thoughts on myspace
 

one of my friends on myspace wrote this in her blog.
i thought it was fairly interesting.
tell me your thoughts.

"Anybody happen to catch Nightline last night on ABC? In case you didn't, one of the hot topics discussed was MySpace. It is no secret to anyone who reads the newspaper or watches the 6 o'clock news that MySpace has been in the limelight because of "sexual predators" trying to "abduct and corrupt" the youth of the world. To this I say bullcrap! I see dozens of profiles a day showing 14 year old girls dressed like prostitutes, wearing four inches of make up and 32 layers of eyeliner, displaying their age as 18 years old and profile lines stating "Oh, I'm So Sexy" or "Hey There, Wanna Check Up On It?" Come on! The youth of today's world are already corrupt enough due to the undying need to be "older" than they really are. I seriously doubt there are tons of people on MySpace stalking "innocent young girls" who just happen to have tramped up profiles and ages 4 years greater than their own.

On Nightline, there was a story of a 12 year old girl who was a drug-addict and attributed it all to MySpace. She claims that MySPace allowed her to easily fing drug dealers in her area, as well as older men to have sex with her. Now, at the age of 14, she has been checked into a drug-rehabilitation clinic and has been away from her family for 5 months. Her parents would rather place the blame squarely on the shoulders of MySpace instead of their daughter, who even admitted that at the age of 12, had already tried weed, crack, X, and had slept with numerous guys older than herself...but of course, it wasn't her fault, it was all because of MySpace.

Once again, COME ON! When are parents and children going to stop passing the blame and grow up enough to take responsibility for their actions and the actions of their children.. Parent's, monitor your children online, take some responsibility for YOUR children. Children, if a profile name sounds like something that comes out of a cheap horror movie, like "DARK ANGEL OF DEATH WHO EATS THE BRAINS OF GIRLS"...chances are you DO NOT WANT TO ADD THEM AS A FRIEND. Apparently there is new legislation in Congress now to block MySpace in all public schools and public libraries across the United States. All because little girls want to act grown and don't want to accept the consequences and parents don't want to accept the fact that their "innocent little girls" are posing as 18 year old trying to buy drugs.

Eventually, if this continues, MySpace could be totally outlawed from the Internet. Restrictions will be put in place in order to make MySpace "safer". I don't know about you, but I use MySpace to keep in touch with my family and friends, use it for messages, and just to have a space that is my own. Just because some children want to act grown, does that mean I may have to eventually give up my MySpace? "

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

No, it is like LimeWire, while people who use it have most likely stolen media before this makes it easier for them. While a pedophile has committed a crime before MySpace makes it easier for them.
Also why parents are wrong to put the blame of their corrupt children on MySpace yet they can however blame them for creating a place for kids to put stuff like that online easily and allow millions of people to see it just as easily.

Thus is the second reason I do not currently have a MySpace profile.
The first is, tom creeps me out.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

It still doesn't remove the responsibility of the parent to protect their child though. If some parents were more mindful of their children's actions, they would either not let them have a myspace profile or let them and simply screen the content and their friends to ensure that nothing bad is going to happen to them. Either way, there are plenty of legitimate uses for MySpace, as there are for many other websites/software programs.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

Myspace is one of those things if used responsibly, it can be a great website. But more and more often as of late it is becoming increasingly "fake". This is not the fault of the website, but the users. Americans need to stop trying to pass the blame off to someone else (i.e. it's not my fault I'm fat because I eat fast food every meal of the day, it's McDonald's fault) and start taking responsibility for their own actions.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

I don't think it is at all appropriate for the parents to put the blame on myspace.com for their daughter's poor choices. I think the responsibility rests on their shoulders because they, as parents, should have laid down the rules and expectations from the get-go that would not have allowed her to develop such poor behavior. If some parents feel that not allowing their child to get a myspace account (because myspace would help them continue their bad behavior), then by all means they should do so. However, an outright ban should not be considered a solution to the problem. Unfortunately, the problem lies in the origins of the action itself (bad parenting techniques, emotionally disturbing experiences, etc.).

