February 9, 2007 (Originally posted to my Facebook Wall) — I'm not used to a (presumed) audience of three, but why not.

I was introduced to facebook by a remarkable young women with whom I chatted briefly, until I offended her. I didn't - and still don't - understand why I got the invite, but I am grateful for it.

In any case, since joining I have been "friended" by a couple of interesting women (though sadly, so far, no meetings in the flesh - let alone of the flesh - have resulted) and by one very interesting and one purely annoying woman.

The latter two occured on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. I'll try to keep this short, but I can't help but think it a story worth telling.

Some time on Wednesday, a facebook denizen calling herself Hot Mama sent me a friend request. Curious, I accepted it and she shortly thereafter busted my "wall's" virginity, leaving me my first comment. I didn't mind that, though it wasn't particularly interesting, but I took heed of the fact that she had ignored the email I had sent at the same time I accepted her friend request.

On Thursday night - last night - I found she had left another comment on "my wall". This - with asterisks replacing a name to protect the possibly innocent - I repeat in its entirety below.
 

"would you believe that ******** ******** is a pervert, I have him on my list he thought i was 12 and he wanted to have sex with me and meet up so hide all your teens theirs a pervert on the loose"

Now, I was kind of drunk when I found this, and so decided to think about things before I took action. I think I waited about 15 minutes before I "penned" this reply and posted it to her "wall".

(And I also noticed she (or "she", because, well, who konws?) had posted the exact same message on the walls of the other three of facebook friends I decided to spot-check.)

And so I posted.

"I deleted the 2nd "wall post" you left on my "wall. Since All I know about you is that you sent me a friend request; that you're not quite at answering email, and that you are on a campaign against someone called "j****** a*******".

"If you really are 12, I forgive you your presumption. But if you're a grownup, you've shown really lousy judgement.

"I don't know you, and I don't know him.

"Maybe he *is* a pervert. Maybe he's not. All I've got to go on is the word of some internet denizen, who could be 12 or 92, male or female, sane or really not sane at all.

"Maybe you're someone with terrible judgement but a good heart. Or maybe you're a 12-year-old boy who's pissed at his teacher.

"How the hell should I know which claim is correct?

"And how *dare* you use me to slander someone about whom I know nothing at all?"

Checking back about eight minutes later, I found I could no longer access "her" profile".

About eight minutes after that, I had a friend request from someone calling themself "Teresa Wright", who also didn't introduce herself, nor respond to my greeting, but instead simply began to flood my newsfeed with new-agey styled self-help and self-promotional blurbs.

On a small, and merely allegorical level, I suspect I now have some sense of what pretty girls feel after they have declared themselves female on myspace.

And so Teresa is gone from my friends' list now, too, though her fucking notes are still cluttering my homepage.

And life goes on.