Overheard on Facebook

[ysette9]

For my FB I have:

1) consistently hidden every single ad, marking them randomly as not applicable or offensive or already purchased, or another option they offer. Do this for several days in a row and you get a break from ads. Do this every time the ads come back and so far I’ve been weeks with no ads.

2) curate your feed by unfollowing people you don’t care about, interacting with local groups you do care about, reading articles that interest you, etc. Every now and again I have to do that process again and clear out the clutter that has crept in.

[zolotiyeruki]

For my FB I have:

1) consistently hidden every single ad, marking them randomly as not applicable or offensive or already purchased, or another option they offer. Do this for several days in a row and you get a break from ads. Do this every time the ads come back and so far I’ve been weeks with no ads.

2) curate your feed by unfollowing people you don’t care about, interacting with local groups you do care about, reading articles that interest you, etc. Every now and again I have to do that process again and clear out the clutter that has crept in.

FB Purity is your friend. Never see an ad on FB again! And hide all the clutter that the Algorithm inserts in your feed.

[Sandi_k]

For my FB I have:

1) consistently hidden every single ad, marking them randomly as not applicable or offensive or already purchased, or another option they offer. Do this for several days in a row and you get a break from ads. Do this every time the ads come back and so far I’ve been weeks with no ads.

2) curate your feed by unfollowing people you don’t care about, interacting with local groups you do care about, reading articles that interest you, etc. Every now and again I have to do that process again and clear out the clutter that has crept in.

FB Purity is your friend. Never see an ad on FB again! And hide all the clutter that the Algorithm inserts in your feed.

+1000

[GuitarStv]

For my FB I have:

1) consistently hidden every single ad, marking them randomly as not applicable or offensive or already purchased, or another option they offer. Do this for several days in a row and you get a break from ads. Do this every time the ads come back and so far I’ve been weeks with no ads.

2) curate your feed by unfollowing people you don’t care about, interacting with local groups you do care about, reading articles that interest you, etc. Every now and again I have to do that process again and clear out the clutter that has crept in.

FB Purity is your friend. Never see an ad on FB again! And hide all the clutter that the Algorithm inserts in your feed.

+1000

Still think you're better off eschewing facebook entirely.

[ysette9]

If it were all junk, sure. But I am part of some great groups that provide valuable information that is helpful, so I stick around.

[JAYSLOL]

Another new Starbucks cup has been acquired

Make that two this week now

It’s been a while, but I happened upon a post of a new Starbucks cup as well as a weird pumpkin shape looking bright pink Starbucks mug, which is a first.

[Taran Wanderer]

I started liking every kids-back-to-school photo from my friends. What happened! Facebook fed me more back-to-school photos. It really does feed you what you spend time on. It was fun to see all the kid photos.

In the same way. Most political stuff has left my feed because I hide it or pause the people for 30 days. Not that things don’t come up, but it’s not a flood. If you consume the crap, they flood you with more crap.

[snic]

I started liking every kids-back-to-school photo from my friends. What happened! Facebook fed me more back-to-school photos. It really does feed you what you spend time on. It was fun to see all the kid photos.

In the same way. Most political stuff has left my feed because I hide it or pause the people for 30 days. Not that things don’t come up, but it’s not a flood. If you consume the crap, they flood you with more crap.

Isn't this generally the case? Eat a Twinkie, go to the store for more Twinkies, and what do you find - a whole aisle full of similar monstrosities. Buy a schnazzy new car, go to the dealer for an oil change, and what do you find - a whole showroom full of even schnazzier cars and people eager to sell you one. Watch crappy TV and what do you find - ads for more crap, including crappy TV shows and crappy TVs. And on and on. Facebook and Google have just perfected and refined the algorithm for feeding you crap based on your history of crap.

I don't touch Facebook with a 10 foot pole. If someone from the past really wants to contact me, they can figure out where I am. I guess Google has made itself useful enough, and stayed relatively unobtrusive enough, that I don't feel quite so irritated with them.

[ixtap]

I am pretty sure one of my friends is in an MLM that pushes affiliated marketing. She never posts anything that looks at all like affiliated marketing, but she posts about affiliated marketing everyday, including offering to hook us all up with how to get started. Time to snooze her again.

