Facebook Server message

[Teunis]

I am not sure if this is the right board, so please move it if necessary.

I never have, and probably never will, anything to do with Facebook, but since 2 weeks when browsing with FF I suddenly get the message "Facebook server takes too long to respond". As said, to my knowledge I have no links to Facebook. I searched my computer and the registry for "Facebook" and nothing came up.

My question, how to get rid of this message?

regards, Teunis

[Leif]

Does this happen regardless of what website you are visiting? I have a suspicion that many sites have links to Facebook that may have a live connection to the Facebook host.

Next time it happens, is there a Facebook link on the page? And if you view the page source, is Facebook is listed anywhere?

[Teunis]

That could be the case, I'll monitor and report back.

Regards, Teunis

[PaulB]

More and more sites today have links to Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites to use their "like" or posting facilities or to otherwise profit from your visit. When visiting some sites such as CNet I often see "Waiting for Facebook..." in the browser status line. I find this only serves to slow down the browsing experience. Facebook has got to be the biggest waste of Interweb bandwidth I have ever come across, on a par with the gazillion spam emails clogging up the web-sphere daily.

[viking33]

I am not sure if this is the right board, so please move it if necessary.

I never have, and probably never will, anything to do with Facebook, but since 2 weeks when browsing with FF I suddenly get the message "Facebook server takes too long to respond". As said, to my knowledge I have no links to Facebook. I searched my computer and the registry for "Facebook" and nothing came up.

My question, how to get rid of this message?

regards, Teunis

Doesn't have a thing to do with your problem but I'm glad there are at least a FEW of us who refuse to have anything to do with or have any link to Facebook.

[HansV]

I guess that actually, quite a few Loungers don't participate in Facebook. (I don't!)

[viking33]

I guess that actually, quite a few Loungers don't participate in Facebook. (I don't!)

Let's hear it for all the non-participants!

[PaulB]

I guess that actually, quite a few Loungers don't participate in Facebook. (I don't!)

Unfortunately most, if not all, of us do participate indirectly through many of the sites we visit. Look around those sites and see how many little Facebook and Twitter icons are littered about.

[HansV]

OK, but I never click those links, and I am not registered at any social networking site.

[viking33]

OK, but I never click those links, and I am not registered at any social networking site.

RIGHT ON!

[Bigaldoc]

You're all bigots of one type or another! Just like all the folks who chide others for their like or dislike of some computer function, web site, or software, it depends on what you're looking for.

All things internet have their shortcomings and pitfalls, even Eileen's Lounge. But, there are benefits AND drawbacks to using the so-called social networking sites as with most everything else. One has to be careful and judicious in what one does.

I've been a Facebook user, daily, since the beginning of this year and although as I just said, it has its "warts" it's a great way to chat with folks, post photos for sharing and keep up with acquaintances. Since the beginning of this year, I've re-connected with family, friends, former work associates and a NUMBER of internet friends that I've made over the years. Some of those "Facebook Friends" are even members of Eileen's Lounge. Nothing wrong with any of this!

Like anything else about computers AND the internet, one has to be careful of privacy and security, but the benefits of "contact" far outweigh the perceived concerns.

[PaulB]

OK, but I never click those links, and I am not registered at any social networking site.

Hans, Bob, I totally agree with you. However the fact you may not have registered with Facebook, Twitter etc. doesn't mean you are not impacted. Every time you go to most sites, they will invariably connect to Google Analytics, passing what information they have (IP Address, logon information, etc.) and receiving information on you in return from Google (you do have a GMail account, don't you, Hans?).

Similarly, many sites interact with Facebook, Twitter etc. to see if these sites can identify you (or not) and retrieve their cookies for directed advertising purposes, among others. There may not be anything nefarious in this. My main concern is the slowdown in the site's responsiveness. Sites like CNet are pretty slow to begin with. This added interaction with third party sites justs slows down everything.

I have no quarrel with anyone using Facebook. My wife uses it a lot. When she starts playing some of the games on this site however, I give up on doing any surfing... seems like my DSL service has reverted to 300 Baud dial-up, so bandwidth intensive is the Facebook usage.

[viking33]

You're calling me a bigot, Al?

[HansV]

I don't know if it helps, but I have both Internet Explorer and Firefox set to refuse third-party cookies.

And if I encounter a website that looks like a Christmas tree with all those Blogster / Classmates / Delicio.us / FaceBook / Flickr / MySpace / ... icons, I tend not to return.

[PaulB]

That will mitigate some of the impact, but many of the sites I'm talking about are legitimate news and technology sites that I really don't want to give up.

Turning off third-party cookies prevents a third party from setting cookies. I don't know if it prevents a third party from retrieving cookies that have already been set. In any event, it's all this interaction (fruitful or not) that I'm concerned with. It just seems to slow things down.

BTW, I've turned off third-party cookies in Firefox. How do I do that in IE? I don't recall seeing an explicit setting for that.

[HansV]

The "Medium" or higher privacy setting in Internet Explorer blocks 3rd party cookies - see Tools | Internet Options..., Privacy tab.
If you want to customize the settings, click Advanced.

PrivacyTab.png

[PaulB]

Thanks, Hans. I just checked and that is what I have it set to. (Not a big IE user)

[Argus]

I agree with you Paul, regarding "slowdown in the site's responsiveness", even if not much we don't need it. We see links to Facebook & Twitter all over the web, doesn’t matter if I'm reading a newspaper or looking at car manufacturer’s site. The idea seems to be "we must be where the kids are". As for Google Analytics, I use NoScript. As for cookies, I refuse all but a few, if for no other reason than it’s easier; you don’t have one million cookies to wade through if you are troubleshooting something. Every now and then I have to decide if I want to add another exception, such as Youtube - I noticed some days ago that the site didn't work without cookies, i.e. links and images.

As for third party cookies in IE, I don’t use it but I think you can find a setting under the Advanced button.

To the OP, Teunis:
"... when browsing with FF I suddenly get the message 'Facebook server takes too long to respond'"; where do you see that message?

[PaulB]

One last word on sites sharing/exchanging information about you...

[Teunis]

To the OP, Teunis:
"... when browsing with FF I suddenly get the message 'Facebook server takes too long to respond'"; where do you see that message?

Sorry, I can't remember, haven't seen it since I started this thread.

Regards, Teunis