As for banning the myspace url at schools, my school (a regional public high school) has chosen to block it (as well as facebook, xanga, and any other social networking sites). Personally, I don't feel that blocking the url is going to protect anyone from sexual predators. If kids want myspace, they will do it at home instead of at school. The only real benefit of blocking the url at school is that it prevents students from being distracted by it while they may need to be doing other work.

I have both a myspace and a facebook account. Oftentimes I wish I had never gotten either. Not because it makes me feel unsafe - I never share personally identifiable information that could lead someone to my front doorstep, nor do I ever arrange to meet someone I met online. The only time I will ever meet someone I met online is if the person met me through chiefdelphi, and I am meeting them at a competition where there are lots of people around or I am with friends of mine who already know the person.

However, I really wish I had never gotten a myspace because of the fact that it is extremely distracting and potentially addictive. Also, conflicting social situations arise because of things that are said/done on myspace. Many times people vent their frustration when they shouldn't, treat myspace as if it is some sort of rating system for their friends, or broadcast information and PDA which should be kept private because it upsets others.

Why don't I delete my account?
I am tempted to... almost every day. But now its one of those things that I can't stop paying attention to, even though I wish I didn't. One of these days I am probably going to hit that "delete" button soon though, and I will be happy to rely on email, phone, or IM for communication. I have an account here on CD because it does some good for me and the world. But myspace has never helped me in any way... it has only frustrated me and wasted my time. Not to mention how quickly I got sick of whoring bulletins and chain bulletins. So, if you are contemplating getting a myspace... my advice is to JUST NOT DO IT.

-- Jaine

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

I used to be a really big fan of myspace. Up until a few months ago. I started getting random friend requests from strange strange characters.

Since I'm not feeling good, long story short: I no longer have a myspace. I don't they are "safe". But, my cat has one, yes I said my cat has a myspace.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

I also used to have a myspace account. I realized that I didn't want it, for many of those reasons. I didn't like the "all-inclusiveness" of it.

On Facebook, which isn't much safer, there was at least some security that only people from one's own college website could look at the profile without having to add you first. That doesn't appear on myspace.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

I agree with the majority of the people here saying that its the parents responsibilty. But on a few other things i kinda disagree but still dont warrent putting the blame on myspace. Just another twist to the story, if im not mistaken this is the same one that the mother also had a myspace detailing how she goes and gets high after she drops her daughter off at school... Just checked that was a differnet story not this one but still another story about the "EVIL" myspace.

The young (<15) girls that post pictures of themselveson myspace that portray themselves to be "SEXY" or lie about their age or do other things that perverts go around and look for to seduce are automaticly removed from my sypathy to a degree.


The people who dont do the things listed above and are contacted by perverts to meet them at a spefied location at a certain time and they will go spend time together. These are the real victims. These people who by no fault of their own were contacted for some reason by a person who seemed to want to know them and appeared to be their friend. Then they were attacked by some pervert that lied about their own age.

To add more to the roasting pot the girl who we are talking about also was allowed to go to parties where drugs and alochol were present. Parents need to keep better track of where their kids are who they hang out with and what they are doing with them.

I think that the parents are to blame and only in a few cases should they be held liable for possibly meeting somebody through the website who attacked somebody else.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

MySpace...heh....

Not my favorite site in the world.

However, as far as that girl goes. There's no blame to be put anywhere but squarely on the girl, and her parents. Anyone who knows me knows it's a hot button issue with me. I have serious concerns for parenting skills when I look around at classmates daily and see what a degenerated life some of them have. I realize not everyone has a great job and a good family, but some of these things are definitely preventable by watching your kids carefully and being a good parent. My parents always made sure I stayed (relatively) out of trouble, as out of trouble as a mischievous kid like me can be anyways, and I thank them for it, my life could have turned out much worse, but I doubt much better.

If anyone wants to hit me up for a more in depth discussion on my views on MySpace and parenting, PM me for contact info.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

I agree that passing the blame onto Myspace is wrong. I mean, the site started out to help bands get promoted... not for what it turned into. Myspace became this "networking" site because of the users. As many of the other posts have stated, the issue lies in the users themselves.

