Grief

I think facebook is awesome. it helps me keep in touch with friends I never get to see and my brother who is in afganastan right now. he has only seen his nephew once and posting the pics allows him to see the baby growing. in fact I had my sons first pics posted on there less than an hr after he was born. that said if someone doesnt want their pic posted on fb you should respect that. even though I think fb is very safe some people are still wary of posting any pics online.

Sorry but you ar 100% in the wrong here. People have every right to expect their privacy when having a pic taken at a gethering of friends. You should absolutely not assume that it is OK to post others pics and respond promptly and without conflict if a request is made to take down. I personally will not allow my photo to be taken anymore. I have had some pics posted that I found to be unflattering on FB and it put ME in the position of having to confront friends to take them down. To my friends the pics were "fine" but to me they were horrible. I found it to be a major violation of my privacy to post them and tag me so that anybody looking for me sees these photos for ETERNITY!!

Honestly (and I don't want to flame you too hard here but you just really hit a major hot button with me)I think that you need to grow up a little. FB does serve its purpose in bringing friends together and reuniting people but I also think it can be a popularity contest for some people-see how many friends you can get and then see how much you can impress them with your fabulous life. Many people feel as I do and chances are a lot of your friends are like this. This is how they feel and if you want to bag them for it then you are really the one with the problem.

I've been on FB for YEARS. (Since before it was open to the public, and when you lost your school email, you lost your access).

I'm also an (amateur) photographer. I shoot about 25,000 pictures each year. I preserve them on harddrives. As in 2 external harddrives. One that's in my house, and one that's in a safe deposit box. I also have about 5000 photos (my favorites) that I backup in an online storage company.

I DO NOT like to post my photos on FB. Sure, I post a few (maybe 20 or 30), but that's it. I also DO NOT like to have others post photos of me or my family on FB. I can deal (sometimes) when it's just me... but not when it's my kiddo. And that's my choice. I don't want pictures of my son on a public forum. Period.

I certainly understand FB. I certainly understand photography. But I am also my son's mother. And I have the right to limit his exposure online or to the public. This is not a "new" concept. (AKA this is why consent forms are needed for prof photographers from the news, magazines, even art photographers. Even models have to sign their consent to have their image used publicly, and child models have to have their parent's consent).

It is a right to privacy issue. As in we each have that right, as well as the right to have our desires for privacy be respected. As someone whose husband is somewhat famous... I even understand the idea of a "public" life. I don't want one, and never have. (Fortunately he's in music, not film). I don't want strangers oogling my or my son's life. Which is what those 360 people who are not in your circle of friends ARE to your friends, regardless of how well you know them. Strangers, given an all access pass to anything you post.

Respect your friends' wishes for privacy. Not doing so is exactly like realizing that FB has lifted all of your privacy settings. It's an invasion. You get the choice to set your own privacy levels, give your friends the respect to allow them to do the same in their own lives.

___Added___

"Maybe if you haven't lost important people in your life you don't treasure memories as much as those of us who do."

Honey... that's an unkind & unrealistic statement to make. I can't count the number of people I've lost, and in the past 8 years my son has been to at least one wake per year. Posting photographs on facebook is not the definition of treasuring memories. Much less does it mean that if we don't post photos that we haven't lost people we love and care for... or that we love those people any less.

When you say you have over 400 "friends" on Facebook, I question how well you know all these friends? Your friends have every right to be concerned about their pictures being posted on your page when they can be viewed by so many people. Do you know all these "friends" well and know their intentions? My husband's friend has over 1,000 "friends" and he posts pictures of his kids and their names on his page. I think this is crazy and is just asking for trouble. While Facebook is a great way to stay in touch with people, don't think for one minute that there isn't a huge population that uses the site for less than good intentions.

