Safety+on+The+Internet+-+Olivia

A social network service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of [|social networks] or ﻿ [|social relations] ﻿ among people, e.g., who share interests and/or activities. A social network service essentially consists of a representation of each user (often a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of additional services. Most social network services are [|web based] and provide means for users to interact over the [|internet], such as [|e-mail] and [|instant messaging]. 

__ “bash boards” and cyberbullying __
**The impact of bullying is impossible to overstate, and there are examples which have ended in real tragedy, where the victims have taken their own lives. Think about the messages you send, even to your friends – it is best to treat others with respect. What you might send as a joke may be incredibly hurtful to the person receiving it. People are not always who they appear to be or who they say they are in chat rooms. Chat rooms can be places where some strangers may try to "befriend" others, especially young people. They may attempt to lure them into meeting in person. Young people should NEVER arrange to meet someone in person whom they have been in contact with online.**
 * The "bash board" is the nickname for an online bulletin board, or virtual chat room, where teenagers can go to anonymously and write anything they want, true or false, creating or adding mean-spirited postings for the world to see. **
 * Bullying using technology – or cyberbullying - is particularly bad as the bullies are able to hide behind the technology they use, and may not see the devastating effect of their actions on the victims. For the victims, it seems as though it is almost impossible to escape, as the bully can reach you wherever you are at any time. **
 * Young kids shouldn't be in chat room unless a trusted and responsible parent or guardian is sitting with them at the computer. Older kids should be only in moderated chat rooms and even moderated chat rooms can lead to compromising, embarrassing and harassing situations. Kids shouldn't exchange e-mail with someone from a chat room or arrange to meet someone from a chat room without a parent or guardian present. **
 * Cyberbullying is bullying. In some cases, it is punishable by law. These include cruel texts, emails and websites poking fun at the person. It also includes offensive posts, comments and facebook statuses **

__ Making your own chatroom __
If you are thinking of setting up a chatroom, then you must put user safety as a top priority. You can do this in a number of ways: 1. Provide the user with information about how to keep safe while chatting/using your service. The more visible this information is to the user the better – think about putting it on the front page or in the chatroom itself. Design your own safety messages, or you can download the SMART rules banner from this website which will rotate the safety messages, take up less room on your site and act as a link to the Chatdanger website. 2. Provide links to other safety guides, so any user interested in finding out more about keeping safe can do so. 3. Make it clear to the user the type of service being offered and the audience at which it is aimed. Explain for example if it is moderated or not, and what ages your chatroom is aimed at. 4. If there are personal profiles attached to the chatroom, encourage users not to post personal information. 5. Put block or ignore buttons in an accessible place for users, and make them easy to use, so users can stop seeing messages from a particular person if they want to. 6. Provide an easy and accessible method for users to contact the chatroom provider or moderator to report bad stuff or bad behaviour, and provide information about what sort of things should be reported. 7. Look at how the chat could be moderated, and think carefully about who the moderators are. Moderators are in a position of trust over the users. 8. If there is a registration process, explain why information is gathered during registration and what it is to be used for. The information gathered should be limited. There are some guidelines on what is good practice in chatroom provision, and these were issued by the Home Office of the UK Government in January 2003.Good Practice models and guidance for the Internet industry on: Chat Services, Instant Messaging (IM), and Web Based Services (pages 12-15 cover Chat)

__ Safety tips __
Be careful who you trust online and remember that online friends are really strangers. People online, no matter how long you have been talking to them or how friendly they are, may not be who they say they are. Stay in charge in chat. Keep your personal information secret when chatting online (name, address, telephone number, mobile number, private email address, picture), even if people ask for this. Check your profile and make sure it doesn’t include any personal information (name, address, telephone number, mobile number, private email address, and picture). Meeting someone you have only been in touch with online can be dangerous. If you feel that you ‘have to’ meet, then for your own safety you must tell your parent or carer and take them with you – at least on the first visit – and meet in a public place in daytime. Tell your parent or carer if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried. =by Olivia Marchant=