I do, however, believe that Myspace makes it easier for things to happen (I like the Limewire reference Mercury Rising used). I think that the biggest issue is in the security (obviously). The thing is, what else can Myspace do that will fix this? Other networking sites like Facebook use authorization for networks through college and work e-mail addresses. It allows the user to control who can see what and how much. Systems such as that work excellent. For example, in my case, if a friend needs to get in touch with me they can access my phone number... if somebody goes to my school and is trying to find me cause we had a class together, they can see my basic profile to know it's me and get back in touch but it's not giving away too much, and someone who isn't at my school (and has a much less chance of a reason to see my profile) can just see my name and a basic picture to see if it's the person they were searching for in which case they can ask to be added as a friend. The problem with this system is the fact that Myspace can't really limit it for the most part. Even if middle/high school students open a Myspace and some form of protection was made (i.e. only friends can see most things) often times students are too immature to understand the importance of protecting their personal information. Now, any middle/high schoolers reading this, don't take offense... for the most part students in FIRST seem to have a decent perspective on right/wrong... but many kids don't. To force a limit on people would just cause a different networking site to take over and offer it to them.

The problem is going to remain with the group of people its' affecting until a culture change occurs in that area and the students have better parental/educational/whatever instruction and oversight. I'm not talking someone who checks everything you do on the internet, but someone who can make sure the child understands what they're dealing with before letting them have free choice.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

Just as an aside, here's a draft of the House resolution, which would "ban" MySpace. (Dated May 9^th; it may have changed since then.)

Note this definition:That covers a whole lot of the internet. And it puts a great burden on the people and organizations who would be forced to implement the protections outlined in the resolution—librarians, for example.

But it's not outlawing the service itself, as was previously suggested. That's very probably unconstitutional.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

As mentioned before, MySpace is what it is because of what the users have done to it. Orgininally it was there for BAND, not PEOPLE, networking. That concept is great for bands, but when you apply it to people, it's nothing short of downright stupid.
What point does MySpace serve right now?
Communication? Umm, why not use E-mail? or how about the phone?
Photo sharing? Once again, E-mail. Or how about Photobucket or similar sites? You can even password protect those albums.
Blogging? Livejournal, etc work just as well for that
Etc, etc, etc. There really is only one point to MySpace.
That's "networking". Helping you meet people you don't know in real life....
And that's just a bad idea, period.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

There was more to that bulletin and yes.. I reposted that on my myspace because I think it is the most true and accurate bulletin I have ever come across.

The people stalking others on myspace need to get a freakin' life.

The underage people posing as older people and who are flaunting what they think they have to the world need to get a life, and stop their fakeness.

And last but not least, myspace does need a lot better way of telling who is old enough to be on their site.

Never has a site taken such a huge rise in membership, and when that happens you know stupid things are going to come out of it as it has in Myspace.

I think in the matters that have made the public eye lately about the evils that myspace brings, a person I know had the best straight forward talk with his pre-teen daughter.

Basically he told her, that if she got a myspace page and flaunted herself on it and some dude ended up trying to stalk her and even meet her, then her life as she knows it would basically end.

The person I know would kick the stalkers you know what or worse.

He would end up in jail for something.

His wife wouldn't be able to take care of the family and thus they would end up on welfare, or somewhere worse.

She would never be able to see her father again, and never probably end up going to college or have a "normal" life again.


So.. does she really want a myspace page at this time in her life anymore?

Would you if you were in her shoes?

I didn't think so.

Sometimes what we all need is a harsh wake up call to how mean life really could be.

She got a vision of one, and won't be on myspace anytime soon.

And that is the reason that on my myspace, I reposted that bulletin.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

Remind you of anywhere...? :rolleyes:

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

If that passes it's time to move to Canada. There's no way banning social networking sites doesn't infringe on constitutionally protected freedoms.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

MySpace has no place inside a school building or a library, period. Students are in school to learn. Stop posting blogs about that crush you have on Billy Joe or Mary Jane (or worse) and start studying instead.

Outside of that, I agree with the rest of what was posted. Parents - do your dang jobs and pay better attention to what your kids are doing with their free time.