Change your security settings to be the most private, and don't "tag" your friends. You can still post them in your albums, but the only people who will be able to see them will be your friends. I, too, am paranoid about internet stalkers, or just wierdos who go on the internet ever since my son was 11 and played on yahoo games where you could play against someone else online. That someone else was a predator. I wont go into details, but it happens. Just make sure your settings are as private as they can be, and don't post your address, and let your friends know you've done this. Then maybe they won't be so "camera shy".

I am shocked at the amount of people who are siding with your friends. In my experience, the people I know that are annoyed with facebook are the people that aren't on facebook, and then.....they join facebook and become active on it and suddenly....their opinions change. Are these people going to tell their children's friends to take down the pics that they post? I understand what some people said about having unflattering pics posted of them because it happened to me but is a bad picture the end of the world? But seriously, are they that vain?? Anyhow, I'm sorry you have crappy friends (LOL) and I guess you just have to suck it up for the sake of not losing friends! Good luck!

As someone that loves facebook to connect with people, I find it funny that some folks are only on there as "lurkers." They don't post, share or be active in anyway except to judge others for what they post or to police the photo sharing of friends. They are usually the kind of people that don't like to get wet, yet they sit right by a pool with people doing cannon balls. Ha-ha!! "Don't get me wet!!!" Sheesh!

I understand privacy issues, and in that respect if you know that a person doesn't want to have a photo of themselves on there, don't post it. It's sad that they are so worried about how they look or what they were doing in the photos that they don't want other friends to see it. Its not like its on the news...you only share with other friends if your settings are set that way, but whatever. Preserve the photos that include those folks in another way. It really is their loss...really. You will still have those beautiful photos forever, whether they are on Facebook or not they just won't get to see them anymore or to judge what you post anymore either.

I understand your frustration, and most likely someone said something to you about it to really hurt your feelings in order for you to make the statement that you'd like new friends. Things that people don't understand or that they don't WANT to understand frightens people...and there will be a time when they WILL like it...they just are a little slower to embrace the technology. Don't sweat it...usually people that are that adamant about photo sharing, usually have something to hide or are insecure in some way and should be respected for their fears. Just have FUN with Facebook, keep them out of it (even though they are on there...why, I have no idea if they hate it so much), and make more friends that DO like Facebook that will gladly enjoy seeing the photos you take and your obvious love of preserving and sharing pictures of your life and people that you love.

such a bummer, I too love facebook for just the reasons that you do.
I guess some people are just like that.......I am surprised that your friends do not trust your better judgment though ( like you would put your kids pictures on it if it was not safe)

As annoying as it is that your friends don't want their pictures on facebook, I think that maybe it is a time to try to accept each others differences. If your friends are good friends in other areas, then maybe this is something you could learn to overlook. All of us are imperfect, we all have our things that annoy each other. Are your friends there for you in your time of need? These are the things that I would be looking at. And there can be different levels of friendships, people that you do fun things with, people that you share feelings with, & some that are just people that you see out occasionally. Those very private people may very well be the ones that you could trust to keep things private that you tell them... My point is that we all do things that annoy each other, learning to accept them is the hard part but very much a learning experience.

Good luck & God Bless!

Facebook isn't really about preserving memories, it's about SHARING them. Many people have privacy concerns - I'm one of them. I don't post photos at all. There have been legitimate privacy concerns where FB is concerned, so your friends are not being wierd.

That being said, there ARE ways to preserve the photos - printing them out, scrapbooking, perhaps virtual scrapbooks. THIS is how you preserve. I like the idea of blurring out the concerned people - you can do that to a copy so YOU have the "original" to preserve and the copy to share. That should solve your problem. Your friends will still "show up" in your memories of the day, they just won't be published publically.

And the "growing up" comment WAS unnecessary.

I do use facebook a lot and my brother ribs me about it. He even goes behind my back and tells pretty much everyone that I tell everything. It's not exactly true. I do update daily.

However, I think you would be better off keeping both the blog and the facebook page. Only put up the personal photos of your own family on facebook. But put the rest up on your blog. Maybe they feel like there are millions more people on facebook than on your blog. I think it's rather uneducated of them. But whatever.

