@johnpowell I’m with you. Either the whole “following,” added to a fluther, etc. thing should be removed from the community feed altogether because, and this may sound selfish and self-absorbed, I don’t really care about the community at large in terms of this, about who’s following whom; all I care about who’s following me. I either want to know exactly who it is following me or know that it might be the guys in the van with the heart shaped windows. @janbb, the OP, finds the whole thing kind of creepy; it apparently has conjured up images in her head of dark alleys; @uberbatman finds it creepy; @papayalily is creeped out by it. I, @lillycoyote, am obviously creeped out by it. And what is the consistent theme here? Creepy. That’s undeniable. The fact that some individuals find it amusing that a “penguin got fluthered” or that “someone is following a lemming;” or that there is some “industry standard” that apparently gives web site operators license and free rein to “creep out” their users is no sort of justification for the practice at all. I say end this vile and frightening practice here and now. We will all rest a little easier.