I'd also say that Brandon should write a script that blocks Chit-Chat from any user who's logged on from a school or library computer. Brandon can do that real easy-like, can't you Brandon?????? :)

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

One needs to understand in our ever evolving technological society of today, that we have indeed a great digital divide between the generation of this said girl and the parents. Yes, the parents are fully responsible for all of her actions as stated by law as she is a minor. However, within our culture, there is a lot within the Information Environment that must be understood with that older generations may not even know how to turn on the home PC, let alone monitor their child's behavior. Not only with mySpace, but recently Facebook a cross of Public Policy into the Information Environment has occurred with incriminating underage college students who posted photographs of themselves drinking, and conducting in other illegal activities on college campuses. All actions that you take on any of these sites must be taken into consideration with your future. Colleges and potential employers have access to them, and can deny you opportunities based off of the character you portray in your profiles.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

There is a feature on myspace that you can make your profile private.
That means only your friends can see your profile.
That will help, it wont solve it.
I think that myspace is not to blame.
If myspace wasn't there, perverts will find another website that they can stalk kids on.
Even here on ChiefDelphi.
All i need is your picture, and where you live.
If i dint see where you live, and i really want to find you, learn the site.
Find out what those numbers mean by team number.
Then once i find out, look at the FIRST website, find out where that team is at, what school it is, and sit outside of it until i see you.
There is any number of ways that perverts can find you, even without myspace.
So you need to look at what are the other factors, the factors that the people not don't see, but don't want to see.
Those parents and even children, don't want to see that it is also their fault.
It is the parents fault by not watching over their children and seeing what they are doing, they let their kids do what ever they want.
It is the kids fault for posing that they are older then they actually are, agreeing to talk to those people and agreeing at add them and agreeing to meet them.
Tell your kids that if they ever agree to meet any one, they will not be meeting any one except at school and home until they are 24.
Why 24, thats because thats when they leave your insurance when they are a full time student at college.
And you know the way to monitor your kids on myspace or face book or anything like that, you know your child's password, if they change it, they are done till 24.
If they delete their messages, they are done till 24.
That will not solve it.
I grantee it.
But it will help.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

The internet is a scary thing. Whether you're careful or not, its still dangerous. I don't think there's anything wrong with a website that you can talk to your friends with, etc. if you're safe about it, but I am NOT a big fan of myspace.

Do you want to know how much time is wasted over myspace? Ok, granted you're not nearly as obsessed with it than CD :p , but here, there are adults and students regulating and keeping things safe, but even then, its not completely safe.

Its not just girls younger than 15 putting "revealing" pictures of themselves on their space...I couldn't believe how ridiculous some of it was when I was looking through one's of kids I know. And I'm talking high school seniors and juniors...where you're almost 18.

I'll never forget what my friend, a silly programmer said to me...how he even scared himself of how easy it was to find things out he shouldn't on the internet. Parents need to find a way to explain to their kids how unsafe and unstable the internet can be.

Of course...that's just how I feel.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

Ashley just nailed it. And technology keeps evolving and developing fast. Crazyfast.
And children are very, very smooth operators. I think a lot of teachers have a better handle on what is happening with the students than the parents do. The teachers keep having to come up with ways to stop the technology from intruding on their classes.
I like what you guys are saying, it's great.
Jane

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

My thoughts on MySpace:

It has great potential if used properly. It was originally established as a way for bands to create profiles and network. A great idea, IMHO. But once all the wannabe slutty teenage girls got ahold of it, it turned bad. It is not MySpace's fault that people get raped or assaulted by someone they met on MySpace. It also isn't their fault that pedophiles found their way there.

Personally, I must agree with Encyclopædia Dramatica on these few things for which MySpace should be congratulated:
* Autoplaying video clips in profile that never work properly and have to spend 5 minutes disabling.
* Autoplaying music which inevitably starts by surprise at maximum volume.
* Eye-searing color schemes that makes people's text impossible to read, and you'll have to highlight everything in order to read it easier but then realize that it's all s*** nobody cares about.
* Dialup user patience initiative - the bigger the w****, the more hours the page will take to load on dialup.
* Sitewide custom of sending friends requests to strangers without ever contacting the person beforehand.
* People pretending to be television or movie characters, which has never been done before anywhere.
* People who add the fake television or movie characters to their friends list and say "OMG lewk I em phreands with Morpheus LOLZORZ OMG!!!!!!!!!!!111
* Is always b0rked when you want to use it. Always.
* Patented "browser crash upon visit" technology.
* Fun "click the stop button" game on every visit!

