Facebook killed my mojo

Once upon a time, chryblnd Scribe had a Facebook profile, different and separate to her human counterpart's profile. I opened it because my Second Life is so absorbing, and so time-consuming, that people I knew from real life were finding their news feeds over-run with news fom a game they had no interest in. I had a view to a future in which my children might have a facebook presence. And I wanted a way to network and interact with other avatars on a less formal basis.

They were heady times :-) Second Life avatars have a strong presence on Facebook, and within weeks I had a contact list of almost 2000 avatars and people who are interested in Second Life. I stopped looking for profiiles to add, and let those who were interested add me. I was easily able to access the interesting things that were happening in and around SL, such as events, news stories, new content creation. I learned much more about the metaverse we all operate in, and I met and got to know amazing people.

The advantage Facebook has is that you can post so many different types of content. The music you like, the people you admire, random thoughts, what games you play, photographs, links. And your friends can access that information at their own pace. You learn more about each other in a lovely slow game of tag.

But Facebook doesn't want avatar profiles. It is, in fact, in direct contravention of their ToS. We all knew this, and we all knew it could happen to us. In May, it happened to me. Chryblnd Scribe's facebook profile disappeared, and with it went thousands of memories, little interactions and moments in time.

When your profile is suspended, there is, apparently, an appeal process whereby you submit identification that matches your profile's name, and can have it restored. As I contemplated the options, and the vast loss I felt at comments and content that had once warmed my heart, and would never be seen again, I decided that I did not want to lose another account. Many people simply set up with a new email address, but I decided I wanted the option of appeal, should Facebook swoop in and remove my profile again.

So I returned to my RL Facebook profile. I removed all the photos of my children and myself that had been there for family and old friends to enjoy. I warned the current friends list that things were about to change, and get busier. I added, or tried to add, those profiles I had enjoyed as chryblnd Scribe.

I also set up a page for Chryblnd Scribe as a fictional character, though the only fictional aspect of chryblnd Scribe is her avatar's appearance.

It's been spectacularly disappointing, and a lesson in humility. For whatever reason, friend requests I sent were ignored or turned down. I have stopped sending them, unless I know the person inworld and well enough to let them know the request is coming. And the fictional character is limited in her interactions. She can't tag people in photos or respond to them unless they "like" her, and it turns out not many people do *facepalm*.

I believe chryblnd Scribe was an interesting and innovative Facebook user. I see many avatars now using Facebook to promote and inform of events as I did, and was the first to do. But perhaps she was just an annoyance. In any case, my Facebook flow has been stemmed. Those who are close to me are there, and I love that they are, because of course, they were who I interacted with most. But I exist in a vacuum now, and I loathe it.