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A while back people in Second Life were panicking because a lot of avatar profiles were being blocked and deleted.
It seems that Facebook is doing it again, if they ever stopped to begin with.
Some people think that your account can only be deleted if enough people report it as being fake.
Personally I think Facebook just has some sort of algorithm software set up that continuously searches for certain flags.
It analyses your pictures, your posts, your groups and, I think, especially your profile.
But we’re not sure why Facebook deletes some people’s profiles and leaves others alone.
During the last avatar hunt nobody I know got caught, this time around a few.
I hope that this algorithm of them doesn’t hop from one profile to another, although that would make sense.
After all chances of an avatar’s friends also being avatars are pretty high.
Either way, it is probably a good idea to try and make your profile appear as non-avatar as possible.
Add a few real people photos, don’t tell your profile you’ve been to school at ‘Second Life Academy’, or live on ‘Linden Lab Lane’, don’t put your birthdate as being 1903.
The more common your profile looks, the less likely it will be deleted… or so I think anyway.
Of course we should all abandon Facebook and its evil ways (of which there are many) but there is just no denying that it is a very nifty piece of software and oh so handy as a way to stay in touch or manage SL related groups.
And the alternatives… well there aren’t really any, not that I like anyway.
I may hate Facebook, I use it a LOT and it has become almost essential for my job, after all I can’t think of many ways to stay in touch with the more than 60.000 fans I have on my RL job page.
Yes, I did just put that in there to show off.
Some people suggest we setup pages for our SL profiles, this is an excellent way to stay in touch with other people in SL, but you’re not allowed to join groups.
And especially those are very interesting for us because those are great for discussions, sharing event snapshots and have a shared calendar with events you can invite everyone to.
I don’t understand why Facebook doesn’t just create a special Avatar (or artist or whatever) profile that in some way is clearly different from others.
Because even though fake profiles may give them less RL information they can sell to companies and the NSA, I still get the pleasure of being bombarded by advertisements when I use Facebook as an avatar.
If you have any idea how Facebook works while hunting us down, share it in the comments and if you’ve noticed more profiles being deleted lately.
Maybe we should start a petition somewhere asking FB for avatar profiles.
It would be nice if the Second Life social page thingy on the official Second Life website had more options so that we could all hang out there and use that place for all these SL related things.
But alas, so far it is a glorified notice board that almost nobody I know actually uses.
Jo Yardley's Second Life 
I was sent your post by a friend, and I agree with you that someone should start a petition, here’s why I think it’s a great idea. In my real life, I do have a Facebook, but, because my family is full of crazies, especially my mother who has NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) I only log into it rarely. I post MAYBE once or twice a year. I have SL facebooks for my 3 main avies, and an added page for my SL shop. I check my SL facebooks almost daily, and I keep in touch with people I truly enjoy talking to, my friends. People who don’t know the real me and who I never ever want exposed to my real family. Facebook needs to remember that there are MANY MANY people out there like me, who have real lives they avoid. Women who have been stalked or abused, Starting life over, avoiding real family members like mine who are crazy. My SL Facebooks are an extension of me just the same. If they ban mine, I’ll just make new ones. If they do ban mine and it becomes an issue, I’ll just delete my real life FB, after I clean it out and be done with it period. Facebook is going to crap anyway. If they did allow it. And just put us in our own category, I would be fine with that. But I will NEVER link my real FB to any SL FB’s, and for good reason as I’ve explained. I hope any who get banned, find a way back.
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Hey J, like you, my SL FB is more robust, richer, has more friends, and is more fun than my RL FB.
BTW, just this past weekend EFF, io9, and many other groups all collaborated at DragonCon14 for “Project Secret Identity” We did a small SL solidarity march to support them:
http://worlds.ninja/dragoncon-vr-edition/
Here’s the wrap up post from Dave Maass at EFF:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/09/top-20-project-secret-identity-cosplay-images-project-secret-identity
Here’s the Project Secret Identity website:
https://projectsecretidentity.org/
I think we all appreciate that there are many different reasons for anonymous and pseudonymous identities. Isabella Medici put it nicely on the PSI website:
“In 1576 I was murdered by my husband. In the 16th century women didn’t have a way to hide from predators. In the 21st century we should.” — Isabella Medici
https://projectsecretidentity.org/all.html?96225607195
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You know a couple years back I had 2,000 FB “friends” and for a long time now it’s been about 1,000. I really have no idea how they choose who to delete, and I’m sure it’s a tiny percentage of their billion users, but they sure do seem to be deleting a lot of somebodies!
