Zuckerberg's unblockability is not a long-standing feature. As the anonymous founder of blockzuck.com wrote in an e-mail to Gawker, "Until very recently, it *was* possible to block him." Blockzuck.com would know, because Blockzuck was created to advance that very specific cause cause: Getting Facebookers to block Zuckerberg as a protest against the site's laxity about user privacy. But, the Blockzuck person tells Gawker, Zuckerberg's putting himself in "God mode" was "much more interesting than my original lame idea, so I updated the site to reflect that."
Update, 3:45 p.m.: Maybe the Blockzuck campaign worked, after all! Says a Facebook spokesperson, via email:
"This error isn't specific to any one account. It's generated when a person has been blocked a certain large number of times. In very rare instances, a viral campaign will develop instructing lots of people to all wrongly block the same person. The purpose of this system is to protect the experience for people targeted by these campaigns. We're constantly working to improve our systems and are taking a closer look at this one."
At any rate, the contretemps come on the heels of Facebook Places, which has been met with dismay on the Internet, in particular because of an invasive feature that allows other users to tag you at locations without your permission -- though you can untag yourself if you have a smart phone or carry a computer with you everywhere you go.
Slate's Farhad Manjoo warned of the problems Facebook Places may cause for users last week:
"It's Friday, you've had a long week, and you'd rather have a nice quiet dinner with your husband than go out to a club with your college pal who's in town for one night. But you can't tell her that you're simply not in the mood; she won't take that well. It's better for everyone if you simply text her, 'Bummer -- got to work late!'"
Manjoo continued, "But Facebook Places makes these fibs untenable. Unless you stay at home all weekend hiding from everyone, someone will spot you and tag you, and your lie about missing the birthday dinner in order to hike the Appalachian Trail will backfire."
Lo and behold, some writer for Advertising Age tried tagging her unsuspecting friends at a casual dinner and found "the group was appalled that I could tag their locations without them knowing." Surprise, surprise! People do not like telling everyone, including potential thieves, where they are at a given moment.
Oh, and did we mention that unless you've actively changed your privacy settings, this feature is currently enabled on your Facebook page? If you are interested in disabling Facebook Places, or at least the part that allows your friends to tag your location, Lifehacker has instructions.