UPDATE: Facebook has reinstated my account. Thanks to all who may have politely written to them.
My Facebook account has been "disabled," which means, gone are not only my profile, with its 5,000 friends but also my page, with its nearly 5,000 "fans," as well as my others pages, including those for my various books, videos and radio programs. Thousands of hours of work, down the drain, in an account I've had for a number of years. Not exactly unexpected, since Facebook tends to be rather capricious, deleting or disabling accounts at the drop of a hat with no prior warning or notification. Meanwhile, it appears to take great effort to get Facebook to delete pages and profiles full of bigotry, hate speech and calls to violence, depending on the group or cult spewing it. Certain religions, for example, tend to get a pass while engaging in such sociopathy.
I have guesses but no real idea why Facebook disabled my account - they are not forthcoming yet. I have written to their various email addresses, such as: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , with a typical canned response highlighting reasons for disabling accounts in general. Of course, I have not committed any of these egregious transgressions. Perhaps I posted a link and message too many times, like FOUR? Gasp!! (That was the last thing I did before I discovered my account had been deleted. Here is the link in question.)
Here is the message one currently receives when one wishes to log into one's disabled FB account:
Account Disabled
Your account has been disabled. If you have any questions or concerns, you can visit our FAQ page here.
Next, you has to check "Yes" in the question about whether or not you have valid government identification - see the image below. Yes, Facebook wants my driver's license, etc. As the mother of an abducted child (I got him back), I've been advised strongly by various law enforcement agencies not to be tossing around such private data willy-nilly to whoever makes impertinent demands of it.
They do say we can cover up our address and license number, for example, which is okay, except that they will still know what state our license is in. A passport doesn't have an address at all, so that's not as bad. We may be at a loggerheads with FB. In the meantime, check here. Also be sure to join my Google+ account. I don't care all that much for Google+ - I've been on there for quite some time but am in fewer than 500 circles, while almost no one ever comments on my posts there - but it will do in a pinch.
One lesson here: Do not post anything to Facebook that you don't have saved elsewhere, such as notes, etc., if you wanted to keep those. Fortunately, I didn't post all that much original material as concerns essays to my FB page - thousands of comments, of course. And I put in a huge amount of time in that account, so FB really simply behaves badly when it does something like that.
Here is a contact form to fill out if Facebook disables your account.
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|2012-05-13 02:03:14 Robert Tobin - MrAcharya, I have posted this page on my Facebook Page with a plea to all to support you.
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|2012-05-13 03:21:11 GodAlmighty - DamnThis is the first I've heard of something like this. At the risk of sounding paranoid, I have to wonder if this wasn't also possibly a hack job?
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|2012-05-13 06:14:27 Acharya SThanks, GA. If you follow the link above FB deleting and disabling accounts at the drop of a hat, you will find this page:
http://gingerliu.wordpress.com/2010/08/08/facebook-demands-government- id-before-shut-down/
As you will see from the article and comments, it's been happening abundantly for years - and that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are other sites where this subject has been discussed.
I know of others who lost their accounts - funny thing, two of them were very vocal ex-Muslim critics of Islam.
But in this case, it's probably because I posted a comment and link four - gasp! - times. I'd had a prior warning about "spamming" for doing as much. I was posted relevant links to relevant pages, as thousands of people do every day. It's ridiculous.
It's fine if anyone else wishes to contact Facebook using the email addresses in my blog and complain about my account being disabled. My account email address is acharya_s@yahoo.com. Kindly ask them to reinstate the account.
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|2012-05-13 03:36:35 Anonymous - facebookDo they ask this of everybody? If not, perhaps time to talk
with an internet lawyer you trust who knows facebook well.
They have lost their mind!
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|2012-05-13 04:26:57 RiverThis is such bull. A group of people could have gotten angry and you and reported you as "spam" or something like that. If they are asking for your ID, then most likely, you were disabled for spamming, or being a potential bot.
I read that they allow you to blot out certain data. What if you sent them your license with the license number birth date and address blacked out?