I'm with you. I've reconnected with people I haven't seen in 20 years. It's awesome and I finally feel a part of my distant families daily lives.

Ok I am a FB person who doesn't post and barely checks it. However, if my friend is an FB'er and I have many, they all have their settings like you where everything is private so I don't mind. Your non FB friends just don't get it because they don't understand the technology. I think you should show them your page and how it works. Even though I am not an FB enthusist, I do like people finding me and me finding them. I also find it funny when people are up in arms over "their privacy", you are not posting lewd photos or their SS#'s for goodness sake, I think it's just ignorance. But I do agree if people are adament you can't post, could you continue to do it with Shutterfly? Seems like the best solution and this way you keep all the old friends?

I would set your privacy settings to FRIENDS ONLY for your pictures and do not tag anyone in the pictures - just give captions w/o anyone's names. Let your friends know that you have the security settings as such and you are not tagging them, if they would like the pictures removed then you will remove them.

I know some friends who do not like pictures of them at all on FB b/c of how they look (me included) and all I ask is that I not be tagged in the photos.

For security and safety reasons I do not allow pictures of my daughters to be tagged in my nephew's albums - his settings are Open (not Private) and not what I choose and he is an adult so I just said he is not to tag my daughters or use their full names - My kids/My rules. Now other family members/friends who do have private settings/Friends Only, I don't mind as long as the pictures are appropriate (but I ask them to just tag me and not use my daughters' names)

Keep in mind you maynot know everything going on in their lives and they may have very private reasons to not allow or want pictures of themselves or family on FB and that is their RIGHT to ask you and you should HONOR/RESPECT that as a friend. You already make photo albums/scrapbooks the only difference is it being online/public and being hardcopy/private. I have lost VERY IMPORTANT people in my life and the pictures/memories are important to me but at the same time I would never disprespect them and post pictures without their permission or I would remove them if asked and have done so for friends and family without hesitation.

Hi Dear,

I know your intentions are good, and that you are only trying to show happy memories, but if your friends are uncomfortable with Facebook, then you siimply cannot post pictures of them or their kids on there. You have to respect their wishes even if you do not
agree with them.

Maintaining friendship with your non-Facebook-loving friends is more important than being able to post lost of pictures. If your friends ask you not to do something, even if you think they are being a bit paranoid, I think you should respect their wishes.

I love faceboook too. I have found people I have been searching for years. It has been like a miracle. Our family is all on facebook even my 90 year old grandmother!

I do try to be careful of the photos because I know some people are very concerned about what they do not understand.

I do have tight settings. My sister is the only one that does not want "old " photos of herself on there. She has to approve what she looks like. Part of her problem is that she is vain and thinks we post photos to make fun of her? These are photos of her that were taken along with the rest of us in the 70's.. Nobody looked good in the 70's.. LOL! I am guessing she does not want her young friends to know how old she really is..

Anyway, until your friends decide to join (on their own) they have no idea that the photos and info shared can be controlled by making your account only friends.

Some people are afraid on new things and only go by what others have told them.. Maybe for the time being, do not post them on FB or anywhere else and if your non-facebook friends want to see them, tell them you will burn them a CD or continue on snapfish.. They just do not realize that you can do the same settings on snapfish. you could invite some of your facebook friends to check out your photos on snapfish. .

I guess I am at a loss about this - why can't you just post the pics on Shutterfly? It sounds like that was the preferred method. Plus, that is the appropriate way to preserve memories - not FB.

I'm sorry you are frustrated, I know you are just wanting to share your memories, but your friends are just as frustrated - it goes both ways. They don't know all of YOUR FB friends and are not comfortable having their pics for all to see. I find it odd you don't get that. But, like I tell my sons when they get upset when they lose a video game - if this upsets you so much, you need to step away from the computer :)

I have two girlfriends that are not on FB and no, I don't post their pics on FB - pretty simple really.

