Facebook has passed on a letter to Arkadiusz Rzadkowolski, the developer of the browser plug-in Friendly Gaming Simplifier (FGS), which is no ordinary letter. The cease and desist letter is a request, or rather an order for the developer to remove the plug-in. Friendly Gaming Simplifier (FGS) is a very popular browser plug-in, which has been banned by Facebook. However, a petition to save the plug-in has been launched.
Facebook’s strange request for banning a plug-in was not all. The social networking giant even has banned the developer, with revoking his rights to develop anything in the future for the concerned social networking site. That might be a harsh step, as the concerns are still not detailed to everyone.
If one now visits the plug-in’s webpage, which is fgs.rzadki.eu, they would see a “403 Forbidden” error message. This is because the developer, has complied with the company’s requests to take it down.
It was noted that the developer, Rzadkowolski received a letter from the Facebook law firm, Perkins Coie, asking him to comply with the following two demands “in order to avoid further escalation of this matter”:
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Stop offering the FGS Browser Software, or any other software that interferes with Facebook’s intended limitations or impairs the proper working of Facebook.
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Cease and not access the Facebook site(s) and/or services for any reason whatsoever.
The compliance of the demand made in the letter was to be fulfilled, as the developer stated that he was “in no position” to negotiate the terms. Moreover, he noted that he “can’t afford the escalation of this matter.”
The developer’s site was taken down yesterday, removing all materials connected with FGS, and logged out from his Facebook account for the very last time.
The plug-in users got an announcement to the users from Rzadkowolski, which was definitely a sad one. It read:
I am really sorry to announce that time of FGS project has finished. After 1.5 year of providing users with a service that was meant to improve their gaming experience, I am shocked that this project ends in such an unpleasant situation as I am forced to stop it for good.
Not many still know about this plug-in, but for a Facebook games, this was an essential plug-in, which aims to improve users’ gaming experience on the social network by automating certain functions.
As the site is pulled down, the official description for the same cannot be detailed, but here is a reprint, which was available on a couple of download portals:
Friendly Gaming Simplifier is a Firefox and Google Chrome extension that simplifies the process of accepting gifts and bonuses from your Facebook Games neighbors.
Friendly Gaming Simplifier also features support for sending gifts.
For its working, the plug-in was a cross-platform add-on, working on Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. The requirements on the same being, Google Chrome or Firefox 4 to 9 and a Facebook account.
Facebook’s view on the same was noted as a Facebook spokesperson said, “We take action against apps that violate our platform policies in order to maintain a trustworthy experience for users.” He further stated, “We have nothing further to share about this specific issue.”