Good to see Greg's name in lights again - he was one of the best brains ever to write on PB as well as being a thoroughly decent guy and the site is the poorer for his absence.
I wonder if he still harbours any political ambitions.
Am I the only one that's wondering why Ask.fm is getting all the blame for these poor kids committing suicide?
What about the people actually doing the bullying?
Where are the police and the schools? Presumably these bullies were known personally to the girl who committed suicide?
Is there a criminal investigation going on?
It seems to me while all the focus and outrage is on the website we're letting the actual bullies off the hook?
I had similar thoughts. I would ask the advertisers what they expect ask.fm to do.
Have ask.fm been particularly negligent or exhibited bad business practices compared to (say) Facebook?
Must admit I'd never heard of Ask.fm so I can't say whether their practices are any better or worse than Facebook, Twitter, etc....
It just seems to me that day after day after day we're hearing about Ask.fm while the people that were using Ask.fm as a tool to bully this girl seem to get getting away with it.
Unless, like I say there some sort of police investigation going on that the media aren't talking about at the moment....
I've never been on ask.fm , but a quick Google shows it to be a question->answer website that has tried to go 'community'.
One problem I do have with these sites is age profiles: a relative of mine joined Facebook at 10, like most of his classmates, despite Facebook having a minimum age limit of 13. Reporting him - and therefore all his classmates who had friended him - was not a particularly good idea.
There is a place for websites designed to attract under-16s. But these should perhaps have more moderation and checks in place than websites catering for the older population. Having a website such as Facebook that claims not to allow under-13s, and does no checks, is slightly dangerous.
Quite how those checks are done is a different matter, and may not even be possible. And indeed, such checks go somewhat against the original culture of the Internet.
Kids need to learn that the Internet is still the wild west, and you need to be slinging some mighty powerful shields to defend yourself.
And what are their parents doing? Not much - allowing 10yrs olds to wander around teh interweb on their own?
I know teens like their privacy [and God forbid my parents knew what I got up to] but at least my mum acted as a chaperone/always picked me up/made sure I was where I said I'd be. I never felt squashed by it because she didn't ask anything bar 'did you have a nice time, dear?'
If the interweb had been there - she'd never have let me go on it in my bedroom when I was 10yrs old.
Am I the only one that's wondering why Ask.fm is getting all the blame for these poor kids committing suicide?
Have ask.fm been particularly negligent or exhibited bad business practices compared to (say) Facebook?
I've never been on ask.fm , but a quick Google shows it to be a question->answer website that has tried to go 'community'.
One problem I do have with these sites is age profiles: a relative of mine joined Facebook at 10, like most of his classmates, despite Facebook having a minimum age limit of 13. Reporting him - and therefore all his classmates who had friended him - was not a particularly good idea.
There is a place for websites designed to attract under-16s. But these should perhaps have more moderation and checks in place than websites catering for the older population. Having a website such as Facebook that claims not to allow under-13s, and does no checks, is slightly dangerous.
Quite how those checks are done is a different matter, and may not even be possible. And indeed, such checks go somewhat against the original culture of the Internet.
Kids need to learn that the Internet is still the wild west, and you need to be slinging some mighty powerful shields to defend yourself.
On topic, I'm not that keen on Murray, or tennis in particular, but I think Murray could justifiably be miffed if he didn't get SPOTY, as he's achieved as much, if not more, than most this past year.
Off topic, I hope we don't get another night like last night. All the moaning, misogyny, racism, sexism, homophobia, blatent lefty/rightyism, and general wankyness made me want to call for a night of #pbsilence and my own column in the Guardian.
Anyone that declares themselves 'shocked' about anything clearly isn't fit for a political career in the modern world. I'm amazed that such an excuse of a phrase ever was allowed to run.
Off topic, I hope we don't get another night like last night. All the moaning, misogyny, racism, sexism, homophobia, blatent lefty/rightyism, and general wankyness made me want to call for a night of #pbsilence and my own column in the Guardian.
And what are their parents doing? Not much - allowing 10yrs olds to wander around teh interweb on their own?
I know teens like their privacy [and God forbid my parents knew what I got up to] but at least my mum acted as a chaperone/always picked me up/made sure I was where I said I'd be. I never felt squashed by it because she didn't ask anything bar 'did you have a nice time, dear?'
