Protip: Always Google before you panic.

I was visting a Facebook [Fan] Page today and found an “Edit” button available to me when I clicked on the “Info” tab. So, like anyone with the curiosity of a well-seasoned web user, I clicked the button.

I suddenly had acces to edit the company’s business information, including website, hours and address. I had that sudden “something isn’t right here” feeling and sent the link to a friend. She had the same reaction.

I thought, ‘Holy crap! Does this business even know what other people can EDIT their information? I should email them!’

Then I thought, ‘Hey wait a second, I have a Fan Page and I’ve never seen such an option before. I should look into this.’

So I went to my own Page and scoured the settings and options available. There are options to allow others to post, add media and tag photos, but nothing that allows visiting users to edit information. I turned to Google for an answer, but nothing immediately surfaced.

I finally scoured the Facebook Help Center and found my answer:

Why do people see the option to edit my Page information?
On Pages that list an address and choose to display a map in the Info section, anyone viewing the Page sees an “Edit” link. This link allows people to notify Facebook of any location information that may be missing. Note that people aside from Page admins can’t edit the information that displays on your Page even though the link is labeled “Edit.”

Crisis averted. I deleted the email I had drafted to the business without sending it.

I took a closer look at the edit screen that appeared before me. At the top it is labeled “Suggest Information” and shows the contents of the fields (if they are filled in). From here one can edit, delete, and enter new information in each field and click “Save.”

Once you click save, a screen comes up thanking you for helping to improve Places and offers you the option to suggest edits for other nearby Places.

Facebook should probably find a way make it more clear that visiting users are not actually editing the Page’s information, but merely offering a suggestion to Facebook Places. (Does the Page Admin even get an alert that someone is making a suggestion?)

The “Edit” button too much resembles the “Edit Page” button that Page Admins see when they are viewing the business Page. This is misleading to both visiting users and panicky Page Admins.

Today’s lesson brought to you by The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Don’t Panic.