If you make Facebook games (hell, if you PLAY Facebook games) you've heard this before.  "These games are spammy, they're always putting useless crap up on their walls, and it's incredibly annoying."  Or you've heard “these aren't games, they're just spammy cash cow Ponzi schemes built to appeal to the lowest common denominator".  Well, if you don't think they're games then I can't really help you…but I can tell you that to people who play Facebook games, these posts are not spam.  Here's why.

• 1. These posts are relevant to the people playing the game.
• 2. These posts provide bonuses to the people playing the game, such as coins, collectible items, etc.
• 3. These posts are the way that players share their achievements with friends, show off things they have earned and worked hard for.
• 4. These posts are the way that players tell each other that they're playing the same games.
• 5. These posts allow Facebook game players to find out about new games to play.
• 6. These posts are only seen by people who play that game, therefore they're likely to want to see them.
• 7. These posts can be filtered on the Games Dashboard so players can quickly find what they're looking for.
• 8. Sharing to their Facebook wall is an integral part of playing a game on Facebook. Otherwise, they could go to Kongregate and play somewhere disconnected from their social network.
• 9. These posts require explicit action by the players to share them. They click “Share", the app doesn't share by itself, players are not deceived by the game.
• 10. Players are never required to share wall posts to unlock content.

Players want to post to their wall.  Other players want to see these posts.  These are meaningful social interactions between players.  This is a legitimate channel that Facebook has provided to developers with a set list of policies to adhere to.   One person's spam is another person's treasure, and with 40% of Facebook users playing games on the social network – there is a lot of treasure happening for a lot of people.

 Author wrote this as a reference to link to people when they complain about spammy Facebook games.   Feel free to link to it if you encounter the same!

Tami Baribeau is the Senior Community Manager for ZipZapPlay. She is also the Lead Editor of feminist gaming blog The Border House, and a blogger at Games.com. She can be reached on Twitter or by email.