How to Reclaim Your Privacy on Facebook

Facebook is a great tool for RVers and really all of us who want to connect with friends and share our experiences, travels, photos and life stories.  But lately the topic of privacy, or the lack of it, on facebook and other social media sites has caused quite a stir.  I decided to post this information since I see several posts a day that suggest an incorrect way to keep your privacy on Facebook  You probably seen it too.  Many of our Hidden Valley Facebook fans have even asked about it.  The Facebook post goes something like this:

Hello to all of you who are on my list of contacts of Facebook. I would like to ask a favor of you…. You may not know that Facebook has changed its privacy configuration once again. Thanks to the new “Graphic app”, any person on FB anywhere in the world can see our photos, our “likes” and our “comments”. During the next two weeks, I am going to keep this message posted and I ask you to do the following and comment “DONE”. Those of my friends who do not maintain my information in private will be eliminated from my list of friends, because I want the information I share with you, my friends, to remain among my friends and not be available to the whole world. I want to be able to publish photos of my friends and family without strangers being able to see them, which is what happens now when you choose “like” or “comment”. Unfortunately we cannot change this configuration because FB has made it like this.
1. So, please, place your cursor over my photo that appears in this box (without clicking) and a window will open.
2. Now move the cursor to the word “Friends”, again without clicking and then click on “Settings”.
3. Un-check “Life Events” and “Comments and Like”. This way my activity with my family and friends will no longer be made public.
4. Now, copy and paste this text on your own wall (do not “share” it!). Once I see it published on your page, I will un-check the same.

The ONLY true part of this whole post is that FB DOES have a fairly new function called "graph search." You may be familiar with the site called Snopes that examines many commonly reported stories and after research, reports if they are truth or myth.  They have also affirmed that this story about facebook is not true.  You can read their research here.

"Graph search" does NOT make your likes, comments or photos be seen by people all over the world.  Your photos can only be seen by those you chose.  For many, fixing these privacy settings is 2nd nature but for the rest of us, this is an easy, step by step "how to" to set your privacy the way YOU want it on Facebook.  Note: click on any of the screen shot photos below to see a larger version.

Status Updates or Posts

Status or posting box

Note in the box above there arrow pointing out the drop down arrow.  This same drop down arrow appears on the photo screen (note below.)

Photo Posts

 When you click on either the posting or photo screen on this drop down arrow you see the option box shown above.  By default it is set on public.  You may change it so that your post or photo is seem only by your "friends," by only yourself or if you click "custom" you can put specific friends in the box.  In this way you are limiting all your posts to your desired setting.  This setting can be changed for each status update or photo you post. 

However, if you direct people to un-click the options when they hover their cursor over "friends" on your profile picture, your photos and posts will not be seen by them.  In effect, they are telling facebook they don't want to see any of the options that are unchecked.

Privacy Settings

There is one way that unwanted persons can see photos of you.  If a friend posts a photos of you and has it set to "public," or if someone "tags" you in a photo that you posted just to friends.  There are a few ways to prevent this most of the time.  On the top right on your facebook page there is a little gear symbol.  (see below.)

Access privacy settings here

Once you click on the gear you can change your privacy settings, who is allowed to post on your timeline, if you will allow others to tag you in photos, etc.  You can even block individuals who show up on your newsfeed whose posts you find offensive for one reason or another.  Even if someone is not your friend you may still see their posts if they are a friend of a friend.  Sometimes you may want to block one of these.  Remember you can also "un-friend" someone at any time.  They are NOT notified that you have done so.  They may notice it if they look at your timeline or hover over your name and see "Add Friend" instead of friend.  Play around with these settings and see which fit you best.  

I'm not a professional facebook guru but since I'm interested in keeping what I want private...private, while sharing the rest with the world - I try to keep abreast of all the changes and myths that circulate about facebook and other social media sites.  If you have any questions that I didn't address on this topic or something still doesn't seem clear I welcome your questions in the comments below.  I will reply with an answer and edit this article to explain it more clearly.  See you on Facebook!

