If You Know Send a Message Facebook

Chapter four. Sending Messages to Friends

Simply similar your electronic mail plan, Facebook lets you lot send private messages to other Facebook members. "Smashing," you're probably thinking, "just what I need: however another inbox to check." Only before you skip to the next chapter, you might desire to give these tools a chance.

Starting time off, Facebook makes exchanging messages dead unproblematic—even easier than regular email. And then there are the slightly zany—only slightly addictive—ways to keep in bear on with others that no email plan can match. In an effort to mimic the unlike ways nosotros interact with people in real life, Facebook lets you lot poke (give a virtual "Hey, how ya doin'?" wave to) friends; write on their virtual message boards; and send airheaded digital gifts. Fifty-fifty if you're not persuaded past whatever of this, it's however worth understanding the messaging organisation since, soon enough, you lot'll no dubiousness get a Facebook message from one of your friends.

Sending Messages

Lots of websites offer free Web-based electronic mail, and Facebook is one of them—sort of. Equally a Facebook member, you tin can send private messages to any other Facebook member (whether or not they're on your Friend List), and to regular email addresses. Simply but other Facebook members can transport you Facebook letters. In other words, when you register for Facebook, you don't become a YourName@Facebook.com e-mail account; people have to sign upwards for Facebook and follow the steps below if they desire to ship a message to your Facebook inbox.

Sending Messages to Friends

Most of the messages you send, of course, will be to people you already know. Facebook gives you a simple set of tools that will look familiar to anyone who's used email before. Hither's what y'all do:

1. At the elevation of whatever Facebook screen, click the icon that looks like two speech bubbles, and so in the drop-down menu that appears, click the "Send a New Message" link . Or, if you're on your Abode folio, click Messages link on the left side of the screen and then click the "+ New Message" push on the correct side of the page that appears. Either way, Facebook displays the New Message box.

   

2. In the "To:" field of the Compose Message box, starting time typing your friend's name (if she's a Facebook member), electronic mail accost (for not-Facebook members), or the proper noun of a Friend List (Confirming Requests in Facebook) . As shortly equally you lot begin typing, Facebook displays a listing of your friends and Friend Lists. To select a proper name, click it or employ the up and down arrow keys to select the name, and then hit Enter. If you're sending a message to a non-Facebook member, simply type in the person'southward total email address. You can add multiple recipients, if you like; just click after you enter each 1 and so start typing over again. (See Sending a Message to More Than One Person for more than on sending messages to multiple people.)

   Why would you desire to use Facebook to transport a message to someone who'south not a Facebook fellow member? Two reasons: First, you're already in Facebook and don't have to waste fourth dimension switching over to your email program (or can't, if you're using someone else'due south computer). Second, you want to lure this non-member friend into your Facebook social circumvolve by giving her a sense of taste of Facebook's coolness. When your friend clicks the Facebook-generated "Click to Answer" link in your electronic mail, she'southward whisked to a Facebook page she can utilise to preview Facebook messaging, every bit well every bit to go more than info and sign up.

   Tip

   Afterwards yous've added a recipient's proper name, y'all can delete it by clicking the X Facebook displays afterward it, or past hitting the Delete central.

   

3. Make full in the "Subject:" field and then blazon your message . If you desire to pass along a link to a website (or to a photo or video on the Web), mouse down to the Attach section and click the photo, video, or link icon. When you finish, click Ship.

4. If a security box like the one on Signing Up for an Account appears, blazon in the security words you see and so click Submit . Facebook sends your message and stores a copy in your Sent letters, which you can view by heading to your Home folio, clicking the Messages link on the left, and then clicking the Sent link that appears beneath it.

Sending Messages to People Y'all're Not (Yet) Friends With

Facebook lets you transport a message to any Facebook member, even if she'due south not on your Friend List and doesn't vest to any of your networks.

Notation

There's i exception to this rule: If a Facebook member blocks you lot (Fighting Dorsum), y'all tin't contact him on Facebook—by sending him a bulletin, poking him, or whatever other way.

