netiquette and facebook

In every society there is a need for social convention. Social interaction on the internet is no different. Some people respect it, some people don't. Having grown up on technology, experiencing everything from the local bbs scene (be kind to your sysop) to your global mailing list (remember when bugtraq was unmoderated?) I have a healthy respect for the civilities of digital society.

This want to be polite had me flummoxed this weekend on facebook. As you might know, facebook hasn't made it to RFC 1855 (that's right, there is an RFC on netiquette). Being new to facebook with no guidance from the RFC and no clear FAQ, I didn't know the right way to respond when several people wished me happy birthday on my wall. After a bit of digging on google it turns out that this is the one case where it is cool to post on your own wall.

6) Don't write on your own wall, it makes you look like a loser, unless you do not feel like sending out messages to all those that wished you well on your birthday.

Problem solved thanks to the facebook etiquette group. Now we just need to get this stuff added to the RFC...

ps.. don't give me any flak about facebook not deserving mention in the RFC. Any social mechanism on the internet that makes the leap from noun to verb (facebook me) deserves a mention in the RFC!