My Space demands I send them a photo of myself

[astral]

in order to keep my account. This gives me the heeby-jeeby creepy-crawlies. Has this ever happened to anyone else? I had the account open, hadn't visited it in a couple months and only had a couple posts in there, but when I tried to go back in I was barred from posting or anything and my email verification wasn't working, so I sent them an email.

Here is what I have to do:
_______________________________
Hello,

In order to verify your identity, we need to receive a salute from the owner of the MySpace profile or from the party in question. A salute is a digital image or picture of you holding a handwritten sign that contains information about your MySpace account.

To create a salute, please do the following:

1. Create a handwritten sign with the word MySpace.com on it. Please also include your Friend ID number (Your friend ID is the number between "ID=" and "&mytoken", in your profile's web address/URL). If you do not have a MySpace profile/account, please include the email address that you will be sending your response from.

2. Have a digital image or picture taken of you holding the handwritten sign. Please be sure the photo is clear and the handwriting is easy to read. (If you do not have access to a digital camera, please consider the accessibility of disposable cameras and digital film processing available at most drug stores)

3. Next, reply to this email with the salute as an attachment or provide us with the web address/URL where the image has been uploaded. Please note, salutes CANNOT be hosted on a MySpace profile. Images of salutes on MySpace profiles can, and often are, easily copied and exploited by “fakers.” So for the protection of our users the salute image must be hosted on a site that requires its users to login with a username and password.

4. If we are verifying your identity because someone has created an imposter profile of you, please provide both the imposter profile friend ID number(s) and web address(es)/URL(S), along with your request to have the imposter account(s) deleted.

5. If you want to change your login information, please include what you would like your new email log in address and password to be. Please be sure that the email is not currently in use or associated with another MySpace profile. Once we receive this information, we will update your account for you.

Please understand that a salute is our only reliable means to verify identity. Without a salute, we do not have a way of knowing the true owner of the MySpace profile. Once a salute is reviewed and your identity is verified, the image will be discarded and we will proceed with your request. Unfortunately, without a salute we will not be able to grant you your request.

We hope you found this information helpful. If this message does not answer your question or address your concern, please reply to this email directly keeping the subject line and footer information intact.

For answers to frequently asked questions about MySpace, select the FAQ link at the bottom of any MySpace page. Or copy and paste http://faq.myspace.com/ into your browser’s address bar.

Thank you,
MySpace.com
---------------
_______________________________

I didn't even change my email address, and I had already used the account. I wasn't even going to post my face at my account at all, at least for awhile, until I feel like it's a comfortable thing to do, and I thought that was a matter of personal choice. Now the owner of My Space has to know what I look like in order for me to post there?

Is this normal, am I totally weird, or what?

No, I am not going to follow his directions. I guess My Space ain't the place for me but I am totally baffled as to why I was singled out like this.

I was posting about getting mold sick and how it wrecked my skin on my face. MY FACE. Duh!

Anyways, just thought posting here and finding out if this is a normal procedure might make me feel better about what happened here. Thanks ~~~!

[Rising Phoenix]

1. This happened to me.

What happened in my case is someone was trying to phish my page, or hack it or whatever. I think they caught it because someone was signing in the same time I was. I had to send them a pic with my info, and then of course change all security crap. I don't think they are singling you out.

[Jamastiene]

2. I quit going to Myspace when they demanded I use my real name

AND display it for all the world to see. Facebook is better. There aren't so many flashing graphics there. It's at least a little more private.

After a couple months away from Myspace, I've decided just not to go back at all. I really don't miss the spasmonaut crackhead flashing graphics on Myspace...or the Myspace crazies that constantly harassed me there.

[tabbycat31]

3. facebook displays your full name

which is why I don't use the site. I'd sooner give out my phone number than my last name on the internet.

I declined the myspace option to display my full name. Too invasive of my privacy.

[Jamastiene]

5. I don't use my real last name on FB.

That'd be too dangerous. The people who need to know my real last name, know it. Otherwise, I just use the name I used when I was in bands...as far as last name goes.

[Aristus]

4. You know what I'd say to MySpace, don't you?

"Demand me nothing! What you know, you know. I never will say more."

Go totally Iago on them...