Lastly, Really, you want a new group of friends just b/c they don't want their pics on FB? That is what you base friendship on? That is very shallow. Again, it goes both ways, maybe they don't need you as a friend. :(

You need to respect your friends and family request when it comes to pictures of them and their privacy. I would keep the Facebook pictures limited to your immediate family or crop the pictures that have others in there that might not want to be included. You can also keep your photot website going and just put it on the strictest of privacy settings. My daughter has a wonderful Flickr account that she has set up so that she has to give you permission to view the pictures before you can gain access to her account!!! This was after some stranger made a rude comment about a "nude" picture of her 1 week old son that she had posted when it was still open to the public!!!
I think we all need to be considerate of other peoples feelings and desire for privacy. Along the same facebook lines, I get SO tired of listening to my co-workers endless...and I do mean ENDLESS discussions of their Farmville or Petville or whatever other nonsense they are involved with on Facebook!!! I have joked about the workplace needing to be a "farmville free zone"...lol.

Let me get this straight - you have wonderful friends who have been in your social circle for years. You celebrate holidays together as well as other special occasions. But now you are ready to abandon them because they don't want you putting photos of them on a huge networking site? Put your OWN photos on your Facebook page if you want, and put the rest in photo albums or scrapbooks to enjoy as a family. Or bring the scrapbooks to the next outing and let everyone in the group enjoy them. If you want to keep the photos and captions and memories on the computer, do so - but don't put them on line!

Facebook is like any other internet tool - useful to a certain degree, but annoying and damaging when someone becomes obsessed with it. You think your level of involvement is normal, but your dear friends and your husband object - and you are ready to throw out years of relationships in order to stay in cyberspace! I'm not totally into the Facebook and blogging thing - I don't think everyone in the world is so fascinated by what I had for lunch or what time I took a shower. Try to use it to stay in touch with friends, not to alienate people. Try to spend more time having relationships with them than writing down what you did with them. You say that memories are important - but it sounds like you are ready to split from the very group that gives you these memories! And what are THEIR memories? Will all occasions mean to them "One person with a camera trying to put my life on the internet"????? Assure them that the photos will not go on line, and then stick to it! Maybe you should just have a few get-togethers without the camera - let your friends know you are interested in talking to and listening to them, not in photographing them if they feel they aren't looking their best!

i love face book and post pictures of my son and his friends all the time. i think you need to tell the other friends to grow up....face book is fine to post pictures....post them any ways!!

I respectfully suggest that you realign your thinking to look at it from your friends' viewpoint, respect their wishes, and take more pictures of your family only so that you can post away to your heart's content without involving your friends. Or why don't you go back to posting on Shutterfly? Or, if your friends "make you unhappy" - find new friends. Do you REALLY want that?

Snap away! I also love FB and post tons of photos. My is also private like yours and only a handful can see them. If I take photos I always post the fun day I had. I do get made fun of and I could care less. Have fun with it and make your Albums!

Can't you just post the pictures of you and your family, and those of your friends who are private, keep in a photo album?

I can see where you might seem overbearing and somewhat annoying ALWAYS taking pictures of everyone. Perhaps you don't realize you have become a little camera "happy".

With all do respect, you do seem a little Whiny and adolescent in thinking you need a whole new group of friends, simply because they don't want their pictures everywhere.

If you have that many people upset with you, then you need to realize that you are the common denominator here, and should re-evaluate your camera use.

Hello KD
I may have a solution for you. Edit the photos before you post them. you can blur the faces of people who donot want to be on FB. I have paintshop pro and you can select their faces or most of their body and put a motion blur on it. you can also pixelate...like they do on tv or you can just paste a smiley face on them or put a black rectangle over their eyes/nose. you can also come up w/ a code to know who is who... designate an icon for each person. let say, "Mary" would get a daisy on her face, "Paul" gets a car, etc, etc. you can also go back to putting pictures on shutterfly too. but do protect their identity. good luck! I know it would be a bit more work for you but it would let you publish the pictures you want. ~C.~
p.s.: even my 10-year-old tells me sometimes not to put a certain picture on the internet.... I do respect his wishes.