Teri Blaschke is the RV Park operator of family owned HiddenValley RV Park in San Antonio, TX and writer of the park blog “A Little Piece of Country in San Antonio.” Teri contributes to various other blogs with a focus on either travel or social media and how it relates to the outdoor hospitality industry but her passion is serving the RV travel community by providing a memorable RV camping experience and growing the Hidden Valley RV family.  Connect with Teri on Google+, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter@HiddenValleyRV and our RV Country Daily Magazine and don't forget to Say hello to the voice of Hidden Valley 

RX for RV Drains

Ask us your questions HERE. 

On our Pinterest Ask Us, Tell Us Board we received an interesting question that many of us RVers have probably wondered about.  Our reader asks "Can I use Drano in my RV drain?"  

My personal rule of thumb is that you have to be just as careful with what you put down an RV drain as with what you put in your body.  Whether in the sink or the commode, only materials or products that an RV drain system specifically is made to handle should be used.

I recently read an article by "RVing Al" Wiener that addressed this exact question and gave some suggestions on alternative methods of unplugging the plumbing in your RV and how to prevent it from happening again.

RVing Al warned against using any corrosive drain cleaners such as original Drano in the plumbing of an RV. Not because of the possibility of it damaging your RV's pipes, but because it could also damage the rubber seals on the dump valves or even the holding tanks themselves.

He made mention of another widely used product for stick and brick homes: RID-X.  In the Q&A section of the RID-X website it says "Q: Can RID-X® be used with Recreational Vehicles (RVs)? RID-X® has not been tested on recreational vehicles (RVs). therefore we cannot recommend using it in RVs." So the answer is no again.

These are his recommended practices on how to unclog and prevent clogs in RV plumbing. A lot of these suggestions come from other RVers and I have not tried all of them personally.

Unclogging an RV Drain

Drain King Balloon Type drain cleaner

1. You can use an enzyme based drain opener such as Drainbo Drain Cleaner which can safely be used in RV drains.

2. You can also dump boiling water down the drain to help break up the clog. You may have to repeat the boiling water process several times to totally free up the clog.

3. You may also want to try dumping 3 tablespoons of baking soda down the drain and then dump about a 1 1/2 cups of vinegar in the drain and let it sit for a couple of hours and then use boiling water to rinse out the drain.  Remember those elementary school science fair projects with vinegar and baking soda: instant volcano!  That sounds like an effective way to break up a clog.

4. If all else fails you may have to remove the P-Trap (elbow under sink) and manually clean it out. This is not as complicated as it sounds. 

Since I do not know the type of RV you have or how well the plumbing is constructed, I would be hesitant in recommending using a plunger or a Drain King on the drains as these could damage the plumbing.

Keeping RV Drains Clean

The steps for keeping your RV's drains flowing freely are quite simple.

1.  Don't dump grease or oils in your RV drains.  Use care that hair doesn't go down the shower drain.

2.  Using Dawn dish soap helps prevent grease and oil from building up in the drains and causing clogs.

3.  Treating all the drains monthly with your enzyme based opener will also help the drains in tip top shape.

I hope that this information has been helpful and thanks to RVing Al for his research.  

Your are welcome to submit any other questions regarding travel, RVing and our San Antonio RV Park and nearby attractions.  

Do you have any suggestions or comments on this topic?  You can add them to this page by clicking on the "Comments" link located near the bottom of this page.

Teri Blaschke is the RV Park operator of family owned HiddenValley RV Park in San Antonio, TX and writer of the park blog “A Little Piece of Country in San Antonio.” Teri contributes to various other blogs with a focus on either travel or social media and how it relates to the outdoor hospitality industry but her passion is serving the RV travel community by providing a memorable RV camping experience and growing the Hidden Valley RV family.  Connect with Teri on Google+, Facebook and Twitter@HiddenValleyRV