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Parents To Block Kids From Joining MySpace
Reservoir Hill writes "A New York Times blog notes that attorneys general of 49 states are announcing a partnership with MySpace to fight sexual predators on social networks by letting parents submit the e-mail addresses of their children, so the company can prevent anyone from using that address to set up a profile. MySpace will also set up a 'closed' section for users under age 18 so only their established online friends can visit their pages. MySpace also promises to hire a contractor to identify and delete pornographic images on the site. 'This set of principles is a landmark and milestone because it involves an acknowledgment of the importance of age and identity authentication,' said Connecticut attorney General Richard Blumenthal." Blumenthal also actually said "If we can put a man on the moon..."
I'll start by submitting the e-mail addresses of everyone I dislike and claim to be their parents and say that they are lieing about their age. Another well thought out government idea.
What do you bet there may be a long list of people wanting that job?
--- It's not my fault this post looks redundant. I just type too slow.
You think 90210 is fun? Well I'm from Canada, so whenever I need a fake address, I use the postal code H0H 0H0. Looks like I'm getting some coal in my stocking.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
I'd like to see the parents asking their twelve year old girl what her email address is so they can lock down her myspace account and see where they went wrong when their child responds with "sweetltlhottie69@hotmail".
This list sounds like a perfect high-value target for every malware distributor and sicko in the net. I'd bet that most kids are worse than their parents at opening emails and clicking yes to "interesting" installs. "OOOHH! A free Pony Screen Saver!" Pwned by ponies....
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
I'd like to see the parents asking their twelve year old girl what her email address is so they can lock down her myspace account and see where they went wrong when their child responds with "sweetltlhottie69@hotmail".
With an e-mail address like that they're going to be even more surprised to find out that their 12-year-old daughter is actually a lonely 40-year-old man.
Kids who aren't smart enough to come up with an email address that their parents don't know genuinely do need to be protected from online predators, who will abuse their ignorance.
Also this way, rather then imposing arbitrary restriction based on age, their is a built in opt out based on a child's actual readiness to dis-regard their parents tech ignorance.
I think people are missing the opportunity here. Instead of thinking about how idiotic this idea is and how it's just MySpace getting "free publicity" (they need any?), consider this: If we all start registering random email addresses with MySpace's "do not call list", maybe we can save someone from the horrible horrible slip of sane judgment of getting a MySpace account in the first place.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
children everywhere are being hospitalized due to uncontrolled fits of laughter.
And later, nerds who read news want to create a blacklist to block stupid politicians and law makers from being able to make new laws.
Infact I could see why not?
... oh wait proxies. Nevermind unless there is a way to block them too.
/system32/etc/host file by adding the I.P. for www.barneythedinosaur.com for www.myspace.com scares my kids quite well and blocks myspace. Good thing they haven't figured out that one yet.
Maybe as a CEO of a major telecom I could charge an extra $5 a month to firewall sites.
Or I could just charge $5 a month more and have the kids still find free proxies to go around it.
In the meantime a simple fix in the
http://saveie6.com/
"With a half-zillion free email providers out there, blocking a kid's email address will last all of two minutes."
Have some faith, blocking email addresses obviously worked for spam.
GIGO.
SIERRA TANGO FOXTROT UNIFORM
However, in my house we practice this apparently rare thing called, 'mutual respect' whereby he doesn't do such things, and I don't invade his privacy.
There's no more time for that! The TV tells me that the internet is trying to fuck my children!
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
omnia tua castra sunt nobis
Scoff if you want, as long as my little xXxSmileyMileyCheerGirl95xXx is protected by the combined powers of MySpace and the U.S. Government then I can sleep better at night knowing that nothing illegal or unsavory can happen to her person.
President Scroob prefers Schenectady, NY...
(For the ZIP-code challenged, the Zip code is 12345)
User Stewbacca sends a friend request to xXxSmileyMileyCheerGirl95xXx. Add Stewbacca to Friends?