Poke wars

Today my father posed a very good question: What does a poke mean on Facebook?
What does it mean? I couldn't even begin to answer that.

The poke, or poking, should usually be left to those with experience as poking can have detrimental effects on the recipient if done incorrectly. In the psychological sphere many questions arise: Was it necessary? Why me? Do I have to return the favor? How long must we keep poking? And finally, when is it appropriate to stop?

The most beautiful thing about poking is that you can poke someone without knowing their real name, having to say hello, or even having ever met them before. This is, of course, a double edged sword as there is always a fear of the unknown.

Here are a few rules that are integral on how to deal with any poke situation:
1. After a crazy night you always seem to discover u poked someone by mistake. And that mistake seems to haunt you everywhere you go. The most effective way to deal with an unwanted poke is to hide it and never mention it again. Don't tell your friends, they'll always know how to bring it up at some inopportune moment.

2. Ignore poking advances from people with significant others, an ex, or someone who's overeager. This never ends well.

3. Don't give in so easily, sometimes playing hard to get makes it all the better when you finally poke. Furthermore, posting slutty pictures of yourself shows that you are willing to poke, do not do this if you want to limit your poking partners or be taken seriously as a potential poker/pokee .

4. Be wary of who you poke. Realize that people know your intentions.

5. Don’t forget to practice safe poking. Don’t poke those you don’t know. You might find the person you poked to be needy and clingy…or even worse, want to poke all the time. Don’t fall into the trap. Ignore their poke and move on.

Always remember, the only way to be 100% safe is to abstain from poking completely, second is to poke with a close friend or confidant. Don't be a poke whore.

As for the poke on Facebook, I leave that open to interpretation.