What Caitlin wanted did not seem that hard. She had signed up for Facebook after she married, as Caitlin Shaw. Now, to make it easier for old friends to find her, she wanted to add her maiden name. Her maiden name is Batman.
Facebook’s name-change procedure suddenly required superhuman effort.
Because after Caitlin Batman Shaw, a mental health therapist in Arlington, submitted the brief online form, she received an automated response rejecting her. The faceless gatekeepers of Facebook had decided her name could not possibly be real. Batman Shaw appealed, and was rejected. Appealed, rejected. “The process took me three weeks” and several e-mail queries, she says, before she was finally able to use her full legal name.
She can join the Yodas, the Christmases, the Beers, the Pancakes and all of the other wannabe Facebookers whose online rejections represent the latest in a lifetime of name shame. And really, what’s the point of Facebook if you can’t be yourself?
“Try making a reservation at restaurants,” says Tim Six. “I’d like a table for Six at 5 for three.” His life reads like an extended “Who’s on First?” routine, so the Springfield software developer was hardly surprised when Facebook rejected his application for an account.
