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Comment by diminoten | Hacker News Reader

I'd delete Facebook if it weren't so damn useful...

Honest question: What about facebook do you find useful?

I hate that I have to preface a question as being sincere to ensure that it isn't read as an insult, but here we are.

The most useful thing I find is just to contact friends. If I need to chat to someone then I know that if I send them a facebook message they'll most likely read it and reply within the day.

This - it's a dynamic contacts book for the extended group of people I know, don't speak to on a regular basis but might want to at some point.

Yep. Also what's strange is that although I do have phone numbers for many of my 'extended friends' through facebook (synced to android, facebook downloads everyone's numbers to your contact list). I would be much more comfortable contacting someone on facebook out of blue than texting out of the blue. Maybe it has something to do with that they can immediately see who I am on facebook whereas with texting they can't?

I had too many friends who "weren't reachable" other than Facebook. I'm not sure how they were getting the Facebook notifications - apparently over email, or on their phone, which also has SMS, but I could never get in touch with them unless I sent them a Facebook message.

I don't have those friends anymore. I deserve better. If someone can't take the time to reply to a simple email or text unless it's through Facebook, they're not worth having as friends. Yes, you may lose some friends, but the ones you keep you know are going to be there for you.

Why does having a communication preference make a person a good or bad friend? That seems incredibly small of you.

So you're choosing friends based on the messaging service they use?

I would not want to be your friend.

Choosing friends on their refusal to communicate with me via anything other than Facebook is somehow wrong of me? I don't care what you use to communicate with, but if I don't have access to that, I do expect someone to "go out of their way" to send an email/text. I was saying that I had friends who I couldn't ever contact once I left Facebook, despite them apparently having a phone and email address.

You shouldn't have left Facebook.

As someone not living in my country, it makes keeping track of my friends and family much easier.

Friend communication and scheduling.

Facebook has an unreal level of penetration into my friends, literally no other app is so widely used. It's not the best at any of the things I use it for, but it is the single most reliable way to schedule events and communicate with people I know for the least amount of effort.

My kids are on it. They use Facebook Messenger more than SMS.

Of course, they also use SMS, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Kik as well, so I have to have all of those on my phone.

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