappy.

I do not like the new "share this lame memory that was lame then and still is 4 years later" thing they are doing now though.

[ttt]

Sept 15, 2015 10:32:09 GMT -5 heyjude said:

It's always been crappy.

I do not like the new "share this lame memory that was lame then and still is 4 years later" thing they are doing now though.

I actually like the "memories from X date" - I think they're fun. I do not delude myself that they would be of interest to anyone else besides me and possibly my H, though. 

[lyssbobiss, Command, B613]

FB has gotten really bad I the last 2 years. When I load it on my PC it has a hard time and has to keep reloading itself. Then it constantly wants to remind me of my own posts and keeps notifying me about when my friends became FB friends with their spouses. No one cares. Bring back literally any other version of Facebook.

[josieposy]

Can we just perma-ban anyone who posts those f***ing "she looked to her left and you won't believe what happened next!"

[josieposy]

Ooh I have another feature suggestion! Anything you try to post that has already been debunked or clarified should have a "are you sure you want to risk looking like a dumbass?" pop-up before posting it.

[cattledogkisses]

It's frustrating that they don't listen to their users. From my googling it looks like they rolled out "top stories" in 2013. Everyone hates top stories. Everyone. This is not something that people hated at first and then eventually got used to. People still loathe it.

I'm sure it's ultimately something to do with advertising and making $$$$$$. The money-grubbing always ruins apps. See also: Pinterest.

[heyjude]

Sept 15, 2015 10:35:49 GMT -5 ttt said:

Sept 15, 2015 10:32:09 GMT -5 heyjude said:

It's always been crappy.

I do not like the new "share this lame memory that was lame then and still is 4 years later" thing they are doing now though.

I actually like the "memories from X date" - I think they're fun. I do not delude myself that they would be of interest to anyone else besides me and possibly my H, though. 

Sure. But do you share every one?

The worst is people who constantly like their own posts and pics from the past so they get bumped up in the newsfeed to the present. I have someone who constantly does this.

[jeaniebueller]

Sept 15, 2015 10:45:20 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Sept 15, 2015 10:35:49 GMT -5 ttt said:

I actually like the "memories from X date" - I think they're fun. I do not delude myself that they would be of interest to anyone else besides me and possibly my H, though. 

Sure. But do you share every one?

The worst is people who constantly like their own posts and pics from the past so they get bumped up in the newsfeed to the present. I have someone who constantly does this.

Or every time my MIL reverts her profile picture back to her picture from 3 years ago, a bunch of friends comment on it....again. Ugh, the oldz.

[heyjude]

Sept 15, 2015 10:36:49 GMT -5 josieposy said:

Can we just perma-ban anyone who posts those f***ing "she looked to her left and you won't believe what happened next!"

You should have seen this girl's expression when she saw yet another upworthy link in her newsfeed.

[redheadbaker]

Sept 15, 2015 10:36:49 GMT -5 josieposy said:

Can we just perma-ban anyone who posts those f***ing "she looked to her left and you won't believe what happened next!"

It's click bait and FB's algorithms are SUPPOSED to limit how many people see it (the way they limit how many people see posts that have to do with giveaways, or pretty much anything that directs you away from FB's site), but it's not happening enough. I've just unliked any page that posts stuff like that.

[sparrowsong]

Yes, it's terrible. I miss when it was real status updates, personal photos and that's it. Now it's ads disguised as posts, inspirational quotes, can we get 100,000 likes for this veteran on his bday?, share this photo if you care about kids with autism...

I've all but quit using it. I came very close deleting it one night but realized there are a couple people that I wouldn't hear about at all and I would miss, and a couple groups I participate in that I still like.

[ttt]

Sept 15, 2015 10:45:20 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Sept 15, 2015 10:35:49 GMT -5 ttt said:

I actually like the "memories from X date" - I think they're fun. I do not delude myself that they would be of interest to anyone else besides me and possibly my H, though. 

Sure. But do you share every one?

The worst is people who constantly like their own posts and pics from the past so they get bumped up in the newsfeed to the present. I have someone who constantly does this.

I don't share any of them I agree with you about this, actually, just saying I like seeing my personal "memories from this date", privately. I don't particularly want to see anyone else's.

[pescalita]

Sept 15, 2015 10:35:49 GMT -5 ttt said:

Sept 15, 2015 10:32:09 GMT -5 heyjude said:

It's always been crappy.

I do not like the new "share this lame memory that was lame then and still is 4 years later" thing they are doing now though.

I actually like the "memories from X date" - I think they're fun. I do not delude myself that they would be of interest to anyone else besides me and possibly my H, though. 

Yeah, I love seeing them for myself, I have the notifications set up. I almost never share them.

The thing about just not using it anymore is, there's still stuff I want to see in there about my friends and family. I just don't want to miss it for all the crap.