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Facebook's Playing The Name Game

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The Washington Post

Published: March 8, 2009

WASHINGTON - What Caitlin wanted did not seem complicated.

She had signed up for Facebook after she married, as Caitlin Shaw. Now, to make it easier for old friends to find her, she wanted to add her maiden name, Batman.

Facebook's name-change procedure suddenly required superhuman effort.

Because after Caitlin Batman Shaw, a mental health therapist in Arlington, Va., submitted the brief online form, she received an automated rejection. The faceless gatekeepers had decided her name could not possibly be real.

She appealed, and was rejected. Appealed, rejected. "The process took me three weeks" and several e-mail queries, she says, before she was finally able to use her full legal name.

She can join the Yodas, the Christmases, the Beers, the Pancakes and all of the other wannabe Facebookers whose online rejections represent the latest in a lifetime of name shame. And really, what's the point of Facebook if you can't be yourself?

"Try making a reservation at restaurants," says Tim Six. "I'd like a table for Six at 5 for three."

His life reads like an extended "Who's on First?" routine, so the Springfield, Va., software developer was hardly surprised when Facebook rejected his application for an account.

Facebook, via e-mails (of course), won't say how many names are on its blocked list or how often names are rejected. It occasionally happens when it appears the chances of fraud are greater than the chances that someone is really named, say, Seymour Butts. A name like Batman gets flagged because, writes spokeswoman Meredith Chin, the number of real Batmans is probably "fewer than the number of people who could potentially misuse the name on the site."

The network is based on "real people making real connections," according to a statement from another spokeswoman, Kathleen Loughlin, and so the company has various safeguards to prevent impersonators and trolls.

There have been examples of deceit on Facebook. Last year, a university dean created an account under the name "Pedro Amigo" to spy on students, and a Moroccan engineer was arrested for impersonating Prince Moulay Rachid.

For all its safety walls, Facebook appears to be home to some people with very ... interesting ... names: Starkiller Unleashed. Dennis Ilovfakemiddlenames Lewis. Mojo Martini.

In a tucked-away Facebook forum, dozens of users complain that they are having trouble altering their names. Many protest that Facebook won't accept their real, legal names. But then there are also complaints like this: "Recently, my friend got into my account and changed my name to Bonquiqui Shiquavius," writes one forlorn user. "I have no idea why Facebook accepted this."

Indeed.

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