To send a message to a non-friend Facebook member:

1. Head to either the profile of the person you want to contact, or the person's listing on your search folio (Finding Friends) .

2. Click either the "Send [Name] a Message" link (which you find on a person's profile beneath their moving picture) or the "Send a Message" link (which you find in search results) . Whichever link you click, up pops the Compose Bulletin box shown on Sending Messages to People Yous're Not (Yet) Friends With. Just type your message and send it off as explained in the previous section.

Sending a Message to More than One Person

Because Facebook was designed to help people communicate online just as they do offline, the site makes it easy to send a message to an individual—just a little harder to transport the aforementioned message to dozens of people all at once. If you lot get too far down that path, the Facebook design squad reasoned, you lot're talking spam. After all, how oft do you whip out a bullhorn and accost a real-life crowd of dozens?

Facebook decided to cap the number of people yous can ship a message to at xx, and so you tin can use the basic message-sending instructions on Sending Letters and blazon in a combination of Facebook friends' names and email addresses to send your message to up to 20 people. Another option is to create a Friend List (Creating a Friend List) containing all the people you want to send the bulletin to. Then, on the Compose Message box, head to the "To:" field and type the proper name of the list. But if yous try to send a message to a Friend List that includes more than 20 people, Facebook will brandish a "Cannot add together listing" message and remind you of its 20-person limit.

Note

An exception to the no-spam rule is that Facebook lets you lot send the aforementioned message to every member of a Grouping (Chapter 6)—although even so, Facebook theoretically caps the number of recipients at five,000. (The cap is theoretical because some Facebook members have had their accounts suspended for sending letters to a lot fewer than 5,000 people.)

Receiving Letters

When someone sends you a bulletin via Facebook, 2 things happen:

• Yous receive the message in your Facebook inbox . To alert you that yous have a bulletin, Facebook displays a little ruddy box above the Messages icon at the height left of any Facebook screen (the icon is just to the right of the word "facebook"). To open your inbox, head to the top of your screen and click the Messages icon, then click See All Letters; if you're on your Home page, you can also click the Messages link on the left side of the screen. So click either the field of study line or the offset line of any bulletin to meet it in its entirety.

• You receive the bulletin in your regular email program . Facebook sends the bulletin to your primary email accost.

Note

Your primary email address is the one you used when yous registered for the site (unless you've changed information technology since then). To modify your primary email accost, at the top of any Facebook screen, mouse over Settings and choose Account Settings; on the screen that appears, click Email.

Tip

If you spend a lot of fourth dimension on the site and regularly check your Facebook inbox, y'all don't really need to have Facebook messages sent to your regular email address, as well. To get in so you merely receive Facebook letters in your Facebook inbox, caput to the Email Notifications page (to get in that location, only click the "Want to control which emails you receive from Facebook?" link at the bottom of any email Facebook sent to your regular email address) and turn off the checkbox next to "Sends me a message".

Viewing Your Facebook Inbox

It's easy to tell if you have a new Facebook message even without opening your inbox. Only take a look the blue bill of fare bar at the top of any Facebook screen. If you see a scarlet number right above the icon that looks like two lilliputian voice communication bubbles (information technology'south the 2nd icon to the right of the word "facebook"), you've got a new message (or two, or more). Click that icon and a list of your almost contempo messages appears. To see your full inbox, click the See All Messages link at the bottom of the list.

Facebook puts a big blue dot in front of any message y'all haven't read yet, and highlights the entire listing in lite bluish. Facebook automatically lists all your messages, fifty-fifty ones yous've already read. If y'all only want to run into the ones yous haven't read, click the word "Unread" in the upper-right function of your screen. Clicking a sender's name or picture shoots y'all directly to that person'southward contour, which is handy if you lot don't recognize him.

Note

A niggling left-pointing arrow in front of a message list ways you've replied to the message. Clicking the X on the right side of a list deletes the thread that message belongs to. (A thread is a agglomeration of messages with the same subject field line.)

