• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

Facebook Friends Display Question

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
MililaniBuckeye

MililaniBuckeye

The satanic soulless freight train that is Ohio St
Staff member
Tech Admin
    • OK, I got on to Facebook a few months back to enable my high school alumni association and some high school friends track me down, and to view photos of folks in my triathlon training clinic (the only place they post their shit is on Facebook). I'm not on it all the time and only have about 105 "friends", but lately I've noticed something a little weird about the "Friends" window in the lower left-hand side which displays six "random" friends. I wonder how these six are picked, because about the last 10-12 times I've gone to my profile, this same chick has been one of the six--every frickin' time. Another one has been one of the six about 7-8 times. No one else comes up any where close to that.

    What. The. Fuck.

    I don't need my BSCS to figure out that the same person should not be in the same random pool of six-out-of-105 10+ times in a row, or even half the time. DaddyBigBucks could probably figure out just how unlikely that would be in a true random algorithm.

    So, just how does Facebook pick those six? Is it based on how many times a person has visited your profile/page within a set timeframe? Is it based on the last six who've visited? Anyone know?
     
    starBUCKS;1708906; said:
    I think it's random... no rhyme or reason.
    Click to expand...

    I thought so, too, initially. But there's no way that the same person would be within a pool of six out of 105 ten or more times in a row, or even six or seven times out of ten.

    Holy shit. I just went to my page, refreshed it, and guess which two were in the "random" six yet again while the other four changed. No fucking way it's random.
     
    Upvote 0
    I don't think there's any known reason, so most people guess that it must be random.

    I never really paid attention, but I'm finding at least 2 out of a group of about 4 friends tend to always be a part of the six displayed, with 1 showing up 80% of the time. I have no clue why those 4 continue to show up in some combination. I have around 600 "friends."
     
    Upvote 0
    OHSportsFan9;1708914; said:
    I never really paid attention, but I'm finding at least 2 out of a group of about 4 friends tend to always be a part of the six displayed, with 1 showing up 80% of the time. I have no clue why those 4 continue to show up in some combination. I have around 600 "friends."
    Click to expand...

    At least it's not only me. Your case makes it ever more clear that it can't be random, seeing as you have nearly six times the amount of friends and still have one or two showing up all the time.
     
    Upvote 0
    1232028209yKwYyL.jpg
     
    Upvote 0
    MililaniBuckeye;1709035; said:
    Quit stealing my Facebook avatar! :lol:

    Sure as shit, checked my page again this morning and, viola, those same two are in the six again. Refreashed the page, both are there again while the other four changed. Not random.
    Click to expand...

    I think it has to do with how many things you and they have "in common" as in interests, movies, the public profile crap you fill in. Or how many mutual connections you might have between the two of you. I am also starting to think that FB allows a kind of "paid recommendation" thing but I can't prove that.
     
    Upvote 0
    OCBuckWife;1709081; said:
    I think it has to do with how many things you and they have "in common" as in interests, movies, the public profile crap you fill in. Or how many mutual connections you might have between the two of you. I am also starting to think that FB allows a kind of "paid recommendation" thing but I can't prove that.
    Click to expand...

    Bingo...I believe it also has something to do with whoever your friends have in common as well. Let's say you have a group of friends, and everyone has been on facebook for a while, and then you sign up. I believe if you start adding people from that "group" (aka most common friends) those are who show up for recommendations.
     
    Upvote 0
    jlb1705 said:
    You used to be able to pick who showed up there. Facebook's settings have been altered, moved and jacked up so much over the last couple years that I don't even know if that's an option anymore.
    Click to expand...
    Looks like it's still an option. I had no clue I could even control that, until I looked there after this thread.

    I just click on 'Profile', then in the friends/display/preview box there is a little pencil to "edit" that area. I click that & it turns out I can choose how many and who show up. Never knew that.

    But I agree, Facebook needs to stop changing their look every other day.
     
    Upvote 0
    You must log in or register to reply here.
    Back
    Top