Just yesterday I saw a “new” Facebook profile from someone who’d been deleted and was trying to regain his friend connections, including his partner who jokingly wrote, “he looks cool, but I’m not sure if I know him”.
Some years back I had quite a few Middle Eastern friends, and their accounts seemed to come and go a bit like avatar accounts. It’s all very mysterious. Especially now in the wake of Google+ completely bailing on their “real names” policy.
I’d hate to lose the years of work I’ve put into making Mark Zuckerberg’s website better, but I think if I ever am deleted, I’d just leave. I don’t think I’d make another account.
An avatar friend of mine was banned from Instagram without any notice, warning or explanation. She tried to login and it simply said account terminated for violating terms of service. IDK if Instagram has a “real names” policy, but other than that she can’t even guess at any activity that would be inappropriate.
Far-ranging events all the way from the Google+ Nymwars to the life & times of Aaron Swartz all give glimpses of just how narrow-minded and self-centered Silicon Valley is. Thank goodness for Open Source projects like WordPress and Open Minded projects like Twitter.
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It could be they are just trying to be factual with their advertisers. One name is one warm body to buy something. We all know what a bot looks like. so just keep your presence as a real active person would. I hope even in the case where they uncover a bot user.. they consider there is a real person making that “bot” interact !
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Good point Bri. The thing to me is, I’m convinced that avatars, or at least THIS one, spend more money online that fleshvatars! We’re all over the net! We love it. We feel at home there. We’re comfortable there. We spend money there. I shop at Amazon, join organizations, subscribe to magazines, buy web services, all online and in this name. If spending money online is the measure of your worth, they should love avatars!
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Bri this is exactly the reason why they will never allow avatar names: they are in the business of selling real people’s profiles to advertisers = flesh & blood folks that have money to spend. A avatar page is a great alternative BUT of course for that you need a REAL FB profile to run it…Catch 22 by design 🙂
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Jo,
As always a great post!
Since it’s pretty obvious that FB only wants reals any efforts to change that will take a long time.
I use Google+, Avatar Social Network, HipChat, and Twitter to recreate the FB experience.
Yes, not all rolled into one like FB but I’m getting the kinks out.
Further, all these sites welcome avatars. No having to worry about being within the rules!
Anyone who’s been tossed out of FB can reach out to me and I’ll be happy to show them what I’m doing!
Open roads and safe fires!
TC
web
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I hate FB but have to use it because of all the SL users there. Beside my account I also have a FB page, but if FB decides to terminate my account I don’t know if it’s worth for me to start all over again.
Personally, I much prefer Google+. Far more interesting than FB and doesn’t have some nasty FB features. Now that Google has dropped the RL name policy, it is no longer an issue to have an account there.
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They don’t delete them. They suspend them, holding them for ransom until you enter a name they think is bland enough to be genuine. I put my persona’s theoretical name (they rejected Dr as a prefix before the first name; Does that mean Dr Oz can only have a PAGE and his profile must be under Mehmet Cengiz Öz?). I don’t see why Daniel Voyager had to change or re-make anything. I’d have tried re-typing Voyager before coming up with something amusing for a surname and adding Daniel Voyager for a nickname.
It’s really stupid though. I’ve clicked through ads and bought product. I’ve redeemed game cards. My friends find me and know me by names I’ve used for as long as 15 years. Even if I have that “normal name” I should be allowed to display what I’m known to everybody as. I don’t see where this improves consumerism. It only hurts it.
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Pingback: Facebook is deleting avatar profiles...again - ...
A petition is a waste of time and energy, and will only provide Facebook with a handy list of profiles to delete. Instead, if you want a presence on Facebook, get a Page and categorise it as a fictional character – done. Second, if you miss the interaction that Facebook provides, join the Avatar Social Network – which offers a Facebookesque interface and has over 2000 SLers onboard already: https://avatarsocialnetwork.com
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I’ve never had a Facebook account and I don’t really want one but I expect they and the NSA and GCHQ and the Chinese secret service know all about me anyway since I don’t use TOR either to stop’em. What I do use is Twitter and Google+ happily https://plus.google.com/communities/116284417302234467612 for my Opensim Virtual community. Lots of small grids have a presence too and, of course, very many Second Life user communities as well. And G+ does have millions of users who get to discover and learn about virtual worlds as they surf the network.
