What does 'automatically check for newly published albums' in Aperture mean?

Question

I like using Aperture to upload to Facebook and Flickr, but I don't like how it syncs. For example:

1. What does this option actually do?
2. I can't stand all the lists of my sets on the left hand side of the application. It clutters the UI, and I won't be managing it through there anyways. Can I hide/remove these?

Answer 1

This searches your online Facebook and Flickr account for any images that have been uploaded since your last Aperture upload. If there are new images in your Facebook or Flikcr albums these will be catalogued into Aperture.