Facebook is rolling out a new feature called Timeline (Facebook.com/About/Timeline), which the company says is like a story of your life. Should you set up your timeline? The short answer: You don’t have a choice in the matter.

The new Facebook Timeline feature is gradually rolling out to all users, and it’s not optional. That means all of your older Facebook activity is about to become a lot more accessible.

“Timeline is wider than your old profile, and it’s a lot more visual,” writes Facebook’s Samuel W. Lessin on the company’s first blog post about the topic. Timeline starts with a big customizable photo at the top, and as you scroll down, you’ll see all your posts and photos going back to the day you joined.

This new feature is raising eyebrows, as it’s making it very easy for someone today to see what you said four years ago when, perhaps, you were mad at your boss and needed to vent. And were you even the same person four years ago? Do you want to share those thoughts, photos, comments and “likes” with your social network in 2012? If not, what can you do?

When Facebook enables Timeline for your account, you can choose to publish it immediately or take five days to review, remove or add anything. You’ll be able to choose what’s featured on your timeline, hide things altogether or add important things that aren’t already included. Screen your past posts and delete anything you don’t want the world to see.