5 ms·

Facebook Tells Salman Rushdie He Has to Go By His Given Name, Ahmed Rushdie

103 points by jamesbritt 15y ago

MrEnigma 15y ago
Update shows that everything was taken care of. Guess they got scared that they might be seen like Google+
snakebites 15y ago
Some idiot was fired.
RexRollman 15y ago
In other words, arbitrary "real name" rules only apply to non-famous people.
- achompas 15y ago
  Salman Rushdie is a NYT-bestselling, world-renowned author and a frequent contributor to The New Yorker and Times. He's hardly a non-famous person.
  - mguillemot 15y ago
    I think the parent meant that if you are a non-famous person and this kind of stuff happens to you, then you're screwed.
    - RexRollman 15y ago
      Yes. I probably should have phrased it better.
    - redwood 15y ago
      On the other hand they don't ask for passport copies from non-famous people (I presume and hope, but then again this is a slippery slope)
      - msbarnett 15y ago
        They ask for official ID from anyone trying to prove that a name they've flagged is, in fact, their legal name. It's their process for getting your account unbanned.
- naz 15y ago
  I think this happened precisely because he is famous. Facebook assumed he was a fake Salman Rushdie, and demanded identification.
  - z92 15y ago
    That's what probably happened. And I can also assume that Rushdi never tried to claim there "I am the real Rushdi", only tried to show that "My name is Salman Rushdi [too], see my passport, therefore I should be allowed to use this name". While FB was trying to protect that name for the real Rushdi. If FB employees really knew this is the real Salman Rushdi they are talking with, this probably would have never happened.
    - codezero 15y ago
      An easy explanation for this slipping through the cracks is that the person handling this didn't know who Salman Rushdie was.
  - darklajid 15y ago
    Right. Now _that_ totally makes sense. They disabled the page and asked for his ID (okay, your defense, works until now). They got his ID, which according to the article lists a different first name and Salman as a middle name. Now how can you explain the following discussion? At this point the owner of the account formerly known as Salman Rushdie provided (state issued, no less..) evidence of being that guy - but Facebook claims he has to use the first name listed on the ID instead? It worked out in the end, but your explanation falls short. The biggest WTF (if we ignore the idea that you should provide a copy of any ID to a site that is used for Mafia Wars and things of similar importance) is the requirement to stop using his middle name. Even if he _weren't_ the author publishing as "Salman Rushdie" and just some random guy named "Ahmed Salman Rushdie" he should be allowed to go as "Salman Rushdie". Even with a brain-dead real name policy in place. That is his real name. (Granted: In that case he arguably still shouldn't be allowed to pose as the author. But that's a different problem)
- officemonkey 15y ago
  My friend is a semi-famous Jazz singer named Spider Saloff. FB wouldn't let her join Facebook because "Spider" is not considered a "real" first name. She got the run around because her first name isn't really Spider, she just has gone by it for nearly 30 years. Nope. Go by your real name or go home, said FB. Finally a friend comes up with the idea: "Spidie Saloff" works like a charm.
pork 15y ago
Non-story: Facebook has recanted.
- potatolicious 15y ago
  What about the other people affected by idiotic policies like this, who aren't Salman Rushdie-famous?
  - abbasmehdi 15y ago
    I never use my first name anywhere (most of my frineds don't even know Abbas is my middle name, not first) and have never had any trouble with FB. The point is that Salman Rushdie is a highly controversial figure and I bet this is not the first time someone has tried to create an account with that name. If FB didn't block folks from doing this, Rushdie would be complaining how FB never checks on reals vs. fakes. The point is, FB is trying to maintain the integrity of it's data, and people like Rushdie are often attacked for their opinions and are a target of those who disagree with them.
    - potatolicious 15y ago
      Right. So, a Salman Rushdie account appears. Facebook is afraid that, given Salman Rushdie's sometimes infamy, that this might be a troll account that can be more inflammatory than it's worth. So they verify Rushdie's identity and are suitably convinced that it really is him. ... So they make him change his account name? How does that make sense?
      - abbasmehdi 15y ago
        They don't make him do anything outside of what he is supposed to do as per their policy - use his real first and last names on his FB account. The problem arises when he is well known by his middle name and has been using it as his first name. Which once they clarified with him was allowed on the site. Side note: It is common for people from that part of the world (Indo-subcontinent) to use their middle name as their first (like Salman and I do).
nekojima 15y ago
Of my 500+ "friends" on FB, over 40 (at last count) had non-real names of one kind or another. As far as I know, based on status updates, none of my friends has ever been told to change their name. Other than getting free publicity/bad press, not really sure why FB insists on this policy. Of course I can guess why and understand that, but just seems a waste of resources and customer goodwill.
- SquareWheel 15y ago
  Do you think it's beneficial to your browsing experience that your friends are able to use fake names? Genuine question. I know personally I would prefer my friends to stick to real names and avoid ASCII art, cute nicknames and such. But I might be in the minority here.
  - jamesbritt 15y ago
    I would prefer my friends to stick to real names ... Define real.
