Teen Sues MySpace For Not Protecting Her
from the blame-the-one-with-the-money dept
It had to happen sooner or later. With all of the attempts by the press, "family groups" and politicians to blame MySpace for the irresponsible behavior of its members, someone was going to sue eventually. A mother and her teen daughter are now suing MySpace and News Corp. for $30 million for not protecting the 14-year-old girl from being sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old boy. Clearly, the 19-year-old was at fault here -- and has been arrested for his actions. To then go on and sue MySpace is ridiculous. Do people sue the phone company for facilitating sexual assault when it happens over the phone? Or the ISP when it happens over email? This is just a blatant attempt to cash in on an unfortunate situation.
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This has to end
I hope they spend 40 million just so the girl doesn't get 30 million.
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Re: This has to end
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Re: Re: This has to end
Wow! McDonalds must have been brewing their coffee in a pressure cooker! I mean, styrofoam really shouldn't melt at the boiling point of water, and since coffee is by in large, flavored water, I really doubt the styrofoam would have melted even if the coffee was served at boiling temperature. Or, maybe the styrofoam did melt. Seems that she should have sued the cup manufacturer.
Hmmm.... fishy-fishy....
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Re: This has to end
But even I have come to realize coffee can be TOO hot. She didnt sue because her coffee was hot and it burnt her. She sued because it was near boiling (or somewhere in the vicinity) and it scalded her.
No coffee should ever be hot enough to do more than make you hiss and jump up. Hospital stays not involved.
Some things look frivolous are really arent.
Suing Myspace because you have a stupid teenage daughter who hasnt been exposed to enough real world stuff that she actually thought going out with a boy she had never met to the movies and dinner was a good idea?
THAT is Frivolous. I dont even blame the Mother all that much... I did things behind my parents back and it wasnt because they were bad parents. Its because I strived to make sure they didnt find out!
I blame the girl. She is stupid. Not saying she deserved what happened (because that man is a sicko), but because she put herself in that position in the first place.
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pathetic people
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Re: pathetic people
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Good Grief
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Re: Good Grief
I belive this approach is more what is needed than anything. It is the PARENTS responsibility for the child.
In fact in many states, if your underage child buglarizes, the parents can be held liable, and in some cases jailed. This is no different, except the child in this case did not commit a crime, but knowingly commited and immoral act. The child is taughtr to c ontinue that immoral act with a frivbolous lawsuit.
Why is it that if this "child" commited murder, in many states she would be tried as an adult, but in this case she needs to hide behind that "child" label for unjust protection , when she obviosly played her part in the meeting.
TAKE THE KID FROM THE IRRESPONSIBLE MOTHER
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She deserves it
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Re: She deserves it
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Re: She deserves it
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Um, hello!
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My space
Think they are good when a problem happens.
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legal bable stuff saying there not lieable for any that that happens to you.. or is that there not lieable for what happens to your computer? ether way.. arnt thay like by law not lieable for actions of its users? like Kazaa and Sharbear and other file sharing networks saying that thay are not lieble for your actions?
yes i know myspace isnt filesharing just those were the only things that came to mind
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Although a cup of coffee is supposed to be "hot", the problem in this case was that it was at/near boiling temperature when served. It most likely would have burned her one way or another, but your crotch tends to suffer a little longer than your mouth.
Was she stupid? Yes Should the coffee been so dangerously hot? No Oh well...$hit happens.
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The McDonald's case is a pet peeve of mine...
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Re: The McDonald's case is a pet peeve of mine...
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Re: The McDonald's case is a pet peeve of mine...
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Re: The McDonald's case is a pet peeve of mine...
http://www.overlawyered.com/2005/10/urban_legends_and_stella_liebe.html
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No one ever owns up to their faults
But money grubbing mom and daughter suing MySpace because this 14 y/o met a stranger that was at least 17 or 18 (she knew he was a senior), that is a crock. It is not MySpace's job to make sure that this little 14 y/o is properly supervised and not being a bit of a whore. Sorry if I sound judgemental, but I think this is part of what is wrong with our country anymore. Nothing is our fault. Someone should have prevented us from doing something we know better than to do.
Maybe whore is a bit strong of a word, but I know that if my little sister had asked to go and hang out with a senior when she was that age..one that parents did not know. They would have laughed at her, and possibly grounded her for even asking. So I think maybe mother and daughter should sue each other, and leave MySpace out of it.
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Re: No one ever owns up to their faults
kim
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This is more about trying to take advantage of a bad situation by trying to milk MySpace out of money.
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wow
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MySpace partial fault.
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Re: MySpace partial fault.
I really feel bad that she was assulted, but MySpace cannot stop her from talking to a stranger that she sees at the mall and thinks is attractive. The same guy could have met her at the mall and approached her, she would have giggled and flirted and trade phone numbers. Then the same thing would have happened. Would she then sue the mall for not protecting her from the 19 year old man?
Where does it end? Does this girl realize her lawsuit essentially means says she thinks that cars should have auto speed control that speed limit signs control, that McDonald's should have a detection system that can tell when she is full and take the rest of her food away, or that if she is up past 9pm on a school night, a school official should come and place her in her bed and tie her down because she is not able to control this herself. This is just greed and lack of responsiblity, except for the assailant (sp). It seems that he is getting what is due to him, but I think the mother might need some guidance from child warefare services, and the girl needs to talk with someone about self control and responbility.
