Personally, I hate MySpace. The pages are ugly as sin, the users are perpetual pre-teens completely void of depth and the network is a cesspool of scams, abuse and danger. For these reasons, I don't have a MySpace page, but as the third most visited page on the web, you've got to respect the power MySpace beholds. That's why I created a page for Custom and started streaming his new tunes there last year.
I checked email tonight after a game of Trivial Pursuit in the backyard and I found this gem sitting in my inbox from hjyn___hjynxffw.rfh@message.myspace.com.
Hello,
MySpace has deleted your profile because we received a credible complaint of your violation of the MySpace Terms of Services.
Prohibited activity includes, but is not limited to:
-Any automated use of the system, such as using scripts and/or bots to add friends, send messages, etc.
-For band and filmmaker profiles, MySpace prohibits sexually suggestive imagery or any other unfair, misleading or deceptive content intended to draw traffic to the profile.
-MySpace also investigates credible complaints of copyright/trademark infringement and will delete any materials that infringe upon the intellectual property rights of third parties.
For a more thorough list of prohibited content/activity, please refer to the MySpace Terms of Service located at the bottom of MySpace.com.
If we delete your account, it cannot be reinstated.
Thank you,
MySpace.com
At first, I thought it was a piece of spam. Just in case there was some weight to it, I tabbed over to http://www.myspace.com/teamcustom where I was greeted with a cold "The account has been deleted" message. This was the real deal. Everything was wiped away, the hundreds of friends, the comments, the emails... it was as if it had never happened. The was no opportunity to appeal, nowhere to turn, no chance of getting the old account back... the account was gone for good.
We never used an illegal script or bot, Custom owns the copyright to the tunes we shared and, in my opinion, nothing on the page was overtly sexual except a few of the lyrics to "Hey Mister", which we only added eleven days ago. Check out the lyrics to "Hey Mister". Did someone complain about the F-bomb in that song? Would someone on MySpace really be offended by that? What else could it be?
I created a new account and secured that same URI, so http://www.myspace.com/teamcustom is back but we're starting from scratch. Damn MySpace and their fascist policies without recourse. To kick off the second go round for Custom's MySpace page, we're sharing one song. Wanna guess which one?
