WTF a DWF?

Today marks the official end (sans extensions of course) of the 2013 filing season, which will undoubtedly prompt many in our preparer audience to let out a collective sigh of relief, or treat themselves  to that long-ago promised  bottle of 2009 Merlot.

Fine, you’ve earned it. Go ahead and celebrate.

But let’s be clear about one thing. I do not want to read about this filing season on Facebook. Not one word about the problems, delayed rulings, client anecdotes or hundreds of missed prime time TV shows.

Not one.

Now you may ask, why am I ranting about Facebook postings? Actually my growing dislike for the global social media site has been building for a while, but this past Sunday was the kicker.

I was walking out of my health club on a beautiful 72-degree day and was nearly clipped by an oversized SUV, whose driver apparently failed to see me standing alone in the parking lot illuminated in a bright red hoodie.

Why?

She was posting to her Facebook account in lieu of paying attention to what was in front of her. I learned this seconds later when I confronted her with language and the promise of future violence that would have made a Teamster blush.

A DWF.

The incident plied me with an idea for today’s blog – that of compiling the most annoying habits of Facebook posters. I’m fairly particular about whom I connect with, so my total of FB “friends” is, to put it honestly, modest. Nevertheless, I still receive my share of mindless posts from people with obviously little else to do.

Okay, here goes, in no particular order.

• Those who post no less than 20 times a day, about subjects or experiences that no one, least of all me, cares about. Sorry, I don’t want to read about how well your pot roast turned out or why your plane is delayed at LAX.
• Endless selfies of themselves or their children. Earth to posters: I know what you and your offspring look like and don’t need to be reminded of it from morning until midnight. And truth be told, many of you are not that photogenic to begin with.
• Receiving endless invitations to “like” certain pages. Again, if I liked them, I’d have joined them in the first place.
• Hearing about what you’ve done in the gym or the latest race. Congratulations on finishing that half-marathon, keeping that pledge to run a mile at least every day, or that new found flexibility through Pilates.  Now let me get back to my workout.
• Photos of food or vacations. This one probably needs little or no explanation. This is the 21^st century version of the tedious vacation slide show your grandparents or uncles undoubtedly bored you to tears with growing up.
• Continual invitations to test your IQ or fill out a survey to determine which rock star you would be. Again, this probably doesn’t deserve a response.

And I could go on. But if anything good comes of my rant, I’m guessing it's that at least one person will think twice before DWFing.

I certainly won’t be receiving an invitation from her to “friend” anytime soon.