Suppose the first question that comes to mind is whether or not a greater focus on gaming on Facebook would scare off their core user base.

Facebook just needs to create a public 'game friends' area that allows you to add game friends but not into your personal friends. You can do this with tools but it is cumbersome. They simply need to separate out the private real friends from your public game friends. The two forces are pulling in opposite directions.

@Ryan, That is a really good idea. Unfortunately, I don't see Facebook doing that. They really don't take gaming all that seriously. They still don't have a favorite games category on the info tab.

I thought they were going to corral the game updates and notifications but that hasn't actually happened. They are really dragging their feet to integrate gaming into the website.

I think a "Facebook Games Portal" would be very cool. You could have all your "game friends" there, a gaming wall with all those doggone Farmville and Mafia Wars posts, and you'd keep from alienating any non-gamer Facebook users (assuming it's an additional signup from normal Facebook).

And it should go hand-in-hand with Xbox Live. I want my Facebook to show what I'm playing, what my Xbox Live gamerscore is, AND what my Facebook gamerscore is.

But yeah, I agree with Ephriam. Facebook seems to drag a bit when it comes to useful updates.

"I think social gaming can end up being the few real consumer experiences on the web"

I read over this quote a few times and couldn't puzzle out what he's saying here. Can anyone help me out?

It saddens me that this odious individual has somehow legitimized his appearance enough to be taken seriously by the developer community.

Here's what he had to say for himself last year:
http://techcrunch.com/2009/11/06/zynga-scamville-mark-pinkus-faceboo/

Suppose the first question that comes to mind is whether or not a greater focus on gaming on Facebook would scare off their core user base.
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It would for me! As a long time user of FB I am getting sick of it.
Can someone tell me how to remove all the stupid event invites, and other notifications I get? I don't want any of them!

Facebook gaming is ridiculously bland. I tried playing Farmville, but it just bored me to death. It was like playing a stripped down version of Animal Crossing, without the fun.

I'm one of those gamers that has yet to experience the Facebook gaming scene. I have friends that play Mafia Wars and Farm Ville and I get upset that they crowd out the status updates to the point that you can find out what your friends did that day. Further more I have friends that just look at the News feeds and not the individual's page. It should be just tabbed. Status updates, News feeds, Popular Conversations, External Link updates, and Social Game updates.

@Fiorentino I, Anwar Wilkerson: On your wall, click on the name of an App, which will take you to it's main news page (not the game itself). Then, on the left side, there is a button for "Block Application".

You need to do this for each app you run across, but eventually you should find that posts about random terrible apps should be at a minimum, as only new apps will ever be visible (and then you block it and they aren't anymore).

Robert Gill: Farmville is one of the first of it's kind, and I find it bloody terribly myself. Cafe World has it's charm, though it wants you to plan your day around it (which is lame), but I do enjoy Mafia Wars due to my terrible addiction to character progression. However, these games only really shine when you have friends to interact with, though.

Crossroad and dilemma, to scam or not to scam, there is the question.