The entire article basically sums up everything I believe about MySpace (with some snark thrown in). It's not entirely PC, but it is, of course, Encyclopædia Dramatica. To read the full thing go here.

RE: The girl that was mentioned in the first post of this topic:
It is the sole responsibility of the parents and the girl, especially since she was TWELVE YEARS OLD! I mean, that's well below the minimum age for MySpace, I believe. Yes, it's unfortunate that there are some terrible people out there, but parents can at least protect their children as much as they can by monitoring their children's internet access.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

Regardless of what 'slutty' content may or may not be found on someone's MySpace profile, it is not an invitation for sexual or physical abuse.

Can we, for a second, stop blaming the victims for the crimes of pedophiles? That'd be awesome and it'd chance showing a bit of respect for friends and classmates that may be just as likely vulnerable to internet predators.

MySpace users may not always show the best judgement when sharing information on the site, but divulging that information is not a license to commit a crime.

Sheesh.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

Speaking of banning myspace in schools, this article from Yahoo news is sort of along those lines. Apparently a school board in Illinois has passed legislation to monitor what students involved in extracurricular activities are posting, and can use the "evidence" against them. I'm not sure what I think about that, though I guess if you're going to post it, you should be held accountable.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

Myspace is a good resource when used correctly. Most of my coworkers don't go to college, so they can't have facebook. It gives me a way to communicate with them outside of work.

The problem with myspace is the problem with the rest of the internet. People are dirty. People are perverted. People on the internet are crazy. If they don't meet on myspace, they are meeting in yahoo games, aol chat rooms, msn chats, and the list go on and on.

People also don't take responsibility for their actions, then blame it on something else.

I don't understand how parents don't teach their children enough common sense to know not to talk to strangers on the internet, especially not to meet them.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

What's odd is Myspace is so addictive that kids at my school that barely know how to operate word can use a proxy to get around the web blocker at our school so they can access myspace because so many people want to use it the information gets shared around.

On an unrelated note, my school already blocks both myspace and chiefdelphi at school (kind of annoying during build season, when I say "I'll just look it up on CD", then realise I have to wait until I get home to do it).

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

Why do they block ChiefDelphi at school? Because they are scared that you might learn more here than what they can teach you?

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

this is complety off topic, but since the words "game" or "games" shows up a bit on cd, those fancy autoblockers block it.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

I don't think we're blaming the victims and excusing the criminals. Rather, we're blaming the lack of judgement that contributes to becoming a victim.

We know there are burglars out there, so we put deadbolt locks on our doors and install alarm systems. We know there are muggers out there, so we watch where we go, especially at night.

Parents also have to watch their children's behavior to protect them from becoming victims, as much as possible. Not paying attention to what kids are doing online is being a negligent parent.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

