John is no longer friends with [Facebook User].

OK, it doesn't really say that. But, it probably should...

Dear [ex-friend]... So thanks for being my Facebook Friend for the past few weeks. I've read your statuses (sorry you are feeling so sick - TMI BTW), and looked at your profile. I've looked at all your pictures of vacations, relatives, and your dog. I've taken your quizzes and licked your lollipop. I've been hit by your virtual food fight, drunk your virtual drinks, and your virtual coffees. It's all good. I mean - it's not you, it's me... and I am pretty sure you're just not that into me either. After all, we really don't know each other. We've never met and live thousands of miles apart... I am pretty sure the only things we have in common are Facebook, and the fact that I once saw a dog like yours. So, don't take this the wrong way, but you're clogging up my friends list and my status feed and I think its time we broke it off. You're just not adding any value to my FB experience. We're both adults (if your age on your profile is actually true) so I think we can safely move on with our digital lives now.

It's been fun, so have a nice life. And, if you really really need to be my friend, you know where to find me. Right here, trapped - in Facebook.

OK so there is a 78% chance that Facebook may actually be evil. Since I discovered it last fall, it has been consuming a lot of my free time... The games that integrate into the platform are engineered in such a way that they compel people to hit the 'book frequently, and invite others to do the same. It's kind of like Second Life, only in First Life. I gave up on L2 because it just didn't have any *real* attraction. Everything was phony and left solely to the author's imagination. I just think real life is so much more interesting... With my friends and family, coworkers, people I used to know, and the odd folks around the world who play the online games with me on my profile, there is a never-ending stream of useless, but interesting commentary and (sometimes personal) information. FB is a soap opera of epic proportions. Hence, returning back to my original statement, evil... Not that soap operas are evil. With the amount of social engineering that has gone into the development of FB, who is to say how the company or the developers or (someone else) may be able to subvert it for nefarious purposes... Subtle changes may go largely unnoticed by the sheepish masses who comment on my photos, send me virtual drinks, and click on my lollipop. What then will we do when faced with an evil empire we actually helped to build? This may be just another instance of SOCIETY ADAPTS TO TECHNOLOGY: FAIL. Your mileage may vary: [YMMV].