Why would I get blocked from sending messages?

I just got a block on my account with this warning:

Block! You are engaging in behaviour that may be considered annoying or abusive by other users.

You have been blocked from sending messages because you repeatedly misused this feature. This block will last anywhere from a few hours to a few days. When you are allowed to reuse this feature, please proceed with caution. Further misuse may result in your account being permanently disabled. For further information, please visit our FAQ page.

I really can't understand it. Apart from chat I've only sent one message! (Not including messages attached to friend requests - and surely sending a message on a friend request, to someone I know is alright, isn't it? It's not like I've sent out hundreds of friend requests to complete strangers, just to personal friends, maybe 40 all up.)

What happened was I clicked on a message that a friend had sent me, so I could read it again, and instantly got the Block warning. I wasn't even trying to send a message - just read one that had been sent to me.

I'm very new to facebook - only been on it for a week or so. Does this block also mean that I can't post on my own pages? Or post on pages of my friends? I'm scared now to do anything, since the FAQ page they sent me to doesn't doesn't make it at all clear why I should get blocked.

Since you did not adhere to previous warnings, a temporary block was set on your account. Here's what you should keep in mind about your block:

This temporary block will last anywhere from a few hours to a few days.
Attempting to use this feature while you are blocked can extend the block.
We cannot lift this block for any reason, so please be patient and refrain from using this feature for a few days while waiting for this block to be removed.
Once you are allowed to use this feature again, you must significantly slow down or stop this behavior. Further misuse of site features may result in more blocks or your account being permanently disabled.

I've bolded the bit I don't understand: I have had NO warnings about sending messages. None. If I had had a warning, I would, of course, have sought advice about it here.

So can anybody tell me what I've done wrong? Is it all the messages on the friend requests? I know there's nothing I can do about the block, and I'll just have to wait until it's unblocked, but how should I proceed from here?

Thanks!


Moved from Hacked to Profile and In box as they can still log into Facebook

I note you also have this thread running on which you have also encountered problems

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

For the time being you will not be able to access Facebook

Since you did not adhere to previous warnings, a temporary block was set on your account. Here's what you should keep in mind about your block:

This temporary block will last anywhere from a few hours to a few days.
Attempting to use this feature while you are blocked can extend the block.
We cannot lift this block for any reason, so please be patient and refrain from using this feature for a few days while waiting for this block to be removed.
Once you are allowed to use this feature again, you must significantly slow down or stop this behavior. Further misuse of site features may result in more blocks or your account being permanently disabled.

Can you still log into Facebook ?

Ruby wrote:I note you also have this thread running on which you have also encountered problems

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

For the time being you will not be able to access Facebook

Since you did not adhere to previous warnings, a temporary block was set on your account. Here's what you should keep in mind about your block:

This temporary block will last anywhere from a few hours to a few days.
Attempting to use this feature while you are blocked can extend the block.
We cannot lift this block for any reason, so please be patient and refrain from using this feature for a few days while waiting for this block to be removed.
Once you are allowed to use this feature again, you must significantly slow down or stop this behavior. Further misuse of site features may result in more blocks or your account being permanently disabled.

Can you still log into Facebook ?

Yes, I can still log in, but I'm so new to facebook that I don't know whether it is safe for me to even post to my own wall, let alone on my friends' walls. Can I? I've only been blocked from Messaging - is a post a Message?

The other thing - is Chat a Message? I know it gets saved in your Message page. I had a long chat just before I got Blocked - could each Chat entry have been considered a Message?

And I've got 11 messages waiting for me in Messages, including on from an old friend I haven't seen in 30 years - I don't know if it's safe even to read it! I know it's not safe to reply.

I don't know how long the block will be - presumably facebook will inform me when it's over by email - or do I just get a pop up?

Thanks for your help - can anyone answer my questions definitively?