'Friend-Watch' Facebook app tells you who deletes you

A new Facebook app is called "Friend-Watch," but it may be better dubbed "Unfriend-Watch." It monitors your list of Facebook friends, letting you know about people who delete, block or unblock you. It also lets you know when people change their name and add you as a friend and keeps some stats tied to your friend counts, such as the percent of female vs. male friends.

All of that sounds good for those who really need or want to know that info. But you not only learn who deletes you — your remaining friends will also know when you delete someone, unless you change the default setting in the app, according to TechCrunch:

... the app defaults to automatically posting to your wall when you “unfriend” someone. That may not be something you want to advertise. To change this, you’ll need to head into the app’s Settings section and switch that to “off” by hitting the “Toggle” link. You may want to toggle off the daily summary email.

The app is from Andrew McGrath who also came up with another Facebook app, "Who Isn't My Friend?" which was rejected by the social network (it notified you when someone unfriended you). For "Friend-Watch," McGrath told TechCrunch, he received Facebook's blessing.

Attempts to try out the app Tuesday were fruitless, with one person associated with the app saying that Facebook is "currently experiencing API issues ... Friend-Watch will be back online as soon as these issues are resolved, we're sorry for the inconvenience."

If you feel like trying it out, let us know what you think, and what your friends — or maybe, former friends — think as well.

— Via TechCrunch

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No sexy girls please, China tells online game fair

SHANGHAI | Thu Jul 28, 2011 11:53pm EDT

SHANGHAI (Reuters Life!) - Hemlines are a little longer at this year's annual online gaming fair in Shanghai, as companies take to heart a government directive against "vulgarity," a Chinese newspaper reported on Friday.

The ChinaJoy Expo, an annual online game showcase, is well-known for its "spicy girls" who dress up in hot pants and bras to dance and pose at company booths.

But a recent government crackdown on "vulgarity" in the online games sector is forcing the girls to cover up, the Shanghai Daily said.

"The length of my dress is longer than before," said Zhou, a model who has been a ChinaJoy showgirl twice.

The new policy prohibits costumes that show more than two-thirds of a showgirl's back and bans the girls from sticking printed logos on "sensitive positions" like over their breasts, the paper reported.

Some online games companies feared the change would lessen the attractiveness of the expo given that the girls are as much a draw for men as are the games on display, reported the paper.

"To be honest, I came here largely for spicy girls," said Xaiver Du, a college student and online gaming fan.

"I'm satisfied with the female models for this year's ChinaJoy ... I care more about them rather than only sexy clothing," Du said.

The government frequently launches campaigns against what it sees as obscene and base behavior -- including once banning "sexually provocative sounds" on television -- but to little apparent effect.

Scantily-clad women promoting drinks are a feature of many bars in cosmopolitan Shanghai and capital city Beijing, and pornography is widely available online and on pirated DVDs.

(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Ben Blanchard and Daniel Magnowski)

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