DygiScape

Consumer Advocacy: MySpace AMBER Alerts

I logged into my MySpace account and discovered an AMBER Alert located at the top, center of the dashboard. While it appears they deployed this system earlier this year, I’m glad to see it in action. I’m also pleased to see safety leveraging social media, instead of criticizing it. More »

VA Requires Students to Learn Online Safety

Virginia, the state that houses NCMEC and AOL, has enacted a policy that schools must now facilitate classes that help keeps kids safe on the Web. Before I shoot it down, I want to say that this is a step in the right direction; I just don’t believe that the fear of online predators is all that realistic. More »

Some Thoughts on Community Moderation

It’s probably a good time that I share my thoughts on the tireless debate surrounding online community moderation of user contributed content — what works, what doesn’t and what the future holds for moderation of the Web. More »

RealPlayer Labeled ‘Badware,’ Real Networks Disputes Report

RealPlayer has been labeled as Badware [link via Techmeme], and consumer online safety group, StopBadware, advises users to uninstall RealPlayer. I’ve always disliked the way RealPlayer would sit in my systray and frequently pop-up informing of a product upgrade — when I never explicitly authorized it.

I suppose it was the registration paths mazes that it would send users through hoping they’d pay for some “gold” pass that irked me. I just didn’t see the need to pay for a media player that I used so infrequently, while I can get the same (probably better) content on other players like iTunes, Winamp and VLCPlayer.

The report issued by StopBadware.org has a full analysis on why RealPlayer earned their stripes.

I’ve posted details on how to uninstall RealPlayer in response to this.

How to Uninstall RealPlayer

RealPlayer has been labeled Badware and they’ve advised that you uninstall RealPlayer. However, understand that uninstall is not enough to remove their software. This media player will reside in your computer even after uninstalling. I’ll describe below how to completely remove RealPlayer from your computer and provide some great free alternatives to it.

More »

MySpace’s Tom Anderson Misrepresented His Age

MySpace’s Tom Anderson has been discovered as misrepresenting his age. Newsweek obtained [link via KCHBlog] documents that reveal Tom’s birth date — making him 37 — not 33. MySpace officially states that misrepresenting age will result in account deletion:

[...] We take extra precautions to protect our younger members and we are not able to do so if they do not identify themselves as such. MySpace will delete users whom we find to be younger than 14, or those misrepresenting their age. [...]

I guess when MySpace was on its way to being popular, Tom Anderson wanted to be cool, and be in his mid twenties and not thirties.

I might sound like an ass, but if the #1 user/public relations person can misrepresent their age, even by four years, why should the rest of the users be held accountable for it? What good is the age if even the company’s own representative fails to comply with this basic guideline? I understand that he isn’t the only one, and I feel for him because he’s on the hook in this way — but the company hasn’t spun any damage control yet, nor any response from Tom.

I imagine that someone might reply with “But Tom is an adult and didn’t hurt anyone,” but my response to that is two parts:
* Yes, he’s an adult +/- four years. His actions should reflect what’s within MySpace’s guidelines, and set the example for others. If he was 20, is it appropriate for him to represent that he’s 16? Where do we draw the line in this — we can’t because in America age is important because it authorizes you to purchase alcohol, tobacco, adult magazines, firearms, and the age of sexual consent.

* He didn’t hurt anyone, except for all the users who were deleted for providing false age.

What do I expect to be the outcome of all of this? Well, it would be laughable to see Tom’s profile get deleted … but I know that’s very unlikely. It would be more reasonable for Tom to correct his age information and do a blog entry about why his age differed and what the guideline is for users. I’m not the only one who feels this way, TechCrunch broke this on Oct 23rd and there still hasn’t been any change to his profile’s age!

If you’re interested, my age on social networking sites (work related or not), I don’t lie about my age. I don’t disclose my birthday for security reasons, but on all of them, I am listed as being born in 1985, making me 22.

Should Tom change his age or is it OK for someone to misrepresent their age on these social networking Web sites? Let me know what you think in the comments.

MySpace Agrees to Release Sex Offender Data

This morning I wake up to see that MySpace is releasing their sex offender data to authorities. This is great news but people need to understand a few things before they start chanting to restrict age on social networks.

What classifies as a sexual solicitation attempt? How is it reported and how is it qualified? These questions fall into “grey” area and it would require a lot of time and research before one can easily accuse that someone is a pedophile.

FTA, there is also some state attorney generals who are urging to make MySpace and other sites do age verification. This request is almost impossible, and would completely collapse MySpace and other social networking sites. How can you verify the age of a minor? Would parents really want their children’s information available to a private company? How does age verification prevent other (pedophiles) from exploiting the system and making up a “John Smith” and being 13?

I know why.

People want a simple answer for a complex problem. It’s not a bad idea, but it’s not the right answer to it. All this would do is make it bureaucratic, slow and a pain to use those sites for the 99% of legitimate users and make it just one obstacle that abusers will get around.

The solution is to educate your children that there are potential criminals on these sites and to not respond to any requests luring them in. Parents need to acknowledge the issue with their kids, and not turn a blind eye to it. I’ve listed my social networking safety tips before, and I encourage parents to have a look at it as a reminder.

