Facebook ‘Bug’ Turns Random Codes into Profile Names ~ Pare News

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Looking for a way to waste some time this morning on Facebook? Here’s a new bug circling around the Internet that you can try out.

If you post random numbers into the sequence @[XXX:Y] or @[XXXX:Y] as a comment or status update, a name will appear when you press enter. Just watch:

Here, I typed in “@[949:0]” as a comment:

Pressed enter and voila, Anna Redmond appeared:

The same technique will work in a status update. Here I inserted “@[4353:0]“:

And the name Rob Bateman showed up:

I should clarify, I don’t have Facebook friends named Anna Redmond or Rob Bateman, probably explaining why actual tags do not appear for these two presumed Facebook users. I also tried inserting longer strings of numbers and the output when I pressed enter was a number zero, dispelling the possibility that every Facebook user has an abbreviated number sequence associated with their name.

I also tested inserting profile ID numbers (the sequence at the end of non-vanity URLs), which resulted in a traditional name tag.

We’ve reached out to Facebook for an explanation, and will update this post if they can sort this one out.

Here’s the real question: What do you think these short codes mean? Some loopy rumors are saying they give your phone number or area code a name — that’s obviously nonsensical. Let us know what you hypothesize in the comments.

BONUS: 10 Cool Facebook Status Tips and Tricks

1. HOW TO: Add a Dislike Option to Your Status Update

"Like" buttons are everywhere on Facebook, and they're everywhere on the web. But what if you want to update your status or share something that your friends can "dislike?" We know, your friends can choose to "comment" on your post, but where's the fun in that?

The clever Status Magic Facebook app can add a dislike button to any status updates posted via the app. And if you wanted to really mix it up you can actually customize the second emotion to anything, such as "love," "hate," "disagree" or even "LOLs."

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: Facebook, Facebook bug