The Great Facebook Blow-off

After our Euro 2008 "let's change our names" stunt,I have decided any such activity in the future should be considered seriously before we just do it.

This is because Facebook have, it would appear, taken a very dim view of our antics. Apparantly, I have broken the user policy agreement in several key areas according to some. My posts about the German football team and certain other international footballers are offensive, and yet.. no-one complained.

Basically, my first rule infringement was use of the name "Benji Hardcore" a moniker given to me since even before The Deadlights all those years ago, when I took my Swedish name onto facebook all was tickety-boo, however, upon attempting to change my name back to Mr. Hardcore, or even to my real name, Facebook have frequently blown me off.

Facebook blew me off believing that no-one with the name "Heikki Backstrom" would choose such a name and thus it must be my birth name, I protested that it was part of our Campaign, at which point my posts were obviously unearthed. So, it would now appear that perhaps the only way to get my correct name onto facebook is to mail them two forms of identification and autility bill. This sounds a lot of work, and exposes Facebook's pointless rule system that states you must always use your FULL and correct name.. this sounds as much fun as drowning.

The policy is clearly that Facebook is a social network and as such is fun, as long as that fun in sensibly apporached and undertaken within some parameters, which is a bit like having the guards at Auschwitz partake in a "funny tie" day at the end of every week. Planned and controlled fun, is not fun. A social network just.. isn't.. without the use of nicknames and false titles. Lord Sheepy Van Der Sheep-Sheep and Jonny McGay are much better names to appear on your friends list than Steve or, in these cases, Dan or Simon.

So, with that in mind, and also taking into consideration that I'm a very lazy man, I will call Facebook's bluff, and continue on with my adoptive name, because by doing so I am making a mockery of their oh-so-serious naming policy.
Which suits me just fine.

Although, my mind boggles as to why Ravi had no similar difficulty...