Be careful online...

Not everybody that you meet online is friendly; some of them might be predators. Please be extremely careful about whom you give any sort of personal information to. If you ever receive a PM from someone that makes you uncomfortable, please don't hesitate to contact one of us staffers and we'll deal with it as soon as we can. We want you all to be safe online, and enjoy your time of worship, fun and fellowship here.

~ Russell ("The Melody Maker" / "MelMak")

Thanks MelMak!!!
I will keep that in mind.

It's scary to think even here may not be safe.

The internet is mostly filled with normal people.

I only offer this because information like what Melody Maker is offering here, which is good, sound advice, can be taken way out of proportion in many cases, and makes more than a few overly paranoid of everyone they meet. I've known a lot of kids who were never allowed on the internet because their parents watched the over-sensationalized stories on television shows like Oprah, which paint the internet out to be a deep dark pit filled with monsters and psychopaths. It can be really hard to obtain a good, balanced viewpoint of things sometimes, and I encourage everyone here to take this thread's advice to heart.


Just don't overdo it. :]

This post has been edited by Temperance on Jan 23 2009, 02:40 AM

What we mean by this is simply if you do feel uncomfortable in a situation, feel free to contact a mod. There are several people who are what you would say, normal, but there are those who are not.
Obviously, if you simply get a PM from a user doesn't mean they're out to stalk you, but as with any members on the site, if their behavior becomes questionable, it needs to be told privately to a mod to be researched. Just a reminder to members that they don't have to be afraid to contact a mod if they don't feel safe.

I think Peachey is the only normal? of one of the few normal? persons out here.... the rest of us is either Crazy, or Odd, or both (me ^^), but I've no idea who would do such think on here....

atleast... it CAN happen... but I agree with Temp, like.. The internet has many dark places, but that is why we are here... to offer a save spot, a save forum where everyone can be him of or herself!!

Have fun, be happy and enjoy!!

Hey! Im not normal!
(How do I always get dragged in, anyway?)
I agree that the internet is mostly normal people....but still- be careful. Im just preaching to the choir and repeating everyone. But its true!

Hey, speak for yourself, GekkR....I'm as normal as normal can be. Don't be putting that odd label on me (I can do it myself)...but I'm guessing this warning came up because someone did feel uncomfortable about a pm from a user, and felt uncomfortable bringing it up. Its sad that we have to protect ourselves so, but demons are all around us, some event taken human guise.

This post has been edited by Yuuenchi on Jan 23 2009, 11:34 PM

The internet is filled mostly with harmless people, and it's good to hold a balanced view on the precautions you should take. Don't go overboard and shun everyone in fear. The point isn't to push people away from one another or to dissolve relationships.

But since there are a lot of people here who are not only new to the internet, but also concerned about staying safe online, we would be shirking our responsibilities as mods and admins if we didn't make ourselves available to you in case something did happen.

I have friends online, but I would be extremely hesitant to give anyone much more than my IM, my email, and my first name. There's no reason anyone on the internet needs to know more than that, as far as I can tell. We're not suggesting a dissection from the community here -- we're just giving a reminder to be careful.

I'm neither normal nor harmless, so you'd best be watching out.[/joking]

don't forget Dateline (aka The Myspace Predator Fishing Show)