I also love facebook. Its helped my family keep in contact when I moved away with my husband about 4 years ago. Its helped my Dad still be able to see regular pictures of my son when otherwise it would be difficult. Its helped my husband share pictures with his family when we moved away from them as well. Not to mention the old friends.

With that said, I would promise them that you will respect the fact that it makes them nervous to be photographed for online sharing purposes. Tell them you'll blur out their faces if they would prefer. If they don't like that, then I would just not share them. Either they will eventually warm up to it or they won't, but its almost guaranteed that they won't if some privacy isn't respected. Good luck!

I like using FB too, for the same reasons you do (sharing pics and keeping in touch, not gaming). I have a friend and a MIL who both think that FB is an evil thing. They don't understand it, and everytime it's mentioned in their presence they make comments about how evil it is. So, I ignore them, and go on with my use of it. If your friends have specifically asked that you not put their pics on there, I guess you have to respect their wishes.

First I would like to say that KELLIE B. is way out of line for saying "post them anyway"! She obviously has absolutely NO respect for others!!!!!!

My friend accepted a male friend from church that she & her husband knew for years. Come to find out he was a child molester. He was a single man no kids but he was always at the Church functions. With that in mind, you cannot possibly "know" your 400 friends or their friends/family.

Facebook is way to new for you to be taking this so hard. You should realize that it isn't easy to find so many close wonderful friends that you & your family adore & spend lots of time with. And to say "but they make me unhappy" is quite childish because they don't want you to post photos of them. Just do what you did prior to Facebook & remember that the world wasn't part of your memories those should be shared amongst your wonderful group of friends & your family.

I have to side with your friends on this too. It's simple, if they don't want pics you have to respect their wishes, facebook or no facebook. Remember too, that facebook OWNS everything you post there and can use it in the future - anything you put on the internet is permanently out there. Maybe your friends simply aren't comfortable with that. ANd I don't see how not being able to post pictures of your friends somehow lessons the experience of the day/memory.

GOod luck sorting it out. I'd put away the phone or camera while out with your friends unless you are taking pics of your own family to post.

I don't think this has anything to do with facebook. This about how to have friends and how to be a friend. I am sure that your social outgoing nature is what makes people want to be your friend, but I don't think it is too much to ask to respect their wishes - even if they conflict with your own. I think you should explore why you feel the need to post these photos. You have the photographic memories. It is great to share information about yourself and your own family if you choose to do that. Let's say this was not about photos. How would you feel if your friends were posting details about your life - KD's husband is out of work, KD's kids were misbehaving at the party, KD looked sickly last week, etc. A picture is worth a thousand words and people might see more in them than actually exists. I am active on facebook and I share photos of myself and my family - if there others that I want to share, I ask FIRST. I respect the fact that my friends choose to make different decisions for how they share their lives. It does not make me like them any less because I still enjoy their company. If you feel like you don't fit in with this group - outside of the facebook issue - then, that is another matter. This is just my humble opinion.
C.

I think it is really sad that this is causing a rift with friends that were very near and dear to you. I have lost people I care about and know about wanting to hold on to memories but you must respect people's privacy. I work at a school for troubled kids, if anyone posted pictures of me on their page, no matter the intention, I would feel very violated, and that does not even mention my son. Each to their own, I would reassure your friends that they are for album use only, mean it, and then bring some of your albums to the next gathering to share. Peace and love, Nat

Granted I don't have the full story. Posting pictures isn't worth losing friendships over. You have to respect their wishes if you want to keep them as friends.