If the interweb had been there - she'd never have let me go on it in my bedroom when I was 10yrs old.
A good question. But with the Internet becoming ubiquitous, a hard one to answer. Parents cannot guard a child 24/7, and it is possibly not a good idea for them to do so.
In the case of the ten-year old relative of mine, he pleaded strongly that he would be left out if he did not join, as all his schoolfriends were. A check showed many (although not all) were.
Your mum would not have been facing the same pressures. Would she have known how to lock down your mobile phone (and many children have mobile phones at 10) to prevent you accessing the 'net? And would she have had more knowledge than that bespectacled eight-year old genius in the school playground who could remove parental locks?
Off topic, I hope we don't get another night like last night. All the moaning, misogyny, racism, sexism, homophobia, blatent lefty/rightyism, and general wankyness made me want to call for a night of #pbsilence and my own column in the Guardian.
Off topic, I hope we don't get another night like last night. All the moaning, misogyny, racism, sexism, homophobia, blatent lefty/rightyism, and general wankyness made me want to call for a night of #pbsilence and my own column in the Guardian.
Off topic, I hope we don't get another night like last night. All the moaning, misogyny, racism, sexism, homophobia, blatent lefty/rightyism, and general wankyness made me want to call for a night of #pbsilence and my own column in the Guardian.
I get the feeling Jacob may be a little shocked when he finds out what bears get up to in woods.
'Jacob Rees-Mogg 'shocked' by rightwing group's attack on Lawrence
A Tory MP has "dissociated" himself from the rightwing Traditional Britain Group after it suggested Doreen Lawrence and other black people should be "requested to return to their natural homelands". Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was guest of honour at the group's annual dinner, expressed shock at the comments, which were posted on its Facebook site when the mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence was made a peer. The site said it was a "monstrous disgrace that this Lawrence woman, who is no friend of Great Britain, and who is totally without merit, should be recognised like this or in any other way". It added: "In fact she, along with millions of others, should be requested to return to their natural homelands. Of course the biggest disgrace is that any party calling itself 'conservative' could have been part of this." In other comments, first reported by the LiberalConspiracy.org blog, the group praised Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right French Front National, describing her by-election win as "excellent".'
You can sense the outrage from the PB Burleys. Particularly after they made such a colossal twat of themselves over Godfrey Bloom. ;^ )
No they didn't, Pork, you threw some bait out and nobody took it. It's a classic tim manouevre - lose an argument, go quiet for 48 hours, and then start claiming to have "put the PB tories right" about it.
If it makes you happy, what Bloom said was spot on (as you might realise if you had been to sub-Saharan Africa, or indeed anywhere south of Wallasey), and his non-apology apology for any *genuine* offence caused was genius.
And MODS, PB Burley is a specific and nasty smear and surely unacceptable?
I get the feeling Jacob may be a little shocked when he finds out what bears get up to in woods.
'Jacob Rees-Mogg 'shocked' by rightwing group's attack on Lawrence
A Tory MP has "dissociated" himself from the rightwing Traditional Britain Group after it suggested Doreen Lawrence and other black people should be "requested to return to their natural homelands". Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was guest of honour at the group's annual dinner, expressed shock at the comments, which were posted on its Facebook site when the mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence was made a peer. The site said it was a "monstrous disgrace that this Lawrence woman, who is no friend of Great Britain, and who is totally without merit, should be recognised like this or in any other way". It added: "In fact she, along with millions of others, should be requested to return to their natural homelands. Of course the biggest disgrace is that any party calling itself 'conservative' could have been part of this." In other comments, first reported by the LiberalConspiracy.org blog, the group praised Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right French Front National, describing her by-election win as "excellent".'
OT Did anyone watch X Files after Fox left? I finding it hard work and only halfway through Season 2.
PS Thanx to all who suggested other series the other day - I have them bookmarked for when CSI Miami runs out. Its so formulaic its hilarious - Horatio says some terrible cliche and puts on his sunglasses, cuts to titles. Makes Star Trek Original look novel.
We do share one thing in common apart from being female, we have the same small bingo card of trolls who obsessively bitch about us whether we are present or not on PB.
Total frothing today from the lefties.. when will they ever learn.. It's getting towards evening so the red mysogonists should be coming out soon..I wonder who will be their target tonight..