Sorry, but I just think that we are opening doorways to total and complete loss of free will if we keep suing because someone didn't stop us from doing something that we KNEW we should not be doing.
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Re: Re: MySpace partial fault.
I'm impressed, good points made, I never really thought of it that way. Kind of scary to think that we're suing corperations for not telling us what we can/can't do. Next the government will come in and take advantage of cases likke this, and justify the right of herding us like sheep/cattle by stripping us of our free will, since this case clearly states that we as teenages/parents don't know ANY better.
*shiver* (feels freedom being eyed by evil politicians)
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Stupidity.
myspace is good for me i enjoy the bussiness ive been getting...its a tool that can be effectivly used by bands, websites, and artists like me...but like other tools it can be abused by a child molester...but in this case she wasnt innocent like a child, she knew what she was doing.
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MySpace at ZERO fault.
Parents need to get up off their irresponsible hides and watch what their kids do for a goddamn change, and stop expecting everything to be automated service. If you wanted MySpace to watch your kids for you, pay them like you pay a nanny, and continue to shell out money and be just a useless a parent as you've ever been.
As for this case: throw it out of Court.
As for the plaintiffs: throw them into exile for being pathetic.
As for the plaintiff's lawyers: throw them off our Earth, and purge the world of more stupidity.
Objectiveness: Just no. You seem like one of those useless "I want everything done for me" type of parents (or future parent). For the sake of yourself, and your possible children, lets hope you don't have any (at least until you get your head out of your... butt).
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im gonna sue the government
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Why bother?
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MYSPACE
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Re: MYSPACE
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Re: MYSPACE
There is nothing wrong with meeting people who you chat with in person. It is just as safe as meeting someone in church, at the grocery store, at the mall, or at a bar. There are still safety precautions that you must take.
The issue at hand isn't that the girl met someone on the internet and then met them in person. The issue is that her PARENTAL GUIDANCE (or lack thereof) led her to believe that it was ok that she was 14 and was meeting a 19 year old for dinner, a movie, and back to his place. I don't know too many 19 year olds that aren't bags of raging hormones lookin for a quickie.
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Re: Re: MYSPACE
"To create an account, a MySpace user must list a name, an e-mail address, sex, country and date of birth."
Anything short of a genetic sample wound't be undeniable proof of identity. Ultimately everything comes down to trust. The parent gives her child the tools to make sound decisions but must trust that her child will do so. MySpace must trust that it's users are being truthful in their registration data and upon confirmation, believe that the user has indeed read the EULA and agrees with it. This is indeed a case of bad parenting but not in the way she raised her daughter, but in the way she herself handles herself in bad siduations.
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"blame canada"...
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This is crazy
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Blame the Mother
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Not a good comparison
First of all, myspace.com provides a directory service far more complex than a phone directory, and lists kids. (Try to get a phone listing as a 14 year old, with the label "TeenHotty".)
Second, myspace.com provides a huge number of "features" that go beyond point to point communication, such as hosted content, (including pictures). If you try to compare this with voicemail service, again -- consider if a 14 year old can get voicemail service on their own from AT&T.
The problem is simply that content hosting companies which accept content from people not of full legal age (18 in America) have to be cognisent of the risks. Myspace.com has played fast and loose with the risks because they wanted to grow quickly, and now that problem is coming back to roost.
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Re: Not a good comparison
The printed press is much older than the telephone and people put out Personal Ads. Perhaps the phone didn't appeal to your sensibilities, but the argument is that you can't sue the vessel for the contents. How about newspapers with "personal ads" which has led to dubious "anonymous" meetings with dire consequences. Myspace has done nothing new, nothing novel, nothing out of the ordinary. They have only carried messages, and in the case of this frivolous lawsuit, the message of an asshole to the eyes of an idiot. The blame lies firmly in several places, but not with the medium used to carry it.
A more appropriate analogy might be printing presses, publishers and more to the analogy, books. Remember, not only the Bible (whatever religeon you acknowledge) was written down in books, but so was "Mein Kampf". Can you sue the author of that book? The publisher? All publishers of all books? The owners of the printing presses? The producers of the ink the printing press used?
Clearly the logic does not hold, no matter how many blood cells flush your face. Try putting some of that angry blood in your brain and think of it logically. This is an absurd argument, and one that should be treated harshly as opportunistic and riding the wave of popular anti-myspace and anti-Internet bias.
The owners and employees of myspace.com are no saints. They have plenty to atone for, but... this shameless plea for someone to blame is not among them.
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How is this anyone's fault but the man who did it?
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Re: How is this anyone's fault but the man who did
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Re: How is this anyone's fault but the man who did
You might not want your parents to butt into your business, but if your business is likely to get you sexually assaulted and they are butting in to prevent it, that's called *parenting*.
Everyone involved in this bears some of the responsibility for the outcome, IMO, MySpace to a lesser extent (legally speaking) since their EULA likely exonorates them from wrongdoing. They appear to have done what can be done without infringing on the civil liberties of those who use their site (see also Disgruntled American's comments).