[Scandium]

I started liking every kids-back-to-school photo from my friends. What happened! Facebook fed me more back-to-school photos. It really does feed you what you spend time on. It was fun to see all the kid photos.

In the same way. Most political stuff has left my feed because I hide it or pause the people for 30 days. Not that things don’t come up, but it’s not a flood. If you consume the crap, they flood you with more crap.

Their algorithm truly is garbage. I also generally only use facebook for buy nothing groups, marketplace and groups for various interests. For example I joined a great rec soccer team via fb groups, and found good hiking and paddling places.
But for one, most of my fb friends hardly post anything anymore. And if they do, fb has decided that it's more important to repeatedly show me an event that happed a week ago (seriously, the date is in the post!!), than stuff my actual friends post. Looking at the "posted date" in the feed is ridiculous. Constantly recycling stuff that's 5+ days old, that I've seen several times. They're supposed to be "great with data", but they can't tell that I've scrolled past it before, or that this even has already happed??! (yes I use adblock and FBpurity to block all sponsored stuff and ads, also filter out any MLM-sounding things).
I have no concerns facebook will accidentally invent skynet, since they are all clearly incompetent idiots!

[zolotiyeruki]

Their algorithm truly is garbage. I also generally only use facebook for buy nothing groups, marketplace and groups for various interests. For example I joined a great rec soccer team via fb groups, and found good hiking and paddling places.
But for one, most of my fb friends hardly post anything anymore. And if they do, fb has decided that it's more important to repeatedly show me an event that happed a week ago (seriously, the date is in the post!!), than stuff my actual friends post. Looking at the "posted date" in the feed is ridiculous. Constantly recycling stuff that's 5+ days old, that I've seen several times. They're supposed to be "great with data", but they can't tell that I've scrolled past it before, or that this even has already happed??! (yes I use adblock and FBpurity to block all sponsored stuff and ads, also filter out any MLM-sounding things).
I have no concerns facebook will accidentally invent skynet, since they are all clearly incompetent idiots!

Agreed 100%.  It keeps showing me posts from friends/groups I've already seen, and doesn't show me other content that those friends and groups have since posted.

I have two suggestions for you:
1) install the FB Purity extension in your browser
2) ignore the main FB page, and use the "Feeds" page instead (https://www.facebook.com/?sk=h_chr)

[Morning Glory]

Their algorithm truly is garbage. I also generally only use facebook for buy nothing groups, marketplace and groups for various interests. For example I joined a great rec soccer team via fb groups, and found good hiking and paddling places.
But for one, most of my fb friends hardly post anything anymore. And if they do, fb has decided that it's more important to repeatedly show me an event that happed a week ago (seriously, the date is in the post!!), than stuff my actual friends post. Looking at the "posted date" in the feed is ridiculous. Constantly recycling stuff that's 5+ days old, that I've seen several times. They're supposed to be "great with data", but they can't tell that I've scrolled past it before, or that this even has already happed??! (yes I use adblock and FBpurity to block all sponsored stuff and ads, also filter out any MLM-sounding things).
I have no concerns facebook will accidentally invent skynet, since they are all clearly incompetent idiots!

Agreed 100%.  It keeps showing me posts from friends/groups I've already seen, and doesn't show me other content that those friends and groups have since posted.

I have two suggestions for you:
1) install the FB Purity extension in your browser
2) ignore the main FB page, and use the "Feeds" page instead (https://www.facebook.com/?sk=h_chr)

Thanks, that did seem to have more "friends" than it usually does. The only reason I scroll fb is because my youngest son asks for "babies" and nobody posts on fb more than people with babies. Otherwise I use it to find local events and for market place.

If he sees I have the forum up he will ask where is the "doggy" which is metal cat's avatar.