I get the feeling Jacob may be a little shocked when he finds out what bears get up to in woods.
'Jacob Rees-Mogg 'shocked' by rightwing group's attack on Lawrence
A Tory MP has "dissociated" himself from the rightwing Traditional Britain Group after it suggested Doreen Lawrence and other black people should be "requested to return to their natural homelands". Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was guest of honour at the group's annual dinner, expressed shock at the comments, which were posted on its Facebook site when the mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence was made a peer. The site said it was a "monstrous disgrace that this Lawrence woman, who is no friend of Great Britain, and who is totally without merit, should be recognised like this or in any other way". It added: "In fact she, along with millions of others, should be requested to return to their natural homelands. Of course the biggest disgrace is that any party calling itself 'conservative' could have been part of this." In other comments, first reported by the LiberalConspiracy.org blog, the group praised Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right French Front National, describing her by-election win as "excellent".'
You can sense the outrage from the PB Burleys. Particularly after they made such a colossal twat of themselves over Godfrey Bloom. ;^ )
PB Burley is a specific and nasty smear and surely unacceptable?
"PB Burley" is very useful.
We should keep it.
It means I should stop reading, and not bother with any more of the message.
Ditto PB Tories. As soon as I see it, I scroll down. Assuming our actions aren't unique - those who are attempting to rubbish our views aren't getting many lurker eyeballs.
Pretty hard to read support for Ed in that isn't it? (PS Good luck in your attempt to get the NPMP tag again. I don't want you to succeed, but I'd not like ill-fortune to hamper your path)
PS Thanx to all who suggested other series the other day - I have them bookmarked for when CSI Miami runs out. Its so formulaic its hilarious - Horatio says some terrible cliche and puts on his sunglasses, cuts to titles. Makes Star Trek Original look novel.
PS Thanx to all who suggested other series the other day - I have them bookmarked for when CSI Miami runs out. Its so formulaic its hilarious - Horatio says some terrible cliche and puts on his sunglasses, cuts to titles. Makes Star Trek Original look novel.
I asked this earlier today. Tim helpfully explained it is also an accusation of racism, due to the twitterstorm surrounding Burley's comments on multiculturalism at the Olympic opening ceremony.
Basically, when the Spanish architects got over-ambitious and increased a planned 20-storey building to 47 storeys, making it the tallest residential building in the EU, they forgot to increase the number of lift shafts. Do you want to live in a penthouse not accessible by lifts?
Ask Fm (I dont know if any of you have accessed it) is nasty, horrible and seriously dangerous.
I didn't even know what it was till a few months back, but then my sis in law starting haviing BIG problems with her teenage daughter: truancy, withdrawn behaviour and 'cutting'; a teenage craze (esp among girls) whereby they slice their arms and legs to the point where they often need hospitalisation. We were all going WTF? Just couldn't understand it. Then her school directed the family to Ask FM and we were all shocked.
Basically it is a website used by teenagers who specialise in synthetic loneliness and narcicissm and claims that they hate their life so much they want to die. Then all the anonymous posters write vitriolic things like "well f*cking die then bitch" or "no-one would give a f*ck if you die anyway, ugly c*nt" and others give tips on the best way to top yourself.
My niece is 13!
I considered myself pretty streetwise till I saw this. It was absolutely bananas. Scarier was the fact that the teenagers encouraged eachother to give their respsective 'child psychologists' the run-around. To tell them that they had suffered poor parenting, or lack of love as a child when there is ZERO wrong with them. It is all synthetic. Sadly, as this week has shown, the trolls and expert narcissistic-teens on there every now and again attract someone who really is bullied, and really is suicidal, and the end result is tragedy.
My niece has been stopped going there by her Mam. Had her phone taken off her. But she was on there last night (my wife saw it) and people were encouraging her to cut her throat. How she accessed it is beyond us. Teenagers are so far ahead of the game it is scary. And even more scary is these are hitherto, well-brought-up, normal kids.
There's a bad world out there on the web. Seriously bad.
I asked this earlier today. Tim helpfully explained it is also an accusation of racism, due to the twitterstorm surrounding Burley's comments on multiculturalism at the Olympic opening ceremony.
Oh good, it must be the real tim after all if he's still banging on about that.
