I liked to be pinged to topics I am interested in, that way I will be sure to see an article I might have missed. I hope FR doesn't do away with pinging. I do think it is rude to ping someone if they did not ask to be pinged- unless they are mentioned in the post.
I know what you mean. I get pinged twice every day to the Rush Limbaugh show. Yes, I listen to it every day but have never requested for anyone to ping me on it. How I got picked, I don't know.