What ever made you think anyone would want this functionality, other than the sleazier, spammier publishers?
Why would any person _ever_ want to automatically broadcast on Facebook the URL of every web page they read on a particular site? What is the benefit, to them? "How do I publicize a big chunk of my browser history" is not a problem any real person has.
The problem with this feature has nothing to do with disclosure or opting out. It's that it seems designed SOLELY for the benefit of publishers, who get more clicks and promotion, and of Facebook, which gets more social content.
You forget that you are not the customer, you are the product. Facebook do not care what functionality you want, beyond what is required to keep you using the product. They care what their paying customers want, and that is access to as much information about the product (you) as possible.
Indeed. Since the post I was replying to purported to be confused at the negative backlash among Facebook members, I engaged on its own terms. I suspect at higher levels Facebook is at least somewhat aware it is acting exploitively.
One of my clients is a porn site, and we're currently debating whether it would be a good idea to even give users the option to post what scene they're watching on Facebook. Some users will legitimately want that (they don't care if people know), but we would rather err on the side of not publicly embarrassing people.
Why would any person _ever_ want to automatically broadcast on Facebook the URL of every web page they read on a particular site? What is the benefit, to them? "How do I publicize a big chunk of my browser history" is not a problem any real person has.
The problem with this feature has nothing to do with disclosure or opting out. It's that it seems designed SOLELY for the benefit of publishers, who get more clicks and promotion, and of Facebook, which gets more social content.