    - SquareWheel 15y ago
      Good point, and I understand legal names aren't always conventional. By real I mean the name a teacher would call you in school. Not a nickname or pseudonym.
  - nekojima 15y ago
    I would prefer real names, or at least the name(s) I know them by. Many of my friends are Asian and have several "names", most not on their birth certificate or passport. Despite trying, there is no way I can pronounce or even remember many of my Thai friends' names and most of my Chinese friends usually use their English first name that they adopted, rather than were given.
credo 15y ago
from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/technology/hiding-or-using-your-name-online-and-who-decides.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/technology/hiding-or-using... Twitter, on the other hand, has vigorously defended the use of pseudonyms, bucking demands most recently from British government officials who pressed for a real-names policy in the aftermath of the civil unrest across Britain. "Other services may be declaring you have to use your real name because they think they can monetize that better," said Twitter’s chief executive, Dick Costolo. "We are more interested in serving our users first."
dhughes 15y ago
On CBC Radio One there was a good discussion of how people use different names or characters in their everyday life. You may be know as Bob to your mother, B-man to your friends and rocketBoy55 online. Your demeanor is different depending on the situation, you wouldn't act or talk towards your mom like you do when you are online as RocketBoy55 or vice versa. It's unreasonable to expect people to act the same all the time and go by the same description in all areas of their life.
- glhaynes 15y ago
  That's true, though I always look essentially the same; my visual image is a sort of a "name". (OK, yeah, I might wear different clothes in different circumstances. And some of us use makeup which makes even our face look a bit different.) I guess I'm trying to say that I'm OK[1] with there being a place (Facebook) that requires real names while there are places (Twitter, most of the rest of the web) that don't. Different requirements for different contexts lead to different tones and different conversations. Anyway, this is all a bit beside the point of this post, which seems to just be about an overzealous FB employee demanding a famous person (that presumably they didn't recognize) had to use the name on his ID. [1] Yes, I'm privileged and have a standard Western-style name and nobody dangerous stalking me that I need to hide from, etc etc.
buyx 15y ago
Facebook is generally weak at dealing with fake profiles. Their social graph is a mess. Obviously fake names, businesses, support groups and scams go untouched for months. Here's a small sample, which I didn't have to go to much effort to collect (I've seen many more): https://www.facebook.com/CupCaked1 https://www.facebook.com/CupCaked1 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002325987571 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002325987571 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002404362509 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002404362509 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002157256832 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002157256832 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003034066636 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003034066636 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002586855234 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002586855234 https://www.facebook.com/adsence.clickr https://www.facebook.com/adsence.clickr Their Real Names policy, is de facto dead already. They should stop pretending otherwise.
- michaelfeathers 15y ago
  Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but historically, there is nothing wrong with using names other than your "legal name" as you as you are not defrauding people. If your birth name is "Sam" and you decided to go by "Charlie", even on paperwork, that is okay. People can have known aliases. Shame that were are getting to the point that people must go by the specific name on their legal documentation.
- smackfu 15y ago
  Yes, and the business-as-person thing get really annoying in the friends suggestions. You are friends with 5 local businesses that decide to setup as persons rather than pages, and then FB starts suggesting other people be your friends who are only friends with those 5 "people" and are otherwise strangers.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
ck2 15y ago
So the solution to getting all corporate problems fixed is to be famous. Well we're screwed aren't we? Either that or run your own website and forget FB/twitter/G+
vijayr 15y ago
genuine question - why do people put up with stupid, arbitrary "rules" like these? FB is not "necessary" for life (it is not a drivers license or any other important identification requirement that is "needed"). Rushdie is famous enough that he can interact with his fans by having his own site, or in other sites (twitter) which don't have such stupid rules. In short, why is FB so important? There are phones, emails, twitter and a whole lot of other means of communication.
- jamesbritt 15y ago
  In short, why is FB so important? There are phones, emails, twitter and a whole lot of other means of communication. As best I can tell, people use it because people use it. Hell, even the various #occupy$foo groups, while railing about privacy violations and Goldman-Sachs use FB. Many, many people are OK with freely compiling a dossier of their life and associations to be sold to advertisers. Many, many people who aren't OK with that are still OK with allowing convenience to trump principles.

