To the disappointment of the drama’s fans, cable network AMC has requested social networking Web site Twitter to shut down accounts inspired by the much talked about “Mad Men.”

The respective feeds belonged to admirers of the popular show and, in the form of short text message posts, fans impersonated various “Mad Men” characters. Users could actually subscribe to daily updates of virtual Don Draper, Peggy Olson and other members of staff of the story bound advertising agency Sterling Cooper.

The problem is that Twitter’s presentation does not explain whether the feeds are authorized by the network and, in addition to this, AMC was not at all pleased about the fact that characters promoted other products apart from the drama, including the social networking Web site. As a consequence of AMC’s complaints, Twitter closed several feeds, generating virtual characters’ chitchat about being dismissed.

“It seems very quiet in the office today,” boss Bertram Cooper wrote.

“I worked hard. I did my job. But the boys at Twitter are just as churlish as the boys at Sterling Cooper. Such a pity they’re so pretty,” Peggy Olson noted, although on a brand new account, as her first feed was suspended.

However, the shutdown gave rise to numerous controversial comments, especially from Twitter fans disparaging the cable network: “Its legal maneuvering may go down as the single worst use (misuse?) of social media,” Adrants.com wrote, according to Reuters.

In spite of the fact that anybody can legally act as if he or she were a made-up character, Twitter could violate AMC’s trademark if its presentation effectively confuses the Web site’s viewers with regard to whether the accounts are authorized by the network.