I don't know either.

I logged in from a few different IPs too - my own wifi, my network 3g, my work's wifi, friends wifi etc. I logged in from different countries too.

I don't know what triggered them to close off my account, and I don't know what the final resolution will be. However if you don't have a name on your Facebook account that you can prove with government issued ID is yours then you face the possibility of losing the whole thing and being unable to get it back.

I think assuming your circumstances must be different to mine and that's why you don't need to worry is hubris - but it's up to you to make your own mind up, I'm satisfying my conscience by warning people about what happened to mine.

Sweet, you said "hubris". Thank you for making my day.

The day that happens is the day I leave Galaxy Legion for good...

...seriously Dan... you need to find some way for us to log into Galaxy Legion without using FB.

So, Facebook has a thing called "Verifying" your account. You can do it by providing a mobile phone number. Then they will send you a text message with a confirmation code which you enter on the website. If you do that, you will be "verified" and don't have to worry about being locked out like this. Uploading your ID is an alternate method for people who (for one reason or another) can't get text messages or who try to use the same number to "verify" multiple accounts.

IF (and I'm not making any accusations or anything - just providing info), IF you need to get a "new" number to verify an account, either because you don't have a cell phone to begin with or because that phone is already tied to another account, you can go get a Google Voice phone number and use that as your "mobile" number to verify. Google voice numbers can now accept text messages.

What if 2 people in the same household "share" a phone? They don't care. Just like Dan doesn't care that people share IPs. One verified phone number per account and you'll be golden.

Facebook doesn't really care about your name. They just want your UNIQUE phone number. They make money by selling consumer contact/demographic information and targeted ads. They want to be able to tell their customers that they sell "verified" information, that's all there is to it.

Once it gets to the point where you are locked out like I am, the only thing Facebook lets you do is log in, which takes you to a captcha and after that you have the option to upload a scanned image of government issued ID.

By that point you can't change your name, or enter a phone number - and their wording says "If this account reflects your real name and personal information, please help us verify it."

Since mine doesn't reflect my real name or personal information I suspect I'm stuffed. But I'll need to wait and see what they reply to the passport image I sent.

It's not possible to add a mobile phone to your account while it is locked.

Right here: https://www.facebook.com/help/385569904840341 under "Why do I need to upload and send my ID?", it says:

"In most cases, the easiest way to confirm your identity is to follow the on-screen steps to enter your mobile phone number and request a code.

If can't verify your account using your mobile number, you'll need to provide a copy of your photo ID. This could be a scanned copy or a close-up photo you've taken. We'll permanently delete this document after we resolve your issue."

On that same page, there is a list of acceptable documentation under "What types of ID do you accept?".

All you need to do is produce a document with the information they need. Some of the items in the non-government list seem easy to create on demand (for example, "Mail" or "Permit", "School Record", "Employment Verification") with any name and date of birth of one's choosing.

If I needed a utility bill, for example, with a different name, I could login to Rocky Mountain Power's website (thats my power company), go to the page showing my bill, use Chrome developer tools to edit the page source, then print the page as a PDF. That's if I needed to. My account is "verified" by mobile number, but if it wasn't, I wouldn't have any problems providing any documentation they wanted.

Rather than try to fake up a gym membership card for "Steve Steve" I chose to submit my real passport which has of course a different name.

Perhaps an alternative for people who view this thread is to use a fake name, but a plausible one. I don't know of anyone who does that at the moment, people usually pick an ingame name, or nickname.

As for the phone number thing, again you cannot enter a phone number while the account is locked.

Well, you should be good to go then. Let us know how it goes.

My advice is more for others who use more than one account. Not because I condone that behavior, but because I don't want half of GL to be blocked out at some point for not knowing how to deal with the verification process.

It'd be awesome if you legally changed your name Steve Steve but still sorry you're in this situation.

And the prize for the winning solution goes to...

My Facebook was inexplicably unblocked. My only guess is that it was exactly one week later.

I've taken the opportunity to correct my Facebook name to my real name.

As I don't know why they unblocked me I wonder if it was an accident - did they give me a 7 day temporary ban which they let expire by mistake?

In any case I've now set my name properly to stop this happening again... and I'll never know if I was unlucky or lucky here.

lucky.