Unintended Stalking

Description
Unintended stalking is when a user unintentionally finds out information about another user, a user the user is not part of the users closest friends. It occurs when a user posts personal information, that is available for another user, but does not correspond to their level of friendship.

Examples
A acquaintance shares pictures that are suited for her closest friends but at the same time another users that does not know her very well can also access them. However the user finds them to be too personal and would rather not see them, as they feel awkward about it.

Facebook currently (October 2011) has a section on the users' news feeds where the most recent actions by their connections are displayed. In this area everything is shown from commenting on posts, liking pictures, befriending someone, listening to certain songs or joining groups. Since this section is constantly present and automatically updated, the user's are in fact performing a kind of Unintended Stalking all the time by receiving information whether it is wanted or not.

Pros and Cons
If the explicit design isn't to exactly have the user feel guilt when using the application then this dynamic is an anti-dynamic. You should avoid designing so that the user feel quilt while using the application.

Relations
The mechanics that contribute to this dynamic is a combination of not being able to direct your posts to a certain group. Also the mechanic that it's easier to befriend a user than it is to un-friend the same user. Unintended Stalking may occur as an effect of Friend Surfing.

Friends Via Events is one pattern that starts this pattern.

Contributors
Created by Magnus Spånggård from the inspiration of Andreas. Revised by Christian Broniewicz.