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Facebook tests $100 charge to message strangers, isn't a big fan of spam

Facebook raised alarm bells among some social networkers when it confirmed that it's experimenting with letting strangers message them for a fee. As we're learning, however, it's keenly aware of the ramifications if that fee is too low. The company has confirmed that it's toying with "extreme price points," such as the $100 Mashable and others have seen, to serve as a passive spam filter. Anyone who really, truly can't wait for a friend request can pay the fee, while others who'd just bombard us with dating site links will have to rely on the traditional ad route instead. Between that and a once-per-week message cap, we're worried less about cluttered inboxes and more about just who would be in dire enough straits to fork over a Benjamin for a burst of text.