Friday, November 30, 2012

Large Facebook Petition

Not sure how I missed this petition earlier, but it has more than 200,000 signatures.  Please sign and share!

http://www.change.org/petitions/demand-facebook-remove-pages-that-promote-sexual-violence?utm_campaign=friend_inviter_modal&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=30310619

Judge Rejects Facebook ‘Sponsored Stories’ Lawsuit Settlement

"Sponsored stories basically turns the act of pressing the Facebook “Like” button into a potential commercial endorsement. If a Facebook user clicks the “Like’ button for a product or service with a Facebook page, that user’s profile picture and name may be automatically used in advertisements for that product or service that appear in the their friends’ Facebook pages. Facebook also reserves the right to show such ads on sites other than Facebook."

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/08/facebook-settlement-rejected/

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Diaspora

Trying out other Social Networking sites today.  This one seems really cool.

https://www.joindiaspora.com

Response from Facebook this AM

Trista -- So sorry for the inconvenience, we have reactivated the Page, changed the title back to normal, and have also shielded the Page to prevent further mishaps.

The title of the Page caused a misunderstanding and we removed the Page as a precaution. Please accept our apologies and let me know if there's anything else I can do to help.

Thanks

Fred

On 11/29/12 10:06 AM, "Trista Hendren"  wrote:

Dear Fred,

I am the woman who wrote the article about Facebook on Elephant Journal, which you kindly responded to.
http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/11/does-facebook-hate-all-women-or-ju >st-feminists/

On Monday evening, I was logged out of Facebook with the following message from Facebook:

Your content has been temporarily suspended
Your content was removed from the site for violating Facebook's Statement
of Rights and Responsibilities section 3.7.
If you believe your content does not violate Facebook's policies because it is not intended literally but is instead meant only as humor, you can accept the name change below.
If you choose not to accept this name change, your content will not be restored.
Old title: Rapebook
New title: [Controversial Humor] Rapebook

If you are not familiar with the page many of us started collectively, it was intended as a counter-balance to the many sites on Facebook that PROMOTE RAPE AND ABUSE OF WOMEN. You can see the page at
http://www.facebook.com/stoprapebook.

If Facebook is not willing to make their site a safe place for women, you can at least give us the courtesy of allowing us a spot to convene and report pages and pictures that are highly offensive.

I DID NOT and DO NOT accept this "Controversial Humor " title. There is nothing funny about rape. There is nothing controversial about being >opposed to rape. If Facebook cannot understand that, then they do not
deserve the business of women anywhere.

Sincerely,
Trista Hendren

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Why is Facebook Protecting Pro Rape Language and Abuse of Women?

Looks like this has been a widespread problem for at least a year....Here are some highlights, the entire article is great! (by Melissa Gira Grant)

"Despite a campaign that included 180,000 signatures, Facebook continues to post pro-rape pages, showing, yet again, that they care about users so long as they're profitable.

If it was not clear before, we must understand now that Facebook wasn't built for us — it was built for the profit of the very few. That Facebook is of value to the public as a communications platform is only important to Facebook insofar as it allows them to sell targeted advertising against our own speech. Its governing document, the Terms of Service , has been repeatedly applied unfairly and without accountability to its users, as its purpose is to legally protect Facebook from our conduct, not provide us with a free space, or even a safe space. Facebook needs to be only as minimally welcoming to us so as to ensure our return to use it again. And that we might use Facebook as a public square for activism? Not even in the business model.

It's not all doom and censorship on Facebook, of course. Digging into the profiles of users who had "liked" some of the rape-is-funny pages, feminist writer Amanda Marcotte created a little dossier on a few of them. As Facebook requires users to set up their profiles using a real name, you don't need a subpoena to click through and learn about these rape page fans' hometowns, employers, and even relationship statuses. Here, the terms of service on Facebook allow for quite a different experience of unmasking a sexist harasser than, say, tracking down the endless legion of anonymous troll commenters who leave little more than an IP address behind as a calling card. "

http://www.alternet.org/story/153406/why_is_facebook_protecting_pro_rape_language_and_abuse_of_women

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Trista's Facebook Acct Has been Suspended

My Facebook account was just suspended because of the Rapebook page. I can not believe they penalized me but refuse to take pages down like "It's not Rape it's simply free sex."

If you are not familiar with the page many of us started, it was a counter to the many sites on Facebook that PROMOTE RAPE AND ABUSE OF WOMEN. You can see the page at www.facebook.com/stoprapebook

I have attached the picture and this is the message they sent me:

Your content has been temporarily suspended

Your content was removed from the site for violating Facebook's Statement
of Rights and Responsibilities section 3.7.


If you believe your content does not violate Facebook's policies because it is not intended literally but is instead meant only as humor, you can accept the name change below.


If you choose not to accept this name change, your content will not be restored.

