
Ask HN: Can we talk about technical details of FB? - DoreenMichele
I mostly haven&#x27;t used Facebook. I had a FB account twice under my talithamichele Gmail account. I deleted it twice, then tried to set up an account with my full name Gmail account.<p>I was soon locked out of that account. I recently managed to reactivate it, and I&#x27;m currently locked out again.<p>They asked for a photo of my face for confirmation, which I provided, then I got another &quot;fuck you&quot; message advising me they are checking my submission and I still can&#x27;t access the account.<p>I am wondering if part of the problem is I was homeless for years, mostly haven&#x27;t participated on FB and there aren&#x27;t a zillion photos of me on the internet, especially not on FB, because I haven&#x27;t lived the standard middle class life for a long time.<p>I never used FB to connect to family. I&#x27;m a former military wife. I have relatives who don&#x27;t splash their lives all over the internet because they have security clearances, etc. My mother is in her 80s and wants nothing to do with the internet. Etc etc.<p>So there may be no photos of me anywhere on FB. I&#x27;m wondering if that&#x27;s a factor in me being perpetually locked out of my account.<p>Talk to me. What do you know about FB authentication procedures?
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orliesaurus
It's a vague question, there are tons of things FB does to make sure you are
who you say you are for example:

\- They will ask for a valid photo ID of you

\- They will ask you to match pictures of "friends" you have in your account,
with their names (like a quiz)

\- They will force you to add a phone number to your account

\- They might even ask friends to verify you...

... on top of that there are many things, not one single thing, that lead your
account to be forcefully de-activated. and the steps to re-enable it are
pretty annoying, especially if you don't feel like sharing too much with FB!

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DoreenMichele
They've already got my phone number. I have no idea why they have a problem
with this account. I never had this kind of problem with my previous accounts.

~~~
orliesaurus
Maybe THAT is the problem, having multiple accounts isn't really a thing they
like at Facebook's HQ :)

~~~
DoreenMichele
Yes, that had crossed my mind.

But, to be clear, I don't have multiple accounts. As noted in my explanation,
I had one account twice under a previous email address.

I deleted it because I was best known online as _Michele in California_ and I
left California and discontinued going by Michele, which is my actual middle
name. I resumed going by Doreen, my first name.

My previous account listed me as Michele. While it is actually my name, so is
Doreen. Among other things, I felt simply starting over made more sense than
trying to deal with their _real name_ policy and explain that both names are
actually my real name, etc.

I never used Facebook that much. I never had a lot of contacts on Facebook.
I'm baffled as to why they have so much of an issue with me starting an
account under the name and email address I'm using currently online.

