Facebook.com bars Gay, welcomes Hitler

Hitler is more than welcome to join the popular social networking site Facebook.com, but don't even try to create an account if your name is Gay, reported the Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday.

The newspaper found that the Web site—with a worldwide membership of more than 30 million people—does not allow people with the common surname Gay to join. The site attempts to block people from using fake names, especially those containing profanity or bigoted slurs.

The investigation came after the New Zealand newspaper Dominion Post published a story about 30-year-old Rowena Gay, who was prevented from creating an account due to her last name.

"I was pretty mystified," Gay said, according to the Brisbane Times. "I have got used to a few jokes over the years, but for a Web site to deem my name inappropriate—what is the world coming to?"

To validate Gay's claims, the Sydney Morning Herald attempted to create an account using the name. "Please enter a legitimate name," the Web site prompted. And while Facebook.com would not accept Gay, it allowed the newspaper to join using the surname Hitler.

Facebook spokesman Matt Hicks wrote in an e-mail to The Advocate that the site "is based on real people making real-world connections. To ensure that people do not register with fake names or identities, Facebook has blocked a list of common names people might use to abuse the site. We recognize that many of these names can also be legitimate, and we allow users to register with them if they write to our customer service department and verify their real name."

Duncan Gay, deputy opposition leader in the New South Wales upper house, is the most prominent Australian with the surname, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. After he was notified of the situation, Gay told the newspaper he was "bothered" by the issue.

"That's a bit tough, it's pretty ordinary.... It bothers me to the extent that quite often when you give your name you get a twitter. People looking and smirking," Gay told the paper. "This is a continuation of that."

He mentioned to the Sydney Morning Herald that he plans to protest the Web site's decision to block the common Anglo surname. (The Advocate)