The Facebook question I can't believe people answer

[poppy]

I've seen a lot of "About Me" posts

 

Name:

Where Did you meet your husband:

Name every state you've visited:

What's the weirdest thing in your purse right now:

 

 

etc etc

 

It is fun. But  a lot of these include the question

 

Do you have a gun?

 

 

And people answer! Most people say no.
I can't see the advantage of saying you do not keep a firearm.

 

The only worse answer than no would be YES.

Because that's setting yourself up to be robbed (of the firearm!)

 

 

 

Anyway, I'd never reveal publicly my "gun or no gun" status and I suggest others don't either.

[HomeMum]

To be honest, I don't understand why people answer any of those questions (the personal ones) on social media where random people can see.

Edited November 29, 2016 by HomeMum

[SKL]

I agree.  I was on a similar discussion and said, "I wouldn't broadcast whether I did or did not have a gun."

[poppy]

To be honest, I don't understand why people answer any of those questions (the personal ones) on social media where random people can see.

Friends can see. Not random people.

One of your friends could screenshot it and share.... not a good idea to 'friend' strangers.

 

I never, ever answer bank security questions honestly. My mothers maiden name and my high school mascot and the make of my first car is all easily accessible info. You're better off putting fake answers even if you write it down and leave the fake answers on your fridge!

 

I had to login to a bank to pay a bill recently and they required SEVEN such answers just to create an account. That irritated me.

[Rachel]

I already know whether most of my FB friends own guns or not, they are my family and close friends. Many hunt or are in law enforcement. The ones who don't have guns are generally vocal in their political views so whether they answer a silly quiz or not most people already know.

 

I think the majority of people I know own a gun but not necessarily for protection.

[HomeAgain]

My people should know these things.  My people are trained in these things.

 

My people still circulate questionnaires that aren't even trying to hide intent anymore. "Where were you born?  What's your mother's maiden name?  Let's see how much you know about your friends!  Copy and paste!"

 

:glare:

 

 

[Carol in Cal.]

Then there are those blue lights, the ones that basically say, "Pick ME to rob!"

[historically accurate]

Friends can see. Not random people.

One of your friends could screenshot it and share.... not a good idea to 'friend' strangers.

 

I never, ever answer bank security questions honestly. My mothers maiden name and my high school mascot and the make of my first car is all easily accessible info. You're better off putting fake answers even if you write it down and leave the fake answers on your fridge!

 

I had to login to a bank to pay a bill recently and they required SEVEN such answers just to create an account. That irritated me.

I've heard you should just make them all the same, like "Dave" or "Satan" or "Whiskey" or some other word easy to remember but absolutely not related to you.

[poppy]

I already know whether most of my FB friends own guns or not, they are my family and close friends. Many hunt or are in law enforcement. The ones who don't have guns are generally vocal in their political views so whether they answer a silly quiz or not most people already know.

 

I think the majority of people I know own a gun but not necessarily for protection.

 

This is one of those regional things. Where I am, most people report that they do not have a gun.

[poppy]

Then there are those blue lights, the ones that basically say, "Pick ME to rob!"

 

What's that?

[catz]

I just don't have the time, energy, or inkling for doing those.  If I post info, it is going to my friends and I don't share stuff that I wouldn't be comfortable with other people seeing.  I use my face book feed as kind of living photo album for me.  I generally don't post personal info on friends threads.  I think some people share WAY too much info online. 

 

I don't have a gun and I'm really not paranoid about who knows that though.  I'm not in an area where gun ownership is prevalent. 

[mellifera33]

What's that?

 

A blue porch light is a pro-law enforcement gesture. 

[scrapbookbuzz]

People are way too forthcoming with personal information, IMO. Most just don't seem to think about what they're giving away.

[Rachel]

ETA I think it's good to know whether your friends own guns, Facebook may not be the place to answer that question though. I live in a part of the country where gun ownership in general is not looked down upon, if you do not people may not be forthcoming about admitting there is a gun in the home.

 

If my kids are at others' houses, I want to know the guns are stored properly, LOCKED away from children. I ask my inlaws every single time, because they keep a gun close for predators that come on their property and threaten their livestock and pets. My kids are only there every few weeks, I don't want my inlaws to forget the gun was behind the front door or on top of the fridge and my 4 year old find it. My grandfather used to keep a handgun under the seat of his car, looking back I'm horrified my parents let us kids in that car. All the grandkids discovered it on their own at various times, we had been taught not to play with guns and fortunately listened.

 

A good friend who trades off childcare with me is married to a police officer. When he is off duty, I want to know his gun isn't just laying in a random place. Another friend is married to a former marine, when they were newly married he slept with a gun under his bed. I don't want to assume that just because they have kids now the gun is properly stowed, I want to know it is locked away where my kids won't accidentally find it. It can be awkward bringing it up with acquaintances, but I think it is important.