[jinga nation]

Not Overheard on FB, but "mysterious changes" to an account.
I don't have a FB account but my wife does. But she never logs into it unless we're going to old country and she wants to let her friends know she's coming over and if they can meet up. She had all notifications switched off (email, SMS). About 2 weeks ago, she started getting about 5-10 notification emails daily. Most of them were stupid like "Joe uploaded a photo" and "Jane commented on Jack's post" and other nonsense. I had to do some reconfiguring on my pi-hole to allow FB on one computer, log into her account. Lo and behold, every single damn notification option was turned up to "hell yeah, hit me baby with that spam".
Went thru all options, there's so many fugging sliders for granularity, but no single shut-that-notification-shit-off.
After changes were done and saved, etc. set the pi-hole back to disallow FB in my home network.
Goddamn FB, you fucking suck like the Zuck!
My IT-sixth-sense says that because she hadn't logged into the account in over a year, FB deliberately reset the notification options in order to make her log in and see activity and get her interested in FB. Rope-a-dope method.

[TheGrimSqueaker]

Not Overheard on FB, but "mysterious changes" to an account.
I don't have a FB account but my wife does. But she never logs into it unless we're going to old country and she wants to let her friends know she's coming over and if they can meet up. She had all notifications switched off (email, SMS). About 2 weeks ago, she started getting about 5-10 notification emails daily. Most of them were stupid like "Joe uploaded a photo" and "Jane commented on Jack's post" and other nonsense. I had to do some reconfiguring on my pi-hole to allow FB on one computer, log into her account. Lo and behold, every single damn notification option was turned up to "hell yeah, hit me baby with that spam".
Went thru all options, there's so many fugging sliders for granularity, but no single shut-that-notification-shit-off.
After changes were done and saved, etc. set the pi-hole back to disallow FB in my home network.
Goddamn FB, you fucking suck like the Zuck!
My IT-sixth-sense says that because she hadn't logged into the account in over a year, FB deliberately reset the notification options in order to make her log in and see activity and get her interested in FB. Rope-a-dope method.

Yeah, I killed my FB account,. I had several reasons, but the ongoing stupidity was a factor. I've come to believe that if I'm using a free digital product, I somehow am the product.

[farmecologist]

Not Overheard on FB, but "mysterious changes" to an account.
I don't have a FB account but my wife does. But she never logs into it unless we're going to old country and she wants to let her friends know she's coming over and if they can meet up. She had all notifications switched off (email, SMS). About 2 weeks ago, she started getting about 5-10 notification emails daily. Most of them were stupid like "Joe uploaded a photo" and "Jane commented on Jack's post" and other nonsense. I had to do some reconfiguring on my pi-hole to allow FB on one computer, log into her account. Lo and behold, every single damn notification option was turned up to "hell yeah, hit me baby with that spam".
Went thru all options, there's so many fugging sliders for granularity, but no single shut-that-notification-shit-off.
After changes were done and saved, etc. set the pi-hole back to disallow FB in my home network.
Goddamn FB, you fucking suck like the Zuck!
My IT-sixth-sense says that because she hadn't logged into the account in over a year, FB deliberately reset the notification options in order to make her log in and see activity and get her interested in FB. Rope-a-dope method.

Yeah, I killed my FB account,. I had several reasons, but the ongoing stupidity was a factor. I've come to believe that if I'm using a free digital product, I somehow am the product.

I should think about deleting my account.  Mine is still there...but has had absolutely no updates since 2010 or so!  It is a strange time capsule looking back at it.

[Dee_the_third]

Today's absolutely bonkers facebook marketplace find: a washer/dryer set, retailing at 2,400 for the set, for $50.

Seller says the door seal is leaking on the washer, and the repairman they had out to come look at it "never came back", so they bought a brand new set. Yes, a brand new washer AND dryer, because the washer door seal (a $200 part) needs replacing. I guess they needed the matched set.

I'm just...baffled. I kind of feel sorry for them? Is this how people live? At the mercy of the slightest thing going wrong because you don't have the skills to do basic repairs?

[RetiredAt63]

Today's absolutely bonkers facebook marketplace find: a washer/dryer set, retailing at 2,400 for the set, for $50.

Seller says the door seal is leaking on the washer, and the repairman they had out to come look at it "never came back", so they bought a brand new set. Yes, a brand new washer AND dryer, because the washer door seal (a $200 part) needs replacing. I guess they needed the matched set.

