As scammy offers bloom on Facebook, a red tide of recrimination has given the social network scene an explosive case of indigestion.
Zynga, the company that makes the popular game FarmVille, saw spinoff game FishVille -- where users tend a virtual aquarium -- briefly suspended from Facebook.
The game is back online, with Zynga blaming ad network DoubleDing, in which it has invested, for allowing companies to make disingenuous offers that bait users into signing up for expensive monthly subscription services.
Facebook now says that the company has suspended four such ad networks, and Zynga has promised not to approve any such offers until it can better patrol the waters.
As of today, FishVille is back online. But it probably won't be long until similar species of online scams evolve to populate Facebook.
Jackson West figures this is the natural order of the "every man for himself" ethos in Silicon Valley.
