For anyone I’m friends with on Facebook, be aware that I’m no longer on it — my account was suspended because my name (a name I’ve used publicly for fifteen years) is considered unacceptable, with no meaningful recourse, despite repeated claims from Facebook’s highest executives that “real name” is not the same as “legal name.”

Here’s a useful reminder that technologists’ ideas about names are hopelessly naive.

Mark Zuckerberg, July 1, 2015:

‘“There is some confusion about what our policy actually is,” the CEO wrote during a Facebook Q&A. “Real name does not mean your legal name. Your real name is whatever you go by and what your friends call you. If your friends all call you by a nickname and you want to use that name on Facebook, you should be able to do that.”’

Facebook’s chief product officer, Chris Cox, October 1, 2014:

“Our policy has never been to require everyone on Facebook to use their legal name. The spirit of our policy is that everyone on Facebook uses the authentic name they use in real life. For Sister Roma, that’s Sister Roma. For Lil Miss Hot Mess, that’s Lil Miss Hot Mess. Part of what’s been so difficult about this conversation is that we support both of these individuals, and so many others affected by this, completely and utterly in how they use Facebook.”