Patent and Trademark Office has awarded Apple a patent for a social network designed to fight stalking and spamming of its members. The patent governs a method for ensuring consistency in a “friend service database” The integrity of records within the system would be maintained by comparing three databases. If someone tries to friend you, for example, and you reject that request, then a “stalker counter” on that person’s database record rises by one. The effectiveness of targeting stalkers may be limited, however, because it assumes a potential stalker is a stranger.”]