
Faceparty tells critics to F*** Off, suspends entire site - madmotive
http://uk.techcrunch.com/2008/06/24/faceparty-tells-critics-to-f-off-suspends-entire-site/
======
babul
Not a marketing ploy.

My (old) firm used to represent the founder behind faceparty (Lance). He
really is like that in person and would certainly shut the site to spite the
users.

Good to see it has had a positive effect though!

------
ConradHex
From the headline I was thinking, "there goes techcrunch being sensationalist
again".

But no, they're pretty much dead on here.

------
raganwald
Good for them.

Running a social network is like running a bar (or pub in this case). If the
owners get fed up and are willing to live with the consequences, why not lock
the doors and go to the zoo for the day?

~~~
axod
Looks like their traffic has been in decline a bit though. But as they say,
it's not like they are paying customers.

Some users can get pretty abusive after a while.

I'm not sure why they didn't just direct the troublemakers to this page, and
let others access the site though.

------
steveplace
C'mon guys, it's a time tested business strategy.

Anyone remember Cartmanland?

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

------
wheels
Am I the only one that wanted to sign up after reading the message? ;-)

~~~
nadim
For their sake, hopefully you (and others) do.

<http://www.google.com/trends?q=faceparty.com>

It might reverse the trend (pun intended).

~~~
kirubakaran
_> pun intended_

<http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=puns>

;)

~~~
PieSquared
No, actually, the phrases "pun intended" and "no pun intended" don't mean
anything of the sort. Stop whining, they're just a friendly gesture. ;)

~~~
kirubakaran
_> Stop whining_

You are telling maddox, not me, right?

~~~
PieSquared
Maddox being the author of the link, I suppose that yes, I was. Sorry if that
sounded too aggressive -I just don't think that the link really added anything
or was appropriate to the parent.

------
tlrobinson
This is the most entertainment I've gotten from a social network in a long
time.

------
swombat
Am I the only one who can't stand that horrible spelling? "TO THA HATERZ"
indeed.

~~~
misuba
Somehow, fake gangsta-isms are even more irritating coming from Brits.

I know, I didn't think that was possible either.

------
astine
Wow, but then again, I'd be pissed too. People's attitudes about what they are
'owed' can be offensive sometimes and the Internet just seems to bring out the
worst jerks. Maybe if Faceparty shuts down for good, people will learn to not
expect things for free? Hopefully, but I doubt it.

------
babul
A rare case of reverse psychology actually working on the net? (...especially
for a "social" media site).

Anyone know of other successful cases?

~~~
axod
I think it's a _bit_ early to tell if it's worked yet or not.

~~~
babul
Point taken.

All the publicity I have seen so far has been favourable i.e. not bad and will
encourage people to join rather than leave.

Was wondering about other precedents?

------
xirium
Unlike Twitter, you've got to have good uptime for this sentiment to be
effective.

Tags: [Faceparty] [Twitter] [uptime] [reliability] [denied]

------
cturner
Can we please keep the poor language (or allusions to it) off the frontpage?
It used to be the sort of thing that separated hacker news from the rest.

~~~
xlnt
Our goal isn't to be the most Christian social news site. That's not how we
want to be separated.

~~~
cturner
> Our goal isn't to be the most Christian social news site.

"Our" goal? You.. claim to represent the hacker news community? And - I
presume only - downvote me for my opinion?

I don't want it to be Christian. Just refined :) Just because it's a social
setting on the internet doesn't mean it has to be trashy.

If someone goes through my comments and finds I've broken my own standard here
somewhere in my history on the site then I admit my hypocracy in advance. I
think I've been good though - hacker news tends to be civilised and there's a
feedback loop in that.

~~~
nonrecursive
As omouse pointed out, "fuck" was starred out. Besides that, "Fuck tha Haterz"
was what was plastered on the faceparty site. I actually am glad that the OP
included "F __*" in the headline, because it's accurately conveys the
newsworthiness of the article.

Shutting down your social site with a profanity ridden rant on the front page
isn't something I've read of anyone doing before, and it will be interesting
to see the result (if anyone ever follows up).