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This is what Google+ had to say on the subject of real names…
https://plus.google.com/+googleplus/posts/V5XkYQYYJqy
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I had my avatar put on hold last week, and was told once I provided identity they would reinstate me. My mistake I think was running a promotion for a Page for a SL roleplay sim where I’m an admin. First they froze the payment on that, then came back and got me. My bad. I did create another avatar account. But I also made a page on my RL account for my main avatar.
Word to the still fb avatar’d – go in and download your facebook stuff, save your photos and any notes you’ve done. I wasn’t fast enough. Also make a RL account an admin on any Page or in any group, because if your avatar disappears, those go too.
I’m also on Google+ and Twitter, where I can post to our SL Page. I’ll never advertise with them again (I also have a RL Page for my business, but, no.) Will check out any other social media.
SL could provide one just for us instead of the forums.
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Actually, the best thing is if LL created a web interface for inworld groups, as I had been advocating for a long time: http://indigomertel.wordpress.com/2011/07/18/linden-lab-has-the-best-social-tool-and-doesn/
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I was a beta tester for facebook in between 2005/6/7, guess if i have an account there since then!
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i think it’s quite odd that a modern company like FB does not get the fact that while i am not using my real name on their portal i am still a very bloody and even a bit fleshy REAL person that leaves a lot of traces of what i like, buy or who i am. nice data they can sell to their customers. like AHAA that guy likes the avett bros AND langhorne slim sooo.. lets shoot langhorne ADs on all who like avett… blabla you know the drill ^-^ asking for real names is just sooo grandmother-ish, i have no words for that. so, dear mr. zuckerberg, it is the other way round. a user who thinks you do not know him cuz he chose a fancy fake name will behave much more free and really show u everything about him while dem users with real names on profile usually behave like with a stick in their b**t keepin all their dirty secrets! and do u know where they hide secrets? in their MINDS! where you still cant reach them, mr. zuckerberg. THE HORROR!
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Facebook’s policy is odd. They really want people’s interests. Those with Second Life avatars are sharing their interests in a wide and open fashion.
However Facebook’s terms are pretty clear on this. If you want a Second Life name on Facebook create a page.
Personally I feel it’s time LL cut the Facebook cord and fully embraced Google + which does allow Second Life avatar names.
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Avatars are migrating to the Avatar Social Network & Google Plus (which now allows avatar accounts).
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As a matter of fact, I have been noticing an increase in the number of new followers on Google+ the past few weeks, about 4 or 5 a day. I’ll be reaching 3500 followers pretty soon.
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Pingback: New Statesman Journalist Encounters Facebook Real Name Policy Issue » Ciaran Laval
My profile has had honest real life profile photos and they still deactivated my account TWICE now because they didn’t believe that my REAL birth name is Tranquillity
I told them I not only use Facebook to connect with friends and family, but also for support groups, one of which I started and currently have over 100 people in my group.
If it wasn’t for the support I get and give while using Facebook, I would have said screw Facebook and not fought for 5 days to get my account back.
I sent them a photo of my Church ID and a piece of mail that PROVED that I in FACT go by Tranquillity Jo and I sent them a photo of my ID with my last name and address covered up.
I felt targeted and discriminated against because I have a very unique name.
I feel the way they are going about not having fake names/accounts is VERY flawed! Something needs to open up Facebook’s eyes as to what they are doing is discrimination!
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Most of it is based on their non ability to data mine the av names like they would rl people. Probably a hard sell to potential spammers they deal with. As a SL DJ, I make money by not only performing, but advertising my sets and clubs I work with/for. I verified my account with a phone number months ago and even still have the text message from it. Make up your minds what the term “verified” means, because as I see it FB is splitting hairs by changing the definition of verified when it seems to fit them. My name is DJ Zodiac aka jeremy123 resident, and I am a person damnit, treat me as such!
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Late to this post, I know, I know.
There was actually a petition in 2013. which was delivered to that Zuckerburger turkey – who promptly ignored it.
Here’s the link to the petition (now closed, of course) for anyone who wants to read the letter that was delivered to him: https://www.change.org/p/mark-elliot-zuckerberg-allow-second-life-avatars-to-have-a-facebook-page
They shut down my avi’s fb page too and I flatly refuse to give Zuckersnot any of my personal information, so the account can remain closed for all I care.
The ONLY reason his nose is out of joint over avatars having FB accounts is because he can’t data mine avatars to make more money for himself.
Poor sulky diddums.
I think one or more of us should put our heads together and create an ‘Avatar Face Page’ site – in direct opposition to Mr Snotface.
In fact, I’d be happy to pay a small monthly fee for something like that because I despise FB, it’s owner/CEO – and all the underhanded, spying corruption that FB stands for.
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