I'll admit it, I've got a myspace account; Do I whore myself out to be somebody I'm not? No. Do I post partially nude pictures of myself? No. Would I ever post incriminating evidence against myself that could possibly pin me to certain crimes or my job? NO.
I'm 21 now, so alcohol is not as "cool" as it was to drink when i was underage, but those 16-20 year olds who post their pictures of themselves at college keggers need an eye opening. One of my friends did something illegal at college, and wrote a blog about it on his Myspace with pictures; this blog was used as evidence against him in a student council hearing. This kid was eventually thrown out of the dorms for his actions, think of what it would do in the "real world".
On the same matters, did anybody see that news piece about the 23 year old apprentice to an attorney who had nude pictures of himself on his site, and the HR dept. of his firm found these out and canned him. Apparently this kid had like a 4.0 in college and was Valedictorian in his High School, and all because of bad common sense, he lost his potential for a great future. Sure there are other firms out there, but his character is now tarnished.
I use Myspace to see what my friends have on their mind, to read their blogs, and nothing more. I have a few bands on my friends list, and about 7-8 people i don't know on my list. EVERYBODY else are people I know in real life that I met through FIRST or met in Scouting.
IMHO, Myspace.com needs to initiate a credit card verification system, one that will not charge the user, but will be used to verify. It works on other sites, why not Myspace. I would have no issue with giving away my CC information if it meant 12 year old children could not make their profiles; the way I see it, if i can save one person through my actions I would feel accomplished.
On a side note, the radio station I listen to every morning had an internet crimes officer do a segment, and gave some programs parents can use to track their kid's internet activities. On of the neatest things he said was this one software actually keeps a record of every keystroke you input into ANY website. and it's relatively impossible to go around. But this is the parent's responsibility; and nobody has to tell me that parenting has gone down the crapper since my parents were children. Common sense is all these parents must teach their kids, meeting someone from the internet (albeit a safe site lie this) is just plain DUMB. You can't really "meet" the person through the internet, all your meeting is their text.
Let's all understand that Myspace is not going away, so instead of saying it should, lets stand up for the protection of Myspace and make it great.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

You see the problem with making it so you have to have a credit card is that people like me, i don't have one because i am 17.
But my parents were nice enough to teach me to not do stupid stuff.
Not to meet strange people i met on the Internet.
The Internet is a bad place.
And the only reason its bad is because of the people that use it.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

Alright, so rip a page out of Neopets. They have you sign up by age. If your folks want to let you onto the more interactive parts of the site (like the message boards and what not), you print off a permission form from the site, have them sign it, and fax or mail it in. Then they know for fact that your folks said it's alright for you to get on that particular web site.

Is it a hassle? Yes. Is it feasible? Yes. Would I let my kids join a site requiring that sort of disclaimer? Well, ask me when I have 'em.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

How do they know what your parents signature looks like? What's to keep someone from printing the form, signing their parents name and sending it in?

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

In the digital age these complications will continue to plaque us. I have been studying Information Public Policy for over four years now. There is no way to verify the identity on an open user forum such as mySpace. The only way in which to control the demons that roam these areas are by the common ethics we live by in our society. However, if you are too naive to know, many individuals do not follow the ethics that one should know along the evolving Information Highway. Should areas such as mySpace or any public forum be allowed in a school, no. Should children be allowed to have computers that are unmonitored by adults, no. However, the world does not revolve in that way, individuals do not follow in an ethical demeanor that was in existence years ago. In result Information Public Policy has now become a part of our society, and the government must evolve and take action to protect the unknowing.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

I'm still waiting to hear a real point to MySpace aside of meeting people you don't already know....
In order to create a MySpace you need an e-mail adress, so why not use that to share pictures and communicate with friends?

No, it's not all MySpace's fault, but niether is it the victims fault. Sure, predators would still get to their victims without MySpace, but you cannot deny that MySpace makes it ALOT easier...

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

I think it's a bit of a two-way street. There are people posting pictures of them, making themselves out to be older and slutty, for lack of a better term. And then there are the people that go on and seek out users like that. Like you said, MySpace makes it a lot easier for predators to find victims. It brings together these two types of people. Being over the internet does not make it easy for people to know who to trust and who not to trust.

Bottom line is, I tend to stay away from MySpace. A few of my friends have them, but it's not for me. There's way too much drama, IMO, with "friending" people and not friending people.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

These, to me, do not read as tales of caution, but of assignments of blame. A crime is never a 'two-way street,' no matter how morally or ethically bankrupt you may consider the victim to be.

I know I'm probably preaching to the choir, but maybe some others might consider that no matter how 'slutty' or 'sexy' someone appears to be, they do not deserve to be victimized. Ever.

There are probably equally as many posts that are correctly citing poor parenting and misunderstanding the dangers of the internet, to be fair, but I'm a bit surprised and upset to see at all that people think that these kids -- no matter how provacative they claim to be, they're still kids, after all -- have any role in the mania of criminals.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

The only reason it makes it easier then aim or yim is because it is the hot topic right now.

