"American Idol" 2011 has only just debuted its online voing system -- in time for the Top 24 Girl and Guy performances -- but fans of the competition series are already claiming it "sucks."
On the Fox show's official message board, a topic called "Online Voting Sucks" was created Tuesday night after the system launched following performances by the Top 12 guys.
More than 100 viewers had already posted to the message board by Wednesday evening, many of them complaining that they had to give "American Idol" their Facebook details in order to vote for their favorite contestants.
"I want to vote for the next 'American Idol,' not run for a political office," JPaar61 wrote, after asking why "Idol" and AT&T, which sponsors the show's online voting system, needed all his information.
Another user, LanceRW, claimed he was boycotting "Idol" voting entirely because he did not know "voting on-line would require giving up my first born to AT&T."
While AT&T merely sponsors online voting, "Idol" analyzes the number of vote and verifies voters' Facebook information.
A Fox spokesperson told the Daily News via email that "the information requested by americanidol.com during the online voting process is used for 'American Idol' vote verification purposes only," a message that also pops up online before a vote is officially submitted to the website.
AT&T did return calls for comment in time for print.
While some fans created a Facebook account solely to vote on "Idol," user danskat26 reminded them that it was a "violation of Facebook's Terms of Service," to do so, but she ultimately appeared to blame the Fox series for fans' actions.
"It was deceptive of AI to not state the requirement of giving ATT access to your Facebook account and your friends list too," she wrote.
"American Idol" did issue a press release in February which explained that fans would have to log in using their Facebook accounts in order to access the show's voting system.
And some fans appear to be enjoying the new system.
One user named schipper1952 wrote on the "American Idol" message board, "you get through a lot faster than on the phone. No more busy signals . Hurray."
Meanwhile, producer Nigel Lythgoe and host Ryan Seacrest both seemed pleased with the new voting system.
"How are u guys liking online voting?? Super easy right?" Seacrest tweeted on Tuesday night. "We're getting tons on the #idol site tonight"
Lythgoe echoed Seacrest's sentiments.
"The voting on #AmericanIdol is huge this evening," he tweeted on Tuesday. "Over a million online too!!! Only halfway through the West Coast."
Online voting opens immediately following "American Idol" broadcasts, which air at 8 p.m. on Fox Wednesdays and Thursdays.
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