Subject: Facebook Abuses
I got hit with a 24 hour ban yesterday and I don't know why and can't get hold of anyone at Facebook who will tell me.
This morning the ban expired. I got on Facebook and posted maybe half a dozen things -- posts to my own stream, replies to other comment threads.
I went away to do something else for a few minutes and when I came back, I was logged off Facebook. Dreading what I was going to discover, I logged back on.
Now I've been blocked from three days. Again, no reason why is given, and on one will respond to me.
At base, this is because Facebook has no respect for its users. We aren't its customers, we are its product, and they don't really care what any one, or dozen, or hundred, or thousand. of us think. They don't provide any way for us to speak with anyone who would have the ability to review something like a 24 hour ban, or a 72 hour ban, and maybe determine it was mistakenly imposed and lift it. Or even just explain exactly why the ban was imposed in the first place.
And they don't care, either.
I have no idea why I was banned for 24 hours initially. I have no further clue as to why I am now banned for 72 hours. I've filed a complain with the Better Business Bureau but I have no illusions as to how much that will accomplish.
Now I am writing to everyone I can think of who may have an interest in at least publicizing this matter, in sharing the story of a Facebook user who has been repeatedly blocked from Facebook, and can't get anyone to tell him why.
I'm not just a casual user of Facebook, although even if I were, this would be unacceptable treatment of me. I've created many Facebook pages, some about my hobbies, others to help with my independent authorial efforts, and the efforts of others. I admin these pages, which other people use and enjoy, and I can't do that when I keep getting blocked, and I can't avoid being blocked if I'm not told why I'm being blocked.
Facebook is out of control. It is a wildly irresponsible, extremely influential and powerful platform, and it needs to become more responsive to its users. The way I have been treated is simply abusive, and I know I'm not the only one. Facebook doesn't care about its users -- we are simply 'product' to it -- and there are so many of us, they feel they don't need to make any effort to deal with us as individuals.
This needs to change. Facebook is too important and too useful to too many people for this kind of contemptuous dismissal of our concerns to continue.
Sincerely,
D.A. Madigan
Louisville KY
I had a lot of time and effort invested in Facebook -- a lot of pages set up there, from an Open Call page for authors like (that listed paying markets only) through my Author's Page to hobby groups like my Silver Age Superhero Comics Fans page.
But, obviously, if I can't rely on having access there from one post to the next, and Facebook won't even do me the courtesy of clearly explaining why they keep blocking me off their site, well... I'll have to do something else.
If you've come here from my Facebook notices to keep track of me and continue interacting with me, I'll mention that it's going to be harder to comment on my posts here than it was over there. I long ago had to enable comments moderation on this blog to keep some relentless trolls from continually harassing me and my family here. So to comment here, you'll need a Blogger account, and I'll have to approve your comments before they appear. I know that's inconvenient and I wish it wasn't necessary, but trust me, it is.
Anyway. I'm back at the old stand. We'll see how this goes.
Welcome, to all of you who are just showing up. Although I haven't updated this page in over two years since my previous post, I have thought about it and missed it. So in a way, I'm glad to be back.
As they say on IMPOSTERS, 'always forward'!
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