Facebook and Avatars: Rep Says Accounts Listing Non-Legal Real Life Names OK (But Virtual Community Names, Not)

If like me you're a fan of Mr. Paul D. Miller and want to become Facebook friends with him, you should skip searching for that name on the social network; even though that's the name on his driver's license, you'll have better luck if you look up his stage name: DJ Spooky. However, if you're fans of an extremely popular Second Life avatar, and want to find her on Facebook, you best know her real life name too.

That's the policy distinction I just got from Facebook representative Simon Axten, based on a recent email exchange with him. Last week I reported that Facebook is apparently banning FB accounts created with Second Life names. I made my case for avatar-based Facebook accounts to Axten this way:

"Members of the SL user community (even staffers with Linden Lab) often use their avatar name for their Facebook account profile," I wrote him. "For the most part, these are not fake names created for deceptive purposes, but to establish an individual Facebook account that is more known and trusted within the virtual world community. In fact, many SL users have Facebook accounts with networks that include both real and avatar names; just as often, an avatar name is better known than the person behind it. I'm sure Second Life isn't the only virtual community with a Facebook membership where this is true. Given all that background, do you think allowances could be made for avatar names? For example, wouldn't it be better not to assume all avatar names are untrustworthy, but to check instead the strength and number of their connections to other Facebook members?"

Axten replied this way:

"The name that a person uses on Facebook doesn’t have to be his/her formal legal name; however, it must be one that’s commonly used to refer to the person in real life. This is both because Facebook is meant to reflect real world identities and connections, but also because it helps maintain Facebook’s trusted environment, since people are more accountable for their actions. The vast majority of fake accounts on which we take action have been reported to us by other users. Of course, we’ve also developed automated systems to detect and flag anomalous or suspicious site activity regardless of the specific name associated with the account, and we’re always working to improve these."

So for now, at least, that's how it is. However, judging by my own Facebook network, there are still hundreds if not thousands of avatar-based accounts still in Facebook. If I understand Simon's wording correctly, an avatar account isn't usually banned unless another user reports on it. It still seems to be an occasional occurrence.

In any case, I remain convinced it's a short-sighted policy; however, as with many Facebook policies, I suspect it's unlikely to change unless a concerted effort of users express their displeasure at it. There's a Facebook group created to do just that: Avatars & Humans United: Petition for Avatar Identities on Facebook. At the moment, however, it counts less than 300 members.

Comments

[Arcadia Codesmith]

So if I do second-rate hip-hop in some greasy dive as Arcadia Codesmith I'm in the clear, but if I'm a top-rated musician under the exact same name in Second Life, I'm not?

Aaaawk-ward.

[Ann Otoole]

Bull hockey. I know of someone abusing facebook for commercial purposes using an SL business/avatar name and facebook most certainly knows about it and allows it. I guess it depends on who you are and whether or not the facebook people are fans/beneficiaries.

[Crap Mariner]

Watch M on Metanomics and ready his followup QA on their website.

If something's not in the works between LL and FB on this subject, then there's gotta something in the works somewhere.

I predict a FB Lite or FakeBook or something just for Avs.

And, yes, I know this kind of stuff has been made by the masses in Ning and other sites. But LL wants to have a piece of that action, based on M's mention of the website landing points and popular pages. (Friends Online list being huge)

-ls/cm

[Caliburn Susanto]

Very irksome. Personally I don't care about FaceBook, but of course many do enjoy what it affords.

What really bothers me is the fact that this is a "tattletale" modus operandi. Your account gets deleted as soon as someone complains that it is "fake." So everyone is susceptible to whoever feels like fingering them for deletion.

In that case, if you ask me, the people who run FaceBook have a lot less integrity than the people who's accounts they are deleting for being "untrustworthy."

There is a new service started called SLNexus (www.slnexus.com) that is out there that is FB-like. I'm not affiliated with the ownership of it and don't know much about it; just pointing out that it is out there to investigate.

[Robustus Hax]

Yep, I got banned for signing up with a facebook account using my SL avatar name.

[Toxic Menges]

Some should point out the success Plurk is having, mainly due to being welcoming to SL users, and quote some of the numbers that were quoted here. Numbers talk.

[oboreruhito]

Sounds like a ripe opportunity for a FB app to fill in the gap. A clone won't cut it unless it bridges the communities in a meaningful fashion.

[Connie Sec]

Caliburn has a point. "Tatttle Taleing". All you need is for someone to have a perceived grievance or jealousy and .."Blam" your out. It either is OK or Not. Relying on the Little Hitlers of the Net to do your dirty work amounts to squibbing and plain laziness.

[Arcadia Codesmith]

There is nothing wrong with reporting blatant rules violations that are detrimental to the community as a whole, and it's the responsibility of the virtual citizen to do so. And there's a nice glowy feeling of justice to be had when you help nail some slimy copybot abuser to the wall.

That said, relying on user reports as the primary mechanism of enforcement in a virtual community is going to give you spotty coverage, unmerited "grief" complaints against targeted individuals and groups, and a general cultural contempt for the rules. To be effective, rules enforcement needs to be visible, swift, consistant and efficient at resolving the problem. User reports need to be addressed, but they should suppliment proactive staff enforcement, not replace it.

That's assuming the rule actually benefits the community. You need the flexibility to modify or eliminate rules that have outlived their usefulness, based on community feedback.

This one fails Fairness 101; you can't allow pseudonyms for one group of users and deny them to another. Users won't follow an unfair rule, and that weakens their willingness to follow other, much more important rules.

Don't waste breath griping about snitches when the problem is bad policy.

[Tateru Nino]

From Axten's comments, I *still* can't figure out if my FB account is junk or not. It's a legal name, and it's the one I use most often.

Is it going to get my account banned/deleted? I can't tell.

[Mitch Wagner]

But Holocaust denial is OK with Facebook.

[Princess Ivory]

I seem to recall FB saying that instead of an individual account using your avatar name, you can set up a "fan page" for your avatar, much like a band or other celebrity would do. I don't know much about it, but people might want to investigate fan pages on Facebook as an option for their avatar.

[Tempest Guisse]

And just how do they intend to "prove" that these SL names AREN'T someone's RL name? Does Facebook now require a valid gov't issued ID card? I can guarantee, the names I am known by in RL you will NOT FIND in ANY record search--nicknames (those given by parents or family members, but IS your "real name") usually aren't. Many of us DO answer to our ONLINE names, as we have had them for a number of years.
Good luck with that, FB.

[Devils Advocate]

I've been on SL for many man years. I've also seen numerous social networking sl websites. Wasn't facebook started to connect with people you want to school with in the first place? Real people to keep in contact with old friend & relatives? It's not discrimination. It's them keeping the original idea of why facebook was started in the first place. This isn't discrimination. This is them trying to avoid issues with people not using their real identities. (An EXTREMELY hard thing to do since this is the internet.) And a slight attempt at keeping it safer for those that use it.