Facebook doesn’t want you making “Facebook Friends”
By Emily Price
Facebook doesn’t want you making new friends on their site, or at least that the impression they gave many users in an email sent out by the site last week. The language in the email indicates that Facebook should be used for “real-world” contacts only rather than used to create new ones.
Please note that Facebook accounts are meant for authentic usage only. This means that we expect accounts to reflect mainly “real-world” contacts (i.e. your family, schoolmates, co-workers, etc.), rather than mainly “internet-only” contacts. As stated on our home page, Facebook is a social utility that connects you with the people around you, not a “social networking site”. It is meant to help reinforce pre-existing social connections, not build large groups of new ones. If this is in direct contrast to what you expected as legitimate Facebook usage, I apologize for any confusion. This is simply the intention behind the site.
Accounts that are used solely for the purpose of applications are in violation of our Terms of Use. Unfortunately, I will not be able to reactivate your account. Sorry for any inconvenience, but this decision is final.
Thanks for your understanding,
Lauren
User Operations
The disabled accounts stemmed for the use of the application PackRat. In the application users collect sets of cards, the more card sets you have the more points you have and the higher level you are able to achieve in the game. One huge catch to the game is that you have to collect 9and steal) cards from your friends who have also added the application.
While obviously a ploy by game developers to get everyone to invite their friends to play the game, many users starting instead adding each other and creating additional facebook accounts with the sole purpose of playing the game. It was primarily the accounts that were created specifically for game play that were affected rather than legitimate accounts that were used for other purposes as well.
Facebook does indicate in on its home page it is designed to connect you with people around you rather than work as a social networking site to meet new people, it would seem however that Facebook would welcome people using the site more, and making new friends on it, rather than discouraging it.
[via TechCrunch]
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