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Post by vic on Mar 7, 2006 5:21:31 GMT -8
I'll feel better when I'm here as a member.
vic
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Post by reallybes on Mar 7, 2006 6:50:04 GMT -8
Vic and Amie,
I just read this entire thread and I can sympathize with your frustration. I just wanted to let you guys know that I think you're both great for waiting for this long and still being active members (even if you arent official members yet!) of this very special community that we have all created as a family. Just want to let you know that everyone welcomes you here always. I know you guys are real patient for waiting and it shows that you both are mature beyond your years. We love you both so don't be afraid to ask anything from us!
Bes
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Post by SunshineGerbils on Jun 21, 2006 11:20:42 GMT -8
Do you know that website Myspace? that site has so many young girls being victimized by some weird old guyz. I think they should shut down that site. also, about this whole proboards thing about being 13 yrs and older, yeah well, my sister who is 11 years old goes on forims like these and pretends to be 14! I yell at her all the time that she is breaking a law or rule or something but she too stubborn. but luckily i managed to get her off two forums. one more to go.......
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Post by RitzieAnn on Jun 21, 2006 12:38:04 GMT -8
This is totally off topic you guys.... but i believe that the protection of children on the internet is up to the parents. So... Myspace- yeah, that's not Tom's fault- if people are dumb and let them selves become victims- then so be it. nobody requires this personal information to be shown, and nobody HAS to share it.... they chose to, so there for, they get them selves into trouble. And sorry Sunshine, but if your 11 year old sister is going to share information, then she is asking for whatever she gets.
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Post by pepandmax on Jun 21, 2006 18:53:16 GMT -8
This is totally off topic you guys.... but i believe that the protection of children on the internet is up to the parents. So... Myspace- yeah, that's not Tom's fault- if people are dumb and let them selves become victims- then so be it. nobody requires this personal information to be shown, and nobody HAS to share it.... they chose to, so there for, they get them selves into trouble. And sorry Sunshine, but if your 11 year old sister is going to share information, then she is asking for whatever she gets. That's an interesting way to view it! I also agree that supervision of children is the responsibility of parents, in terms of dealing with strangers, knowing how to handle an inappropriate situation, etc. One thing that makes the internet different, however, is that it is very easy to feel anonymous and safe. "Hey, I'm sitting here in my computer room by myself, safe, so what can be so bad? The things I post show up on my screen here, and that's it." Unfortunately, it's difficult for most young people to really understand exactly how public the internet is, because they are still sitting safe and sound in their parents' home. In my opinion, it's not quite right to say "they get what they ask for," because the second half of that statement is "and they don't understand what they're asking for." I just have a hard time writing off someone because they do something dumb. While I do agree that supervision should be primarily the parents' responsibility, I'm also pragmatic. Let's face it: the average 13 year old can run circles around his parents when it comes to computer stuff, so it is often the child teaching the parent, and not the other way around. In other cases, sadly the parents just don't care. So, I think of the extra rules on MySpace and Proboards as a "safety net" to catch those young people that inevitably will put themselves into a dangerous situation. It doesn't affect smart young people who already know how to handle themselves (like Amie & Vic ).
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Post by kimsgerbils on Jun 22, 2006 1:20:29 GMT -8
I've actually been going on the internet on my own since I was 8... I'm 17 now (18 in 6 mo's) but I've always had common sense... My site has some gerbil photos (and I need to update it) www.kimsgerbils.com The next few months will fly by Amie and Vic.. don't worry
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Post by RitzieAnn on Jun 22, 2006 10:05:36 GMT -8
common sense should be taught, but if an individual wants to be dumb, then that choice is up to them. My brother is 15, and he still has to ask for permission to use the internet. (personally I think this is rediculiors) but they know all the sites he goes to, and they pay attention. That is a parents responsibility. And I think it's fine for places to make age limits (like Proboards), but if an individual lies abou their age and becomes victim to something, then that is their problem. Nobody else can be blamed. There was this story in our local news a few years back about this girl who met a guy her age on a chat room. They started chatting, and emailing... then writing letters too. Then he decieded to ask for *pictures* (...yeah, 'those' kind of pictures...) she said ok and took pictures of herself in the mirror and then he sent her some pictures of him. There was one of his young face, but that was all you saw in the picture... and the other pictures were obvious that he was NOT her age. However, she was young, and had never seen those thing before. They had made plans to meet, and her parents knew she was meeting a friend from the internet at the mall (well, it was some place very public) But her mom found the pictures, and freaked out- that does NOT belong to a 16 year old! And this guy had their address, too. There was a HUGE ordeal. Who's fault is this? Now, at this age, the parents shouldn't have to be right over you shoulder, but come on! So who's going to tell me that this girl didn't know better than to give her home address away to some guy she didn't know on the internet? And if for some strange reason she didn't know better, then who's responsibiliity is that?? If I remembered correctly, they tried to blame it on the chat room host and say it was THEIR fault that their daughter was victimised and felt forced to send nude photos to some creapy man! I don't want to freak you out Amie and Vic, but DON"T give your personal information on the internet. And age rules (and other rules) are here for users protection, no matter what their age is. Now, I know I'm sure I irritated some people, but really I"m not worried about that. My main point is that if something happens because a rule was broken, then an individual has only them self to blame. the internet is a 'use at your own risk' place. I don't like when people do something dumb and then blame the host/company or what ever. Like that lady who sued McDonalds because she was driving and spilt hot coffee on her lap. She said it was McDonalds fault because their coffee was too hot.