Is he still pretending not to know that Enola Gay is not, in most contexts, the name of a woman?
I asked this earlier today. Tim helpfully explained it is also an accusation of racism, due to the twitterstorm surrounding Burley's comments on multiculturalism at the Olympic opening ceremony.
It began IIRC as a comparison with Kay Burley and therefore any female who didn't Vote Labour was a PB Burley aka stupid bint. I don't recall it appearing as anything to do with Aiden Burley who's name I'd totally forgotten.
Who, or why, or which, or what, Is the Akond of SWAT?
Is he tall or short, or dark or fair? Does he sit on a stool or a sofa or a chair, or SQUAT, The Akond of Swat? Is he wise or foolish, young or old? Does he drink his soup and his coffe cold, or HOT, The Akond of Swat? Does he sing or whistle, jabber or talk, And when riding abroad does he gallop or walk or TROT, The Akond of Swat? Does he wear a turban, a fez, or a hat? Does he sleep on a mattress, a bed, or a mat, or COT, The Akond of Swat? When he writes a copy in round-hand size, Does he cross his T's and finish his I's with a DOT, The Akond of Swat? Can he write a letter concisely clear Without a speckk or a smudge or smear or BLOT, The Akond of Swat? Do his people like him extremely well? Or do they, whenever they can, rebel, or PLOT, At the Akond of Swat? If he catches them then, either old or young, Does he have them chopped in pieces or hung, or shot, The Akond of Swat? Do his people prig in the lanes or park? Or even at times, when days are dark, GAROTTE? O the Akond of Swat!
Ask Fm (I dont know if any of you have accessed it) is nasty, horrible and seriously dangerous.
(Snip horrific stuff)
There's a bad world out there on the web. Seriously bad.
Thanks for that; I'd never been there, and that explains a great deal. I hope she (I don't know the right way to say this) gets over it / gets the help she needs / recovers. Basically, I hope she find happiness.
Did your sis in law or her family report the abuse? If so, what was the company's reaction?
Ask Fm (I dont know if any of you have accessed it) is nasty, horrible and seriously dangerous.
(Snip horrific stuff)
There's a bad world out there on the web. Seriously bad.
Thanks for that; I'd never been there, and that explains a great deal. I hope she (I don't know the right way to say this) gets over it / gets the help she needs / recovers. Basically, I hope she find happiness.
Did your sis in law or her family report the abuse? If so, what was the company's reaction?
But if it is this bad, I'm amazed no journalists have done shock-horror pieces on it. Or perhaps they have, and they just weren't newsworthy.
Wasn't Bebo aimed at pre-teens and seemed very successful - was sold and now being bought back after the new owners failed to keep it fresh?
Ask.fm isn't something I've tripped across but the notion of asking teenagers to confess to things seems like a very dangerous game. Either to make up crap to gain attention which then bites them on the bum, or to expose a real issue and get slaughtered by the rest.
For the unpopular - I imagine such sites are just appalling extensions of the fear at school. Poor buggers.
I asked this earlier today. Tim helpfully explained it is also an accusation of racism, due to the twitterstorm surrounding Burley's comments on multiculturalism at the Olympic opening ceremony.
It began IIRC as a comparison with Kay Burley and therefore any female who didn't Vote Labour was a PB Burley aka stupid bint. I don't recall it appearing as anything to do with Aiden Burley who's name I'd totally forgotten.
Are you sure Miss Plato? I'm pretty certain it was reference to Aidan and his Olympics comments!
I asked this earlier today. Tim helpfully explained it is also an accusation of racism, due to the twitterstorm surrounding Burley's comments on multiculturalism at the Olympic opening ceremony.
It began IIRC as a comparison with Kay Burley and therefore any female who didn't Vote Labour was a PB Burley aka stupid bint. I don't recall it appearing as anything to do with Aiden Burley who's name I'd totally forgotten.
Seems to have been repurposed to make it a wider-ranging insult. After all, why restrict it to just one gender...?
Ask Fm (I dont know if any of you have accessed it) is nasty, horrible and seriously dangerous.
(Snip horrific stuff)
There's a bad world out there on the web. Seriously bad.
Thanks for that; I'd never been there, and that explains a great deal. I hope she (I don't know the right way to say this) gets over it / gets the help she needs / recovers. Basically, I hope she find happiness.