I'm just...baffled. I kind of feel sorry for them? Is this how people live? At the mercy of the slightest thing going wrong because you don't have the skills to do basic repairs?

And the necessity to having a matching washer/dryer?  I can understand starting out with a set, often there are major savings when buying all the same brand.  But for a replacement?

Apparently yes. I have bought almost new microwaves and kettles and such because people were moving and the appliance would't match the new place.

[GuitarStv]

Today's absolutely bonkers facebook marketplace find: a washer/dryer set, retailing at 2,400 for the set, for $50.

Seller says the door seal is leaking on the washer, and the repairman they had out to come look at it "never came back", so they bought a brand new set. Yes, a brand new washer AND dryer, because the washer door seal (a $200 part) needs replacing. I guess they needed the matched set.

I'm just...baffled. I kind of feel sorry for them? Is this how people live? At the mercy of the slightest thing going wrong because you don't have the skills to do basic repairs?

And the necessity to having a matching washer/dryer?  I can understand starting out with a set, often there are major savings when buying all the same brand.  But for a replacement?

Apparently yes. I have bought almost new microwaves and kettles and such because people were moving and the appliance would't match the new place.

I say no.  But I don't even have a dryer anymore since it turns out there's this thing called air that works the same way.  :P

[ATtiny85]

Today's absolutely bonkers facebook marketplace find: a washer/dryer set, retailing at 2,400 for the set, for $50.

Seller says the door seal is leaking on the washer, and the repairman they had out to come look at it "never came back", so they bought a brand new set. Yes, a brand new washer AND dryer, because the washer door seal (a $200 part) needs replacing. I guess they needed the matched set.

I'm just...baffled. I kind of feel sorry for them? Is this how people live? At the mercy of the slightest thing going wrong because you don't have the skills to do basic repairs?

And the necessity to having a matching washer/dryer?  I can understand starting out with a set, often there are major savings when buying all the same brand.  But for a replacement?

Apparently yes. I have bought almost new microwaves and kettles and such because people were moving and the appliance would't match the new place.

I say no.  But I don't even have a dryer anymore since it turns out there's this thing called air that works the same way.  :P

Embrace nudism so you can eliminate the washer as well

[Metalcat]

I've actually re-engaged with FB recently, at least when I'm out in rural Newfoundland. It's the main place to get community information.

There's no politics, virtually no contentious opinions about anything, just info about live music, organized hikes, dog photos, listings for used items, and absolutely hysterical memes. It's actually really pleasant.

Leave it to the Newfies to make FB a nice place.

[GuitarStv]

Today's absolutely bonkers facebook marketplace find: a washer/dryer set, retailing at 2,400 for the set, for $50.

Seller says the door seal is leaking on the washer, and the repairman they had out to come look at it "never came back", so they bought a brand new set. Yes, a brand new washer AND dryer, because the washer door seal (a $200 part) needs replacing. I guess they needed the matched set.

I'm just...baffled. I kind of feel sorry for them? Is this how people live? At the mercy of the slightest thing going wrong because you don't have the skills to do basic repairs?

And the necessity to having a matching washer/dryer?  I can understand starting out with a set, often there are major savings when buying all the same brand.  But for a replacement?

Apparently yes. I have bought almost new microwaves and kettles and such because people were moving and the appliance would't match the new place.

I say no.  But I don't even have a dryer anymore since it turns out there's this thing called air that works the same way.  :P

Embrace nudism so you can eliminate the washer as well

It's a tough sell in Canadian winters.

[Metalcat]

Today's absolutely bonkers facebook marketplace find: a washer/dryer set, retailing at 2,400 for the set, for $50.

Seller says the door seal is leaking on the washer, and the repairman they had out to come look at it "never came back", so they bought a brand new set. Yes, a brand new washer AND dryer, because the washer door seal (a $200 part) needs replacing. I guess they needed the matched set.

I'm just...baffled. I kind of feel sorry for them? Is this how people live? At the mercy of the slightest thing going wrong because you don't have the skills to do basic repairs?

And the necessity to having a matching washer/dryer?  I can understand starting out with a set, often there are major savings when buying all the same brand.  But for a replacement?

