I have been a freelance artist my entire career. Before the Internet ever existed I dropped my last name (professionally) because I got tired of seeing it constantly misspelled. So, for years I was simply "cecilia". By the late 1980's I began to realize that I had better learn to use a computer or I would be out of a career. So, April 12th, 1989 I bought my Amiga 2000 and spent the next year teaching myself computer animation and graphics.

I decided way back in the early 1990's to NEVER to use my family name online. Those days I was using only my Amiga to telnet, ftp and be on BBS's. The decision about my online name was made while those now working at facebook were still defecating in their diapers. I saw IMMEDIATELY that the Internet, while it was remarkable and could be a great force for good, could also have it's dangerous aspects. I wanted to protect my family. I wanted to control my public presence online. I wanted to control my privacy and my security. And only I have the right to make those decisions, NOT facebook.

During the 1990's and early 2000's I worked on HBO's "From the Earth to the Moon" (17 Emmy nominations), SciFi channel's "Frank Herbert's Dune" and "Children of Dune" - both getting special effects Emmy Awards. I include this information to show that I'm not some random bum and to explain where my Professional Name derives. What I've done during the second half of my career was special effects ("fx") or "visual effects", ergo: "cecilia fx".

I joined facebook because a high school friend wanted to "collect" everyone she ever gone to school with. That was sometime around early 2008. By then I was semi-retired. While I wasn't on facebook for career ambitions I did end up working with a mutual friend on his film. I only bring this up because during this project I stupidly uploaded my effects shots on facebook. They were Public and I linked them on another site. Those videos were no longer available when facebook blocked me.

And so we come to the moment - January 9-10, 2015 - that my facebook account was blocked for no reason that I can figure out. Friends and family immediately reacted, asking if I had removed myself from facebook. Frankly, facebook owes THEM an apology. After I noticed my facebook videos could no longer be accessed I had to spend A LOT OF TIME finding copies of those videos or re-rendering them in some cases. I then uploaded those to YouTube so I could replace those dead links. Well, I learned MY lesson. NEVER trust facebook with any information that I really need to use. It can hold copies, but nothing else.

Various sites use a facebook plugin for comments making it impossible for me to fully use those sites while I was blocked. I had originally logged into Indiegogo and Goodreads via facebook, now my info was unavailable to me. Now I had to log in using other means. From Now on, I will NEVER use facebook to log into ANY site. Can't risk it.

During those three months when I tried to get back on. facebook kept asking me for a real "last name". I refused, every time. Facebook is Not a bank, not the government and I will not be sharing my SS# or my DNA.

During this time away from facebook I discovered Gabhan Mac A Ghobhainn, who had been blocked from facebook because he was using the Scottish Gaelic spelling of his name. He started a petition to encourage facebook to use a "Scottish Gaelic Option" so names like his could be included. Further research lead me to members of American Indian tribes having their names rejected by facebook's stupid "real name" policy. And then there's members of the LGBT community and the horrible abuse they have suffered! During this research I was beginning to see the Big Picture. Facebook is allowing bullies to control the conversation. It's clear that any bully who objects to you for whatever reason will simply report your account and if your name isn't some white, middle class 'john smith' vanilla white bland nothing your account goes into the facebook 'real name' hell hole. BLOCKED The bullies know this and take full advantage, reporting accounts with glee. This is incredibly wrong on so many levels. I'm not asking for special treatment. I'm insisting on respect. And it's clear that facebook doesn't respect anyone, no matter what they claim.

While I was reading about Gabhan Mac A Ghobhainn's difficulties getting facebook to acknowledge his REAL NAME, I wondered if this was facebook's version of The Highland Clearances. You can look it up for the details but the main point is that one political group made it illegal for another group to wear their own clothes, speak their own language, play their own music and live on their own lands. They made it impossible for people to BE THEMSELVES. Is facebook allowing the bullies to enact a kind of virtual Clearances via that moronic 'real name' policy? I'm not trying to be dramatic here. But I have a right to MY name and no one - especially some dopey web site - has the right to dictate what MY NAME is.

So, April 14, 2015 - I was allowed to return to facebook without so much as a 'by your leave'. I just logged in as if nothing had happened. Later that day I received an email from facebook with a lame apology,

Immediately, I made my page private - only seen by friends. I no longer post in public. All racists/crazy posts I happen to see I put that facebook member on my block list, which now is in the hundreds. I can't take the risk that some nut will object to one of my comments and go ballistic, reporting my account again. I feel entirely unsafe. I can't talk freely. I don't feel comfortable on facebook at all. However, I do feel free to say anything on G+, where I have been a member since it was invite only. I spend way more time on G+, which is better organized, easier to use and makes way more sense. But mostly, it's because I feel comfortable to say anything I want.

I never knew why I was blocked. I had no recourse, and no way to directly contact facebook. There was only help from "Lil Miss Hot Mess" - so Thank You, profusely. I will never again fully use facebook. I am only there because friends and relatives from overseas use it. However, I'll never stop fighting this moronic 'real name' policy because it is inherently unfair. I've seen the facebook proclamations about insisting on "authentic" names. The problem is how in the hell do they think they can judge what an authentic name is? Are they going to interview all the millions of facebook members personally? #‎MyNameIs‬ none of your business, facebook.

http://www.mynameiscampaign.org/

A Response To Zuck

Woman, 30, changes name to log in to Facebook

Germany Regulator Forces Facebook to Allow Fake Names

#FBF: One Year Later, Facebook Fails to Fix Its Biased Real Names Policy

Facebook: I want out

latest news: does this really mean anything?
Facebook changes 'Real Name' policy rules after public outcry

The drag queen who took on Facebook isn't celebrating her victory yet

Manipulating facebook algorithms by bullies also occurs when "anti-vaxxers" want to shut down the conversation coming from pro science individuals. And this has been going on for many years now.