Did your sis in law or her family report the abuse? If so, what was the company's reaction?
But if it is this bad, I'm amazed no journalists have done shock-horror pieces on it. Or perhaps they have, and they just weren't newsworthy.
Cheers for that.
I think she'll be okay because she's cunning and sly and smarter than she lets on. I think she just loves the attention. But her arms and legs look awful (incidentally, every pic she puts on FB of her cuts get hundreds of 'likes').
How adults deal with this is a head-scratcher. Every teenage generation goes through its age of rebellion. My era was the ecstasy generation and that came with its risks. But this generation are pushing the boundaries, with dubious social networking sites providing them with an encouraging audience.
I asked this earlier today. Tim helpfully explained it is also an accusation of racism, due to the twitterstorm surrounding Burley's comments on multiculturalism at the Olympic opening ceremony.
It began IIRC as a comparison with Kay Burley and therefore any female who didn't Vote Labour was a PB Burley aka stupid bint. I don't recall it appearing as anything to do with Aiden Burley who's name I'd totally forgotten.
Are you sure Miss Plato? I'm pretty certain it was reference to Aidan and his Olympics comments!
Well YYMV but that was my impression. Given no one clearly knows what it means it doesn't carry much weight in any event as an insult!
Ask Fm (I dont know if any of you have accessed it) is nasty, horrible and seriously dangerous.
(Snip horrific stuff)
There's a bad world out there on the web. Seriously bad.
Thanks for that; I'd never been there, and that explains a great deal. I hope she (I don't know the right way to say this) gets over it / gets the help she needs / recovers. Basically, I hope she find happiness.
Did your sis in law or her family report the abuse? If so, what was the company's reaction?
But if it is this bad, I'm amazed no journalists have done shock-horror pieces on it. Or perhaps they have, and they just weren't newsworthy.
Wasn't Bebo aimed at pre-teens and seemed very successful - was sold and now being bought back after the new owners failed to keep it fresh?
Ask.fm isn't something I've tripped across but the notion of asking teenagers to confess to things seems like a very dangerous game. Either to make up crap to gain attention which then bites them on the bum, or to expose a real issue and get slaughtered by the rest.
For the unpopular - I imagine such sites are just appalling extensions of the fear at school. Poor buggers.
I actually had a profile on Bebo, somehow I got going with that long before I joined Facebook. I think I joined Bebo back in 2007 but didn't join FB until 2010. Naturally, haven't touched Bebo since then!
I asked this earlier today. Tim helpfully explained it is also an accusation of racism, due to the twitterstorm surrounding Burley's comments on multiculturalism at the Olympic opening ceremony.
It began IIRC as a comparison with Kay Burley and therefore any female who didn't Vote Labour was a PB Burley aka stupid bint. I don't recall it appearing as anything to do with Aiden Burley who's name I'd totally forgotten.
Are you sure Miss Plato? I'm pretty certain it was reference to Aidan and his Olympics comments!
Well YYMV but that was my impression. Given no one clearly knows what it means it doesn't carry much weight in any event as an insult!
Imagine being called a PB Kinnock. The horror, the horror.
I asked this earlier today. Tim helpfully explained it is also an accusation of racism, due to the twitterstorm surrounding Burley's comments on multiculturalism at the Olympic opening ceremony.
It began IIRC as a comparison with Kay Burley and therefore any female who didn't Vote Labour was a PB Burley aka stupid bint. I don't recall it appearing as anything to do with Aiden Burley who's name I'd totally forgotten.
Are you sure Miss Plato? I'm pretty certain it was reference to Aidan and his Olympics comments!
Well YYMV but that was my impression. Given no one clearly knows what it means it doesn't carry much weight in any event as an insult!
Imagine being called a PB Kinnock. The horror, the horror.
LOL - or a PB Brownie. I could see that working in the playground as we stamp on each others new shoes or dish out punative bumps. Good grief what a pathetic and childish lot some are. And yet they think its all very clever and wins them erm what exactly?
Absolutely spot on when it comes to the pressure parents are facing even earlier now when it comes to social sites. Ten years ago when our brood went online, most folk just had one family computer and it was far easier to keep tabs, we used AOL parental controls and everyone was happy and we knew what they were up. But now with personal laptops, mobile phones and Ipads etc, these kids can be in their beds at midnight with the light off still wandering anywhere on online and their parents are totally unaware.
