Meta just suspended the Facebook account of Neal Stephenson

The Hacker News discussion revolves around several key themes, primarily stemming from a Facebook account suspension and broader commentary on Meta's practices and the social media landscape.

Meta's Account Suspension and Irony

A central point of discussion is Meta's suspension of the Facebook account belonging to Neal Stephenson, the author who coined the term "metaverse" in his seminal cyberpunk novel Snow Crash. The irony of this situation is not lost on the participants, especially given Stephenson's literary contributions to the conceptualization of virtual worlds.

• "SLHamlet" directly states the situation: "Today in 'you can’t make this stuff up,' Meta has suspended my Facebook account because they suspect me of impersonating someone noteworthy".
• "jdlshore" highlights the inherent irony: "For people missing the irony here, the term “metaverse,” that Meta is named after, was coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 book “Snow Crash.”"
• "perihelions" echoes this sentiment: "What an ironic error to happen to a creator of cyberpunk dystopia. And also to Mr. Stephenson."
• "AIorNot" humorously speculates: "well its obvious a rogue AI at Meta has gained awareness and just fired the first shot of the simulacrum wars by taking out Stephenson."
• "simpaticoder" ponders the possibility of malicious intent or a genuine mistake: "On one level this is amusing. But what if both accounts are owned by the same person impersonating Neal Stephenson? My understanding was that he was not on any social media. Did that change at some point?"

Disconnect Between Meta's Ambitions and Reality

Multiple commenters express skepticism about Meta's stated ambitions in building the metaverse, drawing parallels to literary works and questioning the actual understanding and execution by Meta's leadership.

• "SLHamlet" shares insights from interviews: "This is not an anomaly, by the way. I've interviewed many multiple Meta staffers (including senior leaders), and can find little evidence that leadership actually read "Snow Crash" and/or even cared about virtual worlds. Even after spending tens of billions claiming they were building the Metaverse."
• "bsenftner" criticizes Meta's intellectual grounding: "They are still quoting Fountainhead and thinking they are intellectuals."
• "wmf" offers an alternative literary comparison for Meta's strategy: "Meta's recent strategy is more reminiscent of Rainbows End."
• "lenerdenator" dismisses the value of certain academic pursuits for startup success: "There's precious little value for those types to read stuff like "Snow Crash"." This commenter further elaborates on how the current tech culture prioritizes rapid growth and funding over deep intellectual engagement with the potential consequences of technology.

Meta's Support and Account Policies

Several users describe negative experiences with Meta's customer support and the opaque nature of their account policies, suggesting a systemic issue within the company.

• "copacopab" details a prolonged lockout: "I have been locked out of my account for 5+ months -- and customer support has been a Kafkaesque nightmare. I am still locked out. (Oh, and I've spent $1M+ in paid META ads...)"
• "ralphington" wryly comments on "copacopab's" predicament: "You seem to have funded your own demise".
• "NKosmatos" generalizes the problem company-wide: "The problem with all big companies nowadays... Getting to a real (competent) support person that can help is almost impossible :-(".
• "diego" shares a specific issue with regional AI features and account limitations: "Meta has extremely opaque account policies. For example, I bought the Meta Raybans a month ago. It kept telling me the AI features were not available in my region, even though I am in San Francisco... I ended up creating a brand new account just for that, and it worked fine. No idea why it would work with a brand new account and not with my old account in good standing, never suspended or warned about anything."

Broader Social Media Landscape and Fragmentation

The discussion expands to encompass the general state of social media platforms, including their control over communities and the emergence of alternative, niche platforms.

• "michaelbuckbee" points out the persistent influence of Facebook in local communities: "As someone in the burbs + middle america, Facebook still has a frustrating grip on many of the community social communications which tend to take place in private Facebook groups (Girl Scouts, community HOA, etc.)".
• "VWWHFSfQ" observes the cross-platform nature of the metaverse controversy and the general state of social media: "And then went straight over to X, another social media silo, to post that his other social media account at the other silo was banned. What a world we live in."
• "petcat" characterizes this as a widespread issue: "Megacorp turf wars. It's silos all the way down."
• "echelon" critiques niche platforms for mainstream adoption: "That's designed for nerds. Like Matrix and the other platforms that will never see mainstream adoption because they lack product management and crazy distribution. Normie design and hyper distribution always win."
• "jasonvorhe" suggests an alternative in nostr, which "echelon" dismisses.
• "the_real_cher" offers a bleak assessment of X (formerly Twitter): "X is pretty lenient with the banning though. It seems like the best of the worst."

Cultural References to Speculative Fiction

Several commenters draw parallels between the current situation and popular speculative fiction works, particularly those dealing with technology, dystopia, and virtual worlds.

• "SLHamlet" initially references Snow Crash, the book that coined "metaverse."
• "wmf" mentions Rainbows End (also by Neal Stephenson).
• "bsenftner" uses the term "Fountainhead" in a critical context, suggesting an intellectual posturing.
• "timeon" and "lemonberry" fondly recall Shadowrun, a classic cyberpunk tabletop role-playing game.
• "debo_" mentions using Shadowrun as inspiration for Cities Without Number, another tabletop RPG.
• "solardev" and "lemonberry" briefly discuss Shadowrun video games and earlier computing experiences like The Oregon Trail.
• "AIorNot" and "zelias" engage in a humorous exchange about AIs and countermeasures, referencing the "simulacrum wars" and the concept of a "counter-AI."