The _New York Times_ article about the use of facebook.com by college students is notable for a few reasons. Most administrators surveyed are taking a fairly hands-off approach to the site, and show a surprising amount of cluefulness in realizing that it isn’t Facebook that is inherently good or evil, it is just another socializing tool that can be used in various ways. The second thing I find strange is the angle about online privacy. The _Times_ quotes several students who are upset or confused by the idea that what they do online, in a semi-public medium, is not private. For instance, they post pictures of underage drinking, and then are upset when they get written up for it. The assumption seems to be that Resident Advisors (i.e. other students) as well as administrators have an obligation to *not* to look at a web site publically available to everyone at the school and to not act on anything that is chronicled there. Um…why? How can you claim breach of privacy when you are posting things publically? Not to mention how much control Facebook gives users over their privacy settings — a lot, so that things really can be “private” if a user so chooses. There is really no reason to be shocked or angry that there are legitimate consequences to ones actions, be they in the real world or online.