I remember back when msn was all over the news and aim was all over the news, people were saying the same thing.
What, people have forgotten about that now?
Yes.
Why?
Because now they have something else to complain about.
Yes kid are getting kidnapped and raped and stuff from myspace.
But so are kids on aim, yim msn yahoo games msn games xanga blackplanet mihente asian avenue livejournal facebook all of them.

I print it off, sign it myself and then send it in. There goes that idea.
They don't know my parents signature.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

When I said that it was a "two-way street," I did not mean that they deserved to be victimized. Rather, I was saying that MySpace makes it a lot easier for people to be found and a lot of it has to do with a lack of judgement. I think that a lot of the news recently about attacks has really just opened people's eyes. Maybe now they will be more careful about the content of their MySpaces. For example, I was perusing a friend's MySpace once and came across another girl's MySpace whom I know. The text that appeared above her picture (slightly provocative, but not too bad) was "Wanna fcuk wit me?" Posting things like that is not really helping them to stay away from the predators.

All I'm saying is that if some of the MySpace users were more educated on the danger of posting provocative pictures on the internet, it would really help them to not become a victim. It's almost like someone hanging around in a bad neighborhood. Just because they're there doesn't mean they deserve to be attacked, but by hanging around there, they increase their chances of it.

I keep a LiveJournal. While it's not the same as MySpace, there is still the option to post personal info and/or pictures. I'm careful to never post any pictures of me, and any time I post anything that might contain some information about where I live, I filter it so only people that I know in real life can read it. I take the precautions to make sure that random internet strangers can't find me.

But I agree with you, no one deserves to be victimized.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

I remember when I had a neopets site, and I was under 13 and you needed the slip. I don't think many 13 year olds have access to a Fax machine with out their parents permission/assistance, and how many 13 year olds carry stamps these days?

Yeah it's impossible to tell if the signature is legit, but it would also help to keep kids safe.

I still, don't think myspace is a good place for anyone under 18. Allot of teenagers do stupid things, and myspace could just be another opportunity for them (us) to do something stupid.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

An opinion about Myspace from a myspace convert:

Its wonderful. It is basically the real world in a nutshell, so I can stay the wonderful person I believe I am, hold my morals, and network with many of my classmates/friends I've made over the years in school and otherwise (37 and counting).

Just like the real world, there are the idiots and the intellects, and both are given a lot of power to do their will. I just try to avoid the idiots, and if anything, if they send me something potentially graphic, they'll get a very frank and friendly response from me that is about 1 paragraph long and basically says "No. Thank You."

As far as the potential banning of the site as it is, that can't happen. There just has to be regulation on the part of the members and the folks running the site. What bothers me is that no one has started a virtual committee on the networking site to resolve this issue. IOW, there could be a virtual government that could be built, and hey, no hanging chads or fillibusters!

Other than that, I also find it to be a wonderful CSS/Html playground. :cool:

-Joe

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

That's perfectly true. Our school's webfilter blocks myspace.com, but if you walk into any computer classroom, there are at least 5 kids logged into myspace. Luckily, Chiefdelphi isn't blocked. :)

For my thoughts on myspace though, it's just one of those things that works in theory, but in all reality, can turn out to be somewhat of a problem.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

It is only a problem because of people.
People are the reason why myspace is "bad" not myspace.
Myspace if just like the rest of the internet, a place for porn and perverts.
Anything on the internet is bad, bad because you can get kidnapped by anyone who wants to find you bad enough.

If a kid really wanted to go get stamps, they could.
"Hey teacher, in one of my social studies classes we are sending letters to our government, can i have a stamp?"
"There you go, run off and play little girl/boy."
That is just one way to get stamps.
A 16 year old girl wants to get on the site, they get in their car and drive to the post office.
Boom, stamp there.
And 18 years old?
If you are saying that only 17 and younger get kidnapped you are very mistaken.
Yes there is a lot more kids that get kidnapped, thats why they call it kidnapped, but you don't think adults do either?
I think it happens more then you think.
Look at down in Aruba, that one girl that got kidnapped.
There is many ways around that, it is still not as safe as you think it is.
Sorry if i seem mean or anything, but i have a very strong opinion about this.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

