Facebook concerns

[Yakinabe]

Oculus has announced that they will soon require Facebook accounts to use Oculus VR headsets. Will VZFit support other VR systems by then, or will we all be required to get Facebook accounts to use VZFit?

[Snowpelt]

Our understanding is that existing Quest users will have until January 2023 before Oculus accounts are sunset, and will still be able to access VZfit with those Oculus accounts until then. There may be some restrictions on the what features Oculus allows on the system level social features, but if your not connecting a facebook account you are probably not using those at the moment anyway.

The landscape of VR has changed dramatically in the past 3 years and we are sure that it will continue to evolve. We are always assessing the new technology on the market to provide the best experience for VZfit and for our customers and will continue to do so going forward.

[Yakinabe]

While current Quest users have till 2023 to switch to Facebook accounts, it appears the newly released Quest-2 headset requires Facebook accounts for all users upon release.

I sincerely hope you will find another platform to support soon. Otherwise you will be missing out on a whole section of the population who avoid Facebook due to various concerns (privacy concerns, spreading and profiting from hate speech and misinformation, etc).

[KevinBrook]

While current Quest users have till 2023 to switch to Facebook accounts, it appears the newly released Quest-2 headset requires Facebook accounts for all users upon release.

I sincerely hope you will find another platform to support soon. Otherwise you will be missing out on a whole section of the population who avoid Facebook due to various concerns (privacy concerns, spreading and profiting from hate speech and misinformation, etc).

I don't really get all the furore over Facebook and its practices. The data collection and targeted ads is no different from what Amazon and Google do, I even got my Kindle's cheaper from Amazon as they charge less if you allow advert screensavers.

The idea that they spread hate and misinformation seems misguided to me too. I mean first, don't newspapers and magazines spread hate and misinformation? Isn't that the very purpose that many tabloids exist for? It's the same with the charge that they influence elections. What, more than newspapers, television, celebrities and their endorsements? A person's career and place in the social hierarchy influences elections, as does peer groups, a person's religious affiliation or ideological views on things like the environment, animal treatment, immigration etc.

The real argument against Facebook seems to me to be a policing of what adults can be exposed to. The idea goes that people are influenced by conspiracy theories, hate speech etc that they might find on Facebook. So in a way, those objecting to Facebook are trying to police what adults should be allowed to see, on the grounds that they are stupid and easily influenced.

That to me seem to be equally pernicious, the idea that those on the liberal left should decide what is appropriate content for other adults to see...

[Stain2319]

So... here's my thoughts on this.

Facebook is going to require a Facebook account ... as opposed to requiring an Oculus account, where Oculus is a company owned by Facebook whose data is stored on servers owned by Facebook.

I understand the idea of the principle behind this but it's a distinction without a difference.

Your Oculus account is already a Facebook account.

[Yakinabe]

I'm just stating a fact, that there are many people out there who don't like Facebook and avoid it. Even if their decision to avoid Facebook is irrational, it may not be a smart business decision to exclude them from the VZFit user base.

FYI, here's Ars Technica's review of the Quest 2: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/09/r...vr-system/

And here's the same writer's article about why he thinks it's a horrible idea to tie a social media account to a gaming headset: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/08/w...mpetition/


I have no interest in debating this issue here, I'm just trying to explain that there really is a huge backlash against this move among some groups of people.

[AfxTwn]

@Yakinabe You're really wasting your time debating this issue here and I fear it's just going to turn into a big political slanging match. VirZoom have chosen their platform and are sticking with it and at the end of the day they're a business and will likely go with what they think is best for their company and has the best chance of success. Like it or not, Facebook is probably the most popular social media platform out there and has a huge userbase and Oculus is fast becoming a big seller and will likely continue to grow.

I totally understand your concerns and have myself questioned VirZoom's strategy regarding which VR platforms they use and the exclusion of a big sector of the VR market and I have even suggested perhaps the mobile market might be a better route to go down considering more people will have smartphones or tablets and are far more likely to also have an exercise bike or buy one as they will see it as much easier and cheaper to go down that route than getting a headset.

With that in mind, I would suggest you do what I have done if you feel that strongly about Facebook and not bother with an Oculus headset at all, rather, check out the VzFit Explorer 2D app https://forums.vzfit.com/showthread.php?tid=146 (albeit experimental-only at this stage) which will allow you to use an Android-compatible device and a bluetooth cadence sensor to play Explorer on your phone or tablet and forego using a VR headset altogether. It works very well with my Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone and I can use the Samsung Flow app on both the phone and my desktop PC to mirror the phone's screen to my computer and be able to see Explorer on a bigger screen. However, this does make the image resolution worse as it has to enlarge the smaller image of the phone to my monitor's 1440p size but it's still better than nothing. Plus the process of downloading the VzFit Explorer app onto your phone etc is a bit of a mess about and involves you having to visit this forum on your phone, navigating to the 2D app's thread and clicking the download link to install the app. This can sometimes not work but when I have told the developers, they have updated the Google Drive link to get it to work. Ideally the app would be available on the Google Play Store and this is hopefully something that will happen in the future, although it seems they would rather also be able to release it on iOS and their primary focus is VR so I am not sure how much time the mobile app is being given.

I think there are legitimate questions and concerns to raise about Facebook and other social media and big companies but this isn't the place to do it and will most likely receive very little support in favor of your argument as VirZoom will approach things from a business perspective and are not likely to take a political stance on this and a lot of the users of VZFit don't really care about the issues raised over Facebook (or even believe them) and see nothing wrong with using it or it's products.

[Stain2319]

I'm not a fan of Facebook myself and don't really care about the politics of it. My main point of view is from the technical standpoint. Your Oculus account which you currently use for your Quest or Go is already a Facebook account in everything but name.

It's a bit like saying you refuse to shop at WalMart on principle because you don't like their corporate practices, while being a Sam's Club member.

If you're using an Oculus account you are using a Facebook account, you just don't know it. This change really just makes it transparent.

[AfxTwn]

It seems the main crux of the problem is that previously you didn't need an actual Facebook account to log into Oculus and so even if people knew Facebook owned Oculus, they were able to separate the two by not having to have a Facebook account in order to use Oculus, whereas in the future you will have to have a Facebook account in order to use Oculus so people will no longer be able to keep the two separate or use one without the other.

It's not true to say that your current Oculus account is already a Facebook account in everything but name as you are not currently on the social media platform with an Oculus account whereas in the future you will be required to be and that is the main problem. Some people just want to play games and for it not to be integrated into a social media network and as it currently stands, you can still separate the two and have just an account to play Oculus games on and no Facebook account.

It may seem strange how people can separate the two even though they are one and the same (in terms of company ownership) but I think the idea of having to have a Facebook account even if you don't want one, just so you can use Oculus is what may be causing some people an issue.

The bottom line is if you don't like Facebook or having to have an account for Oculus then maybe don't use Oculus anymore (which sucks for anyone who bought a Quest or Go, especially to use with VZFit but VirZoom have always been very clear about their product only being available on Oculus). There is an alternative way of being able to use VZFit (albeit not in VR) which would allow you to still use the Explorer app and enjoy cycling in it and maybe in the future VirZoom will make VZFit compatible with other headsets but for now if you want it in VR then Oculus is your only option and if that doesn't sit well with you then you will have to stop using it.

[Yakinabe]

No, my Oculus account is not a "Facebook account in everything but name." It's thoroughly explained in the article I linked to already. Here it is again:

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/08/w...mpetition/

But I suppose I should have brought this discussion up on Wefunder where I invested in VZFit, rather than the user forum.