January 3, 2008
Detest Someone? Put Them on Facebook's Enemy List
Facebook users, if pressed, will admit that not all the friends they list on the social-networking site are really friends. And that got Kevin Matulef, a computer-science graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, thinking: What if people were open about who on their Facebook page was and was not a friend? He decided to act on the idea by creating a Facebook application, Enemybook, that allows users to tag people as “enemies.” Those who use the application make available on their Facebook page their list of foes as well as friends. A photograph of the enemy is depicted along with a list of reasons why the person is despised: He/she hooked up with my ex, insulted my honor, or killed my family, are among the possible explanations.
Enemybook is not the only Web application to mock Facebook. Snubster allows Facebook users to list adversaries. And then there’s Hatebook.com and Hatebook.org.
In an interview with National Public Radio, Mr. Matulef said his software is meant to be tongue in cheek. “The time is right for a Facebook parody,” he said in the interview. He acknowledged that college rivalry may have played a part in his development of Enemybook. Facebook, after all, was developed by a Harvard alumnus, Mark Zuckerberg. MIT and Harvard are neighbors in Cambridge, Mass. So who are Mr. Matulef’s enemies? Mr. Zuckerberg and President George W. Bush, among others.—-Andrea L. Foster
Posted on Thursday January 3, 2008 | Permalink |Comments
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Just one more reason, in a long list of reasons, to ask, Is computer science really a science?
— H.L. Morgan Jan 4, 08:59 AM #
In response to H.L. Morgan, yes, computer science is a science, and that’s an entirely separate issue from how people have decided to use computers.
I hardly think Mr. Morgan would argue that the (mis)use of recreational drugs invalidated the scientific field of pharmacology. I would ask that he refrain from disparaging an entire field of study. It is also clear to me that Mr. Morgan is unaware of the important distinction between computer programming (an applied skill) and computer science (a science).
— Daniel Jan 4, 09:28 AM #
Ah, but Daniel, I make a distinction between scientist/researchers and users. I would argue that your analogy of recreational drug (mis)users is off.
A better analogy would be to compare Matulef with a scientist in pharmacology, not a drug user. I imagine this scientist, let’s call him Joe, coming up with the idea of a recreational drug that has the opposite effect of Viagra. He thinks of this idea and decides it is worth pursuing. As in Matulef’s case, no one smacks Joe on the head and tells him to quit wasting his time because not all ideas are good ideas. As a result, Joe brings his recreational drug to market and gets on NPR.
Does this invalidate pharmacology? No.
If 90% of pharmacology grad students are Joe-wannabes does this invalidate pharmacology? No. But one might start to wonder if pharmacology (and computer science) is going the way of eight-track tapes.
— H.L. Morgan Jan 4, 10:27 AM #
Try to remember that while programming for entertainment purposes is computer science it doesn’t involve as much as the more scientific realms of computer science that make up things such as artificial intelligence.
Furthermore the bigger question that should be asked is if we want to legitimize what becomes an advertised hate list. What are the legal implications if someone truly hates someone on this website and then is accused of acting on those feelings? Should the website be taken seriously? And should the educational system use this as a way to pre-empt problems that could occur on campus?
— Will Jan 4, 11:21 AM #
Then of course only the stupid will use anything like this at all since more than half of all employers do an online search of people they are seriously interested in and many also seach facebook, my space, etc. – not just for a site of yours but on your “friends”. I guess they will also search on your enemy list. Many have said they won’t interview someone with quesitonable material posted on their site or photos of them partying on someone else’s site…
Seems to me an enemy/hate list would/should be a signal of immaturity and questionable taste (not to mention poor manners, rude…) to potential employers.
While this may be a joke, some will take it seriously and find it affects their ability to be employed. People forget what is out there is often out there forever and findable with an intelligent enough search.
— anon Jan 4, 11:33 AM #
This is old news and shows the generational divide when it comes to digital life. friendsorenemies.com has existed for a couple of years, where you can “friend” and “enemy” people. Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz is involved.
With Enemybook, it IS interesting that it uses Facebook’s open-apps approach so you can embed enemies into FB.
— Brad Rourke Jan 4, 11:37 AM #
Mr. Morgan, I stand by my original analogy.
A computer programmer is not, by virtue of their programming, a computer scientist. An electrician is (typically) not an electrical engineer, a plumber needn’t be a hydrologist.
Computer scientists study the breaking down of problems into discrete computational units. They study algorithms, and it is a branch of mathematics. The field of computer science predates computers, and there are computer scientists (e.g. Claude Shannon) who hardly ever touched computers in their lifetime.
Computer science has created the foundation for the creation of computer programming and specific websites such as facebook and even the Chronicle’s own website, but the mere act of creating a website is not contributing or participating in the field of computer science at all.
I think you would be well served by attending a couple thesis defenses in computer science – they are not researching or studying social networking websites (indeed, you will see more research on social networking websites from economics students than CS students) but rather they are working on a set of problems that are still far from having any practical application.
— Daniel Jan 4, 04:14 PM #
I would think someone could put a comment out there about a race or gender. I.E. some could state something racist about negroes or women or possibly both. Something could be said about a group or subgroup like Jews, Muslims. Something with no solid evidence of any kind.
— Drew Jan 6, 07:40 PM #
Yes, Mr. Morgan. Computer Science is a science. Algorithms – precise recipes for information processing – provide the most expressive language available for describing scientific theories and simulations provide some of the most flexible tools to test theories. Hence, computation: biology: : calculus:physics; computation: cognitive science: : calculus: physics: computation: social science::calculus: physics… Increasingly, every science is morphing into computer science.
— Dr. Frasier Feb 4, 06:53 PM #