How not to communicate | Web Directions

• In: Blog
• By: John
• November 20, 2008

Yes, like all of you out there, I use Facebook. But so many of the things it does annoys me (and worse).

Here’s a perfect example.

I’ve been using Facebook to message a small number of folks I’ve messaged in the past about various professional matters. Sadly, the send mechanism simply wasn’t working. In fact, Facebook advised me of a problem and suggested I try again later. So, I tried again, and then saw in my outbox that the original message had also been sent. So, like any polite person, I decided to apologize to these couple of people I sent mutltiple messages to.

Here’s how Facebook responded

So, let’s walk through this.

1. I use Facebook entirely appropriately

2. Facebook makes a mistake and tells me a message was not sent when it was

3. Due to Facebook’s mistake I send a second message

4. As a polite person, I try to rectify this by apologizing to the recipient

5. Facebook then threatens me with arbitrary social and professional death (disabling my account, a status from which I doubt it would be easy to return)

Facebook also incorrectly tells me I am a spammer (not “may be” but “you are using this feature to spam others”)

Here’s the thing Facebook. I’m effing well not a spammer. In fact in the 15 or more years that I’ve been professionally or personally been using the web (since about the time Mark Zuckerberg was in diapers), and in which time having sent tens if not hundreds of thousands of emails, barely a handful of people (and I mean one handful) have ever accused me of spamming them. And in every case I can recall we’ve been able to to come to an understanding of why the email had been sent, and those recipients no longer felt they had been spammed.

I have a lot of concerns as a matter of fact Facebook. Frankly your threats and misplaced accusations are extremely worrying, particularly as I was trying to undo your errors.

So, despite being pretty angry, here’s some constructive suggestions for the message:

Hmmm - are you sure you want to send this message?

It seems that you’ve recently sent the recipient a couple of messages. As we don’t have them down as a friend of yours, our magical robots, not being all that smart, can take this as evidence of spamming.

Of course, there’s a very good chance that the message you are about to send is anything but spam, in which case, send away.

But, if it does happen to be spam, think again - our magical robots are watching, and in order to make sure Facebook keeps working for everyone, we do our best to stop spam and the people who send it.

Speaking to people like they are people, and not assuming, let along accusing them of anti social (or worse) behavior is not too hard.

Must try harder.

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