Is it easy to get around, you bet just select the 18 n over(I remember doing that when i was in elementary school)

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

You know what, my mom had a conversation with me about myspace. She's not all that strict, and a little bit crazy, but I still remember what she said. She said, that if a parent has raised their kid up right, then maybe that kid wwouldn't be dumb enough to act like a prostitute, meet people online, or post their names and address. I have to agree with her, kids these days are insane and a lot of their parents dont care or know about their myspaces...I was watching Dr.Phil and they had a whole thing about this, and he suggesteed having parents be able to track a kids myspace and keep an eye on them, this is a good idea as long as it doesnt invade privacy to much...Some people, bright, intelligent people, should be able to have the freedom to use myspace because we're not dumb enough to post stupid things and lie about our ages, whereas others should probably be monitored by parents, maybe everyone should just be monitored! Maybe Myspace isn't really all that great, what happened to simply TALKING to your friends rather than POSTING to your friends, Im starting to notice that most people accept people that request "friendship", that they see everyday, call them instead or something!

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

There's a saying about how locks only keep the innocent out, those who really want to break in will. Not EVERY little kid will go out and bother to do these things. Right there you can possibly save many.

And are you saying that only poorly parented children who act like "whores" for lack of a better term get kidnapped? Then you are sorely mistaken as well...

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

Tell tom to get a new website

www.myspace.ca
www.myspace.co.uk

those are all good options to buy out
it's not like you have to have Bandwidth and servers in the US.
Try Niagra Falls Canada...... It's close enoguh to be legel lol

and anyways, doesn't this break the 1st amendment. FREE SPEACH even on the net. maybe have a disclaimer when you first go on that directs you to the Terms and Conditions of www.myspace.com

there, thats my $0.02

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

Actually, Chief Delphi is currently blocked because it is a "message forum" (despite the fact it somehow misses proboards forums). When they used an earlier blocker (I think it was back in 2004 or so) it was blocked because the word "balls" appears too many times :rolleyes:

Anyway, my whole take on the myspace debacle is it was a good idea to start with, and now it's just gotten kind of silly. And it has no place in any school.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

I am not saying that innocent children don't get kidnapped, but most of the kids that got kidnapped and raped from myspace, that i have seen on the news, have shown that they are 18 have 10 pounds of makeup on, and go looking for guys they don't know. Those are most of the kidnappings and rapes from myspace, that i have seen on the news here. If it is different where you are then please inform me, but from all i herd is that it has only been those kid of girls.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

Why does it matter what kind of girls it is, exactly?

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

I dont think it nessesarily depends on the "girl" its more of the actions that are taken to get themselves into "hotwater". Since we are talking about girls (and my cousin is a glowing example of this), they don't have common sense about the internet. They think its all funny when they get talking to someone, and it's usually just a big joke..until it goes horribly wrong. My cousin, was 17 and attending highschool, she met this 26 year old man, and the day she turned 18 she never returned home. Her foster parents had a big party all setup, and when she NEVER showed up they got concerend. The police put out an APB across the US, and about 2 weeks later she recieved a call from a payphone in Las Vegas. She and her "boyfriend" met up at the school, and they drove across country. Now there was nothing to be done legally since she was 18 and the foster parents had no custody after she turned 18 so she's now living on the run with a strange man. The internet is serious ladies (and gents) don't EVER give out your informatoin unless you know the person directly.

Re: thoughts on myspace
 

The first reason I ever got on Myspace at all was for the music function of it.

And it's great. It's a really good way to find bands that aren't mainstream or just haven't been 'discovered' yet.

And I'll just say this about people putting private and personal information out on the internet for the public to see - it's not the smartest thing to do. People have to use discression in these matters. Is it the fault of the kid who posted racey pictures of himself or herself on MySpace? Partly. You can't do things like that in the society that we live in. It's common sense, or rather a lack of it that's leading to this. However, one can't place the blame fully on these people. They're on a social networking website to do one thing - socialize. The internet is full of disgusting, perverted, and just plain messed up people. And I'm sorry to say this - it always will be.

If you're a person on the internet these days you have to look out for yourself and know what you're doing. Especially if you're a kid.