Problem with freedom is, it can get you hurt. Bad decisions get made. So you own up, learn and move on.
At least, that's the hope.
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Re: Re: How is this anyone's fault but the man who
Thanks for the thought-provoking comments, by the way.
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This is such the commentary on the failings of our
Now I am not saying that the lawsuit has merits, but realistically what service does myspace provide for social benefit, or is there no effort in this world to protect our children from being stupid (which we all were at 14, so lets not kid ourselves) If it took a 80 year woman with 3rd degree burns to get McD's to cool off coffee, why did we wait till a 14 yr old got raped to realize that this site really should have had more parental controls to prevent this crap from happening.
We as adults should do everything we can do to protect any child from any part of the world. It is our jobs to do so. If you live in a box and only care about your own family and not the children of others, then get off of my planet, your taking up valuable space, air and water.
Sometimes people see only the money, which typically is set high enough to get attention, rather than show what the parents are actually after. If they sue for $10, then MySPace just settles and moves on. This way they get the press they want, the exposure the problem needs, and I really doubt the family wouldn't give any amount to have their daughter not go through the years of nightmares and self loathing she will have, so back off a bit and think of how you would act if it was your daughter....
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Re: This is such the commentary on the failings of
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Re: This is such the commentary on the failings of
Something, yes, but not anything. Supposing I were present, with a loaded handgun, something that could be done is shooting the girl in the head, preventing the rape. That would work, but is not a valid solution to the problem. Shooting the guy in the head, while still illegal, would be deemed far more acceptable by pretty much the whole of society. Threatening the guy with the gun, telling the girl to call 911, and holding the guy at gunpoint until the police arrive, that is an even better solution (except for the people who feel that someone who would rape a 14 year old girl deserves a shot in the head.) I don't get arrested, she doesn't get raped, and he gets to go to jail for a very long time.
Many of these MySpace problems could be 'cured' by draconian censorship laws, much like the ones in use in China. That would probably solve the problem, as the people smart enough to bypass that sort of thing probably aren't dumb enough to get into these kinds of situations. Turn America into a police state, and you might be able to destroy most of the chances for the pedophiles roaming the malls. But these are not valid solutions to the problem. Benjamin Franklin once said: "People who would trade liberty for security will end up with neither."
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Re: This is such the commentary on the failings of
This wouldn't BE my daughter. And it wouldn't be the daughter of ANY RESPONSIBLE PARENT.... It has been mentioned numerous times in previous posts and I will reiterate. PARENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTIONS OF THEIR CHILDREN... Say it with me....
These parents and this girl are the type of people who sues the gun manufacturer and the bullet manufacturer because they made the gun and bullet that someone shot a family member with, and the government for not having stronger gun control laws, etc....
They are the people who sues the webhosting company and the ISP because someone put up a website that they disagree with.
They are the type of people who would file a suit against techdirt because someones post "hurt their feelings".
They are the type of people who feel that they should not be held responsible for their own actions. It is the Governments job to monitor everything we do to keep us safe. It is their job to pass numerous repetitive laws to protect us from our own stupidity. We shouldn't need to LEARN from our mistakes. We should pass legislation making sure that our mistakes become illegal and thus noone else can repeat them. OH, and we should pay them HALF our salaries every year to do these things for us!
They are the type of people who should be forced to move to a remote island so that the rest of us don't have to read about their ignorance.
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Do you sue the candy company for providing such an irresistable product?
Do you sue the car company for providing the criminal a means of transportation?
In the end it was your child that got in the car.
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Re:
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Changes
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Re: Changes
I live in California, and my family is doing just fine on one income.
Thank God I'm able to provide for my family, and the wife can stay home if she wants. Do we have all the fancy new toys ? Nope, but we've got a roof over our head, and a small backyard.
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To anonymous coward
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Solution
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I hit a piece of wood in the road before too. I think it's time I sued the department of transportation cause one of their users is a moron and didn't tie it down....
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My Space
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Re: My Space
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sue the government
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McDonalds
Now in styrafoam cups there is some "give" and a shift in shape could have caused some liquid to spill out. You may shake your finger at me now and call it mearly symmantics (sp?) but realize this is a legal case. Whether it was the full cup or part of the cup matters. I've been burned before and know that a few drops of coffee vs the whole thing matters.
It's still her responsability to make sure that she is safe with the coffee. If she was at home and the same thing happened, who would she sue? I'm sure she didn't know that McDonald's coffee was 185F. I'm sure she can't tell the difference between 140F and 185F being poured on her. So how did she know? If it was at home would she have sued the coffee pot maker? What about the coffee company? There product in it's inteded form can be dangerous. Maybe all coffee should need to be cold from now on.
I just think that everyone needs to take more responsability for their actions. You fall at company X because they didn't mop up a spill and didn't have warning signs, it's their fault, lawsuit. They have signs and the aisle blocked off and you still walk down it, your fault.
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Sue the twit and her parents
On my router, MySpace.com is blocked. None of my kids are aloud there...
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Re: Sue the twit and her parents
The word is "allowed".
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Re: your lame ass
You should be ashamed.
//tif
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No one deserves to get raped. Ever.
//end rant before too many obscenities spew forth.
