So when I provide a screenshot to you and the public declaring your support for my message, what then? Would I be accused of blurring the boundaries of IC/OOC behavior?
No, I wouldn't accuse you of blurring the lines at all. If you went that obnoxiously far about it, I'd probably just make an IC post about disregarding it with an OOC disclaimer and then never "like" anything you typed again.
If people want to be that obnoxious about it and begin using it as an "IC tool" for promoting turning it into a "let's be buddies! I'll like you and you like me!" cabbage patch babies group toy, then I'll simply stop using it altogether.
Not being hostile, just making my point clear. It's an OOC mechanic and I don't see any reason to try using it from an IC perspective and if someone wants to be obnoxious about it and claim that my "liking" their post meant I was "endorsing" what they said, they'll simply never get another "like" from me. The last thing this game needs a stupid mechanic to help form even more cliques.
I think it's funny that you meantion "the INSANITY people go through to avoid player interaction" because that IS blurring IC/OOC. Players shouldn't be interacting on IC forums, characters should. If you want to interact with me as a player, use backstage, an OOC chat channel, Ventrillo or any of the other available methods to do it, but keep player interaction out of my IC forums. It's irritating enough already that it exists so that a silly conversation like this one is even possible. Besides, you're talking about "player interaction" and then trying to say that it's an IC device - that's not "player interaction" that's "charaacter interaction." I'm the one talking about player interaction and how it should stay OOC.