Reading and Responding to Messages

To read a message in your inbox, click either the subject line or outset line of the bulletin and Facebook displays the whole message.

Tip

A particularly cool characteristic of Facebook'south inbox is that when you brandish a message that's the latest in a long, drawn-out, back-and-forth thread, Facebook zips you down to the most recent message so yous don't have to read through the long list of exchanges and hunt for the latest one.

To respond to the bulletin, simply blazon your response in the Reply box, and and so click Send. To delete the message without replying, click the Delete button nigh the top of your screen.

Chatting

Facebook's congenital-in chat feature lets you send messages to friends who are online when you are. Because chat letters—unlike regular Facebook messages—popular up on your friends' screens immediately after y'all ship them, they're handy for exchanging quick updates. ("Hey, we nonetheless meeting for luncheon in 5 minutes?" "Aye, I'k headed out the door now!")

To send a chat bulletin:

1. At the bottom right of whatsoever Facebook screen, click the button . The number that appears in parentheses abreast the word "Chat" tells you how many of your Facebook friends are currently logged into the site (and, therefore, how many folks you can potentially ship chat messages to).

2. In the Chat window that appears, click the name of the friend you want to chat with . A green dot beside a person'due south proper noun means that person is logged in and active. A green crescent moon means the person is logged into Facebook, but hasn't typed anything in a few minutes (and so may be out getting a cup of coffee).

   

3. In the person-to-person window that appears, blazon in your message so hit Enter . As soon equally you do, your bulletin appears on you friend'southward screen in a similar person-to-person chat window.

4. Ship additional chat messages, if you desire, by repeating step 3 . When you lot're finished with your conversation, you can hide the chat window past clicking anywhere on the blueish bar that runs across the top of it.

Annotation

Because chat messages tin can pop upwards on your screen, they can be seriously annoying. To keep super-chatty folks from being able to chat with you, put them on a list (Organizing Your Friends) named, say, SuperChatties. And so, in the Chat box (at the bottom of any Facebook screen, click Chat), click the Friend Lists tab and brand sure the checkbox adjacent to the SuperChatties list is turned on. So when SuperChatties appears in the chat box, click the greenish-and-white Go Offline icon (it looks similar a capsule on its side) to the correct of the listing'due south name. Doing and then hides the fact that you're online and, therefore, "chattable" from everyone on the SuperChatties list and changes the greenish-and-white Go Offline icon to a grey-and-white Go Online icon (which yous can click when you're in the mood to field one of those long-winded conversations). If you don't feel similar chatting with anyone, in the Chat window, click the Options tab and then click Go Offline.

When someone sends you a chat message, Facebook plays a sound and up pops the Chat window, where you see the sender'south contour motion picture along with their message. To respond, simply type your message in the lesser of the window and hit Enter.

Tip

Y'all can customize the Chat window and then that it stays upwards all the time instead of popping up, and so that it doesn't play a sound every time someone chats at y'all—both of which are useful if y'all await to practice a lot of chatting. In the Chat window (at the bottom of whatever Facebook screen, click Chat), click Options. Then plough off the checkbox next to "Play Sound for New Letters" and plough on the checkbox side by side to "Keep Online Friends Window Open up".

Poking

Poking sounds a lot more provocative than it is. Giving someone a poke in Facebook is zippo more than the electronic equivalent of asking someone, "Hey, what's upward?" Pokes appear as a "You were poked by [proper name]" message on the recipient's Home page.

Tip

Poking—like sneaking up behind someone and tapping her shoulder—isn't actually good for much beyond the yuk factor. Depending on you and your pals' tolerance for friendly nudging, poking either gets the award for Silliest Social Aid or Well-nigh Annoying Thing Ever. If you're in the latter camp, you'll find notifications (Customizing Your Mini Feed) like simply more useful.