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myspace sucks
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Re: myspace sucks
And guess what, underage drinking and illegal drug use started WAY WAY WAY before the internet. So let us quit thinking that there is a contribution being made here by social network sites.
It is not MySpace's job to control the actions that your children's friends perform. I would hope you said something to your children about this. I must say though this is an interesting way to babysit kids. Let them go out and run around all the time with their friends, and then spy on MySpace and catch them doing something in a picture. How about talking to them about it and just praying that you did what you could do? That seemed to be what parents used to do.
And what kind of "trouble" is MySpace heading for exactly? I mean, the only person running a risk is the person posting the pictures. And even then, teachers using pictures from MySpace to get onto their students is tragic. It really is not the schools job to monitor what a child is doing at 7pm on a Saturday night. Or even over the summer. Schools have no right to suspend a student because there is a picture of them drinking on the internet. That is stupid, and does not even make sense. That is like saying that you can suspend kids that get a speeding ticket. Wake up.
As for police, well the kids know that the picture get looked at by lots of different people. There is a risk there. But like I said, you are not stopping any of these activites by busting them on MySpace. You just force them to hide it better. Maybe up front discussions would work better than hoping to just have some kind of supervision by social networking websites.
Parents are so out of touch with children anymore. It is sad that I spend more time with my little cousin than the parents do in a week on average. They have jobs, but they have all of their things to do also. Well when you become a parent, you lose some of that. Today's parents just hope that the internet or TV will handle their job so they can still have "a life." Well it doesn't work that way. That's being their buddy more than their parent. Sad really. Do not have kids if you are not ready to be a responsible parent that is proactive instead of reactive.
Okay I will step down from my soapbox now. Sorry if that got too long winded.
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Re: Re: myspace sucks
i talk to all my friends that i havent seen scence highschool
and make new friends after i moved to a new town!
If you dont like it then fine but whats the point of talking shit about it and blaming MYSPACE cuz there lil girls act like they are olderon it. you could put any age u want! and u can also make it privite so poeple dont talk to you
and they have a block were u can just block a person all together
if your stupid enough to go met up with some one you dont kno from myspace thats your own god damn fault!
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bad parenting?
i concur with this statement. it's the fault of the parents not the site. she had nothing to fear online. once she shuts the computer down and goes to meet this dude, it becomes the parents resonsibility.
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An interesting idea
An idea, how about instead of making all MySpace users submit some form of proof of age, just make anyone who wants to display a photograph submit that proof? This would at least eliminate part of the temptation of these predators. Further, the parents should be happier because nothing like finding out that little Jane's display name is "Porn Star In Training," and her picture is practically X-rated.
I do agree with what has been said above, so far as the fact that the parents should have taken a more active role, and that the lawsuit itself is frivolous. I do think it is somewhat unfair, and unrealistic to assume that all parents have the time, patience or aptitude to understand all of the trouble that their kids could be getting into. I think that this isn't really a new or different problem. When he was a kid, my dad used to go get drunk in the dunes. When I was a kid, I used to sneak out my window, just to see my friends. We all do stupid things. The question here shouldn't be who is to blame, but what we can all do to work at making it better.
And, as clichéd as that sounds, I think it really is true. I don't think that protecting children is completely up to MySpace or up to the parents, or even up to us. Other users of MySpace. Query: How many times have you reported a user you suspected was underage? Yea, me either. It really is something we should all think about. One last note, forbidding things doesn’t make them go away. I would caution parents that simply block access to MySpace without explaining to their kids why. The kids are going to figure out ways around you, but you probably have a good enough relationship with them to explain the situation in such a way that they wont want to. Whatever you do, don’t underestimate your child’s ability to get in trouble, thwart your rules or find a nice sized loophole. That’s the best thing my folks ever did for me…
//tif
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Re: An interesting idea
I just think it is sad that the mother is so greedy that she is using this sad event to milk some money.
We all could be more proactive some, but along the same lines, if I cannot tell if someone in a pic is a kid, I am not going to report it.
Point taken though about looking for better solutions instead of trying to blame people. And my mother to this day would be lost trying to figure out what I do on the internet. And loopholes are always to be found. I would just go to a friends house to watch Cinemax as a kid when my parents would not allow me to at home. So you are right about talking to them about MySpace, not just blocking it from them.
Once again good post, and thank you for stating the "she deserved it" remark was a bit harsh. No one likes what happened to this little girl. Instead of this lawsuit, maybe she should grow from this and speak to other young girls (and boys) about this kind of trap. Just a thought.
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Re:
And the whole macho "step up.." blah blah...lay off the testosterone (sp). Yes this are very sick people that need help, but that kind of attitude is not really going to change anything.
And "pick up a chick like a real man." You are lucky there are not some hard core femanists on here reading or they would lay into you for that remark. Just because they are over 18, does not mean you should not show a woman some respect.
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myspace sucks
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Re: myspace sucks
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Re: myspace sucks
But what if they are listening in. And what if you are in a bad mood and make an inane comment about shooting someone, or blowing something up. And the NSA's software picks up on those keywords and flags your conversation. Now you have guys in black suits with guns at your door arresting you and putting you in a holding tank somewhere while they run an investigation. And maybe they will let you off, or maybe the freedoms that we hold dear are slowly slipping away from us because of jackasses like you who don't want to be responsible for your actions...
