ATTN, NIGEL...You might find this interesting.

[Q. G. Pennyworth]

I'm not even worried about porn, just pedos and the fact that the internet has a bad case of remembering shit you did when you were too dumb to know better.

[Left]

I'm not even worried about porn, just pedos and the fact that the internet has a bad case of remembering shit you did when you were too dumb to know better.

That latter needs to be driven home.
The former? prevention (IMO) can be accomplished in a few ways.
...Make sure they know what sex is, accurately (the accuracy being the important part)
...Tell them what pedophiles are, age-appropriately.

Tell them to tell you IMMEDIATELY if someone tries anything weird...no matter what that person says to them-or who it is.
Pedoes work through either guilting the child or threatening the child-death threats are not uncommon.

Please to note, 80% of children who are sexually abused?  it's someone whom they know and trust.
(And the denial around THAT is a whole other thread.  That whole stranger-danger BS?)

[Doktor Howl]

I'm not even worried about porn, just pedos and the fact that the internet has a bad case of remembering shit you did when you were too dumb to know better.

Yeah, so, the official Doktor Howl interbutt safety briefing:

1.  Never use your real name or tell anyone your phone number or address.
2.  Never give anyone your password to anything.
3.  Furries make the best trolling targets.

[Q. G. Pennyworth]

I'm not even worried about porn, just pedos and the fact that the internet has a bad case of remembering shit you did when you were too dumb to know better.

Yeah, so, the official Doktor Howl interbutt safety briefing:

1.  Never use your real name or tell anyone your phone number or address.
2.  Never give anyone your password to anything.
3.  Furries make the best trolling targets.

Both of them already know 1 and 2 (with the exception of police officers when you get lost in a crowd), I guess I'm just nail-bitey because my girl's gonna be nine this fall and it's weird to think of her being almost double-digits, with all the cultural baggage that entails.

[Doktor Howl]

I'm not even worried about porn, just pedos and the fact that the internet has a bad case of remembering shit you did when you were too dumb to know better.

Yeah, so, the official Doktor Howl interbutt safety briefing:

1.  Never use your real name or tell anyone your phone number or address.
2.  Never give anyone your password to anything.
3.  Furries make the best trolling targets.

Both of them already know 1 and 2 (with the exception of police officers when you get lost in a crowd), I guess I'm just nail-bitey because my girl's gonna be nine this fall and it's weird to think of her being almost double-digits, with all the cultural baggage that entails.

Well, I had these friends back in junior high, right?  Marshall and Daisy.  Brother and sister, Daisy being the oldest (and also probably the prettiest girl I ever met in my life).  Both smart, both responsible, both talented in the arts.

Their mom KEPT THEM SAFE.  In fact, she kept them SO SAFE that they STILL LIVE IN HER HOUSE AT AGES 44 & 46.  Neither one of them has ever had an SO, because nobody was good enough for Mother's Perfect Children in this AWFUL EVIL WORLD.

So, yeah.  You have to let them grow up.  Doesn't mean that there's no discipline or anything, or that they can just run wild.  But sooner or later you have to let them fly a little on their own.

Or else.

[Left]

I'm not even worried about porn, just pedos and the fact that the internet has a bad case of remembering shit you did when you were too dumb to know better.

Yeah, so, the official Doktor Howl interbutt safety briefing:

1.  Never use your real name or tell anyone your phone number or address.
2.  Never give anyone your password to anything.
3.  Furries make the best trolling targets.

Both of them already know 1 and 2 (with the exception of police officers when you get lost in a crowd), I guess I'm just nail-bitey because my girl's gonna be nine this fall and it's weird to think of her being almost double-digits, with all the cultural baggage that entails.

Well, I had these friends back in junior high, right?  Marshall and Daisy.  Brother and sister, Daisy being the oldest (and also probably the prettiest girl I ever met in my life).  Both smart, both responsible, both talented in the arts.

Their mom KEPT THEM SAFE.  In fact, she kept them SO SAFE that they STILL LIVE IN HER HOUSE AT AGES 44 & 46.  Neither one of them has ever had an SO, because nobody was good enough for Mother's Perfect Children in this AWFUL EVIL WORLD.

So, yeah.  You have to let them grow up.  Doesn't mean that there's no discipline or anything, or that they can just run wild.  But sooner or later you have to let them fly a little on their own.

Or else.

There is that too.

[Q. G. Pennyworth]

I'm not even worried about porn, just pedos and the fact that the internet has a bad case of remembering shit you did when you were too dumb to know better.

Yeah, so, the official Doktor Howl interbutt safety briefing:

1.  Never use your real name or tell anyone your phone number or address.
2.  Never give anyone your password to anything.
3.  Furries make the best trolling targets.

Both of them already know 1 and 2 (with the exception of police officers when you get lost in a crowd), I guess I'm just nail-bitey because my girl's gonna be nine this fall and it's weird to think of her being almost double-digits, with all the cultural baggage that entails.

Well, I had these friends back in junior high, right?  Marshall and Daisy.  Brother and sister, Daisy being the oldest (and also probably the prettiest girl I ever met in my life).  Both smart, both responsible, both talented in the arts.

Their mom KEPT THEM SAFE.  In fact, she kept them SO SAFE that they STILL LIVE IN HER HOUSE AT AGES 44 & 46.  Neither one of them has ever had an SO, because nobody was good enough for Mother's Perfect Children in this AWFUL EVIL WORLD.