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|2012-05-13 13:45:34 RiverIf you google this, you'll see it happens a few times over the years. Women in particular have been targeted, because of how spammers create accounts of phony attractive women, which send requests out to thousands of peple. (so maybe the problem is that you're too hot)
So facebook created logic to automatically deal with these spammers, and hit quite a few real people on the side. Yours seems to be malicoius act though, because you'd think the software would be smart enough to see that a person who had so many friends and activity wasn't just a bot. Maybe facebook can flag your account as having been the victim of a false spam operation so your not deleted again.
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|2012-05-13 19:32:22 Jon Smetana - Blackmail? Coercion? What's With Facebook?
I agree with Anonymous who said, " perhaps time to talk with an internet lawyer you trust who knows facebook well."
The world is becoming so complicated that it's getting to the point that every step a person takes becomes a legal procedure. And, unfortunately, procedures become even more complicated when the complicating culprits, like Facebook, don't explain their actions clearly.
For Acharya to lose access to her Facebook readers is one tragedy. Losing access to her thousands of hours of wonderful work is a tragedy for her (and) her followers.
Is there something in the Facebook Policy that (prevents) their "disabling" of you from being defined as "theft" or "collusion" or "blackmail" or "coercion" or "extortion?"
The American Heritage Dictionary defines the following words:
("extort"
: "To obtain (money or information) from another by coercion or intimidation; to exact; wring."
("wring": "To obtain by applying force or pressure to."
(coerce": " 1. To force to act or think in a given manner; to compel by pressure or threat. 2. To dominate, restrain or control forcibly. 3. To actualize by force."
("collusion": "1. A secret agreement between two or more persons for a deceitful or fraudulent purpose. See Synonyms at conspiracy."
( "blackmail" ): n. "Extortion by threat of exposure or criminal procecution. -- tr.v. blackmailed 1. To extort money or something of value from (a person) by means of blackmail. 2. To coerce by means of blackmail."
Notice in the definition of "blackmail" the dictionary's use of "something of value."
If Acharya's case is a case of blackmail, then what is the "something of value" that Facebook wants from Acharya?
Is it her location? Is Acharya's location the "something of value" that Facebook wants.
Or could it be that some (party/s) (other) than Facebook that wants to know of Acharya's location?
There could be a "collusion" going on between Facebook and some (other) party/s.
Who could the other (party/s) be?
Did this (other) party/s bombard Facebook with mountains of complaints about Acharya all the while (knowing) that once Facebook "disables" Acharya, the extortion, coercion and blackmail would be enacted upon Acharya for as long as she wants her thousands of hours of work returned to her.
In other words, either Facebook, or some (other) party/s, are telling Acharya, "Hey Acharya! Tell us as much about your whereabouts as the Facebook rules permit or you ain't gonna get back your thousands of hours of work."
What Facebook and/or the other party/s may be doing is blackmailing Acharya and causing her to think that her writing career to too difficult to continue. They are picking away at her piece by piece until she gives up. Facebook and the other party/s may be hoping for a technical knockout.
Lawyers and police specialize in unravelling these kinds of unrighteous actions alot like Acharya has unravelled the mysterious and unrighteous actions of some religions.
I (want) Facebook to return to me and Acharya and her thousands of readers her huge supply of wonderful work that she put so many hours into creating. Did you hear me, Facebook??? But without Acharya having to lose her privacy rights!!! Did you hear me, Facebook???
Acharya's thousands of hours of work were given to (me) and her thousands of readers. Acharya gave me her work to have and to read and enjoy. Facebook, you have stolen from me what Acharya has given to me.
There are class action lawsuits.
There can also be class action complaints by the many people who've had their Facebook communications taken from them by Facebook.
A Facebook Class Action Complaint organization could be created by way of the internet.
Acharya, you have my permission to send this comment of mine to Facebook and to anyone you choose.
Jon Smetana
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|2012-05-14 02:58:36 Rene - F-BookYou should have had the option of having a texted code to a cell-phone or a voice-automated phone call with the code to verify. I think now the fact they asked for ID was because of some silly spamming rule of theirs. Had it happen to me once, and there was the option of the phone verification method. No way would I provide them ID
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|2012-05-14 03:32:56 Acharya SYes, I know about the phone option - no way I would provide them with my phone number! It's all traceable, and they can sell the number to umpteen companies.