Apparently yes. I have bought almost new microwaves and kettles and such because people were moving and the appliance would't match the new place.

I say no.  But I don't even have a dryer anymore since it turns out there's this thing called air that works the same way.  :P

Embrace nudism so you can eliminate the washer as well

It's a tough sell in Canadian winters.

Dude, aren't you in Toronto? Does that even count as winter?

[GuitarStv]

Today's absolutely bonkers facebook marketplace find: a washer/dryer set, retailing at 2,400 for the set, for $50.

Seller says the door seal is leaking on the washer, and the repairman they had out to come look at it "never came back", so they bought a brand new set. Yes, a brand new washer AND dryer, because the washer door seal (a $200 part) needs replacing. I guess they needed the matched set.

I'm just...baffled. I kind of feel sorry for them? Is this how people live? At the mercy of the slightest thing going wrong because you don't have the skills to do basic repairs?

And the necessity to having a matching washer/dryer?  I can understand starting out with a set, often there are major savings when buying all the same brand.  But for a replacement?

Apparently yes. I have bought almost new microwaves and kettles and such because people were moving and the appliance would't match the new place.

I say no.  But I don't even have a dryer anymore since it turns out there's this thing called air that works the same way.  :P

Embrace nudism so you can eliminate the washer as well

It's a tough sell in Canadian winters.

Dude, aren't you in Toronto? Does that even count as winter?

I dunno, you be the judge.  This is my vehicle post winter commute, before being cleaned:

[Metalcat]

I dunno, you be the judge.  This is my vehicle post winter commute, before being cleaned:

Wow, that looks like a fair amount of snow, it must have lasted at least a week ;)

[Decibel]

Don't worry it will buff out!

[ducky19]

I usually don't have anything to contribute here since I generally check Facebook once per day (if that), however I saw one in my local town page that made me go, "holy fuck!" Someone was asking about other cell carriers than Verizon. They love the service (only one in the area that works everywhere), but their $275 a month bill was getting to be too much, and they were going to need to add phones for their kids soon. Several other people saved me the trouble of sharing about Total by Verizon (our plan) - $100/month for four lines. I just can't comprehend that people are willing to pay that much money each month just to have the latest iPhone. smh

[dignam]

Speaking of iPhones...Apple has done a magnificent job creating an ecosystem where those within are locked in so to speak, and wrongfully believe they have the best product because they paid more for it.  Thankfully the EU forced USB-C on Apple (even so, iPhones can only handle usb 2.0 speeds [slowww] from like two decades ago) and some of the blinders are finally lifting.  Now Google is trolling them about not adopting the universal standard of RCS chat, and instead forcing iMessage on its users as well as refusing to open up iMessage to developers outside of Apple.  Shit I've been saying for years!  But no, they did a wonderful job convincing their customers that the "green bubbles" and unencrypted SMS texts were everyone else's fault.

But, off my soapbox for now.  My FB feed is almost totally absent of posts from friends.  I think that's mostly because my friends don't post much anymore; hell, I post MAYBE once a year or two years.  I do like it for my condo association group and marketplace though.  It's handy to keep in the know about repairs, events, etc.  Then there's the odd post from the friend who never posts, which is almost always a hacked account...

[JAYSLOL]

Thought I’d revive this to share a post I happened upon in the “Rant and Rave” Facebook group for my town - a lady posted a question “Rave me a dealership that isn’t biased towards income?”.  Like, what!? You want people to recommend you a place to sell you a car that won’t care if you can afford that car?  Not the type of place you should be dealing with.  Yikes. 

[Turtle]

Thought I’d revive this to share a post I happened upon in the “Rant and Rave” Facebook group for my town - a lady posted a question “Rave me a dealership that isn’t biased towards income?”.  Like, what!? You want people to recommend you a place to sell you a car that won’t care if you can afford that car?  Not the type of place you should be dealing with.  Yikes.

Already retired MMM folks might not have much income, but somehow I don't think that's what they were thinking of.

[JAYSLOL]

Thought I’d revive this to share a post I happened upon in the “Rant and Rave” Facebook group for my town - a lady posted a question “Rave me a dealership that isn’t biased towards income?”.  Like, what!? You want people to recommend you a place to sell you a car that won’t care if you can afford that car?  Not the type of place you should be dealing with.  Yikes.