So, yeah.  You have to let them grow up.  Doesn't mean that there's no discipline or anything, or that they can just run wild.  But sooner or later you have to let them fly a little on their own.

Or else.

Yeah, my sister kind of "or else"d, so I'm not trying to KEEP THEM SAFE, we even had a talk about how all of life is a risk of one kind or another, and if you never take any risks it kinda blows, you just have to learn to manage risks so you stand a good chance of getting to the fun stuff. It's just scary parenting stuff.

[Doktor Howl]

I'm not even worried about porn, just pedos and the fact that the internet has a bad case of remembering shit you did when you were too dumb to know better.

Yeah, so, the official Doktor Howl interbutt safety briefing:

1.  Never use your real name or tell anyone your phone number or address.
2.  Never give anyone your password to anything.
3.  Furries make the best trolling targets.

Both of them already know 1 and 2 (with the exception of police officers when you get lost in a crowd), I guess I'm just nail-bitey because my girl's gonna be nine this fall and it's weird to think of her being almost double-digits, with all the cultural baggage that entails.

Well, I had these friends back in junior high, right?  Marshall and Daisy.  Brother and sister, Daisy being the oldest (and also probably the prettiest girl I ever met in my life).  Both smart, both responsible, both talented in the arts.

Their mom KEPT THEM SAFE.  In fact, she kept them SO SAFE that they STILL LIVE IN HER HOUSE AT AGES 44 & 46.  Neither one of them has ever had an SO, because nobody was good enough for Mother's Perfect Children in this AWFUL EVIL WORLD.

So, yeah.  You have to let them grow up.  Doesn't mean that there's no discipline or anything, or that they can just run wild.  But sooner or later you have to let them fly a little on their own.

Or else.

Yeah, my sister kind of "or else"d, so I'm not trying to KEEP THEM SAFE, we even had a talk about how all of life is a risk of one kind or another, and if you never take any risks it kinda blows, you just have to learn to manage risks so you stand a good chance of getting to the fun stuff. It's just scary parenting stuff.

Yep.  If it was easy, the world would be full of well-adjusted people.

[Richter]

During the daytime, my daughter hangs out with her friends IRL.  In the evenings, they all get on their computers and watch bad movies together, laughing theirs asses off in the channel they're using.

My son does basically the same thing.  And given the nature of this sort of thing, the groups slowly expand, so there's always a dozen or more people watching the really bad movie of the night.  All it takes is logging in.

So they're never alone, unless they choose to be alone.

We've discussed how kids are so much more civilized over the last generation or two, and perhaps this has something to do with it?  Each generation has more and more communications capability, to the point where every night is a bad movie party, even with friends that live hundreds of thousands of miles away?

Hell yeah.

I remember when a bunch of us got in in IRC to tear down the Palin / Chenney debate as it was happening. 
It was hilarious, relevant to our level of politcs savvy, and no one person shouted out the channel since we all type in teh same volume.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Another thing that occurs to me is that this even reduces the really nastier risks children face...Because they're always travelling in a mob, especially when there's someone new to meet.

A large crowd of kids, all of whom are wired for communication.

Yep! People bitch about nine-year-olds having cell phones... but the result is that both kid and parents get a higher degree of freedom and safety.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Dok & Nigel, when did you start letting your small people on the internet unsupervised?

Birth, pretty much.

I mean, "unsupervised" is really hard to say, because all the computers are in one room and none of us have laptops. But they have had unfettered access since they were old enough to control a mouse, so about 1. Sam used to get up at dawn, go downstairs, turn on the computer, and get on the Internet before we were awake, starting as soon as he could walk. I did keep safesearch turned on so they wouldn't accidentally find something they didn't want, but I have relied on conversations about being careful on the internet, rather than controls. I don't think controlling people helps them, I think it makes them resentful and sneaky, kids included.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I'm not even worried about porn, just pedos and the fact that the internet has a bad case of remembering shit you did when you were too dumb to know better.

Yeah, so, the official Doktor Howl interbutt safety briefing:

1.  Never use your real name or tell anyone your phone number or address.
2.  Never give anyone your password to anything.
3.  Furries make the best trolling targets.

Add to this: Griefing is the basest form of trolling. If you feel you need to do it, be aware that someone may just track you down and beat you up.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Another thing to consider is that online communication somewhat makes peoples age irrelevant. If youd have told me when i was sixteen that by the time i was thirty i would have friends that were both ten years older and ten years younger than me i probably wouldnt have believed you.

[Junkenstein]

I'm not even worried about porn, just pedos and the fact that the internet has a bad case of remembering shit you did when you were too dumb to know better.

Yeah, so, the official Doktor Howl interbutt safety briefing:

1.  Never use your real name or tell anyone your phone number or address.
2.  Never give anyone your password to anything.
3.  Furries make the best trolling targets.

Add to this: Griefing is the basest form of trolling. If you feel you need to do it, be aware that someone may just track you down and beat you up.

CAVEAT - Griefing done right is fucking wonderful. It's about the target, class and how funny you are.

Example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RedLyae4b2s

[Junkenstein]

And hilarious result

This attack in Second Life later became a template for a real life flying penis attack on chess world champion and Russian presidential candidate Garry Kasparov,[23] producing another example of how virtual actions can become a prototype for real-world action.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anshe_Chung