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Post by doomgerbiluk on Jun 22, 2006 11:21:40 GMT -8
As a youth worker I work with young people using the internet and msn. We stress internet safety, not giving out personal details, not filling out forms, not clicking on pop-ups etc etc but still one of our young people gave a telephone number out and got nasty phone calls!!! Internet searches are another issue. Googling supposingly harmless subjects can produce adult pictures, sometimes porn dealers 'steal' popular URLs etc. The internet is just liek the real world, most people are ordinary, decent folk but sadly there are nasty individuals out there too.
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Post by pepandmax on Jun 22, 2006 12:30:28 GMT -8
There was this story in our local news a few years back about this girl who met a guy her age on a chat room. Out of curiosity, how old was the girl? I'm talking about protections for kids 14 and under, not high schoolers. There is a difference between a 16 year old girl who does something like that (STUPID GIRL) and an 11 year old girl that does something like that. The 11 year old isn't stupid, she's acting her age. No one "wants" to be dumb, they simply don't know. If her parents fail to teach her about the benefits and costs of using the internet, should she suffer the consequences for her parents' failures? I do agree that if a kid lies about his age to access a website, then there's nothing that the web host/ ISP can do to stop that. Since the ISP acted in good faith, they shouldn't be held liable. Sometimes I think that computers should come with mandatory training, or a "how to use a computer and the internet SAFELY" CD or something. Like, people who don't protect their computers get tons of viruses, and then the viruses replicate themselves and send themselves out using the infected computer. If people knew what they were doing, we wouldn't have to deal with so much junk, because it wouldn't spread via people's ignorance. If people knew not to respond to phishing emails, then we wouldn't have to deal with so much identity theft. Etc. Anyway, I hope that clarifies my position
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Post by nibblesanddigger on Jun 23, 2006 0:07:13 GMT -8
well said pepandmax
Kids will be kids, I know I was anyway. I don't think it's fair to hold children 100% accountable for their actions. Good parenting and guidance is one thing, intelligence in a child is another, but even with both, kids still manage to find ways to get themselves in trouble, or look for the ways even. And as doom (may I call you doom? lol) said the internet has it's scary places, and people who know how to manipulate the system, and how to manipulate people. We can't expect kids to do everything right, nor expect them not to be drawn to something that holds so many forbidden things as the internet. We need these kinds of filters to try and keep kids from giving away too much of their info/innocence, but sadly, the kids that want to get into trouble will always find a way. Lying about your age on the internet isn't exactly hard. I hope that someday, they will find a way to make the web a bit more child friendly.
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Post by raggyheed on Oct 29, 2006 10:37:35 GMT -8
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Post by Shooting Star on Oct 29, 2006 17:58:04 GMT -8
All the stuff about internet safety, etc. reminded me of an article we were discussing in class a couple weeks ago. It was about how a middle-school girl was being "harrassed" on Myspace (being called names and stuff, not sexual harrassment), because kids from her school liked to make fun of her. The general consensus was: ...So? I mean, come on. That's an advantage of the internet; if someone's calling you names, you block them. You sign off. You get another account or whatever, if it comes to that. If she decides to go read these mean posts every day on a Myspace she runs, that's her problem. Slight segue, but it just called the article to mind. In an attempt to make this more on-topic, my photobucket account is here: s80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/Shootingstar_gerbils/The organizational system makes very little sense, even to me, so just wander around, lol. ;D
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Post by raggyheed on Nov 2, 2006 14:59:35 GMT -8
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