by Sam Strauss

Created on: July 15, 2009   Last Updated: July 25, 2009

There's a reason Marcia Gay Harden doesn't have a Facebook.

All of the Tom Cruises, Will Smiths, and Bill Gates' of the world have moved on to Twitter. Wonder why? It's because their names are, well, their names. Facebook will not permit many names, including celebrity names, as a user name and to sign up with a false name or a nickname is a breach of Facebook's terms and conditions. Other words that don't work with the Facebook management are "gay," "beer," and "lord." Lord? Really? I don't understand it either. Neither are you allowed to use your title as part of your name or use a Group name.

There is no publicly available "list" of these banned words, and if there were it would merely be an invitation to those who abuse social network sites with fake accounts. If a celebrity does share your name it doesn't mean you can't join Facebook, you just need to take an alternative route to become a member.

If you receive an automated notice from facebook that you have an illegitimate name or are using a banned word then all you need do is send an email to warning@facebook.com from the email address that you tried to register with. You should include your full name, date of birth and confirm that you have read their terms of use which are located here: http://www.facebook.com/terms.php

One issue that is causing problems upon signing up is if your surname happens to be a banned word, such as Gay. If this affects you then you should send an email to warning@facebook.com from the email address that you tried to register with.

One such person to get banned by Facebook was Jon Swift, a regular blogger who quite openly admits to using a pseudonym. His account at Facebook was eventually restored but not before his supporters created a group on Facebook called "Let Jon Swift Back into Facebook". Jon Swift raises some interested questions about Facebook's policies; "What exactly does "real name" mean? Would Bob Dylan be banned if he didn't sign up as Robert Zimmerman? "

"And who exactly am I supposed to be impersonating? Has it ever occurred to you, that whoever I am supposed to be impersonating could actually be impersonating me? In fact, a search for the name "Jon Swift" reveals 99 profiles, many of which seem no more "real" than mine. Why out of all those Jon Swifts was I singled out?"

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