I think that we should sue the post office because they delivered the letter that upset me. It isn't my fault I opened it, it had my name on it.
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Bull S
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Postal Service Heaves Big Sigh Of Relief
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Re: myspace sucks by Disgusted American
We began to investigate and discovered everything about these other kids and their lives where they lived and when she invited them over i cornered them and asked them just exactly what that marijuana sign means (like i dont know) or why they have photos of drugs on their page?, and i sat them down and lectured them until they left(i was nice about it though), and every time i saw them later. For some reason my daughter lost all of those firends......Hmmmmm?. Anyways kids are wanting to grow up too fast and the way television makes them think they need to a famous dancer or rapper,rockstar,country singer or whatever, i was a kid once and i wanted to be famous as well, and some of them will believe anything to get there as well. i feel if you are your childs friend/parent they will not need to look for another one, but it takes a lot of paticence and i try not to forget how i was a lot like all of my kids.
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Re: Re: myspace sucks by Disgusted American
But trying to pawn off that MySpace did not protect her isn't going to help her grow in my opinion.
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MySpace should sue her for decimation of character
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You got to be kidding........
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Didn't report for this very reason
SHE IS FAR FROM AN AUTOMATIC WHORE FOR BEING ASSUALTED....AND LET'S SAY THAT THIS 14 YEAR OLD IS A WHORE.. DOES THAT AUTOMATICALLY GIVE HIM THE RIGHT TO DO AS HE PLEASES... I'M SURE ALOT ON HERE WOULD FIT THAT SAME STEREOTYPE...
she may or may not of used good judgement but I'm sure all of you "adults" on here has always used good judgement.. no I do not agree with them suing MySpace... but what better way to make changes and get the problem out there.. that is the only way in the US to get a problem addressed or noticed.. our legal system is very screwed up..
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we need some bullet control
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Do People Sue the Phone Company?
They will, believe me, any day now.
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Parents!
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One solution noted is having MySpace up their age limit. In theory, this is an outstanding idea--in reality, it won't work. Why? Because, kids LIE. When they want something, they can and will find a way to circumvent the rules to get what they want. Ok, so MySpace ups their access age and this situation continues to happen because some kid found Mommy or Daddy's license number w/their birthdate and used that to create a profile. What now? Who gets the blame then?
Unfortunately, we don't know the entire story, but what we *do* know is this: the girl willingly created an account and had correspondence with a boy/man she KNEW (as she admitted in the article) was much older than her. Her mother was not aware of this discourse (as far as we can tell from the article) and, despite knowing the pitfalls of allowing youngsters free reign to the internet, took no precautions to keep her child from putting herself into dangerous situations. If she *did* set up these safeguards, then the girl went around those safeguards to get what she wanted. Again, this girl knew the young man in question was older--just as he knew she was younger--yet both continued to communicate. The girl then went one step farther and met this character for dinner and a movie and as a result was attacked (unfortunately, because of her age, him physically touching her in any way other than a handshake can be construed as sexual assault). Should he go to jail--YES. He had NO BUSINESS meeting an underage girl in real life--regardless of the situation. But, in the end, both she and her mother bear a portion of the responsibility for this too. The girl for circumventing the rules and not using common sense to prevent this situation and the mother for not monitoring her child.
MySpace isn't exactly innocent in this either, but in no way should they be attacked like this. Because of the nature of their business, short of violating privacy laws, their hands are sort of tied here. How many parents have admitted to letting their kids create MySpace accounts as an appeasement or as a treat for good behavior? When MySpace increases the age limit, do you honestly think those same parents won't give their consent? They've already done so to this point. They'll use whatever tools are necessary to give little Junior what s/he wants in an effort to seem 'cool' or to placate the kid. And again, you're faced with the dilemma of a determined person (age notwithstanding) of finding a way to go around those rules to get that account. There's only so much MySpace can do to offer 'safety' and 'security' to their users. After that, it's up to the user to exercise common sense.
As someone posted earlier, if she'd met him in a mall or at a movie theatre while hanging out with friends and the same result occured, whose 'fault' (for lack of a better term) would it be then?
Common sense people. A little goes a long way.
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Why not sue Bars and Restaurants?
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MySpace has no control over who meets who in person & where. That's really the bottom line. All it does is connect people to other people (social networking, a concept yahoo chat, msn chat, vpchat, voodoochat, irc & the like have been doing since the dawn of the internet).
To say MySpace is responsible is stupid. If you feel different, sell your computer & stay off the net...it's really not the place for you.
You can't say the girl was "stupid" for meeting with the guy. She just did what every teen does--meet friends. Now getting in a car with a stranger is something different, but that's a different story.
For those "MySpace could do more" folks, there are parental consent laws out there (COPPA), but that's only for the ages of 13 and under. As far as MySpace is concerned (as well as the law), they collect the same amount of information from it's members as the vast majority of similar sites and forums. Seems pretty damn reasonable to me.
The rest is up to the parents. Imagine that.
It doesn't matter if MySpace meets the lowest standards of the law or strive to set the example, they meet the standards set by the law...period.