Hi there!
People just think different and we have to respect others' ideas and privacy. It is fun to do what you do, and do it while doesn't affect others' privacy or beliefs, whatever it is the reason.
Personally I have FB, but I keep it pretty simple and without showing or telling too much about myself or family. Most of the people you have as 'friends" are mostly friends to have fun, chat and keep touch once in a while....but real friends may be contacted by e-mail or a more private way like phone, or visit each other and show pictures, go out etc...So, I don't think it's a really big deal. Web sites and internet are not private or too safe at all even when you use all the "privacy" settings.
Privacy and safety is extremely important for some people and we have to respect that and not to make a big deal out of it, just enjoy what you do and have fun, keep it safe, though.

Are any of your friends teachers? Police officers? Public officials? They might not want a bunch of people seeing them chilling and relaxing with a drink or two. They might not want students, criminals and voters to get a peek into their personal lives. Or maybe they want to just hang out with you more and less with your camera. Anyway, I hope you can work this out with your friends. It'd be a shame to lose relationships over something like this. Good luck.

It's great that you are active and enjoy documenting your fun occasions-I'm a big scrapbooker-so believe me-I understand what you mean when you say that you enjoy taking pictures and reliving your memories through them. Having said that-it seems that you are upset about the fact that other people don't want you posting pictures of them...pretty much anywhere on the internet, "privately" or not. They have every right to feel this way. If you want someone else to take a million pictures of you and your family on your phone or camera, then have at it-but don't expect everyone else to feel the same way. Lots of people DO NOT like having themselves photographed and they dislike even more having those pictures splashed around by others in whatever manner they feel like doing so. Plus-you need to keep in mind that while you may know and be friends with all of your facebook friends-not all of your friends are going to be friends with each other. So one of the friends in your photo might not be comfortable with 399 other people they don't know looking at pictures of them and/or their kids. It's not right that you would expect them to be comfortable just because you are.

The first thing I do before I take a picture of others is ask, "Do you want a picture of your family?" or "Do you mind if I take a picture?"

Another way to look at this situation is to consider the fact that it sounds like your group of friends is quite sizable, and from your comments, it sounds like almost none of them like you taking or posting their pictures....even your husband who does it professionally. Is it possible that there is something else going on? Perhaps you take pictures and while you post a few, are you willing to give those pictures to their subjects, or are you a "picture hog?" Also, your husband photographs your friends-is it possible that he tries to take advantage of the friendship-perhaps he doesn't give as much effort with friends, or he tries to use them for advertising without compensation?

It's entirely possible that it's as simple as you've stated it-that your friends are private and don't like their pictures being taken. Maybe there's more to it. If you're willing to ditch them because of the picture thing-then it doesn't sound like you have a very good bond, or you're not a very good friend. If there's something your friends don't like, then you need to respect that, just as you would wish they'd respect your wishes about something you don't like...even if it was something they were passionate about.

I don't mean to sound harsh, and I do hope that you can work this out. Good luck.

I don't like it when people post pictures of me without asking and I think it's rude to take a picture of someone without asking if it's ok first. If your friends don't want you to take their pictures, and you don't respect it, then you are the rude one.

It's great that you like to publicly document your life. (Sorry, 400 friends is public, not private...) but your photographed friends don't agree. If you want to take pictures and print them out and put them in a photo album to reminisce over... go for it. I'm sure NO ONE would mind. Uploading them to the internet, to a website like facebook who's privacy policy changes like the weather, I'd be pretty ticked off at you too.

When people tell you that something you are doing are making them unhappy, and you blow them off because you think they are WRONG, that makes you pretty damn selfish and I wonder why they are still friends with YOU.

my mom hates facebook and told me not to put any pic's up of her. I respect her wishes because my mom is extremely private. All I can offer is, when you take pic's, take a bunch of your friends and take a bunch of your kids and husband and only post the ones of your family and the friends who don't mind. I love facebook. I have reconnected with so many people and I have tons of photo albums up, which can only be viewed by friends. I think alot of people are scared of facebook and don't really understand it. What they don't know is that EVERYONE has facebook...from newstations to restaurants. It's becoming a way of life. Best of luck. I don't think you necessarily need to find new friends, you guys are just having a difference of opinion, and that's okay because respect is a two way street.

