To Post or Not to Post?

Armed with a handy flowchart, Mo attempts to make Facebook a better place for all of us.

Image credit: Bryan Nanista
Mo Perry |   December 2011   |  From the print edition

I’m sure 67 percent of things I post on Facebook annoy the shit out of someone. I know this because 67 percent of things I read on Facebook annoy me. Ask two people to name their biggest Facebook pet peeves and, while there will be some overlap (Farmville updates, I’m looking at you), they will inevitably come up with separate lists. One person’s pleasant diversion is another’s TMI.

My list includes cohabitating couples posting lovey-dovey comments for each other (really, he’s sitting next to you on the couch—why do I need to be a part of this?), fellow actors who post solely about their careers and viral posts about zombie-fighting teams that require you to tag a list of random people who will then be notified whenever someone comments on the original post. Then there are the cryptic status updates clearly designed to solicit fervent questioning about the author’s emotional state.

The bottom line is that to be on Facebook in any active, participatory sense is to risk annoying people and being annoyed. Much like being alive. Might as well accept it.

I put together a flowchart to help people decide if they should indeed click that “post” button. I’m as much in need of this chart as anyone, so I plan to tack it above my computer until it becomes routine questioning before every post. Here’s hoping it makes Facebook a more pleasant place for all of us.

Download a high-res image of this flow chart.

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