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MYSPACE RULES
GO MySpace ...
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Myspace......
If She Wouldnt Have Added Him As A Friend On Myspace See Thats Where All These People Are WRONG FOR BLAMING MYSPACE ITS NOT MYSPACES FAULT ITS HERS FOR ADDING HIM AND NOT TO MENTION SHE GAVE HIM HER PHONE NUMBER MYSPACE DIDNT GIVE IT TO HIM SHE DID
Sooo There And About The 30 Million Thats Pure Bull Crap SHE IS JUST TRYIN TO GET SUM MONEY OUT OF THE DEAL .......HER PARENTS SHOULD HAVE
WATCHED HER AND CHECKED TO SEE WHAT SHE WAS DOING ON THE INTERNET .........I Love Myspace and So Does Everyone Else Who Has One
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Myspace......
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Monitor what your kids are doing online
Yes, they do. I took a screen cap of what I see, when I click on one of my niece's friends. You can see it here. (I added my opinion, in red)
When kids are under 16 (and they don't lie about their age) their profiles are set to private. You can't even send them a msg. unless *they* add you as a friend (or accept your friend request)
My SIL knows what my niece is doing on myspace and none of her "friends" are adults (or even older teens) unless they are people she knows (friends parents, relatives, etc...)
It is horrible, what happened to this girl, but it is not the fault of myspace - they have taken percautions, for underage kids. If children lie about their age, and their parents are not monitoring what they do online, how is myspace to blame?
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Re: Monitor what your kids are doing online
I blocked out all info. that could identify her...and that was quite a bit of info. She clearly states she's 12 - she give the name of her middle school and says what sport she plays. She listed her boyfriend's first and last name (what is a 12 yo. doing with a bf anyway?) she also gives her IM user id and has a number of pictures, so she can easily be identified, by someone who wants to harm her (there are creeps out there, unfortunately)
On a final note, I did report her profile - I'll check back to see if it was deleted.
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$30 Mill?
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Learn How to Parent
I hope they throw this out. I hate Tort lawyers.
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Suing my space
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MySpace NOT doing the job
They were both trying to, in the air of supposedly helping her, fill her head with shit against me, her father, because they each could not CONTROL me.
I have contacted MySpace many times, I have copies of messages sent to them, describing the situation... they have access to the emails...
I have demanded that the offending womens sites be removed and to have their software check for IP addresses so that they cannot create a new site from their computer.
They have REFUSED TO COOPERATE...
These two women, together or seperately, have created a site to harasse a fried of mine... My friend has informed MySpace of said harrassment... MySpace REFUSES TO REMOVE THE IMPOSTER SITE.
One of these women hacked into my site and sent emails to my friends... even threatening a couple other of my friends...
MySpace has been informed of ALL OF THIS... AND DOES NOTHING.
I have been in the computer industry for 38 years... I know what can be done... MySpace is not doing WHAT
it can do... It has, as a business, operating in the State of California (I have a phone number and address in L.A.)
under a license, to obey our written laws as well as the spirit of our society... Anyone out there stupid enough to say that it is OK for an adult to contact a child without the knowledge or consent of that childs parent.
And yes, my daughter finally told me... but after that, when I informed MySpace, something SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE, and wasn't.
Adam Loewy, I am lookin for you... I tried 411 in Austin.
No Listing... how do I get in touch with you...?
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Re: MySpace NOT doing the job
All service companies have disgruntle customers. What matters is how they handle a majority of the claims. In this case they're changing things to offer young users more privacy vs adults. It's not going to fix anything but it'll quiet the clamor that's filling the press.
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Re: MySpace NOT doing the job
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Why should myspace suffer for this little 14vyear
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hey
kim
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dumb ass
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Re: dumb ass
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I guess noone wants to work for money anymore
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yeah i totally agree
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Hot Coffee and MySpace
The issue with McDonalds hot coffee was this: The coffee was too hot for the cup - as the cup was designed by the manufacturer. McDonalds was told by the manufacturer to serve the coffee at a lower temp. or buy a more expensive cup - in order to be safe. McDonalds decided to do neither. The court decided that was negligent - and a jury awarded the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ verdict.
Now a similar court and jury will get to make a similar decision about MySpace. The problem is that all of you who enjoy MySpace are being so attractive to people who just want to sell you stuff - Hollister, Tag, Music, etc. - that MySpace can charge them a lot of money just to have their logo pop up while you are on IM or talking to your friends. The average newspaper decides what to charge for advertising by how many hundred or thousand people read it every day. A small add will cost a couple of hundred dollars for several thousand people to see it. A person who places an add on MySpace buys the opportunity for millions of people to see his product - multiply that couple of hundred dollars by serveral ten-thousand and you will have an idea what they make by "giving" you a free MySpace site.
Are they negligent? That is yet to be determined. That is what this lawsuit will prove. But - sorry, your opinion doesn't count.
That will be decided in a court of law. My opinion? yes - they are negligent. They knew of the problem and have done nothing about it. Not only that - time will show that there are many other problems with this site that we don't understand yet. It is just too new.
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poo poo
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DUMB.
It isn't myspace's fault.
For one Tom doesn't know what is going on between people's convorsations.