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|2012-05-14 03:52:07 skullnboner - Web phoneYou can get an online phone number with message answering for free! That will solve your phone verification problem. I have one here in Canada (we can use US numbers). It sends my messages to my google email account in voice format.
Here's a link about some services (I am sure you can google shop for what might be the best one). You can use your pc to call hardline phones, as well as talk pc to pc over the web-phone. I think even google has a phone option which might be used. In fact, I used it to call my web phone number
: http://freebies.about.com/od/computerfreebies/tp/free-internet-phone-c alls.htm
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|2012-05-14 10:07:05 Acharya SThanks. I've used them in the past, but I'm not sure how to do that with FB. I can try, but for right now they aren't asking for a phone number - see the image above. That's all I get - and that appeal wants me to enter my full name and real birthdate. These are no-nos for parents of abducted children and victims of domestic violence and stalking.
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|2012-05-14 05:22:44 Kevin Centlivre - FacebookUnbelievable. Perhaps some loving Christians complained too much. It's pretty easy to start another facebook page with another e-mail account. I fear what facebook could become.
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|2012-05-14 15:06:11 Acharya SThank you. I suppose that supporters could try to "goose" FB along by contacting them through the email addresses in the blog post above. My FB user email is acharya_s@yahoo.com and my profile used to be at http://facebook.com/acharyas
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|2012-05-14 19:10:02 Robert MacKenzie - Why does anyone bother with facebook...I tried it and decided why the f**k should they make money off me without me getting any benefit? I than learn they are the largest data mining company in the world. Screw that skinny little a**hole and his facebook, same goes for google. I only can offer this as an alternative. I use it and like it, I think it has the possibility to make FB & G+ obsolete as long as people wake up and know they own you! You will submit to their ideology and will be censored if you oppose them. Yes that simple.
Here you go Acharya...host your own pod if you wish.
https://diasp.org
http://podupti.me
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|2012-05-17 01:01:06 Pray Hard - Imagine a couple of four year olds ...I was going to say ... Tell Zukerberg that you'll show him yours if he'll show you his first. But, that sounded a little too naughty.
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|2012-12-07 22:54:23 jamienot at all
in fact they make crime victims continued victims
how about taking their personal info to verify who you are supposed to send your personal info to - bet they refuse for the same reasons as me
i am stuck in the we need your id thing too - some jobs fire you for using your work id for non work things like proving who you are to some place like face scam
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|2012-12-27 01:59:04 JohnZ - The truth about Face bookFace Book is a creation of a jue. It is also connected to the CIA and is used to report certain individuals for any language, conversation or thoughts concerning the most vile of all religions, talmudic zionism, or any criticism of israhell and its criminality.
Beware: anything you post on either Face Book of Twitter is relayed directly to the CIA which is dominated by zionist neo-cons.
IF you think I'm B-S ing you, then you'd better think again. Every bit of what I've just told you is true and accurate.
What ever you write in any internet page is being recorded by any number of alphabet agencies including the U.S. military.
Just a bit of a warning to you all...you are being monitored and recorded and some time in the near future whatever you posted on any site will be used against you. America is fast approaching a police state and those of us who do not tow "the party line" are apt to find themselves inside a FEMA camp or worse.
The First Amendment is being trampled into the dirt with the help of Marxist anti-American organizations such as the ADL and SPLC. Cowards, the likes of Abe Foxman and Morris Dees sit in their little holes and declare anything anybody says about israhell to be anti Semitic and in need of persecution.
Your elected representatives will not help you. They have all sold us out for a few pieces of silver. Just consider how many voted in favor of the NDAA's latest version. Just remember how many voted in favor of the Patriot Acts.
Our unalienable right to free speech is being tossed into the trash can. If the screetchy anti-gun advocates have their way we will all be disarmed and America will no longer be safe from either the criminals that roams the streets nor the criminals that roam the halls of congress.
Also re EHRMAN: I believe he doesn't read any books written by women...except maybe Pagels because she is mandatory in his fantasy field of study...
As you can see, my iPad is working again...did try google+ but I can't figure out...
Sorry you lost so much on FB