黑洞社区

Two have and two haven鈥檛 got one 鈥� Facebook pages, that is.

Ian has and gives Mike a quick briefing on the ins and outs of the social networking site.

Apparently, this is because Mike is too old to know what it is. The veteran architect and practice chairman starts to defend himself, sees he has no chance, grins and takes a gulp of beer instead.

Graham is a Facebooker, but a reluctant one. 鈥淐olleagues and friends keep sending you messages, inviting you to join,鈥� he complains, 鈥渁nd in the end it鈥檚 easier to give in than fight the force.鈥�

鈥淏ut people do get obsessed, don鈥檛 they?鈥� says Neil, incredulous. He is the other Facebook agnostic in the group. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all getting a bit too much. They鈥檙e going to need a Facebook Anonymous soon.鈥�

He decides one of the reasons Facebook is now being banned in some workplaces is that it is too voyeuristic and just a bit weird.

He鈥檚 amazed people want to display their dirty linen all day long on Facebook.

Mike, with his big-boss hat on, declares that people should have the freedom to go on Facebook at work, as long as they still get their work done. 鈥淏ut if they鈥檙e going to abuse the system 鈥︹��

鈥淟ike going to illicit sites,鈥� Graham butts in excitedly.

鈥淪uch as Architects do Dallas,鈥� Neil finishes off for him. 鈥淭hat gets through the firewall system, because it鈥檚 relevant,鈥� he explains. Mike reaches for his pint again.

Ian quickly tires to steer the conversation back on course. He points out one of the reasons for banning Facebook in the workplace might be so that people actually talk to each other, instead of their computer.

Mike nods. Talking is good, he says.

Ian is on a roll now. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just go round banning things, anyway,鈥� he asserts. 鈥淚t gets people really annoyed. When 鈥榓ccess denied鈥� flashes up all day long, it just makes people tetchy.鈥�

At this point, another person joins the table. However, it鈥檚 not senior director Rachel Bassindale, who鈥檚 yet to arrive, but an already drunk, partially toothless Irish man, asking for 80p so鈥檚 he can buy a pint of Guinness, like.

鈥淚 just need a bit more for the Guinness,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t makes the difference between scratching your arse and grabbing it.鈥�

The group looks on bemused as he counts the coppers in his palm and suddenly announces that he actually needs a bit more money than he originally thought 鈥� 拢2.50 to be precise 鈥� for the beverage.

Graham reaches into his pocket and pulls out two quid, an obliging smile on his face as he hands it over. Mike supplies the rest and our new friend trundles off to the bar.