I know it’s more difficult, but you (as a parent) need to address the problem first hand.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Bloggers Code of Conduct (also known as the Bureaucratic Blogging Solution)

In a time where we’ve established numerous laws against libel, copyright infringement, harassment, stalking and have empowered bloggers to manage their online experience … Tim O’Rielly suggests a Blogger’s Code of Conduct to help govern how bloggers moderate their blog’s content and comments. Due to overwhelming response, he elaborated on some lessons learned from his proposal. A blogging code of conduct will not deter abusive users.

First and foremost, this proposition is doomed for legal failure and obviously won’t protect Kathy Sierra (or any other A-List blogger) from future death threats or obscene vulgarity. While the suggestion looks pretty and legal; many people don’t understand that most online providers already have these legal protections in place, and all they really need to do is enforce them.

Blogging is probably of the easiest, purest, free and secure methods to share one’s expression online. When an entity introduces laws because they’re in a state of fear — everyone else suffers. This is evident in more than just blogging. When our nation was attacked on September 11th, congress wholeheartedly passed the USA PATRIOT Act, and subsequently two later revisions, that breaches the civil rights of our nation’s citizens. Are we really willing to sacrifice our freedom to maintain freedom? We certainly do not need to make this mistake with blogging. Instituting a law under the premise of protecting others is undoubtedly a false sense of security.

The last thing we (as bloggers) need is legislation detailing what we can and can’t say online. Seriously. I’m not even going into why … (Oh wait, I just did)

In regard to maintaining civility online, it doesn’t come down to a badge on a blog, it doesn’t come down to additional policies — it comes down to setting clear expectations and putting the foot down, enforcing those guidelines. Whether or not an A-Lister is able to moderate their blog comments on their own or not, shouldn’t be the reason why such ridiculous propositions are made. I agree that people should remain calm and civil when it comes to debating opinions.

When you’ve let the majority of your users be at the mercy of the smallest group of unruly users, you’ve failed your community.

I am actually quite disappointed that Kathy didn’t show up at her conference. I understand that she felt concerned for her personal safety.

Here’s what I would do: I’d contact the contact the police and request they send an officer to standby at the conference due to a potential death threat. Then I’d inform the event coordinators to verify photo identification at the entry, and perform a brief weapon checkpoint. (Last time I checked, no firearms fit in a PowerBook) Then I’d take a moment to talk about why everyone was searched, and had to check their photo ID’s. I’d expand on details regarding user safety, enforcement, and the seriousness of blogging and why it matters — since everyone would have been searched, they would have paid the price for her circumstances. Do I really think the troll was/is going hurt her? No. The troll in her case wanted attention and guess what — she gave him every second of it. On the other hand, I commend her for blogging about her experience, and it’s clear that this issue is serious. I just don’t think a Code of Conduct is the right solution.

That said, we shouldn’t be compromising our personal safety in the name of transparency and blogging ourselves. We should acknowledge the fact that (a) there are some unfriendly people online, (b) people are more likely than not to say obscene things, and (c) maintaining a thick skin does not mean to further engage an abusive user. If we as bloggers stand up, and put forth our own blog comment guidelines; and enforce them — we probably won’t have another Kathy Sierra. Kathy Sierra isn’t alone. Many other bloggers have been threatened and stalked, for example, go ask Darren Rowse.

Some may suspect I am cold and heartless for feeling this way. To the uninitiated, I’ve had numerous death threats and harassment thrown at me when I was in tech support. Maybe I felt comfortable because I had access to their ANI or account information, or it could be that I’ve just grown a thick skin and have a sense of what to expect out of people. We’re human. Human emotions aren’t always happy and peaceful. The key to success in managing hateful users is the agility to maintain your position and reasonably handle threats online. As you can see, this issue is serious, as blogging is simply another form of free speech and no matter how many laws you have, how many blog disclosures, badges, or page views — you can’t please everyone so you might as well prepare for it when you don’t.

I invite you to share your thoughts in the comments.

Blog. Blog freely.

[tags]Blogging, Safety, Kathy Sierra, Conduct, Policy, Solution, Civility Enforced, Anything Goes, Disclosure, Web 2.0[/tags]

Handling Online Terrorism (’Cyberbullying’)

For those that may not know, I help manage online communities at my job. To manage an online community, I’m that person that objectively reviews a series of harassment reports and take action from those. Sharing my experience as an Internet expert and current community manager, I’ll share tips on handling “Cyberbullies.”

I should take a moment to define a few terms. I classify “online terrorism” as any activity that is deemed as harassment, defacement or grafiti on a Web property such as an online profile, forum, blog, or other user-created content. While it’s a semi-unofficial word, I believe it fits the meaning and the context.

An online terrorist is known as a Troll. They simply wish to disrupt an online community from their on-topic, direct discussion. A troll is no different than you or I, they simply exist in someone’s alternate online personality. They are usually created from the community they disrupt. Their mentality, can be summarized as their way or no way. Along with trolls, are cyberbullies who simply harass you online. You’d be surprised; I’ve encountered some people who do behave well online under one alias, and have a troll under a stealthy alias.

