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Protection Online
Dateline: 6/25/03
by Ann Zeise
Privacy online is gone, yet the game of over protection goes
on, seldom working.
As I write this back in April, homeschool mail list posters have
been fuming over these events: Amazon.com being sued for not
protecting child product reviewers enough; AOL and other providers
protecting everyone so much from spammers that they are blocking
legitimate opt-in mail; and the ability to easily find out everything
about yourself online. I'll attempt to address these issues and
give a suggestion or two.
Amazon.com has provided a forum for site visitors to review books
and products for several years. They have two forms. At the top
of the adult form, which is the default, they say "Under
13? Use our Kid's Review Form." Do all kids pay attention
to this? Some do, but still in the middle of their review, they
reveal enough about themselves to be considered unsafe. The people
who have filed the lawsuit want Amazon.com to preview ALL the
reviews on their site, all the time to make sure no child reveals
their full name, age, and town. As this is impossible, it may
mean that Amazon will have to curtail book reviews by site members.
Many homeschool webmasters are watching this one closely. Obviously,
Amazon.com is being picked on because they are big and make money.
There are many homeschool and educational websites that encourage
kids to participate in one way or another. Maybe we just have
a message board for them to write to each other. Are we likely
to be sued should a child post personal information on a board?
Parents have to be responsible for their children online. Children
should never to give out their full name - in fact, let them
make up a nickname to use online. Something other than "HotChick12!"
They may tell what state they live in, but not their city. They
should not lie about their age. Explain what it means to be "jail
bait." They should not tell other family names, their street
address, or phone number. Tell them it is OK to be rude to a
person who insists on knowing such things, to just "hang
up" on them. Even OK information should not be given out
until a parent is asked. Let them know that there will be consequences
if they violate any of these rules.
Spam, real nasty spam, can be a bigger problem then posting personal
information on Amazon.com. Some of the big services for email,
AOL, Yahoo and MSN, have recently blocked all but certain types
of mail servers from emailing their members. Suddenly, opt-in
homeschool mail lists that have run for years on personal email
servers can't reach their members that are on these services,
not even to tell them what the problem is. If you are on a service
that is too censorous, find one that is not, and they use it
for all your mail lists. Read the lists in your browser. Burntmail.com
is a free ad-free, spam free mail service I use for some email.
Having your own domain and web space helps and can be less expensive
than an AOL account. Email addresses come with the domain. Make
the default email address using the characters above keyboard
numbers. I use *_*_*_*@gomilpitas.com. Don't try to email me
there! It will bounce back to you. It will also bounce back to
all spammers who try to send email to any made up @gomilpitas.com
address. I love spamming spammers! I am also java scripting my
email and eventually all email addresses on my website so that
email harvesting spiders can't read them. Joe
Maller's site can generate the code for anyone.
Put your 10-digit phone number into google.com. See your name
and address and a link to a couple of maps right to your home!
Now try a google search on "phone directory" and look
in any of the 4 million directories for your name. This is nothing
new. You've been in there for years. These lists even included
unlisted numbers! A couple will even generate my age for you.
Ack!
Is paranoia necessary? I've been online since 1989, and as there
were not many online in Milpitas, it was hard to hide my city.
Now that I'm even a more recognizable onliner, with my full name
all over my website, am I having strangers appear at my door?
Nope. Not one problem in 13 years... except one person who called
looking for a dentist in Milpitas early on a Saturday!
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- Books To Help You Get Started Homeschooling
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- Protecting
the Gift : Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe (And Parents Sane)
by Gavin De Becker
- Without offering a compendium of every conceivable danger,
Gavin identifies warning signals and real risks that are often
easy to spot once you know what to look for. Teens will appreciate
this book, as will parents. My teen read this first, and then
handed it to me, saying, "You should read this!"
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