

Facebook adds Samaritans suicide risk alert system - imran
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12667343

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ebiester
Please don't be abused....

Please don't be abused....

Please oh please oh please don't be abused.

Please, ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend with a facebook password, avoid the
temptation to post a fake suicide note and then report using someone else's
account.

Or middle schoolers who think this would be a funny practical joke.

Ever had a sinking feeling?

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ozziegooen
So far it hasn't been at all, that was the point of the test:

"The system had been operating in a trial mode, without publicity for three
months, during which it received several genuine reports and no hoaxes,
according to Samaritans."

Doesn't sound too bad.

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ozziegooen
This makes Facebook seem more creepy. To me and anyone already concerned they
have to much user information.

One alternative would be to have Facebook sponsor a new independent local
charity to do exactly this. People can relate to a local charity, they can't
relate to Facebook.

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mkjones
The first thing you see on the help page _is_ a list of places to contact that
are external / not related to Facebook:
<https://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=15538>.

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nandemo
I find it funny that they never bother to explain what or who are the
Samaritans. It's probably a charity but I like to imagine they're talking
about the _real_ Samaritans:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritan>

~~~
chris_j
Very funny. It's referring to a charity, of course, which is extremely well
known in the UK (and in Ireland, if Wikipedia is to be believed). Here is the
correct Wikipedia page:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritans_(charity)>

The charity is most well known for the phone line that it runs, staffed by
volunteers, that anyone can call if they are feeling suicidal or just
desperate and need someone to talk to. An ex girlfriend of mine worked as a
Samaritans volunteer for a short while. She said that it was very hard work
(manning the phones all night and dealing with a fair few prank/abusive
callers) and also extremely worthwhile and rewarding.

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maeon3
I would rather see an alert system to alarm the police when facebook is caught
selling my information to 3rd parties.

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wyclif
Three Facebook stories on the front page of HN at the moment. The rot is in
for sure. For a second, I thought I was reading TechCrunch.

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wyclif
No, really. There were three FB stories on the front page when I wrote that.

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lazugod
You haven't made an argument why such would be considered "rot".

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burgerbrain
_"I thought I was reading TechCrunch."_

Not saying I agree with him, but he _did_ defend his assertion.

