MANILA, Philippines ? The phenomenon that is Facebook keeps growing, what with the quizzes to take (like Sinong Male Filipino Boldstar Ka?/Which Filipino Boldstar are you?), fun applications being invented, and more contacts/friends to add.

However, being deleted from your contact?s list is very easy?all it takes is one click?so make sure that if you want to keep your friends (or feel good about yourself by having as many ?friends? as you can), practice Facebook etiquette.

There is actually a video on the topic, created by Your Tango, a community for love, sex, dating and relationship advice. Titled ?Facebook Manners and You,? the black and white short features a girl named Alice who comes home one day from work and checks her computing machine to see what her friends have been up to through Facebook, the electric friendship generator.

There she finds out that Timmy, who she has been seeing for already six months, has just changed his relationship status from ?in a relationship? to ?single.? Intriguingly, he also befriends a girl right after the status change.

Timmy just broke Facebook Manners Rule #1: Never change your status without consulting the other person.

Alice tries to clarify things with Timmy so she sends him a message, but Timmy takes forever to answer. Annoyed, she uploads snapshots of Timmy wearing her undergarments, and breaks Facebook Manners Rule #2: Don?t post embarrassing photos of other people.
Timmy sees the pictures and feeling humiliated, posts on Alice?s Wall: I can?t believe you posted those photos of me! Sorry for being such a square. Baby, are you there? By the way, it was just a regular rash.

And with that last post, Timmy breaks Facebook Manners Rule #3: Be discreet when posting messages on another?s person?s Wall.

While Alice is upset, she opts to move on and just erase Timmy?s posts. Good thing she was online to instantly erase the messages before everyone saw them. She notices, however, that Timmy has been adding all her friends, which is a violation of the Facebook Manners Rule #4: Don?t steal other people?s friends.

Fed up, Alice exacts revenge by creating a group called ?Timmy Gordon?s a Real Wet Blanket,? which describes Timmy as someone who cheats at Tic-Tac-Toe, throws like a girl, cries during ?Lassie,? breastfed until he was 13, likes interpretative dance, rarely bathes, thinks hard work is for suckers, can?t tell time, pees sitting down, has never heard of Google, wets the bed, never brushes his teeth, fears commitment, and is a communist.

With that action, Alice violates Facebook Manners Rule #5, which is ?Don?t start hate groups,? and as a result, Timmy is arrested for anti-American activity.

Alice is ashamed that she is the reason Timmy?s in prison. As the voiceover says, all of this could have been avoided by following the simple rules of Facebook etiquette. Have good Facebook manners and the electric friendship generator will be more fun for everyone.

Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=iROYzrm5SBM

Love to Facebook? E-mail the author at ninomarksablan@yahoo.com