Facebook: Real Profiles vs. Fake Profiles

[Rob Williams]

I'm sure it'd come as a surprise to almost no one that a countless number of Facebook profiles are fake, but to help put things into perspective, the folks over at Barracuda Networks did some research to see just how bad the problem has become. The company has also put together a simple infographic that might be worth "sharing" on your favorite social network, to help get the word out.

Read the rest of our post and then discuss it here!

 

[OriginalJoeCool]

You're right; it's not surprising. I used to get solicitations from "fake" women all the time on MySpace. It hasn't happened so much to me on Facebook.

 

[KanzakiRyuga]

I agree with this too. I've received a lot of invitations from these fake profiles that even tell me to like a certain page or add them up as friends on Facebook. The funny thing is most of the fake profiles pose themselves as women. Most people are easily tricked by these so out of concern and to add more to the information above, I'd like to share this article I've read recently11 tips to identify fake profiles on facebook and it discussed how to spot those fake profiles from the real ones. I'd like to share that photo with the stats on the percentage of the fake and real profiles as well, it would be good to inform people about this.

 

[Doomsday]

Yeps! Fakers gonna fake!

 

[madmat]

I guess I just have no imagination. My one and only Facebook profile is about the near fifty fatman sitting here typing this. When I play RPG's my characters are male and I try to make them look as much like me as I can if I have that ability.

Pretty boring I guess but as I read (on facebook oddly enough) you don't have to remember the truth.

 

[Rob Williams]

I guess I just have no imagination. My one and only Facebook profile is about the near fifty fatman sitting here typing this. When I play RPG's my characters are male and I try to make them look as much like me as I can if I have that ability.

Pretty boring I guess but as I read (on facebook oddly enough) you don't have to remember the truth.

I'm the same way. It's the reason I don't play female characters in MMOs...

Not that I have a raging six pack and arms stronger than iron, but not all games give you such fine-tuned character control ;-)

 

[madmat]

Personally I think guys playing female characters in games have issues regarding their gender.

 

[OriginalJoeCool]

I don't think that's really true. Maybe they just like looking at the female character ... But really, why stick to reality when playing a fantasy game? I guess if I'm dedicating a lot of time to a game, I'd go with a male character, but that's as far as it goes.

 

[Rob Williams]

Personally I think guys playing female characters in games have issues regarding their gender.

If I didn't stand to lose 90% of my friends, I'd say the same about anime watchers

I don't think that's really true. Maybe they just like looking at the female character ... .

I've heard that excuse before, but even so, I can't wrap my head around it. Sure, you get to look at virtual boobies (which would be a strange goal to begin with), but that doesn't take away from the fact that it's you you're looking at.

I think it's a bit different with a game like Tomb Raider where you're forced to play a woman. Not to mention the fact that it's also an offline game, so it's not as though you're appearing as a woman to thousands of other players.

Lineage II is the game that made this an issue for me. The physiques of women characters in that game are highly exaggerated and have resulted in many guys playing them as a result. If I end up partying with a woman character in a game, I'd just like to know that they are actually a woman in real-life, or vice versa. I know a lot of chicks who play dude characters in these games also.

 

[Toad772]

Personally I think guys playing female characters in games have issues regarding their gender.

I do not have gender issues.

I almost always play as a female in games, but I do not tell people I am female and when people call me a she I correct them.

 

[Rob Williams]

I do not have gender issues.

I almost always play as a female in games, but I do not tell people I am female and when people call me a she I correct them.

I have such a strong opinion on this, I am not even sure I should open my mouth. People who choose to play as the opposite gender just weird me out, that about sums it up. Some people just don't care, or don't see the difference, and that's fine. I wish I was like that. When I create a char in an MMO, I just can't fathom choosing the opposite sex.

The exception is when I created the little girl dwarf in Lineage II on stork91's account. "Fluffnuts" wouldn't have fit a dude character as well.