In another companion blog post, I have discussed briefly an application or downloadable programme called AdBlock (see link below). I use another not dissimilar extension when online but for slightly different reasons, as it has a rather specific use. In this instance I talk of FLUFF BUSTING PURITY and its specific area of operation is Facebook.
Originally this programme or extension was called Facebook Purity but Facebook objected on the grounds of copyright, which is quite reasonable. It should also be noted that FLUFF BUSTING PURITY is not an approved Facebook extension, indeed Facebook strongly disapproves of the use of FLUFF BUSTING PURITY. The objections go beyond the original copyright issue. Facebook objects to FLUFF BUSTING PURITY because it interferes with the way Facebook wants you to use their platform. Let that sink in for a moment.
It is a matter of control. FLUFF BUSTING PURITY gives the user control over settings and overrides some Facebook pre-sets, allowing the user to individually configure certain settings.
Tired of Facebook turning the newsfeed to top stories, despite you choosing most recent stories? Download FLUFF BUSTING PURITY and settings such as that can be fixed permanently. Perhaps you are tired of a newsfeed full of sport, politics or similar? FBP can fix that. You can block phases, words and subjects easily by typing them in a box. I blacklist several sports if you are interested.
There is even a rather entertaining option that you will be notified when you are defriended or when someone on your friend list deactivates their account. This can sometimes mean that you have been blocked by that individual. I find this aspect of FLUFF BUSTING PURITY quite amusing.
No doubt by now you have realised that I rather like FBP but you may be asking why Facebook doesn’t approve? That comes down to one particular issue and that issue is advertising. By fixing the news feed off top stories, not only is Facebook unable to promote its own agenda but you can also reduce the amount of advertisements you see. Furthermore by downloading FBP, you will also have the option of blocking all sponsored advertising.
As with that other wonderful innovation AdBlock, the use of FBP to block advertisements raises a few ethical questions. We are now using Facebook without ‘paying for it’ even though that payment is in ‘time taken’ to view an advertisement. Also like AdBlock we can use FBP without necessarily making a donation. So once again we have access to a service for free.
Is it ethical to use any of these services so freely? Do we have an obligation or a duty, to at least pay our way in some manner? I have asked these questions in my other post and they are not easy questions to face.
Often advertisements are not on their own particularly annoying. It is the manner in which they are presented that remains the issue. They can be and frequently are intrusive and even irrelevant. We may even feel that they are forced upon us. This is the consent issue that I briefly touch upon in my other post. Were we asked if we wanted advertisements included in our newsfeed or is it assumed as part of the conditions of service?
Facebook will deny the sharing of the FLUFF BUSTER PURITY website, informing us that it is a banned site. On the first application of the extension, Facebook will inform us that it is a dangerous programme. This is untrue. Amusingly FBP actually has a Facebook page and a link to the website can be found via that page. The fact that Facebook disapproves of FBP but has not closed the page down, is in all honesty mindboggling.
FLUFF BUSTER PURITY is marketed on its ability to allow the use of Facebook without the ‘extraneous rubbish’ that may clutter the newsfeed. It allows a degree of personal configuration and that is why I like it. My use of Facebook is primarily as that of a communication tool. I appreciate the ability to streamline certain aspects of the World’s most used but perhaps not the World’s most popular, social networking site.
FLUFF BUSTING PURITY FACEBOOK PAGE
https://www.facebook.com/fluffbustingpurity
FLUFF BUSTING PURITY WEB-PAGE
Daniel Bran Griffith - The Chattering Magpie 
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