Now that you know what online terrorism is, and who the trolls are; its now time to minimize their disruption.

How to Handle Online Terrorism, Trolling and Cyberbullying:

• Don’t respond to it. While it sounds simple and lame, if you respond you only add fuel to their fire. Essentially, what good is a message if no one acknowledges? Use this passive response to send the message, that you don’t wish to bother them.
• Report a troll’s content to the provider. The only way a provider can step in and take action is if their users let them know. Learn the abuse and reporting policies.
• (For a community owner) Provide a list of rules, standards or guidelines you want your community to live by. While some policies may require legal assistance; some things can still be prohibited such as harassment, spamming, multiple account abuse, etc. Explain the consequences as well, as to inform the users about how you’re protecting their environment
• If you feel personally threatened, contact law enforcement. While a majority of online trolls are just trying to jar a response; ignorance shouldn’t risk your own danger. Reporting it to law enforcement will document the situation if escalates, you’ll be making a reasonable effort. That said, don’t waste their time with mild vulgarity … as that will only hinder your ability to adequately report crimes.
• Log and document everything. While this responsibility rests in the provider; it should be suggests that if someone is continually harassing you, you should retain copies of the content.
• Don’t pay any attention to trolls. A rule I’ve learned recently regarding priorities — don’t let your largest task be at the mercy of your smallest distraction. Same rule goes for trolls, don’t blog about them and don’t respond; focus on what your primary content niche thrives on.
• Be aware of the content you post. If you talk about your family, children, school, or post your personal information on a message board; all of that information will be used against you. Talking in generalities is perfectly acceptable, and inviting people to an online chat, rather than a phone call is more acceptable.
• Don’t get personal. Discussing hot topics such as politics, religion, or pop culture; some people have many different views. Take a moment to embrace them and then respond to the topic, rather than the author.

While this list isn’t complete; it however does serve as a primer for anyone who interacts (or manages) an online community. I appreciate getting feedback from anyone who has experience in this too, so feel free to share your tips in the comments regarding online terrorism.

[tags]internet, web, online, community, harassment, cyberbullying, terrorism, help, tips[/tags]

Social Networking Safety Tips

It’s no question that social networking Web sites are growing rapidly everyday. This growing trend of sharing yourself more and more online; safety is often overlooked. Setting forth some safety guidelines will benefit the users of social networks, parents and children.

Social Networking Safety Tips

• Review the Web site’s safety notifications, standards, and learn how to report violating content. Most often it will be disclosed at the registration phase. Otherwise, might be noted at the bottom of the site. This information will educate users about the function of their web site in regard to Internet safety.
• Parents: Talk to your children about social networking. Suggested topics to discuss would include not posting private information; explaining what information is private and public, pictures, and declining requests to meet people.
• Understand that people are not who they claim they are. You wouldn’t reveal your personal details to just anyone, would you? Don’t post it on your profile unless you want everyone (including bad people) to see it. Don’t agree to meet anyone online unless you specifically know that person.
• If you wish to meet someone, do it safely. This discretion can be a difficult one to judge, but if you do choose to meet someone online, make sure you’re in a safe location. I suggest meeting them in a large mall mainly because: it’s public, indoors, safe and provides either of you the option of “running errands” if you wish to not meet. Bring a friend with you just to be safe and have a good time.
• Be careful — Social Networking is a double-edged sword. It’s okay to have fun and connect with other people on social networks, but just be alert to the fact that criminals may prey on others. Take precautions to prevent possible negative outcomes.
• Setting your profile ‘Private’ to screen outsiders. Most social networks will permit you to set your profile private to prevent outside individuals from viewing your profile. This enables you to reach out to other’s who you are friends with, but exclude incoming profile requests. I suggest parents enforce that their children’s profiles remain private.
• Maintain your computer’s defenses. As a general precaution, it’s important to make sure you have an updated anti-virus, firewall, anti-spyware and operating system updates. It’s been noted previously, some MySpace advertisements contain malicious code and can infect your computer system. I’ve listed four ways to prevent spyware, check it out.
• Consider using a fake name or alias. There is no need to use your real name on social networks. Get creative and take a look into Social Security Administration’s popular names database and find one you like.
• Don’t get ‘Phished’. Phishing is a common tactic of spammers to compromise some else’s account and send messages purporting their products. Take a moment to understand how to properly login to the social network. Don’t click links you didn’t ask for or expect. If a link prompts you to log in again — it’s most likely a phishing scam.
• Research other online internet safety resources. There are plenty of other resources to help you learn more about Internet safety. CERT has a security tip all about social networking. Plenty of additional resources for parents are freely available too from the SafeKids.com Web site. Also, check into ProBlogger, blogs about his blog stalker and his tips for blogging safely.

I did my best to make this list comprehensive, but keep in mind it doesn’t cover all aspects about online safety. I wanted to convey awareness and some solutions to problems with online safety and social networks. What tips do you have about social networking safety?
[tags]Social Networking, Internet, Safety, Tips, Parents, MySpace, Blogging[/tags]