103 points by jamesbritt 15y ago

MrEnigma 15y ago

Update shows that everything was taken care of. Guess they got scared that they might be seen like Google+

snakebites 15y ago

Some idiot was fired.

RexRollman 15y ago

In other words, arbitrary "real name" rules only apply to non-famous people.

achompas 15y ago
Salman Rushdie is a NYT-bestselling, world-renowned author and a frequent contributor to The New Yorker and Times. He's hardly a non-famous person.
- mguillemot 15y ago
  I think the parent meant that if you are a non-famous person and this kind of stuff happens to you, then you're screwed.
  - RexRollman 15y ago
    Yes. I probably should have phrased it better.
  - redwood 15y ago
    On the other hand they don't ask for passport copies from non-famous people (I presume and hope, but then again this is a slippery slope)
    - msbarnett 15y ago
      They ask for official ID from anyone trying to prove that a name they've flagged is, in fact, their legal name. It's their process for getting your account unbanned.
naz 15y ago
I think this happened precisely because he is famous. Facebook assumed he was a fake Salman Rushdie, and demanded identification.
- z92 15y ago
  That's what probably happened. And I can also assume that Rushdi never tried to claim there "I am the real Rushdi", only tried to show that "My name is Salman Rushdi [too], see my passport, therefore I should be allowed to use this name". While FB was trying to protect that name for the real Rushdi. If FB employees really knew this is the real Salman Rushdi they are talking with, this probably would have never happened.
  - codezero 15y ago
    An easy explanation for this slipping through the cracks is that the person handling this didn't know who Salman Rushdie was.
- darklajid 15y ago
  Right. Now _that_ totally makes sense. They disabled the page and asked for his ID (okay, your defense, works until now). They got his ID, which according to the article lists a different first name and Salman as a middle name. Now how can you explain the following discussion? At this point the owner of the account formerly known as Salman Rushdie provided (state issued, no less..) evidence of being that guy - but Facebook claims he has to use the first name listed on the ID instead? It worked out in the end, but your explanation falls short. The biggest WTF (if we ignore the idea that you should provide a copy of any ID to a site that is used for Mafia Wars and things of similar importance) is the requirement to stop using his middle name. Even if he _weren't_ the author publishing as "Salman Rushdie" and just some random guy named "Ahmed Salman Rushdie" he should be allowed to go as "Salman Rushdie". Even with a brain-dead real name policy in place. That is his real name. (Granted: In that case he arguably still shouldn't be allowed to pose as the author. But that's a different problem)
officemonkey 15y ago
My friend is a semi-famous Jazz singer named Spider Saloff. FB wouldn't let her join Facebook because "Spider" is not considered a "real" first name. She got the run around because her first name isn't really Spider, she just has gone by it for nearly 30 years. Nope. Go by your real name or go home, said FB. Finally a friend comes up with the idea: "Spidie Saloff" works like a charm.

pork 15y ago

Non-story: Facebook has recanted.

potatolicious 15y ago
What about the other people affected by idiotic policies like this, who aren't Salman Rushdie-famous?
- abbasmehdi 15y ago
  I never use my first name anywhere (most of my frineds don't even know Abbas is my middle name, not first) and have never had any trouble with FB. The point is that Salman Rushdie is a highly controversial figure and I bet this is not the first time someone has tried to create an account with that name. If FB didn't block folks from doing this, Rushdie would be complaining how FB never checks on reals vs. fakes. The point is, FB is trying to maintain the integrity of it's data, and people like Rushdie are often attacked for their opinions and are a target of those who disagree with them.
  - potatolicious 15y ago
    Right. So, a Salman Rushdie account appears. Facebook is afraid that, given Salman Rushdie's sometimes infamy, that this might be a troll account that can be more inflammatory than it's worth. So they verify Rushdie's identity and are suitably convinced that it really is him. ... So they make him change his account name? How does that make sense?
    - abbasmehdi 15y ago
      They don't make him do anything outside of what he is supposed to do as per their policy - use his real first and last names on his FB account. The problem arises when he is well known by his middle name and has been using it as his first name. Which once they clarified with him was allowed on the site. Side note: It is common for people from that part of the world (Indo-subcontinent) to use their middle name as their first (like Salman and I do).

nekojima 15y ago

Of my 500+ "friends" on FB, over 40 (at last count) had non-real names of one kind or another. As far as I know, based on status updates, none of my friends has ever been told to change their name. Other than getting free publicity/bad press, not really sure why FB insists on this policy. Of course I can guess why and understand that, but just seems a waste of resources and customer goodwill.

