A lot of people are familiar with the story about Megan Meier, the Missouri 13 year old who committed suicide after allegedly being taunted on MySpace by "Josh Evans" a fake user created at least in part by Lori Drew, a neighborhood mother.
You would think that in the wake of this sort of thing, Facebook would be a bit more sensitive to the potential for abuse of an application like the Honesty Box.
What is the Honesty Box? It's a nasty little application which allows Facebook users to anonymously tell other users what they think of them.
Anonymously.
I mean, come on. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to realize that young (read immature) Facebook users aren't going to be using this application to say, "Hey, I have a crush on you!" Or at least not nearly as often as they will use it to say, "You creep me out" or worse. Way worse.
Did I mention that this is anonymous?
Who thought this was a good idea?
What is Honesty Box?
- Send & Receive anonymous messages and discover what people really think of you
- Reply to anonymous posters and flirt with your crushes
Frequently Asked Questions:
Who can write on your Honesty Box?
Any of your friends or network members.
Do you have to have Honesty Box to write on mine?
No. You don't have to install HB to write in other peoples' boxes. This is to keep the guessing game much harder - not only people with HB write in your box.
If you remove honesty box, do the comments you posted in other people's boxes stay?
Yes. Once you send a message, it's forever.
What's the pink and blue comments?
pink = a girl
blue = a boy
no color = not provided in the user's profile info
Are you going to reveal the names sometime?
No. We will never reveal who sent messages on Honesty Box, unless, in our sole judgment, the content of a message violates our Terms of Use and/or Privacy Policy.Facebook is providing links to these applications as a courtesy, and makes no representations regarding the applications or any information related to them. Any questions regarding an application should be directed to the developer.
Bothered By an Honesty Box Message? - Procedure for filing a complaint
In rare instances, a very small minority of Facebook users will abuse the anonymity of Honesty Box. As per our Terms of Use, we do not tolerate any "Criminal or tortious activity, including child pornography, fraud, trafficking in obscene material, drug dealing, gambling, harassment, stalking, spamming…" etc.
If at any time you receive an upsetting, disturbing, frightening or harassing message, please do the following:
- DO NOT RESPOND IN ANY WAY—a non-response to a disturbing message is the best way to discourage its sender;
- CLICK ON "BLOCK USER" (This will prevent you from receiving anonymous messages from the person with that Facebook ID; also, we block from Honesty Box any user that is "ignored" by multiple Users); and
- If you wish never to receive such messages from any Facebook user, REMOVE HONESTY BOX FROM YOUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT IMMEDIATELY.
In all but the most severe cases, the above actions should be sufficient, and you will not need to proceed any further. However, if a specific message or series of messages sinks to the level of criminal activity—i.e., someone threatens you with serious bodily harm, or engages in criminal stalking or harassm ent—you may wish to involve your local law enforcement to pursue criminal sanctions against the offending user.
Procedure for filing a complaintAs per our Terms of Use, we do not tolerate any "Criminal or tortious activity, including child pornography, fraud, trafficking in obscene material, drug dealing, gambling, harassment, incitement to suicide, stalking, spamming…" etc.
In those cases, we may reveal the identity of the offending Facebook user's account to law enforcement authorities at their request on a case-by-case basis. To have us do that, follow these instructions carefully; failure to do so may result in your complaint not being received properly for our review:
- YOU: Complain to your local police department or campus security office and provide them with a copy of this instruction page and a complete printout or screenshot of the Honesty Box conversation at issue; have them start an investigation (n.b. we will not provide any information to you directly).
- LAW ENFORCEMENT: Fax a cover letter and a verbatim copy of the Honesty Box conversation at issue (preferably the printout or a screenshot), along with a copy of a properly-issued subpoena, to
- Fax: +1 617.723.2830, Attn: William F. Swiggart, Esq., Swiggart & Agin, LLC.
- E-mail: abuse@honestybox.com
The cover letter should identify the officer handling the investigation as well the preferred method of contacting the officer.- HONESTY BOX: We will review the request and may, at our discretion, provide the information requested to the police.
1 comment:
i was wondering if i could use this picture with your permission for a high school newspaper article i am writing. thanks! :)
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