Prior to the Wednesday changes, Friend Lists could be made private.

However, after the , PC World readers and others noticed that Friend Lists could no longer be protected. Then, a new privacy setting--described in the blog post--was added to protect the lists, though they were still considered "public" information by Facebook.

The blog post clarification appears to say Friend Lists can now be fully protected, but it would be help for Facebook to further clarify its position with a policy statement about Friend List privacy. This could give concerned users the assurances necessary for them to be comfortable using the service.

My take: It is concerning that, having first and then rolling them out on a test basis, that the December launch has not gone smoothly. It is heartening, however, that Facebook is willing to quickly change, and change again, to get things right with its users. Provided the company actually implements what it promises.

A Facebook senior privacy manager told me that as the service continues to expand that there will be more privacy changes as Facebook responds to new opportunities and concerns.