I used to check Facebook constantly — on my phone, on my computer, on my friends’ phones and computers. In the beginning, I had no intention of having yet another addiction in my life; I felt that my coffee, Twitter and gadget habits were plenty, thank you. But one invitation led to another, and before I knew it, I had been friended hundreds of times — by pals, relatives, former co-workers, acquaintances, and even some people I hadn’t seen since the 5th grade.

I am extremely lucky that most of my contacts are interesting people who pass on fascinating stuff, but like everyone, I have a few “friends” who abuse the system. Do I need to know that my old roommate’s sister likes dressing her daughter and puppy interchangeably in the same outfits? Or that my 7th grade study buddy insists on telling her son she loves him on his wall. (Poor kid.) And no lie, I regularly get nearly 30 requests for everything from Mafia Wars to (Lil) Green Patch — all from one single person. No matter how often I delete/ignore these requests, I always see another batch from her the moment I log in. Now, since I’m not on there quite as much, these really pile up into a mountain of notices.

And so I thought of those guys — the “deFacers” in my midst — when I saw this little video on (you guessed it) Facebook. The site has reached 350 million+ users, so in honor of that, I give you this: The Unofficial Facebook Etiquette Manual. Okay, it’s not really, but it’s still a great vid that could practically (and hilariously) serve as one. Feel free to forward it to any deFacers who insist on bombarding you with relentless Mafia requests, pokes or invitations to their cousin’s rock shows.

Enjoy.

Man in the Box - Facebook Abuse (click on the link)