Facebook Insists No "Games Character" Names

Earlier this month came two developments from social media that were less than welcome news to Second Life users. For residents who use Facebook and Twitch, those services just became a little less friendly.

For Second Life residents who use Facebook, one constant complaint is that many would rather have an account under their avatar's name than their real life one, while Facebook has insisted that only real-life identities should be used. The result was that Facebook accounts named after Second Life avatars were sometimes suspended or banned. When it was revealed that Facebook was altering their policy somewhat in regards to drag queens, some Second Life users were hoping that this would soon mean a change in it's policies to avatar names.

But when Facebook recently clarified their policies on names, they clearly stated they would have none of it, insisting on "authentic identities. ... If you want to create a presence on Facebook for your pet, organization favorite mocit, games character, or another purpose, please create a *page* instead of a Facebook profile." But as New World Notes commented, "A Facebook page has less functuality than a Facebook account, so some SLers are unlikely to find this acceptable."

So does this mean Second Life users of Facebook have no choice but to bite the virtual bullet and say goodbye to having their virtual personas' names on their social media? Not necessarily. Singer Mankind Tracer (Seth Regan in real-life) in the "Second Friends" group on Facebook suggested there were ways to reduce the chances of winding up suspended.

Becaaue many SL'ers post SL avatars as their profile pictures, Facebook looks at SL Fb accounts partially as "inactive" or as "Fake Accounts", as others have also corroborated and I've seen 150+ "Likes" on SRM simply VANISH in a day! We all lunderstand the anonymity that SL affords. But please, don't get yourself on Facebook's BOOTING sights. Post a real life photo or two, also make sure you post once a day for the next few days at least. This will help you to not be booted.

Yours truly has kept his own Facebook profile under his Second Life name for over five years without incident. Possibly because he's already been doing what Mankind suggested, posting most every day, and having a real-life picture among those in the profile. So maybe there's something to this advice.

Sources: New World Notes,  New York Times 

Bixyl Shuftan