Technology, a Throwback and a Rant

I rant, therefore I am.
Dennis Miller

​by Skip Cohen

Last week, the "Rock 'em - Sock 'em" robots at Facebook deleted one of my posts on the grounds that it violated community policy and was deceptive. It was nothing of the sort, but it took me on a flashback trip to 2016 when Facebook shut down my page, claiming my name wasn't really "Skip."

Numerous friends helped me protest, including Brent Watkins, who got creative with his "Free Skip" silhouette  thumbnail. I even wrote an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg—I have no idea if he ever saw it.

After seven years with Facebook, I've recently been shut out because I couldn't confirm my identity, even though I've sent you copies of my driver's license and gun license, copies of unopened mail with my name on it, screenshots of books I've written, speaking engagements, business cards, and even my Google page when you look up my name. 

My birth announcement above was included in the post. A few hours later, I was reinstated, but with A.I., the robots are back, and instead of getting smarter, they're on an overdose of stupid pills. I reposted it on my F.B. page with just the link and a request for help from my friends. There were lots of empathetic comments. My old buddy Jon Vansteenberg said it best:

This happens all the time. I've had it 3 or 4 times. They can't distinguish between simple reportage of quotations, some from profound thought leaders, and complete Waccos. It personifies the invalidity and waste of trying to 'control' peoples' free speech. George Carlins 7 words performance boundaries would be far better and cheaper than spending billions on alienating good faith users...

It's ironic, though - the robots were unhappy with my post, but if I had paid to boost it through their paid advertising program, I'm sure it would have passed!

We all have a love/hate relationship with Facebook, but if this nonsense continues, F.B. is going to follow the flush with my Tweet stream!