Today, after logging in to FarmVille I had a huge surprise: the gift page was down, and Zynga posted an announcement that we’ll no longer be able to send gifts to our neighbors the “old way”. I knew something like this was coming, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon.

So… why can’t we send gifts in FarmVille anymore?
The answer is pretty simple – Facebook is changing the way applications can be used and therefore we won’t get as much “spam” as before, like notes regarding lost cows and stuff like that – even if we love the bonuses we get from them, there are quite a few people who are annoyed by these FarmVille updates.

Will we be able to still send FarmVille gifts?
Zynga’s announcement reads: “In the coming months, we will start sending gifts and neighbor requests in e-mails. Sign up for e-mails today to make sure you take advantage of these NEW FEATURES and MORE!”
Basically, this means that starting today, February 23, we’ll still be able to send gifts via Facebook, but soon this will become an e-mail only feature, meaning that only those who agree to receive e-mails from Zynga about FarmVille will be allowed to get the freebies from the neighbors.

This certainly makes things a lot more complicated, so I think we should enjoy our social games as we did until now, and while we still can – these changes will certainly make a lot of people quit playing the social games on FarmVille or at least be less active…

So, why is Zynga doing this to us all?
Let me repeat: it’s not Zynga who’s doing this, but Facebook. There is a new set of rules that won’t allow applications to communicate with their users as they did before, the only way of doing so will be by e-mail. So not only FarmVille will require your e-mail to keep you updated and fill your giftbox, but ALL the other applications you’re playing.

Pretty crazy, huh?