Lorcan Dempsey (whom God preserve) posted a link to Dave Winer’s perceptive comment on deficiencies in the options Facebook allows when responding to a request for ‘friendship’. I’m likewise dissatisfied by the limited set of options available for explaining why one is friendly with a given person. If Dave Winer requested my friendship I’d gladly confirm, but my reasons for doing so (I’m a long-term admirer of his work and courage, a former user of his software — Userland blogging tools and the wonderful More! outliner — and someone who was relieved that he survived his health scare some years ago, etc.) are not permitted by the check-boxes provided by Facebook.

Another deficiency is that one can only respond to a request for ‘friendship’ by accepting, rejecting or sending a message to the person. I don’t feel like sending messages to total strangers saying, effectively, “do I know you?” A richer repertoire of responses is needed!