Already retired MMM folks might not have much income, but somehow I don't think that's what they were thinking of.

That’s definitely not what they were thinking of, they either legitimately had very little income and no cash on hand and still wanted a car they couldn’t afford, or they had income they couldn’t show since they aren’t reporting it/ it’s illegal.  Judging by the profile picture with face piercings and tattoos, either of those options seem likely. 

[theninthwall]

Not exactly overheard, but marketed on Facebook... "Dominate the streets with the bold and big New Ford F-350 Super Duty - the truck that commands attention on the road."

Dominate the streets? Ugh...the obsession with trucks is out of control.

[Metalcat]

Not exactly overheard, but marketed on Facebook... "Dominate the streets with the bold and big New Ford F-350 Super Duty - the truck that commands attention on the road."

Dominate the streets? Ugh...the obsession with trucks is out of control.

What the everloving fuck does that even mean???

[RetiredAt63]

Not exactly overheard, but marketed on Facebook... "Dominate the streets with the bold and big New Ford F-350 Super Duty - the truck that commands attention on the road."

Dominate the streets? Ugh...the obsession with trucks is out of control.

Dominate the streets = terrorize other drivers, drive over pedestrians and bicyclists you never saw. 

What happened to trucks as useful vehicles instead of macho posturing?

[LaineyAZ]

A co-worker's husband bought a similar monster-size truck.  Her experience as a passenger in it:  "everyone gets out of your way." 
I thought that was telling.

[Metalcat]

A co-worker's husband bought a similar monster-size truck.  Her experience as a passenger in it:  "everyone gets out of your way." 
I thought that was telling.

Do they though?

I live among cars and big trucks and I've driven big trucks and I don't experience this phenomenon of people "getting out of the way" just because a vehicle is big.

Hell, people barely get out of the way of busses even though they're legally obligated to yield to them.

Is this really a think in other communities where if someone drives a giant truck that others yield the road to them more???

I just can't picture that. I've lived in a lot of locations and I've never seen this happen.

Is it really a thing or is she just imagining some sense of power that isn't real??? I'm genuinely curious.

[Sibley]

Given the number of people who are stupid enough to cut off the big semi trucks, no, I do not think people necessarily get out of the way for big vehicles.

[theninthwall]

A co-worker's husband bought a similar monster-size truck.  Her experience as a passenger in it:  "everyone gets out of your way." 
I thought that was telling.

Everyone gets out of the way = we follow everyone way too closely and count it as a win when the other driver changes lanes to avoid potential for an accident

[LaineyAZ]

A co-worker's husband bought a similar monster-size truck.  Her experience as a passenger in it:  "everyone gets out of your way." 
I thought that was telling.

Do they though?

I live among cars and big trucks and I've driven big trucks and I don't experience this phenomenon of people "getting out of the way" just because a vehicle is big.

Hell, people barely get out of the way of busses even though they're legally obligated to yield to them.

Is this really a think in other communities where if someone drives a giant truck that others yield the road to them more???

I just can't picture that. I've lived in a lot of locations and I've never seen this happen.

Is it really a thing or is she just imagining some sense of power that isn't real??? I'm genuinely curious.

We're not in touch since my retirement so I don't know anything else about her experience.

But my own experience with many years of driving sub-compact cars vs. getting a small SUV about 7 years ago is Yes, people will respect your space more if you have a larger vehicle.

When I had my sub-compact car it was routine for drivers of mid-size and larger to a) cut me off,  b) give me the finger or lean on their car horn if I didn't immediately yield to them,  c) park close and nick my car doors.
My friend who switched from a VW Bug to a Jeep noticed the same thing - an immediate difference when she started driving a larger vehicle. 

So the Get out of my Way/Me First attitude is sadly not uncommon for drivers of larger vehicles, IME.

[Metalcat]

A co-worker's husband bought a similar monster-size truck.  Her experience as a passenger in it:  "everyone gets out of your way." 
I thought that was telling.

Do they though?

