On 19 Jul 2010 20:58:47 GMT, John Stumbles
wrote:

Having just, with some unease*, bitten the bullet and signed up to
facebook** I'm gobsmacked how many people it suggests as friends, most
of whome I know but some I haven't corresponded with for years. How does
it do it? I haven't offered it my address book but ISTR it invited me to
do that. Is it that everyone else has done so and it's finding my
email addy in other people's address books and offering links that way?

I've now deleted*** my 'real' email address which facebook seemed to have
listed for me (how? I didn't give it to them) and am sticking with a
" type address, so theoretically it shouldn't be able
to link people up with me through that, though if their address books
contain my real name alongside my address it may still be able to guess.


* I have a deep sense of unease that when They come to get Us we'll have
done most of the detective work for them :-

** as myself: I was already on there under a pseudonym

*** ok, I asked fb to delete it: but they could be keeping it but not
telling me


That's what Facebook is for! If you don't want it, don't use it.
Just send emails to the people you want to send them to.