Old title: Rapebook
New title: [Controversial Humor] Rapebook

My thinking at the moment is that I will not accept this "Controversial
Humor Title" even if it costs me my Facebook account.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The Unbearable Misogyny of Facebook and Why I'm Quitting It

http://thefeministbreeder.com/the-unbearable-misogyny-of-facebook-why-im-quitting-it/

Italian Activist's Facebook Account Blocked

A message to Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg, give back the account to Rosa Schiano Stay Human. She is a pacifist and is working in the Strip of Gaza as volunteer. She is a free voice. She can tell the truth. World needs to know what's really happening in Palestine Territory.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=463436317031384&set=a.197271860314499.42583.195473957160956&type=1&theater

Two women arrested for Facebook post / Mumbai

Mumbai: On Sunday, a 21-year-old Mumbai woman shared her views on the shutdown of the city as Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's funeral was being held. Her friend "liked" her post. At 10.30 am on Monday, they were arrested, were ordered by a court to serve 14 days in jail and, hours later, were allowed out on bail after paying two bonds of Rs. 15,000 each. (Your Say)

The woman had posted, "Respect is earned, not given and definitely not forced. Today Mumbai shuts down due to fear and not due to respect". A local Shiv Sena leader filed a police complaint and the woman and her friend who liked her post were booked under Section 295 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for "deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs."

They were later also charged under Section 505 (2) of the IPC for making "statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes", and the police added Section 66 (A) of the Information Technology Act, which has been severely criticised for being authoritarian and stifling freedom of expression.

The maximum sentence under these sections is three years in jail. The defense counsel for the girls told NDTV, "Their posts don't incite violence. It can't be said they have made any derogatory remarks. They don't belong to any political ideology."

Soon after the Shiv Sena leader made his police complaint, party activists allegedly vandalised an orthopaedic clinic belonging to the uncle of one of the girls, breaking window panes and flowerpots. There were two patients in the clinic at the time alleged Sainiks ransacked it. None of those who ransacked the clinic has been arrested yet.

The women were arrested by the Palghar police; Palghar is about two and half hours of travel from Mumbai. After widespread criticism and uproar, the Maharashtra Police has ordered an inquiry to be led by Sukhwinder Singh, Special Inspector General of Konkan range, into whether there is any merit in the case against the women. Sources said top cops at the police headquarters in Mumbai were livid with the Palghar police. "We have ordered an inquiry...if any further action needs to be taken the probe team will decide and send a report. On this report we will act," Deven Bharti, IG (Law and Order), Maharashtra Police said.

The women have also found very vocal support from Press Council of India chief Markandey Katju, who has demanded "immediate" action against the police personnel who arrested them. In an e-mail to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan sent this afternoon, Mr Katju has warned of "legal consequences" if the Chief Minister fails to act. "I will deem it that you as CM are unable to run the state in a democratic manner as envisaged by the Constitution to which you have taken oath and then legal consequences will follow," Justice Katju said. (Read more)

About five hours later, having not got a response, he emailed Mr Chavan again, this time telling him the "nation wants to know what action you have taken... Please realise that silence is not an option for you." (Read Justice Katju's letters to Prithviraj Chavan)

Rahul Narvekar, the head of Shiv Sena's legal cell, said, "It is for the state administration and police department to investigate complaints that are lodged. I am not aware of any complaint filed by any shakha pramukh of Shiv Sena. We will have to look into it. Uddhav Thackeray has made an appeal to the cadre to maintain peace."

The Shiv Sena leader's death on Saturday afternoon had brought the city to a virtual standstill for the weekend, with shops and other establishments shutting and taxis going off the roads, amid fears of violence by Mr Thackeray's supporters. The fears appeared unfounded, since there was no incident in Mumbai.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/two-girls-arrested-for-facebook-post-on-mumbai-shutdown-granted-bail-294239

Friday, November 16, 2012

Facebook’s Message to Women: Our Lives Don’t Count. {Trigger Warning}

"Facebook, perhaps you should reconsider your policies. You “protect” our nipples but promote the mutilation of our vaginas. Are the lives of women worth so little to you?"

Facebook’s Message to Women: Our Lives Don’t Count. {Trigger Warning}

Dear Facebook, Your Response was Less than Inadequate.

Dear Facebook, Your Response was Less than Inadequate.

Please sign your name and any comments in the comments section. Also, if applicable, list how many fans follow your page.

Does Facebook Have a Misogynistic Agenda? The Policy Department Responds.

Does Facebook Have a Misogynistic Agenda? The Policy Department Responds.

How do we want to respond to this?  I feel for now, we should respond directly on the article - and also cut and past our responses here.  I will start to collect what I have seen thus far.....there are a LOT!  Thoughts?

Welcome to the Group!!!

There's been a lot of turmoil on fb lately regarding feminist page admins being suspended and perfectly reasonable content being removed for ridiculous reasons. My goal with this group is to create a safe space for all of us to band together and work together. If we're admining on a feminist page, then we're obviously intelligent, resourceful folks. Please feel free to use this group to start discussions, ask questions and lend advice. I know we can all be respectful and create a positive, safe place to use for help, insights and, if you need to, even a rant on something that's bugging you. The unique part about this is that we'll all be able to understand and give feedback due to our mutual undertaking of fb feminist activism.We CAN overcome this situation and turn what is a current problem into a past growing pain for fb. Let's DO this!!

After setting up our Facebook group for Admins of Feminist pages, our fearless leader Dawn has been blocked from the group twice. We need to better organize offline. This is a start!