Facebook tackles invite-spam problem

Social networking sites face interesting challenges as they progress and try to grow further. The inclusion of third-party development like in Facebook's "Apps" has been largely a boon, all while becoming a problem for both the site and their users. Not long ago, the issue was copyright infringement. Now, it's spam. Or “invite spam” as it could be called. Facebook is taking exception with developers who force users of their applications to send friend invites before they can fully use the application.

On top of being plain annoying, it can also be very frustrating to many who receive these invites day in and day out. As a response, Facebook has turned the tables on developers sending warning letters and threatening to ban those who do not offer some form of opt-out or cancellation in the program that allows users to avoid sending invites. Maybe it isn't truly out of control yet, but it could get there with a myriad of Facebook users essentially acting as advertising platforms for developers.