Anyone who knows what a Top 8 is, this post is for you.
It’s a top five site on the whole Internet, but still, MySpace is fraught with problems: the code is scandelously ugly, too much spamming, Tom is nearly forced on you when you arrive.
These are also problems about how to use MySpace, things we have the power to deal with, if we can get a consensus. Therefore, in the efforts to improve the experience I offer my musings about MySpace etiquette…
- If you and a friend have a falling out, is it appropriate to delete them from your MySpace friends? (This question was first asked on Molly’s blog)
- Is it wrong to not accept a strange person or strange band as a friend? How about not accepting someone you recognize but aren’t particuarly close with?
- What are the parameters for friend poaching (i.e., you see someone you know listed as a friend’s friend)? Do you need to know them yourself, or is the friend of my friend my friend?
- Is it wrong to take down someone’s comment because it was offensive? What if it wasn’t but it played loud audio or video? What if it didn’t do that either, but it included an image that was too wide and broke the structure of your site (I’m expecting only the web designers are still with me here).
- Is it expected that two people both set to “in a relationship” should list each other in the #1 foreman position of their Top 8, or is it enough just to include your significant other in your Top 8 (and if you have expanded to 12, 20 or 24, does your significant other still need to be among the first 8)?
Feel free to share your thoughts on any or all topics. If you want to visit our MySpace pages. Here is mine, here is Selena’s.
My thoughts:
1. It is appropriate to delete them, but it makes it look like you care. I tend to not bother.
2a. No, it is not wrong – I accept no invitations from people I don’t know in real life. 2b. However, if I know someone in real life (even if only a little bit), I’ll accept them.
3. I don’t nab other people’s friends unless I actually know them, too.
4. Sure, delete away. I went to great lengths to make my page look inoffensive to the eye (and ear), and people don’t get to mess with that.
5. It’s pretty dorky, but I would say yes, you and your sig oth should be each others’ #1.
I hate myspace…but I got
slightly addicted to it…
You don’t like it when Tom forces himself on you? Is it wrong I like it??
I delete everyone I don’t know. All requests and invites as well.
I’ve only deleted “people” that I added in a rush to have more than 2 friends…i.e. celebs.
I poach friends, but only if I know them and didn’t know they were on myspace.
I’ve not deleted any comments, but so few comments come to me.
My #1 is…?it changes depending on my mood of the current person.
I’m not really hooked in to the whole MySpace thing. I was addicted to Friendster about 4 years ago but that only lasted a month.
But — I have the same #1 question about Netflix friends. If you have someone that you’ve had a falling out with, is it better to delete them as your friend? Or, like Onyah says, does that imply that you care too much? Do you think it’s better to just leave them there indefinitely or let them do the deleting? So far, the falling-out person has been my Netflix friend for 6 months past our last conversation….
I just let myspace.com do the random arranging of my friends because no one friend of mine is more important than another.
Of course you know you’re my boo though, Greg.
1 I agree about the whole not bother with deleting a friend.
2 I only add people that I want to and people I know.
3 I also nab other friends as long as I already know them.
4 I have no thoughts on this one, but I do find it annoying to have to scroll back and forth to see someone else’s page.
5 I don’t think you need your significant other to be your #1, but that #1 person better be someone who’s in really high regards, for instance, my cousin is my number 1 and only because I promised it to her. Mike’s number two but it really doesn’t matter to him, he’s never on here anyway.