Facebook beginning to ban fake profiles

As Facebook is becoming ever more popular, users can no longer enjoy the humor of being poked by a panda or a monkey.\nWith more college (and now high school) students creating profiles on Facebook, other students have opted to take the more creative route of making fake profiles. However, Facebook has answered back and has decided to deactivate all fake profiles until the users change back to their actual identities.\nSophomore Jon Palak created a fake profile under the name 'a panda,' but Facebook recently deactivated it.\n"(Facebook) sent me an e-mail saying that I have to change my name, which I was able to change to Jon 'a Panda' Palak," Palak said. "But then I deactivated that because it didn't have the same ring as 'a panda.'"\nPalak said he created his panda profile because of his addiction to Facebook that arose after he created a profile with his actual name.\n"For me, I was badly addicted to it and I was checking it every day," he said. "So, to get rid of my addiction, I decided, 'what the heck, if I was a panda, I would stop checking it.'"\nThe opposite effect worked, as Palak's fake profile encouraged other Facebook users to message him and view his profile, he said.\nHowever, it is against Facebook's policy to create fake profiles because it is against its goal.\n"The intent of Facebook is to enable the communication of real information between real users," said Kate, a customer service representative from Facebook.\nWhile the Web site is cracking down on profiles, Facebook is also trying to get rid of inappropriate groups as well.\n"After we lost to Indiana State in basketball, I started a Facebook group with a few curse words in it," said freshman Noah Skube. "After a month, they notified me and told me that they were taking that down."\nSkube has also created a fake profile, naming his after ABC/ESPN analyst Lee Corso. However, his profile has not yet been deactivated.\n"My friend at NC State started a Trey Anastasio profile and through that, I figured out how you got the second e-mail address," Skube said. "Later, I was talking with my cousin about what I should make. We both love Lee Corso, so I decided to do it. It was one of those spur-of-the-moment things."\nBut not all Facebook users have had the same luck as Skube. John Thayer, a friend of Palak's, also created a profile that was deactivated.\nUsers have been able to create fake profiles in a few ways. Skube created a new profile on Facebook by using an e-mail address ending in iub.edu, instead of indiana.edu. However, Palak and Thayer both requested name changes, which were granted at the time.\nAs Facebook has started to deactivate fake profiles, the users of those profiles have also questioned Facebook's methods for doing so.\n"I guess you could see where they're coming from because it is in their policy, but it's kind of silly to think about it," Thayer said. "There's no harm in it and it brings a lot of attention."\nThayer said he believes users are looking at their profiles because they are fun. However, he also said it makes sense to delete offensive profiles, but not to delete fun profiles.\n"Facebook should deactivate profiles for some things, like a J.J. Redick or Brodie Croyle profile, where they are college students because those could be misleading," Skube said. "But not someone who's obviously not, like Lee Corso, Lindsay Lohan or a panda."\nPalak shared the same views.\n"As long as you understand that you can't make a profile that's kind of slanderous to someone, it should be around," Palak said. "If it's all positive and fun, why not keep it"