Friday, June 20, 2008

Apparently I misbehaved on Facebook...

...because I got this message today:



So something I did violated their terms of use. I'd love to know what it was, because I'm generally not hateful or threatening, nor have I attacked an individual or group. And I certainly don't spam my friends or post obscene content on Facebook. Everybody knows that's what MySpace is for. When I went looking for some explanation, I learned this from Facebook's Warning FAQ:

Can I see the removed content?
Unfortunately, for technical and security reasons, users cannot view the removed content ... Please go through your profile and make sure to take down any other offensive or objectionable material that violates our Terms of Use.

Hmmm. So I can't know what I did, but I have to know that it was wrong, and I need to check the "I acknowledge that I have read this information" box to prove my repentance. I wish I knew what I was repenting of. Another FAQ told me this:

Wall/Discussion Board Posts that are not permitted include:
  • Posts that advertise a product, service, website, or commercial event

Just this bullet marks a huge demarcation between the Facebook and the MySpaces, as the latter's free use of HTML in comment fields was one of the primary things that a) drove adoption, and b) turned it into spamtown. Clearly there's a balance between the two—I have no idea what I did to trigger a report from Facebook, and I should at least be pointed to some sort of indicator as to what was inappropriate. If I post a link to a Daily Show clip, is that advertising a product, or sharing content in the way social media championed? Even if I post links to my own blog, video feed or Flickr stream, it's sharing content, though I rarely do this on Facebook. The more I think about it, the more I'm baffled at what I could've done. I half expect them to follow up with an apology that says this message went out to everyone.

That said, I kind of enjoy having sinned against Facebook. On MySpace, the sins are scarlett, like a semi-porn profile pic against glitter gif wallpaper. But on Facebook, the sins are white as snow, amorphous, mysterious. It makes me wonder how bad I really was...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice. That sounds like the note I found on my Jeep windshield the other day while I was eating at my favorite Mexican restaurant. It read:

"I know what you did J-Toth."

Awesome. Must be that synchronicity shit.

Leona Laurie said...

I have had a similar experience with Facebook & feel like they have to make it easier for low-level promoters to reach people there without being threatened.

Unknown said...

I am very happy to see that someone had the guts finally to check your blatant misbehavior. Facebook should make an example of you and lash you publicly.

A concerned citizen~
Studio City, CA

rob getzschman said...

It's nice to have the community rally around me in my times of social networking hardship.