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[Alkanoonion]

Some people may have read that many chat areas are being closed

AUSTRALIA's leading website will close more than 100 online chatrooms to stop child exploitation and prevent pedophiles using Internet sites to "groom" children for sexual abuse.
Microsoft is axing its services in all but five countries in a bid to protect children from unknown users and cut down on unsolicited emails, known as spam.
The move by the company owned by billionaire Bill Gates follows growing evidence that pedophiles are creating bogus identities and pretending to be younger than they are so they can arrange meetings with children.
ninemsn chief executive officer Martin Hoffman said the company was acting to protect vulnerable children from unknown users.

"Concerns raised are that children are involved in chat sites and only later they find out the person on the other end is an adult. What ninemsn are doing is both sensible and responsible."
"Cyberstalking is an emerging problem," Senior Sergeant Peter Rodney told The Advertiser.
"It's becoming a problem and with greater access to the Internet by children it has potential."
Meanwhile, in the United States, Japan and Canada, the chat rooms will continue as a subscription service, making users easily traceable by their credit card details.
In New Zealand and Brazil free chat rooms will continue under the supervision of human and automated moderators.

As I run a web site that has many young people I have a "Duty of Care" to members.

Duty of care requires everything ‘reasonably practicable’ to be done to protect the health and safety of others at the workplace /on the web) and in a bid to help protect the younger members of the downs from predatory animals I will no longer post photos of Downs members who are under the age of 18. If you have your picture up and you fall into this category please pm me so I can remove your picture. I am still happy to post caricatures of members or a suitable replacement pic.

Peace
Alk