Facebook Jail: How Not To Go There
Facebook jail is a thing.
It's not a real bricks-and-mortar-iron-bars kind of prison, but the social media folks will block you from posting, or even delete your account, if you do somethings they consider to be a violation.
Keep in mind that Facebook is a business, and they can make their own rules. When we sign up for a free account, we agree to live by those rules. The good news is that most decent folks won't find it too terribly difficult to operate within the wide parameters they have set up, even if they aren't always clear.
Here it is in a nutshell: On your personal Facebook profile, have fun with your friends, clothing is not optional.
That may be oversimplifying it a bit, so here's a punch list I've managed to compile from the various sources that may help.
- Don't send out lots of friend requests at one time.
- Send friend requests to people you actually know.
- Be careful with private messages. Too many at once can get a flag. If the receiver marks your message as "spam" or "unwanted," you could get put in the Facebook slammer! (Is a chain message really worth it?)
- If you share business information on your personal page, make sure it's not the only thing you are sharing. Remember the big rule about your personal profile: HAVE FUN! Create a business page or group, and follow the rules.
- Post your own stuff. It's fun to share memes, videos, and yummy recipes. However, the Facebook folks see it all, and some of it may be considered spam. Spam is bad. Bad equals jail.
- If you start posting nudity, sexually suggestive or explicit content, obscenity or vulgarity, threats, hate speech, or any of that maliciousness, you will go to Facebook jail.
If your account isn't deleted completely from Facebook, your "sentence" may vary from a few hours to up to 30 days. While in Facebook jail, you may still be able to log on, but not be able to post or send messages. The level to which the offender is blocked is up to the Facebook administrators.
Follow the rules. Don't spam. Have fun!