So he isn't responsible for a girl being sexualy assualted.
So therefore.
THIS ALL IS DUMB.
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dumb
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The same thing goes for those parents trying to blame video games for violence. Oh well, what can a person do?
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I love myspace
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freakin stupid
STUPID!!!!!!!!
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Enough
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crazy
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CRAZy
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SLUT!!!!!
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SHe dumm
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IN MY SHOES
I have 4 children which 2 of them had created MY SPACE accounts. One of them is responsible with his account and expresses himself, visits friends and so on. The other became every parents nightmare. CONSIQUENCES ARE OUR ALLIES. You must give your children consiquences. We have taken away the use of our computer in our home for months now. Unfortunately, our child who does not seem capable of making good decisions has found every way possbile to get back online. We are doing everything we can think of to monitor this child. Unfortunately, it has been a constant battle. She has found other ways to get around our road blocks. She is an intelligent,athletic beautiful girl who we hope and pray will figure out that we love her and want what is best for her.
Now to my point. I trully feel that in this day and age we as parents are responsible for the actions of our children to an extent. Our children are responsible for their own actions just as well. Society as a whole needs to also step up and take some responsibility also. MY SPACE as a company has a responsibilty to do everything in it's power to control it's site. As a team the parent's of this girl and MY SPACE SHOULD WORK TOGETHER!!!! 30 MILLION should be put towards better securities and keeping children from harm. As a parent of 1 very trouble teen I have been and am in the shoes of this family. My daughter may not have been raped but, that is a fear for us. She is 15 and yes there is an 18 year old man involved in our story. Until you are in those shoes you should not condem this mother. IT WOULD NOT BE MY CHOICE FOR DEALING WITH THIS SITUATION BUT, SOMETIMES WE ARE BLINDED BY RAGE, FEAR,GUILT AND IGNORANCE. This mother may not see anything but rage right now. This rage is targeted at MY SPACE. Unfortunatley it should be targeted at the ways this was able to happen and finding ways to keep it from happening again. The people at MY SPACE should be concentrating on ways to prevent children from being on this site from being harmed. Phone companies, credit card companies etc. monitor calls. MY Space should take some of that money and create better ways of monitoring their site.I know people say "well you signed an agreement". Children can not legally be bound by an agreement for the simple fact they are children. They are not capable of making fully responsible decisions. Hell, most adults aren't either.
What I am saying is that everyone should be working together on this not passing blame. I is very easy to throw out an opinion because it is just that an opinion. For me and my husband we have one out of four children that we have this type of problem with. So, does that make us "PART GOOD PARENTS, PART BAD PARENTS"? Just because you may be fortunate not to have had this problem doesn't mean you never will or that your parenting skills are any better. What it does mean is that you are just that, FORTUNATE!!! As I said, this mother may not be doing what I would do but, maybee this is all she knows to do. WE DON'T KNOW UNTIL WE ARE IN THOSE SHOES. You know I worked two jobs for years and quit one when we stareted having problems with my daughter. Don't judge a person for working. You never know what the future holds. Stay at home moms have troubled children also. So do home school parents. That my friend is life.
Having a troubled teen is a EVERY parents nightmare. You feel lost with no control. Gaining control is hard work and dedication. I will say we are still struggling. We as parents should help each other for our sake also. These children are our furture. We should all pitch in to keep them safe and ourselves safe. After all we created this world that we live in as a group it is our job as a gruop to maintain it and not pass the blame. I know I am a ramlber but, my heart is in this one.
My husband is full time military and an Iraq war hero. He saved his unit from serious harm. For this he received a metal of Valor. So, we truly believe in the freedoms we all cherish. We do not want anyone to lose their freedom.
If by chance the mother of this young girl reads this, please check your heart, only you know. If anyone from my space reads this, please find a way to help keep our children and yours safe. For those lost in the past,this is not about "HOT COFFEE" GET OVER IT!!! For those parents who always do the right thing and have perfect children, WAKE UP, you don't exist. For those who understand the importance of finding a way to help with the problem at hand,THANK YOU!! This is about our families our freedom and our futrue. PREVENTION AND WORKING TOGETHER. DO YOU GET IT???
Thank you to my husband, all his fellow soldiers and their families, for fighting so that we can all voice our opinions, good ones, bad ones, right ones, wrong ones.. Thank you all for reading my opinion and story. If I helped anyone see things differently I am gratefull, if not maybe nextime. I don not believe that I have all the answers or am the only person right. If that were the case I wouldn't have a trouble teen would I?? Just remember, my shoes can be pretty difficult to walk in at times, I bet yours can be to..
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Re:
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the article
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its not his falt
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teen sues myspace
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Rape-tastic
She talked about how she likes to take it in the butt from older men (probably because she used to let her older brother do it to her). Anyways she basicly wanted it to happen. She even told me about how she would invite strange guys over the house when her mom was home because getting caught turned her on
Not only that but she also used to make the little girl across the street watch and then lick her after she was done. She wanted to turn her into a slut just for the fun of it.
It is so obvious that she is just using this as an excuse to get attention. Trust me from a womans point of veiw.
This girl was a little tease who got what was cumming for her... or in her. : ) jk.
