Myspace
I haven't said much of anything about all the Myspace brouhaha. For the record, here's what Myspace says:
Hey Everybody!
Let’s take a minute to talk about online safety. The Internet is a great place to chat, do research, and have fun. Despite all its usefulness though, it does have its “dark” side. Knowing what and what not to do online can save you a lot of grief!
Parents should know that no one under the age of fourteen is allowed to use our site. While we can’t always tell if someone is lying about their age, we try to keep them off our site. If you discover that your child is posing as someone older and using our site, please let us know. Its important to us to help you keep your child safer online....
If you’re under 14, MySpace is not the place for you. Go away. If we find out a user is under 14, we will delete his or her profile. If you’re under 14, there are other sites better suited for you. If you see anybody on MySpace who looks or says they are under 14, let us know....
Never publicly post in ANY online forum any personally identifiable information. What is personally identifiable information? It’s any personal information that could be used to find or identify you in real life. This could be such information as your real name, address, telephone number, cell number, your sports team, health club, or links to websites or other profiles that might give this information away. Even without meaning to, you can give this information away by taking a pic in front of your car with your license plate or home address showing in the photo. This information could be misused to steal your identity, guess your passwords, cyberstalk or harass you or by predators who really want to hurt you....
No matter how often you have chatted with someone or how much you think you know about them, you never really know who you are chatting with online. That cute 21 year old guy may not be cute, may not be 21 and may not be a guy!...
If you ever feel like you’re in real danger from someone online, tell someone you trust and then go directly to your local law enforcement agency. Don’t delete the message. Also, a printout won’t be enough. The police will need the live communication to check out the headers and other coding to trace the sender or poster....
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Happy Monday!
Lois Lane