I live among cars and big trucks and I've driven big trucks and I don't experience this phenomenon of people "getting out of the way" just because a vehicle is big.

Hell, people barely get out of the way of busses even though they're legally obligated to yield to them.

Is this really a think in other communities where if someone drives a giant truck that others yield the road to them more???

I just can't picture that. I've lived in a lot of locations and I've never seen this happen.

Is it really a thing or is she just imagining some sense of power that isn't real??? I'm genuinely curious.

We're not in touch since my retirement so I don't know anything else about her experience.

But my own experience with many years of driving sub-compact cars vs. getting a small SUV about 7 years ago is Yes, people will respect your space more if you have a larger vehicle.

When I had my sub-compact car it was routine for drivers of mid-size and larger to a) cut me off,  b) give me the finger or lean on their car horn if I didn't immediately yield to them,  c) park close and nick my car doors.
My friend who switched from a VW Bug to a Jeep noticed the same thing - an immediate difference when she started driving a larger vehicle. 

So the Get out of my Way/Me First attitude is sadly not uncommon for drivers of larger vehicles, IME.

Wow.. this is fascinating, and so not my experience.

I mean, I lived in Montreal where this kind of behaviour is just called "driving," but not exclusive to big trucks, and big trucks aren't particularly common there because where the hell would you park??

Otherwise, I've lived mostly in places where drivers aren't particularly aggressive in general. Reckless? Oh for sure, but that's more of a living in rural places with no police around, and driving under the influence issue than a "dominate the road" culture.

I drive a teeny, tiny car and have never experienced feeling "intimidated" by big vehicles.

I've been tailed plenty of times, but the biggest a-hole drivers are consistely Audi drivers, not pickup drivers.

[RetiredAt63]

A co-worker's husband bought a similar monster-size truck.  Her experience as a passenger in it:  "everyone gets out of your way." 
I thought that was telling.

Do they though?

I live among cars and big trucks and I've driven big trucks and I don't experience this phenomenon of people "getting out of the way" just because a vehicle is big.

Hell, people barely get out of the way of busses even though they're legally obligated to yield to them.

Is this really a think in other communities where if someone drives a giant truck that others yield the road to them more???

I just can't picture that. I've lived in a lot of locations and I've never seen this happen.

Is it really a thing or is she just imagining some sense of power that isn't real??? I'm genuinely curious.

We're not in touch since my retirement so I don't know anything else about her experience.

But my own experience with many years of driving sub-compact cars vs. getting a small SUV about 7 years ago is Yes, people will respect your space more if you have a larger vehicle.

When I had my sub-compact car it was routine for drivers of mid-size and larger to a) cut me off,  b) give me the finger or lean on their car horn if I didn't immediately yield to them,  c) park close and nick my car doors.
My friend who switched from a VW Bug to a Jeep noticed the same thing - an immediate difference when she started driving a larger vehicle. 

So the Get out of my Way/Me First attitude is sadly not uncommon for drivers of larger vehicles, IME.

Wow.. this is fascinating, and so not my experience.

I mean, I lived in Montreal where this kind of behaviour is just called "driving," but not exclusive to big trucks, and big trucks aren't particularly common there because where the hell would you park??

Otherwise, I've lived mostly in places where drivers aren't particularly aggressive in general. Reckless? Oh for sure, but that's more of a living in rural places with no police around, and driving under the influence issue than a "dominate the road" culture.

I drive a teeny, tiny car and have never experienced feeling "intimidated" by big vehicles.

I've been tailed plenty of times, but the biggest a-hole drivers are consistently Audi drivers, not pickup drivers.

All the super expensive cars - Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW.  And in Ottawa, people with diplomatic plates (who also cost the city a fortune because they don't pay parking tickets).

The thing with big trucks is, I gather they have poor visibility for right in front of them.   Plus someone who likes that ad will definitely have an attitude.

[Metalcat]

All the super expensive cars - Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW.  And in Ottawa, people with diplomatic plates (who also cost the city a fortune because they don't pay parking tickets).

The thing with big trucks is, I gather they have poor visibility for right in front of them.   Plus someone who likes that ad will definitely have an attitude.