Susan
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I want to hear the details
There is nothing i would like to see more than a dirty little 14 year old slut get raped. That being said i don't think this guy deserves to get in trouble.
He was doing her a favor. Every little girl needs to get broken in. Girls these days think they can just act like whores and get away with it.
News flash honey!
My only hope is that i can continue to rape little girls (as long as they have pubes) without having to deal with stupid stuff like jail.
Anyways, i really hope somebody rapes this girl again and then tapes it and shares it on the internet so guys all around the world can jerk off while watching this little slut cry her eyes out. The look on her face must have been priceless... grr i am so jelous.
Young girls like getting raped anyways.
Once i raped a 12 year old black chick right in front of her mother for $200. It was so worth it. I just told her how her mom sold her because she doesn't love her and she is trash. I told her how lucky she was because she was getting pratice at teh only thing she would ever be good at in her life... getting plowed like the dirty little slut she is.
-JonB
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Re: I want to hear the details
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Re: I want to hear the details
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Stupid Bitch
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Teen Sues Myspace For Not Protecting Her
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This Is Extremely Dumb
this girl should have known when she accepted the boy as a friend that something was probably going to happen with this because he's 19 and he knew he could take advantage of her because she's only 14. Why would anybody want to put themselves in a situation like this??? It was the girls own stupidity for doing it. The mom's fault for not monitoring who she was talking to (myspace cant babysit everybody on there that just too many) The boy's fault for trying to do something he knew was illegal! Lets just say this case is a big waste of court time! Move on to something that will actually be useful of our time and money!!!
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This Is Extremely Dumb
this girl should have known when she accepted the boy as a friend that something was probably going to happen with this because he's 19 and he knew he could take advantage of her because she's only 14. Why would anybody want to put themselves in a situation like this??? It was the girls own stupidity for doing it. The mom's fault for not monitoring who she was talking to (myspace cant babysit everybody on there that just too many) The boy's fault for trying to do something he knew was illegal! Lets just say this case is a big waste of court time! Move on to something that will actually be useful of our time and money!!!
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thats stupid
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this is stupid
its her own fault she knew he was 19 and myspace has always put up warnings and toldus to keep ourselves safe.
they are just money grubbers -_-
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Be a good parent
What I do know is this: what your children do online is their own responsibility. There is all sorts of easily accessible stuff on the internet that children have no business seeing. But, if your children are not old/mature enough to make smart decisions online, then the solution is SIMPLE:
DON'T GIVE YOUR CHILDREN UNSUPERVISED INTERNET ACCESS.
If you're concerned about what your children are doing online, then, as a parent, it is YOUR responsibility to make sure that they can't do it.
The computer (like the TV set) is not a babysitter. Tell your kids to read a book or go ride a bike. Don't simply shove the responsibility off to someone else.
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Be a good parent
What I do know is this: what your children do online is their own responsibility. There is all sorts of easily accessible stuff on the internet that children have no business seeing. But, if your children are not old/mature enough to make smart decisions online, then the solution is SIMPLE:
DON'T GIVE YOUR CHILDREN UNSUPERVISED INTERNET ACCESS.
If you're concerned about what your children are doing online, then, as a parent, it is YOUR responsibility to make sure that they can't do it.
The computer (like the TV set) is not a babysitter. Tell your kids to read a book or go ride a bike. Don't simply shove the responsibility off to someone else.
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myspace bein sued
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myspace.com
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Suing Myspace
1-Why are teenagers so unsupervised as to be allowed to interact online in such a fashion? There is a reason for the fact that in court minors cannot make contracts-they are too immature and cannot be relied upon to exercise good judgement. Why wouldn't that apply online? This girl evidently did not exercise good judgement.
2-Neither did her guardians. That will be the day that my child goes online and I don't know what she is up to.
3-By no means is this least: the 19 year old who perpetrated the assault is extremely guilty. He took advantage of the naivete of another in a particularly heinous fashion (Maybe I ought to add; allegedly-just in case.)
4-I am beginning to believe that forums like Myspace need to rethink the wisdom of allowing teenagers to participate.They are not demonstrating the required maturity. I know-I have a page on Myspace.I have seen the kind of nonsense that goes on there. It is not Myspace's fault per se-they do state their rules of conduct very clearly. But while they do not advocate such aberrant behavior, they do unwittingly provide the vehicle. That has to stop.
As a mom I have to say that sometimes we adults must do what is best for the children. It does not take a village to raise a child, but it certainly takes responsible adults.
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set up
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my iq dropped just hearing about this
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Your Right
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Haaa....
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foolish
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myspace lunacy
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Re: myspace lunacy
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hi
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i have a 12 in dick and a dozen roses!
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i have a 12 in dick and a dozen roses!
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Re: i have a 12 in dick and a dozen roses!
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myspace case
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Re: myspace case
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yea right
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OHHH my
The mother is mostly at fault since she was not watchiing the irresponisibly lil brat in the firts PLACE. This kind of shit makes me mad, when chidren of all ages 'think' they know what they are doing.
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MYSPACE
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myspace being sued by dumbass
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this girl
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get a life!
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My Space Law Suit
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My Space
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SEX ACTS ON TV AND THE VIEWER
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Adam Loewy - Scumbag Parasite Lawyer
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