Sascheen's blog: "The FuTard Chronicles"

I see many people on this site with some type of warning about not using their information for purposes of studies, etc. Warning to any institution and this or that, attempting to prohibit such institutions or individuals from using their information for the purposes of studies. *laughing* Well, sorry to say, ladies and gentlemen, that you gave up your right to privacy as soon as you posted publicly. Granted, you may have certain considerations extended to you if your profile were more privatized, such as viewable by friends only;  however, I want to know what ignoramus originally came up with the copy and paste version of this nonsense, and who further encouraged others to follow along.  

Observing what you do on a social networking site is fair game, similiar to observing human interactions at your local public park. You know that People of Wal Mart site (if not, check it out~ it's hilarious!)? They cannot be sued because going to Wal Mart is a public action, and there are no criminal or civil repercussions for photographing and publishing photos taken in public. The same idea holds true here. If, for example, I am doing research for a master's thesis in a psychology graduate program, and the only information I take from your profile is your gender to accumulate data on gender demographics as they pertain to who uses these types of site., I can. You posted it, I can use it. There is no ethical dilemma on my part for acquiring this type of nominal data from your public profiles. Are you even going to know that I did it? No, no more so than if I watched you in the park to gauge how close you would allow a stranger to sit next to you on a park bench. But your public, observable behavior is free to all~ and can be used. Keep this in mind when you post to these types of sites.  If you find out I did so, do you have any type of legal recourse against me? No, none whatsoever.  

Photos can be a different story, but unless you are a professional photographer with a legitimate copyright on your intellectual property, the same may be held true of your personal photos. What is your expectation of privacy on these types of sites? What exactly are you going to do if someone "steals" your photo? Unless there are actual damages that can be proven, or someone is making a profit from your images, the most you can do is ask that they not use your photos. If they refuse, the only thing you can do is file a lawsuit~ and you will probably get nothing out of it.  

It never ceases to amaze me how ignorant some people are, and how they are willing to copy and paste because they think it sounds legit. I can assure you, as someone who holds a psychology degree and has had to do various  research on human behavior, that your public life is open for study.  So stop posting that ridiculous nonsense to your wlls, because it does absolutely no good. Nobody needs your permission to observe and record  your public actions. ;)