"John Doe wants to be your friend" (Facebook) He died 2 1/2 years ago!

by FatFreek 2005 6 Replies latest social current

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  FatFreek 2005

  I just joined a few days ago and the topic is true. John (not his real name) is my wife's nephew and got killed in a road accident 2 1/2 years ago.

  I've therefore come to the conclusion that most folks wanting me to be their friend are simply a computer algorithm, that my feeling bad by not answering their plea would hurt their feelings and risk our friendship, is not founded on reality.

  On another topic, one question that I have is: if I search for a person on Facebook does that person somehow learn that I did a search for him?

  My son, who is a Facebook expert, of sorts, says no.

  What say you?
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  Jeffro

  If you received a friend request, then it is a specific account holder that sent the request, though the account could be a fraudulent copy of an account, or a bot-controlled account, or another person has taken over the person's account.
  

  However, if it was just a friend recommendation ('people you might know') it would only require that the account is still active (i.e. not closed or memorialised) for the algorithm to suggest the friendship based on whatever criteria Facebook uses.

  No, the other person would not be notified that you searched for that person, though it is possible that Facebook might flag it as a factor for suggesting that the person may know you.
  
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  mynameislame

  In addition to what Jeffro mentioned, if you search they won't know but if you click on their profile it might show that. I'm not really on facebook (I have an old fake account that I never log into) but other social sites i'm on do that. You can always try searching without logging in but facebook isn't too keen on that and usually hides most information.
  

  Also if you let them have access to your email address book you may get some "interesting" suggestions. Pretty much any information you put in will be used to make recommendations. Schools, jobs, where you lived friends of friends, etc...
  
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  FatFreek 2005

  Thanks, Jeffro and MyName...
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  stan livedeath

  i had been concerned about people knowing i had done a facebook search for them..people i knew many years before: but if they do find out--they can approach me if they want to.

  one embarrassing thing happened a few months back:

  a birthday notification appeared on my fbook--a cousin i hadnt seen since his childood--we occasionally chatted on fbook. I wished him a happy birthday. His older brother ( my age ) replied that he had died the previous year. I never knew.
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  FatFreek 2005

  Your concerns, Stan, have been my concerns as well. Sorry about that cousin of yours.
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  stan livedeath

  FatFreek 200532 minutes ago

  Your concerns, Stan, have been my concerns as well. Sorry about that cousin of yours.

  actually--he had 10 extra years of life--he suffered from a serious heart condition--ending up with a heart / lung transplant at Papworth Hospital UK

  in that extra 10 years--he re-married and returned to work.

  Just a pity we didnt meet up in person since his childhood.