Predators on the Internet

[wolf bite]

Yes Disdain, I know what you mean.

I must agree that I had a little difficulty when I first came here. Yes, I came because my boys were playing. But at the same time I did not want my age to be known because retaliations for my actions may be placed on them. The trouble came when people wanted to have talks with wolf bite in chat rooms. I kept all my conversations short to the boys and avoided almost any contact with the young ladies we have. Although I have now made it very clear I am an adult, I still keep most of my conversations as short as I can. Some people in the game a year ago used to have chats were they invited everyone, including me. I would not know it was just a general chat about life and things until I got into it. I did get some warm fuzzes that I was included, but still would only speak when spoken too. In real life, I (like most people) sometimes swear, but I am very careful never to around RWL or its people. Some people I have really come to like here, and some I do now get into long talks with. I enjoy how they think and what they are doing in their lives. Sometimes I hear of some accomplishment they made and I feel like a proud father for them. These things really lighten up my days. But I always have to be careful as I know there is an age difference and the high possibility of something I say to have the wrong meaning.

But in three years one time that I was entrapped, and I will admit it for the first time. A member, that is no longer here, was not very nice, had expressed his dislike for me, started IMing me when I was busy working. I paid little attention as his rant went on about how unfair his father was to punish him and how disgusting his life is to be stuck on RWL with a bunch of ?computer geeks and fat chicks.? I defended our members saying he was wrong. He said, ?Have you looked at the pics of the chicks, even only seeing their top half, you can tell they are all fat.? I responded with, ?Maybe they are just well endowed?? He asked what that expression meant. With out thinking I gave the meaning, ?Large breasted.? The moment I had hit the ?send? I knew I was in trouble. That little creep ran around for days saying, ?wolf bite cheeks out teenage breasts!?

Okay, that was hardly that bad, but it shows how fast something can get out of control. We adults have to take extra care in our words and how we use them. Both Kilk and Ereptor have had instances were they may need to spend the night in my town. I have said that they and their parent are welcome in my home. People have asked me dating advice, I may know the answer, but I can?t give it. When I am asked a question on a subject like drug use or such, I will post the answer or opinion in open forum. (Some of my off the wall posts have really been answers to questions I would not say in a chat).

Some of you may remember my sidekick from 3 years ago called ?Leader.? The guy in real life is a priest. Maybe 3 out of 100 priests have ? er problems. But being one in itself does not mean that he does. In fact he is a good honorable man and good friends despite that I don?t share his religion. His church told him he can no longer be a cub scout leader. When there was a family PJ sleep over in this church, he was the only one not allowed to attend.

I think the point is that sometimes the good guys have to go way out of their way not to be mistaken for the bad guys.


Wolf Bite
(posts at same time as ereptor)

[Ereptor]

Wolf im not sure how often my parents will accompany me traveling these days, but if the situation presented itself i would accept the invitaion.? I did not know that about leader.? I do remember him but only knew that he was a priest and that he was fighting against evil.? Which in that situation happened to be yours truely.? heh heh.? good times.? He must have a difficult life or rather a life with some complicated problems.?

The best advice i have received on dealing with people like your "endowed story", is arguing with a irrational person is irrational.? Its simple advice and it can take years to develop creative ways in dealing with the irrational people i encounter on the job, but it still rings true.? If you don't know how to talk to them, walk away.? They lose that battle too.? ;)

[The Lady Shael]

Never. No one's ever asked for any of my personal information, except my first name (and these were a couple people I already knew from RWL), which even sometimes I'm reluctant to give out. My parents taught me to be really extremely careful on the internet. Which is almost terribly ironic, because I'm always on myspace and livejournal. (they don't know I have a myspace...I'm not even sure if they know myspace exists) I haven't put TOO much about myself on my myspace, even if you tried searching for my first and last name you wouldn't be able to find me. I haven't posted my myspace URL anywhere where people I don't know could possibly access it. Or even people I know through the internet. No one here has even seen my myspace. And my livejournal is friends-only.

Our SRO told us that once he went on the internet pretending to be a 13 year old girl, and got a hit from a predator within minutes. They were able to nab him though.

[Disdain]

So if no one has told you lately.? Your doing a great job!

Thanks. It's hard, these days, to compete with my son's friends and their parents lack of bounderies. I usually end up the bad guy, but I know it's for the best. One of my biggest fears is for my kids to get wrapped up in a scary situation due to the internet. It happened to my wife's niece. She is a very pretty girl (she used a camera when chatting) and her parents are always working. She was approached and actually set up a meeting. Luckily, she told her parents and it got worked out before anything bad happened. She still had to get some counseling, though. Tough lesson!

Wolf:
That's the reason I don't use any instant messaging (except in-game or forum's). The only time i"ve ever used it was when a bunch of us took Peace down.  :evil: that was fun.  :-P

[Aqualis]

I used to be on AIM quite a bit, but the few people I talked to on a regular basis just dropped off the face of the earth. Now I'm not on so much.

[Gen. Volkov]

Disdain: Would that have been just before the reset in reg? Also, good on ya for setting limits for your kids. I may have a few personality quirks, but the worst trouble I have ever been in was in HS when I was suspended for "fighting", well, that and a speeding ticket lol. My parents set me limits, and I turned out a well adjusted member of society. Of course they didn't know about internet predators in ther hairy days of the 90's when the internet was still getting all the kinks worked out, but they had taught me well enough to avoid anything like that. As I said before I was approached once back then, but nothing came of it, I am always suspicious of people who are that friendly. As too currently, I have all the IM's but I don't tend to get random messages, and I have an LJ which 2 RWL people know and the rest are my RL friends. I had a myspace, but I deleted awhile ago. I had only made it so I could talk to a girl I had met IRL before I got her phone number. We broke up, so the reason for myspace dissapeared.

Traveling to meet someone? No way, not unless I knew them very well and they live quite close.

[Disdain]

Disdain: Would that have been just before the reset in reg?

No, it was last summer. When I was with BA, just before Peace joined them and him and I didn't see eye to eye. Lots of water under that bridge.

I am sooo much more strict than my Mom was. Because of all the things I did, I know all the tricks. my 12 year old can't get away with anything. He is the worst liar I know. My wife says it's because he's a good soul and it goes against his nature to lie. I agree  :wink:

[The Lady Shael]

Heh, I know when I have children I'm gonna be like that too. My mom is certainly one the stricter moms out there (Filipino moms are crazy...), and I know that I'm going to be just as strict with my children as she is with me and my sister, if not more.

[Aqualis]

That's to far off for me to bother with thinking about now.

My parents are fairly unrestrictive now, got that out of the way when I was younger. The only restriction I can think of at the moment is not to go more than 10mph over the limit.

Oh yeah, no long distance trips by myself until I'm 18.

[fingo]

I live with my mum and I haven't really had many restrictions in life (unless it was something really stupid) and even less on the net. When I was young and we first got the internet with AOL she use the parental controls, but ever since then she's never really bothered. My sis uses stuff like Bebo and I've just got myspace on msn. Guess my mum just trusts us on the net. But now I'm 18 there's nothing she can do to restrick me :evil:

[Blood Wake]

never, though I am friends with adults online who live like billions of miles away, like Disdain, and we all love Disdain.

on myspace I only really talk to people I know in reality. in fact right now I've been deleteing all my friends who I don't actually know.

[Ereptor]

Speaking of knowing people in reality I guess it is about time i sent a picture into the rwl photo album. 
*Photo sent*

[Arguia Zsah]

I just was told to get naked by Josh. Josh - get lost.