SquareWheel 15y ago
Do you think it's beneficial to your browsing experience that your friends are able to use fake names? Genuine question. I know personally I would prefer my friends to stick to real names and avoid ASCII art, cute nicknames and such. But I might be in the minority here.
- jamesbritt 15y ago
  I would prefer my friends to stick to real names ... Define real.
  - SquareWheel 15y ago
    Good point, and I understand legal names aren't always conventional. By real I mean the name a teacher would call you in school. Not a nickname or pseudonym.
- nekojima 15y ago
  I would prefer real names, or at least the name(s) I know them by. Many of my friends are Asian and have several "names", most not on their birth certificate or passport. Despite trying, there is no way I can pronounce or even remember many of my Thai friends' names and most of my Chinese friends usually use their English first name that they adopted, rather than were given.

credo 15y ago

from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/technology/hiding-or-using-your-name-online-and-who-decides.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/technology/hiding-or-using... Twitter, on the other hand, has vigorously defended the use of pseudonyms, bucking demands most recently from British government officials who pressed for a real-names policy in the aftermath of the civil unrest across Britain. "Other services may be declaring you have to use your real name because they think they can monetize that better," said Twitter’s chief executive, Dick Costolo. "We are more interested in serving our users first."

dhughes 15y ago

On CBC Radio One there was a good discussion of how people use different names or characters in their everyday life. You may be know as Bob to your mother, B-man to your friends and rocketBoy55 online. Your demeanor is different depending on the situation, you wouldn't act or talk towards your mom like you do when you are online as RocketBoy55 or vice versa. It's unreasonable to expect people to act the same all the time and go by the same description in all areas of their life.

glhaynes 15y ago
That's true, though I always look essentially the same; my visual image is a sort of a "name". (OK, yeah, I might wear different clothes in different circumstances. And some of us use makeup which makes even our face look a bit different.) I guess I'm trying to say that I'm OK[1] with there being a place (Facebook) that requires real names while there are places (Twitter, most of the rest of the web) that don't. Different requirements for different contexts lead to different tones and different conversations. Anyway, this is all a bit beside the point of this post, which seems to just be about an overzealous FB employee demanding a famous person (that presumably they didn't recognize) had to use the name on his ID. [1] Yes, I'm privileged and have a standard Western-style name and nobody dangerous stalking me that I need to hide from, etc etc.

buyx 15y ago

Facebook is generally weak at dealing with fake profiles. Their social graph is a mess. Obviously fake names, businesses, support groups and scams go untouched for months. Here's a small sample, which I didn't have to go to much effort to collect (I've seen many more): https://www.facebook.com/CupCaked1 https://www.facebook.com/CupCaked1 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002325987571 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002325987571 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002404362509 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002404362509 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002157256832 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002157256832 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003034066636 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003034066636 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002586855234 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002586855234 https://www.facebook.com/adsence.clickr https://www.facebook.com/adsence.clickr Their Real Names policy, is de facto dead already. They should stop pretending otherwise.

michaelfeathers 15y ago
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but historically, there is nothing wrong with using names other than your "legal name" as you as you are not defrauding people. If your birth name is "Sam" and you decided to go by "Charlie", even on paperwork, that is okay. People can have known aliases. Shame that were are getting to the point that people must go by the specific name on their legal documentation.
smackfu 15y ago
Yes, and the business-as-person thing get really annoying in the friends suggestions. You are friends with 5 local businesses that decide to setup as persons rather than pages, and then FB starts suggesting other people be your friends who are only friends with those 5 "people" and are otherwise strangers.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

ck2 15y ago

So the solution to getting all corporate problems fixed is to be famous. Well we're screwed aren't we? Either that or run your own website and forget FB/twitter/G+

vijayr 15y ago

genuine question - why do people put up with stupid, arbitrary "rules" like these? FB is not "necessary" for life (it is not a drivers license or any other important identification requirement that is "needed"). Rushdie is famous enough that he can interact with his fans by having his own site, or in other sites (twitter) which don't have such stupid rules. In short, why is FB so important? There are phones, emails, twitter and a whole lot of other means of communication.

jamesbritt 15y ago
In short, why is FB so important? There are phones, emails, twitter and a whole lot of other means of communication. As best I can tell, people use it because people use it. Hell, even the various #occupy$foo groups, while railing about privacy violations and Goldman-Sachs use FB. Many, many people are OK with freely compiling a dossier of their life and associations to be sold to advertisers. Many, many people who aren't OK with that are still OK with allowing convenience to trump principles.