zlacker

>>southe+(OP)
It's funny because Facebook's news feed in the last couple years is unusable, filled with AI slop and clickbait. Twitter similarly requires aggressive use of block + mute to eliminate scams, clickbait, and other content I'm not interested in.

I don't know if this is due to their changes in moderation policy, or if AI has overwhelmed them, but I vastly preferred the old news feeds

>>object+sS
A few years back it started showing me obvious political ragebait. I ignored it and then it started showing me pictures of women whose nipples were obviously showing through their clothing, which was an improvement, but still not the reason I signed up for Facebook. I've always understood it as the algorithm is looking for engagement and will try some lowest common denominator tactics to engage in it. As someone who just wanted to see the odd picture of a friend or relative, I don't have much use for Facebook these days.

>>silver+R21
Same here. There was nothing I could do to get my feed to not be full of provocatively insulting and irritating political posts. I’d unfollow, unfriend, block, say “show me less of this” and so on. But when I’d unfriend some person, very next thing on my feed would be political content I didn’t like from some totally random person on my friend list who I’d never interacted with. Meanwhile I’d notice that people I actually knew in person had life events I’d want to know about - got married, took a nice vacation, had children even, and FB had never showed me stuff like that! So I just stopped using it entirely. Then when I went back after a few years, the site demanded my driver’s license. So guess I will just never sign in again.

>>code_d+Dw1
>some totally random person on my friend list who I’d never interacted with.

While the Algorithm(tm) is complete garbage, you could also probably add less Totally Random Persons(tm) to your "friends" list.

If Totally Random Persons(tm) are getting added automagically, we have bigger problems.

>>Dalewy+yy2
But that would be the wrong solution to the problem. I should be able to add whomever I want, and then be able to mute them permanently.

>>stavro+l73
I think if you add not-friends to your friends list, the Algorithm(tm) perhaps justifiably recommends things from your friends list, and you get junk recommendations, the problem isn't entirely the Algorithm(tm)'s fault.

You feed the Algorithm(tm) garbage and it returns you garbage, and somehow it's all the Algorithm(tm)'s fault.

>>Dalewy+fj3
FB has an entire team of very well paid people whose entire job is to tweak this algorithm. Presenting relevant content is the whole concept. I suspect where it goes wrong is chasing “engagement” at all costs despite whether it’s emotionally pleasant to the viewer. FB doesn’t care if I actually like the content they present - just whether it keeps me on the site longer. That is, I believe, a poor choice since, at least in my case, it led me to stop using their service.