[KS_]

Most of the FB quizzes are third party data gathering - I've tried to educate my family about participating or allowing their "friends" to post the quizzes on their pages and answer questions about them.  A couple articles about it:

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34922029

 

http://www.pcworld.com/article/164527/online_quizzes.html

 

http://betanews.com/2015/12/19/stop-doing-quizzes-on-facebook-if-you-place-any-value-on-your-privacy/

 

 

[Rebel Yell]

Friends can see. Not random people.

One of your friends could screenshot it and share.... not a good idea to 'friend' strangers. (snipped)

Who can see your Facebook posts depends entirely on your privacy settings. You can set it up so that only you yoirself the owner of the account can see anything, to public meaning absolutely anyone can see absolutely everything, with many variations in between these extremes. Also, if someone is "tagged" in your post, all of their friends, probably friend-of-friends, can see it, or the entire world if their account is "public"

[Carol in Cal.]

A blue porch light is a pro-law enforcement gesture. 

Wait, sorry, that's not what I meant.

 

It was the 'red light' thing.

 

It started as a joke--put on a red light at your house to signal a gun free home.  But a few people actually did it, which I find pretty surprising.  As in 'Pick ME to rob' type surprising.

[Tanaqui]

Any of those questions makes it easier for people to figure out your passwords. Bad idea.

 

I don't think any of us base our passwords on whether or not we have guns. Actually, if password hacks are any indication, most of us pick passwords like "1234" or "password" or "passw0rd" or "PaSsW0Rd" or "123123123". (And if I've gone and revealed any of your own passwords - CHANGE THEM!)

 

But a few people actually did it, which I find pretty surprising.  As in 'Pick ME to rob' type surprising.

 

Burglars don't really care whether or not you have a gun, because they're going to do their best to rob your house when you're not home. And unless your gun is sentient, it can't defend your home when you aren't there. "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" and all that.

Edited November 29, 2016 by Tanaqui

[Carol in Cal.]

 

 

 

Burglars don't really care whether or not you have a gun, because they're going to do their best to rob your house when you're not home. And unless your gun is sentient, it can't defend your home when you aren't there. "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" and all that.

We have home invasions here, especially in the Vietnamese, Chinese, and East Indian communities.  YMMV.

[poppy]

I don't think any of us base our passwords on whether or not we have guns. Actually, if password hacks are any indication, most of us pick passwords like "1234" or "password" or "passw0rd" or "PaSsW0Rd" or "123123123". (And if I've gone and revealed any of your own passwords - CHANGE THEM!)

 

 

Burglars don't really care whether or not you have a gun, because they're going to do their best to rob your house when you're not home. And unless your gun is sentient, it can't defend your home when you aren't there. "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" and all that.

 

 

You know a whole lot about burglars. Do you burgle in your spare time? 

 

 

I do think you're better off NOT advertising that you have a weapon, because of its theft value.  Similarly it is probably best not to say online if you have lots of prescription painkillers in your home.  Or big bags of cash.

[fairfarmhand]

There's also the people who post their vacation plans and how long they're going to be gone on social media...

 

Not smart.

[TravelingChris]

I have seen this quizzes before but never one with a gun question.  As to who owns a gun- I don't know about most people.  I think about two other families outside of myself know our status.  I have some guesses about people- based on stuff they post but your beliefs on gun control don't necessarily correlate with actually owning a gun.  For example, someone might have an old rifle as a historical item but think guns should be more regulated or someone might be a strong second amendment supporter but not afford a gun or have other circumstances that make gun ownership inadvisable.

[LucyStoner]

I don't think any of us base our passwords on whether or not we have guns. Actually, if password hacks are any indication, most of us pick passwords like "1234" or "password" or "passw0rd" or "PaSsW0Rd" or "123123123". (And if I've gone and revealed any of your own passwords - CHANGE THEM!)

 

I think she meant all of those other questions which are frequently website security questions. Things like:

 

The street you grew up on

Your first pet's name

Your favorite teacher

Your first car make/model

You favorite vacation spot

 

It's not a good idea to put the answers to such questions out there all in one handy dandy cheat sheet list.

Edited November 29, 2016 by LucyStoner

[mamaraby]

Burglars don't really care whether or not you have a gun, because they're going to do their best to rob your house when you're not home. And unless your gun is sentient, it can't defend your home when you aren't there. "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" and all that.

This. I guarantee they're not thinking "oh, I better not rob this house, they have might have a gun." They're likely thinking about what your routine is, how likely it is you might have things they want, whether there's easy access to get in and out without being noticed, etc. Otherwise, no one anywhere would have their house broken into because everyone could potentially have a gun and based upon my county in my state, that's just not the case. The latest string of home invasion/theft type crimes were where people weren't home and yes, some of those people owned guns.