And don't face prosecution when they drunkenly kill pedestrians, as we all remember.

[SunnyDays]

I live in farm country, so lots of pickups around here.  So many that I really can't tell if aggressive drivers are using their vehicle's size to their advantage or would drive any vehicle that way.  What irks me most is the space they take up in parking lots.

[markbike528CBX]

Given the number of people who are stupid enough to cut off the big semi trucks, no, I do not think people necessarily get out of the way for big vehicles.

People cut off big semis even with hazardous material placards up to and including explosives (which actual “bang! “ ideographs).
Exception: radioactive placards, apparently people do all sorts of squirrelly things to avoid that placard, even staying a reasonable following distance  :-)
Source: Driver of a LSA, Limited Specific Activity shipment.  It would only hurt you if it fell on you.

[Siebrie]

In Paris (France) they recently voted to have visiting SUV drivers pay €18/hour for parking, three times the normal rate :)

[Agatha Thrifty]

My first car was a Ford Pinto and I did not realize what a wide berth I was being given until I started driving other cars.

[dandarc]

My first car was a Ford Pinto and I did not realize what a wide berth I was being given until I started driving other cars.

People staying out of the blast-radius?

[crocheted_stache]

On my laptop, I have various things to contain Facebook and filter out its ads, and I prefer that.

On my phone, some of the rubbish gets through. Today, one of the ads said this:
"The best Slots I have ever played!" "Download [XYZ] Casino make at least 5-10k a month." "Thanks to this game, I could finally afford my bills!"

The video shows a woman who finds in the restaurant that she "forgot" her wallet. No problem, she pulls out her phone, taps a couple buttons and $300 magically appears.

If this sort of pants-on-fire advertising is legal, it shouldn't be. I wonder how often they change their name.

[Just Joe]

A co-worker's husband bought a similar monster-size truck.  Her experience as a passenger in it:  "everyone gets out of your way." 
I thought that was telling.

Do they though?

I live among cars and big trucks and I've driven big trucks and I don't experience this phenomenon of people "getting out of the way" just because a vehicle is big.

Hell, people barely get out of the way of busses even though they're legally obligated to yield to them.

Is this really a think in other communities where if someone drives a giant truck that others yield the road to them more???

I just can't picture that. I've lived in a lot of locations and I've never seen this happen.

Is it really a thing or is she just imagining some sense of power that isn't real??? I'm genuinely curious.

I drive a commercial size truck at work sometimes. Nobody gets out of my way. ;) If anything they get too close, jab their brakes and then make sudden turns in front of me when I'm hauling heavy things. Never any accidents but I have had white knuckle moments a couple of times over the past 20 years. That truck needs a train horn. Has this little horn normally found on sub-compact cars.

[Metalcat]

A co-worker's husband bought a similar monster-size truck.  Her experience as a passenger in it:  "everyone gets out of your way." 
I thought that was telling.

Do they though?

I live among cars and big trucks and I've driven big trucks and I don't experience this phenomenon of people "getting out of the way" just because a vehicle is big.

Hell, people barely get out of the way of busses even though they're legally obligated to yield to them.

Is this really a think in other communities where if someone drives a giant truck that others yield the road to them more???

I just can't picture that. I've lived in a lot of locations and I've never seen this happen.

Is it really a thing or is she just imagining some sense of power that isn't real??? I'm genuinely curious.

I drive a commercial size truck at work sometimes. Nobody gets out of my way. ;) If anything they get too close, jab their brakes and then make sudden turns in front of me when I'm hauling heavy things. Never any accidents but I have had white knuckle moments a couple of times over the past 20 years. That truck needs a train horn. Has this little horn normally found on sub-compact cars.

This is exactly what I've heard from commercial drivers. Size doesn't intimidate drivers at all.

[Taran Wanderer]

We have a very un-mustachian 4wd camper van. People definitely get out of the way. It has to be driven more like a semi than a car, so I get passed a lot, but yeah, most small cars just try to stay out of the way. Still have problems with the occasional 20-something punk in a jacked up pickup or sporty German car (Audi anyone?), but only til they pass me. At intersections or on the freeway, people typically defer to me when I’m in that beast.