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February 17, 2006, 12:14 PM ET
Policing 'Pokes'
Concerned about harassment and cyberstalking, officials at Purdue University at West Lafayette have trained police officers to handle disputes on Facebook, the popular online social network.
At the training, about 20 officers were warned about the network’s most frivolous feature—a tool that gives users the option to "poke" each other by sending brief, contentless messages. When Facebook was created, the tool was considered innocuous (if a bit mystifying). But poking has since taken on creepily flirtatious overtones, said Pablo Malavenda, Purdue’s associate dean of students, and it could even be considered a form of sexual harassment. (The Exponent)
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