 

And, no, I'm not a burgalar. I was able to come to my conclusions based upon statistica and facts in much the same way Tanaqui likely did.

 

I often find the level of confidence that gun ownership gives people puzzling (especially when coupled with the increased paranoia that seems to go hand in hand).

[TranquilMind]

I've seen a lot of "About Me" posts

 

Name:

Where Did you meet your husband:

Name every state you've visited:

What's the weirdest thing in your purse right now:

 

 

etc etc

 

It is fun. But  a lot of these include the question

 

Do you have a gun?

 

 

And people answer! Most people say no.

I can't see the advantage of saying you do not keep a firearm.

 

The only worse answer than no would be YES.

Because that's setting yourself up to be robbed (of the firearm!)

 

 

 

Anyway, I'd never reveal publicly my "gun or no gun" status and I suggest others don't either.

I never answer ANYTHING personal, ever, ever, ever.

 

I might answer "What kind of ice cream is your favorite" but that's as much personal information as anyone is getting from me.  These sorts of answers are great for thieves to figure out passwords. 

[gardenmom5]

I've had a couple drs who ask that last one.  I've stopped answering it. 

[gardenmom5]

I never answer ANYTHING personal, ever, ever, ever.

 

I might answer "What kind of ice cream is your favorite" but that's as much personal information as anyone is getting from me.  These sorts of answers are great for thieves to figure out passwords. 

 

My favorite (i have so many.) passwords go back to *obscure* stuff from high school.  I doubt my dh could figure it out.  

[hornblower]

As someone explained above, it doesn't matter if only your friends can see the answers. Facebook can see the answers & the 3rd party apps running those questionnaires can see the answers & data mine a whole bunch of info about you which at the very least they can use to target advertising to you. 

Worse case scenario is identity theft or intelligence agencies snooping on your/prosecuting you. 

 

[G5052]

Yes, this is a gripe of mine. I never respond to those types of questions.

[poppy]

As someone explained above, it doesn't matter if only your friends can see the answers. Facebook can see the answers & the 3rd party apps running those questionnaires can see the answers & data mine a whole bunch of info about you which at the very least they can use to target advertising to you. 

 

Worse case scenario is identity theft or intelligence agencies snooping on your/prosecuting you. 

 

 

 

Dunno about "3rd party apps". I've only ever seen it as copy  / paste. You copy your friends post and change the answers.

 

[Tanaqui]

You know a whole lot about burglars. Do you burgle in your spare time?

 

Darn, you caught me :p

 

And, no, I'm not a burglar. I was able to come to my conclusions based upon statistics and facts in much the same way Tanaqui likely did.

 

That, and also I've read more than a few interviews and surveys of convicted or former burglars. It's possible, of course, for them to lie... however, it stretches credulity somewhat to imagine that they all have decided to conspire together to give the same lies, consistently, over the course of many decades, lies that match up with information from other sources such as statistics. This isn't Discworld. There is no Thieves' Guild.

Edited November 29, 2016 by Tanaqui

[regentrude]

You know a whole lot about burglars. Do you burgle in your spare time? 

 

For privacy reasons, this question should not be answered on a public internet forum.

[HomeMum]

Any of those questions makes it easier for people to figure out your passwords. Bad idea.

 

Hey, Facebook friends! What's your favorite or lucky number? Oh, and what is one word that is special to you?

[Tanaqui]

Hey, Facebook friends! What's your favorite or lucky number? Oh, and what is one word that is special to you?

 

The joke's on them. I just mash the keyboard. Favorite number? Uh....234872747774444. Favorite word? wklhjmrkei!

 

[Guest]

The joke's on them. I just mash the keyboard. Favorite number? Uh....234872747774444. Favorite word? wklhjmrkei!

Interestingly, some of the database nuts have actually run algorithms proving even that isn't random enough to be deeply secure, because of the frequency of certain letters and numbers being hit more and the fact that if the password is difficult to remember it is more likely to be recorded, less securely, elsewhere. It's worlds better than tigger1234 though :D

 

Anyone who puts the actual answers to security questions in the boxes on a site log in isn't being particularly wise either, because much of that is easy to Google or guess. Better to do something like 'maiden name: Botox8' and have a standard set of answers those prompt from you that are unrelated to the actual question content, for the most security possible.

 

An encrypted password vault, like OnePassword, makes all that a lot easier to keep track of. Having one extremely secure password to access it that you memorize is a lot less work and more security than having twenty medium to low security passwords you duplicate, record, or forget :)

Edited November 29, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[Zinnia]

The gun question is an impossible question. No matter what you answer, half of your friends will be upset unnecessarily. Some things are better kept quiet. I am normally an open book. Except for hit buttons. Then...mum's the word.