There is now a petition underway to try to help Facebook see the error of its ways. Whether it pays off is anyone‘s guess, but Sister Roma‘s frustrating situation publicizes an important issue. It is often people in the public eye who choose to use a pseudonym. While this is done out of preference, it has the happy side effect of offering a degree of privacy and protection to family members. Ultimately Facebook needs to remember that it is a website — nothing more. Its approach to privacy over the years has annoyed, irritated and driven away many people, but now is the time for the network to stop throwing its weight around. If I want to be called Rebecca the One-Legged Unicorn on Facebook, why should I not be able to?

Of course, Facebook can impose whatever rules it wants to, but it should also expect to be asked to justify its policies.