Annotation

You tin can poke whatsoever Facebook fellow member—you don't take to be friends with the pokee or belong to the same network. But if y'all poke someone who doesn't normally take access to your contour, be aware that he'll be able to run across the bones, work-, and education-related portions of your profile for a week mail service-poke. But letting a pokee see your profile is rarely a problem. After all, if you're that worried somebody might discover your passion for the Bay City Rollers, you shouldn't poke him in the start place.

To poke someone:

1. Observe the person you lot want to poke by viewing your Friend List (Viewing a Friend List) or using Facebook'south Search box (Finding Friends) .

2. Click the "Poke [proper noun]" link on the person's contour (Finding People Who Are Facebook Members) . The link is below the person'due south picture.

   

3. In the confirmation box that appears, click Poke . You briefly run into a "Yous have poked [name]" message, and the impairment is washed: Your poke message appears on the pokee'southward Home page, complete with a link she tin use to poke you back.

Writing on Walls

1 of the sections on every Facebook member's contour is a forum called the Wall. A Wall is a identify for your Facebook pals to share interesting photos, videos, websites, and character insights. By default, the simply people'southward Walls you can write on are your own and your friends'. But since Walls are function of profiles, anyone who tin view your contour can see your Wall messages. You can think of Walls as a 21st-century version of the dry-erase message boards they used to have in dorm rooms: an breezy place to brag, tease, show solidarity, get attention, and occasionally impart useful information.

Tip

Yous tin can discover several Facebook applications (such as FunWall, SuperWall, and Graffiti) that permit you add photos, video clips, and even virtual spray pigment to your friends' Walls. Flip to Facebook Applications: An Overview to learn about applications.

Writing on a Friend's Wall

Writing on someone'south Wall is a more public style of expressing yourself than sending your friend a message, because all your friend's friends will see your Wall post (unless you remember to tell Facebook to keep it between yous and your friend, as explained on Writing on a Friend's Wall). Good candidates for Wall posts include thanks, congratulations, altogether greetings, and other tidbits your shared connections might find interesting or useful.

Tip

To write on your ain Wall, follow the steps below, but offset at your own profile instead of a friend'southward. If you lot like, you can accommodate who sees the stuff y'all put on your ain Wall by clicking the Options link (look just below the Share button on your profile) and then clicking Settings.

To write on a friend's Wall:

1. On your friend'southward profile, make sure the Wall tab is selected. Yous should see a text box that says "Write something…" If you don't see the text box, you're out of luck: Your friend has restricted access to her Wall.

   

2. Type your message in the text box .

3. If y'all want to upload a photo or video, send a gift (Sending Gifts), or add a link to a website, head to the Attach section and click the icon for what you want to add . (Mouse over each icon for a quickie description.) Depending on which icon you click, Facebook displays additional fields and instructions for completing your attachment.

   Tip

   You lot can skip typing in the http:// part of the website address if y'all similar—Facebook automatically adds it for you.

   

4. If you decided to share a link, choose which thumbnail you want to accompany your link . Facebook pulls a site clarification and a scattering of thumbnails from the site for y'all to choose from. To check out the various thumbnails, click the arrow buttons that appear. To skip the graphic, turn on the No Thumbnail checkbox.

   Tip

   If yous alter your listen nearly sharing a link, click the Ten in the upper-right function of the Link box.

   

5. Optionally, tell Facebook who you desire to let view your message. Ordinarily, your bulletin tin can exist viewed by your friend besides as all her friends, but you can restrict access to just your friend (or merely her friends) by clicking the Filters link .

6. Click Share . Your message appears on your friend'southward Wall.

Notation

Some Facebook applications (Facebook Applications: An Overview) let you lot attach other stuff to the messages you post on people's Walls. The Graffiti application, for example, lets you decorate your friend's Wall with virtual spray paint.

Responding to a Wall Post

When someone writes on your Wall, you can have a chuckle and leave information technology at that—or y'all can respond in one of the following ways:

• Write something on the poster'due south Wall . Clicking the "See Wall-to-Wall" link below the person's post displays a history of your and your friend's posts to each other's Walls, and lets you add a new post.