Well I just read your "what happened" and it seems you don't really fit it with your friends, eventhough you don't think so it there a LOT of people who don't like their picture on fb or want anyting to do with technology that's just how life goes. try to find new friends who are more in sync with your likes and hobbies maybe that's what's going on here. good luck whatever you decide.

I have a friend likes this, she takes her camera everywhere. Because I cannot tell her not to post pictures of my children or us, she does it anyways agaisnt my wishes, she is not allowed to take pictures of my family anymore.
Since she won't respect my privacy then she is not allowed to have our picture taken plain and simple.
Your friendship should be above facebook, only share pictures with you and your family in it, don't lose a friendship over this. A lot of people are very private about their lives, maybe you'll meet new friends and they won't like FB either.
It's just not worth losing a friendship over.

Well, YOU have 400 friends....but your friends don't. So, even though only your friends can see your pictures, that still means that 400 people are looking at them. And then if you "tag" them it goes on their wall andall of their friends can see them! So, it really is a lot of people that can see your pictures.I wouldn't like that either, and I am quite active on facebook. But I also only have 50 friends, because "really" who has 400 friends!?
I think you need to respect your friends and their requests.
L.

<<Memories are so important and the best wasy to document them is through photos. >>

You don't have to post photos on FB to have, or even document, memories. You still have the photos, you still have the memories. Why does FB need the memories too? (Also, some would argue that there are other good ways to document memories - journaling, for instance.)

I love FB and have reconnected with a lot of friends that way. But I agree with what someone else said... if you have 400 friends, you don't know all these people well. I have moved roughly every two years of my life... making friends everywhere I've been. I don't have 400 friends on FB. I have a little over 100 and many of them I don't know well.

Your friends have every right to request that their photos not be put out there in cyberspace.

<<I'm usually the only one with a camera >>
<<Like I said, I'm the only one who EVER brings a camera.>>

I can't speak for your friends, but I can speak for myself. I rarely remember to bring a camera. When I do remember to bring the camera, I rarely remember to USE it. I'm usually too busy being a PART of the party. I would rather be enjoying the moment and be a part of the fun than to be stuck behind a camera and worrying about documenting it for the future. I took plenty of photos of my children growing up - their lives are well documented. But there aren't photos of every single day of their lives. I was doing things with them, not photographing it.

If photography is your thing... great. Have at it. Just remember that it's not everybody's thing. How would you feel if your friends expected you to have the same level of interest in things that they are passionate about? Nobody is preventing you from taking their photo... just requesting that you don't share them with total strangers. Not unreasonable, in my opinion -- and for the record, I would not have a problem with photos of myself or my children being posted on FB. But that's my choice to make. Not yours.

K.D., I too enjoy posting and looking at pictures... I moved away from my home town many years ago so seeing old friends and family is great on facebook. You've been hanging with these friends for a long time and even though they aren't for facebook (which I can barely comprehend) they are your friend and don't let a picture posting ruin it. You still can post of your family and yourself. You can also write about it... If you are wanting to post pictures of the time you are having with these people and say it's for memories, then these people are your friends and you just disagree about facebook. Enjoy your friends, take your pictures, put them in your scrapbook, put the ones of you on facebook, and enjoy many more memories with them...

I'm agreeing with you, though I don't post many pictures, because, well I'm so technology illiterate that I haven't figured out how to down load any yet (I digress) Facebook has me connecting with classmates from elementary school and college. I love it! And remind all the nay sayers that bug me from my own family, that this is my time to use as if I were corresponding snail mail style, but more efficiently.

I don't like seeing pictures of myself on FB because I don't like pictures of myself, and though that's sad, I don't want to be tagged and shared by others unless I pick the picture...so I kind of understand where your friends are coming from. Keep putting them in your photo albums and preserve your memories that way. Just think of your FB time as a snap shot of your day, to share and be selective. Seems like a small thing to drop your real and current friends over.