Blocked from FaceBook Features

I had to do something stupid, irresponsible, and selfish at FaceBook on Tuesday, August 31, 2010.  Once again, don’t rub it in!

One of my FB Friends posted a compliment on my Wall (called the "Great Person Award") and it said to pass it on to eight people, which I did.  However, I don’t do favorites, and chosing only a few people was impossible, especially since I felt all my friends deserved to be complimented.  That’s why I began posting the compliment on all my FB Friends’ Walls.

After some posts, I began to receive a FB window that said that I was posting too much in too little time and possibly spamming, so they asked me to enter some words to prove that I’m human.  After that, I would post a few, then stop for a few minutes as I did last time.

Unfortunately, after a few more posts, whenever I try to post on Walls or comment on people’s posts, I would receive a FB window with the following message:

Block! You are engaging in behavior that may be considered annoying or abusive by other users.

You have been blocked from posting on walls because you repeatedly misused this feature. This block will last anywhere from a few hours to a few days. When you are allowed to reuse this feature, please proceed with caution. Further misuse may result in your account being permanently disabled. For further information, please visit our FAQ page.

It was already making me sound like a criminal and evil person.  I checked out the FAQ for more information, but instead of answering my questions, it only made me feel worse.  This is what it said:

Facebook has policies to stop behavior that other users may find annoying or abusive. Even if you did not have this intention, Facebook systems have determined that you were repeatedly using the same feature in a short period of time.

Since you did not adhere to previous warnings, a temporary block was set on your account. Here’s what you should keep in mind about your block:This temporary block will last anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Attempting to use this feature while you are blocked can extend the block. We cannot lift this block for any reason, so please be patient and refrain from using this feature for a few days while waiting for this block to be removed.

Once you are allowed to use this feature again, you must significantly slow down or stop this behavior. Further misuse of site features may result in more blocks or your account being permanently disabled.

Unfortunately, Facebook cannot provide any specifics on the rate limits that are enforced. The threshold at which you are warned is not a specific number, but rather determined by different factors, such as speed, time, and quantity.

All that really made me sound like an evil criminal and showed how self-centered, rude, stupid, and irresponsible I am to want to post a praising message on all my Friends’ Walls.  Maybe I was doing it to be liked and rewarded though I was trying to treat all my friends equally.  I really thought all my friends deserved the compliment, and that I should be fair and not just select a few.

I tried to comment on people’s posts a few times after waiting for awhile, but the block was still there.  I tried again many hours later, and they still hadn’t removed the block.  That’s why since the afternoon of Wednesday, September 1, I didn’t dare try again.  I find it unfair that they don’t let us know the limits or time on blocks, but you might say it’s fair and that I’m being selfish.

A few months ago, after I started getting those windows to prove I’m human, I posted even more, and didn’t get blocked.  I guess I was too stupid to not figure out that I would be punished even if I had entered those words to prove I’m human.  To me, what they said was unclear, especially since they never said that I would be blocked if I kept posting.  Maybe I’m too irresponsible and didn’t learn what is wrong.

Though they say a few hours to a few days, I expected them to block me for many days or forever since I always end up with the worst.  What happened at TheOneRing.Com in 2004 was proof of it.  They had unfairly banned me, and said that it would be about two weeks.  However, the ban was forever.

When I tested the Comment function for a Friend’s status on Facebook on Sunday, September 5, it went through to my surprise.  I guess the blocking was over, but I tend to expect the worst to avoid major disappointment.  I then finished posting the "Great Person Award" for the rest of my Friends, making sure I went more slowly.

Unfortunately, that was not the end of FB blocking me from something.  On Tuesday, September 7, while trying to add another Friend, I received a window with the folliwng message:

Do you know this user personally? To prevent misuse of Facebook, this request can’t be sent. To learn more, please visit the Help Center.

This is what I saw at the Help Center:

Why didn’t my friend request go through?

Facebook is a place for connecting with friends, family and other people you know personally.

If you’ve been prevented from adding friends on Facebook, it’s likely because many friend requests you’ve sent recently have gone unanswered. This may be because you’ve sent friend requests to strangers, or it may be due to other behavior that Facebook members have reported as unwelcome.

You’ll be allowed to add friends again soon. At that time, please remember to only send friend requests to people who you already know personally. Otherwise, additional limits may be placed on your account.

For more information on your rights and responsibilities as a Facebook member, please click "Terms" at the bottom of any Facebook page.

This made me feel like an irresponsible and self-centered criminal again.  I don’t need to be told things I already know.  Besides, in the past, I had even more unanswered Friend Requests, and nothing like this happened.  I then thought it might have to do with my being blocked from posting on Walls the previous week.  It also said that FB members could have reported my behaviors as unwelcome.  If so, I wonder who, and I’m glad I don’t trust people.

I decided to try my luck again the night of September 12 and it went through.  Fortunately, I don’t really have any more people to add to my FB Friends list

.  Many of the FB members I know have already been added.

As if all that weren’t enough, on Friday, September 10, 2010, I saw some FB Friends posting and complaining about the following article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1310230/Facebook-users-narcissistic-insecure-low-self-esteem.html

I decided to share it, too.  The article says that those who use FB more frequently were narcissistic.  That really put me down, especially since I had recently been blocked from FB features.  Fortunately, some Friends have said that they found the article overgeneralizing as well as harshly and falsely accusing.  Actually, some of my Friends post a lot, and they are nice people, not what the article said about them.  I didn’t like how the article insulted my friends.

Sometimes, I get fed up with FB’s endless limitations, technical issues, and other problems.  sorry if I’m rude, annoying, and abusive, and always spamming.  I just can’t help it, so I apologize for being so self-centered.  Again, please no rub-ins! I don’t need people telling me things, such as FB is right and that I’m an evil criminal.