The site will send out a notification to all users that haven't enabled the features yet

Apr 13, 2012 18:01 GMT  ·  By

Facebook is a Frankensteinian website, a very successful one at that, but one put together from bits and pieces, nonetheless. Various features and sections are added, or dropped, each created by a different team, each with its own particularities and its own degree of success.

Facebook's email service is not something most people have heard about, let alone used. Still, with 850 million users, at the last count, even an obscure feature is going to get quite a lot of usage.

Facebook is now working to bring a bit of coherence to the site, and maybe make more people aware that they do have a Facebook email address, by pushing those that haven't chosen one already to pick one and also set up their vanity URL.

By default, the vanity URL, technically the Facebook username, will also be used for your Facebook email address, but you can change that. Of course, if you have picked both your URL and your email address, Facebook won't bother you.

"Starting today, we're updating addresses on Facebook to make them consistent across our site. Now, the address people use to get to your timeline and send you email on Facebook will be the same," Facebook wrote.

"Updated addresses will be rolled out over the next few weeks. Note: Anyone who already selected an email address will not be affected," it added.

If you haven't chosen either a vanity URL or an email address and don't want to wait for the Facebook notification, you can do it now at facebook.com/username.

One benefit of the move, which is touted by Facebook as well, is that, after the switch, knowing someone's Facebook timeline URL is the same as knowing their Facebook email address and the other way around. Any email sent to their Facebook address will end up in their Messages box.