• Respond to the mail service on your ain Wall . Clicking the Comment link skips the back-and-forth history and just lets you blazon in your response. Clicking Like adds your name—accompanied by a thumbs-up icon—to the post.

  

  Note

  Depending on the content of the Wall post, you may see additional options, such as Share (which lets you lot electronic mail the Wall mail to other buddies).

• Delete the post . Yous can delete any post from your own Wall, no thing who posted it. To do then, mouse over the post until the Remove link appears on the right side of the mail, click Remove, and so click Delete in the confirmation box.

  Tip

  Y'all can as well delete letters you've posted on a friend's Wall. To do so, go to that person's profile, scroll downwards to the Wall post you want to get rid of, and then click Remove.

Sending Gifts

A Facebook souvenir is a virtual greeting card–style icon y'all can transport to someone, accompanied by a personal message. You lot tin can choose from hundreds of professionally designed graphics, most of them of the smiley-face up-and-teddy-carry variety. Subsequently y'all send a gift, it appears on the recipient's profile—in the Gifts section, on the recipient's Wall, or both, depending on whether you make up one's mind to make the souvenir public or private.

Note

The occasional exchange of gifts is part of what of what makes any good relationship tick—online and off. In recognition of this, Facebook has made it easy for members to give each other non just virtual gifts, only music clips, charitable-donations-in-the-name-of gifts, and even actual, concrete gifts (think chocolate!).

Facebook charges for its gifts in credits. Currently, i Facebook credit will set you lot back 10 cents, and the boilerplate virtual gift costs 10 credits ($1); you pay by entering your credit card or cellphone number at the end of the gift-giving process. (Real-life gifts, equally you may have guessed, run anywhere from a bit to a lot pricier.) To get around the $1 toll tag for virtual gifts, check out the Free Gifts application (see Facebook Applications: An Overview).

Note

As this book went to press, there were rumors that you lot'd soon exist able to pay for Facebook credits using PayPal, so don't exist surprised if yous see that choice, as well.

To send someone a Facebook souvenir:

1. On your profile, scroll downwards until you meet the Gifts section (you may take to click the blue Gifts header to see the whole Gifts section), and then click "Give a Souvenir" .

   

2. On the page that appears, offset typing in the "Choose your recipient" field so, from the listing of friends Facebook displays, choose the person you desire to send the gift to .

3. In the "Cull your gift" section, find the gift y'all desire to requite, and then click it . Starting time select the general type of gift you lot desire to give by clicking the appropriate header: Music and MP3s, Virtual Gifts, and and then on.

4. In the "Add your message" department, type the note (if whatever) you want to back-trail your souvenir .

   

5. In the "Method of delivery" department, decide whether to hide your message from prying eyes . Nobody's going to be embarrassed by an "Attaboy, Ralph!" or a "Happy Graduation, Linda!," but some of the more than…specialized icons may reflect poorly on the receiver—specially if she uses Facebook to go gigs or conduct business. When in doubt, cull Individual. When you transport a gift privately, everybody who can come across the recipient's contour can see the souvenir, but only the recipient tin see the accompanying annotation and who sent it.

   Tip

   If you receive an embarrassing souvenir, you tin can hide your whole Gift section. To do so: On your profile, click the pencil icon that appears on the right side of the blue Gifts heading. Then, in the drop-down list that appears, click Remove Box.

6. Click the Give Gift push .

7. Fill out your credit menu info, and and then click the Complete Purchase button . If Facebook already has your credit card details (if, for example, yous've previously purchased an ad on the site), y'all don't accept to blazon it in again.

   Alternatively, instead of giving Facebook your credit card info, yous tin select the Mobile Phone choice and enter your cellphone number. Facebook then texts you a Pin number which you lot enter into Facebook to confirm that you accept the charge, and the amount gets added to your cellphone bill. This choice makes information technology frighteningly easy to buy gifts without even having your credit card handy.

   

   Facebook displays a box letting y'all know the gift has been sent (and that your credit card or cellphone account has been charged).

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Source: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/facebook-the-missing/9781449380168/ch04.html

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