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Sure, but let's not pretend that that's their main function. There are plenty of good alternatives for this.

No, not really. Read the entire discussion here, it's a bunch of nerds prescribing what is best for common people, it's exhausting.

I'm not defending FB practices, I'm stating it has value beyond the hyperbole.

Come on, you're saying there's no alternative for

> heaps of small venues would see their online presence deleted overnight

Static hosting has been a solved problem for decades. Plenty of options for small businesses at a negligible cost per month.

so instead of a facebook account (free) they now need to hire someone to develop a solution (with built-in instant messaging), host, optimize for search, maintain the website...

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