What Are Facebook’s Criteria for Expulsion?

My friend, the publisher Gary Pulsifer, has been kicked off Facebook — for acquiring too many friends too quickly. Apparently, they have a set rate at which you are allowed to add people, though given how many ‘friends’ added Nick Clegg after he was elected leader of the Liberal Democrats, I am surprised he hasn’t suffered the same fate! It was a politician who persuaded me I should join Facebook: Steve Webb, MP for Northavon, who early on saw its benefits for connecting with electors, especially young people. He was right, and I have found it enormously useful, not only in politics, but in journalism, academics and keeping up with friends all round the world. But now I am nervous (well, maybe that’s putting it a bit strongly). How many friends can I accept each week before I am deemed to be bootable?

Dear Mark Zuckerberg, please can you elucidate: what are Facebook’s criteria for expelling people (other than fraudsters and scammers, of course)? And shouldn’t you let genuine compulsive networkers like Gary back in?