Our niece is 12 and was nagging her parents to let her on Facebook as all her mates were now using it. I wasn't popular when I suggested that the proviso should be that her parents had access to her account so they could monitor her closely on it. But that is just one solution for one site. You want to give your kids some more freedom and privacy as they grow up, but you also want to be able to monitor them to keep them safe. Its really tough balance, just not sure what the answer is tbh.
And what are their parents doing? Not much - allowing 10yrs olds to wander around teh interweb on their own?
I know teens like their privacy [and God forbid my parents knew what I got up to] but at least my mum acted as a chaperone/always picked me up/made sure I was where I said I'd be. I never felt squashed by it because she didn't ask anything bar 'did you have a nice time, dear?'
If the interweb had been there - she'd never have let me go on it in my bedroom when I was 10yrs old.
A good question. But with the Internet becoming ubiquitous, a hard one to answer. Parents cannot guard a child 24/7, and it is possibly not a good idea for them to do so.
In the case of the ten-year old relative of mine, he pleaded strongly that he would be left out if he did not join, as all his schoolfriends were. A check showed many (although not all) were.
Your mum would not have been facing the same pressures. Would she have known how to lock down your mobile phone (and many children have mobile phones at 10) to prevent you accessing the 'net? And would she have had more knowledge than that bespectacled eight-year old genius in the school playground who could remove parental locks?
"Police officers are to be trained to say “No” politely in an effort to boost public confidence. Nodding, making eye contact, responding to body language and introducing themselves by name will also be on the curriculum in a new politeness drive. Officers should say, “I understand,” and “I can help you,” when talking to victims of crime.
They should avoid saying “No” to “unrealistic requests” — opting instead for phrases such as “What I can do is ... ”. The study of politeness-training is one of the first documents to emerge from the new College of Policing, which states on its website that it will “not create a raft of bureaucratic guidance for the Police Service”.
The politeness agenda comes after remarks from Damian Green, the Policing Minister, that officers need to be more well-mannered, and long-standing concerns that most public complaints about officers concern rudeness. > http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article3837883.ece
Here is an extract from the "Safety Rules" of ask.fm, which can be called up from the 'small print' links at the bottom of the "Sign Up" page:
Questions that cross the line If you receive a question that makes you uncomfortable for any reason, do not respond to the question, tell a parent, guardian or other trusted adult and block the user who sent it so they can't contact you again. If the person keeps bothering you, report abuse to us by pressing the Report button and to law enforcement.
Anonymity Anonymity should never be used to ask questions that are mean or hurtful. Asking a question anonymously on Ask.fm hides your name from the person you're asking and from other users. We will never reveal your identity to the user. This can be useful if you're feeling shy or think that the recipient would be more comfortable answering a question without knowing who may have asked it.
If you break the rules, you are responsible - and we can supply identifying information to law enforcement if necessary.
Seem reasonable to me, but should be more prominent. Also don't know when these were published as I only visited for the first time a few minutes ago. They could have been updated in response to the media storm.
Obviously the safety rules don't guarantee a safe site, but there is no immediate impression of irresponsibility.
Here is an extract from the "Safety Rules" of ask.fm, which can be called up from the 'small print' links at the bottom of the "Sign Up" page:
Questions that cross the line If you receive a question that makes you uncomfortable for any reason, do not respond to the question, tell a parent, guardian or other trusted adult and block the user who sent it so they can't contact you again. If the person keeps bothering you, report abuse to us by pressing the Report button and to law enforcement.
Anonymity Anonymity should never be used to ask questions that are mean or hurtful. Asking a question anonymously on Ask.fm hides your name from the person you're asking and from other users. We will never reveal your identity to the user. This can be useful if you're feeling shy or think that the recipient would be more comfortable answering a question without knowing who may have asked it.
If you break the rules, you are responsible - and we can supply identifying information to law enforcement if necessary.
Seem reasonable to me, but should be more prominent. Also don't know when these were published as I only visited for the first time a few minutes ago. They could have been updated in response to the media storm.
Obviously the safety rules don't guarantee a safe site, but there is no immediate impression of irresponsibility.
Thanks for that.
First impressions: should be country-specific, and give contacts for helplines. Alo should be linked to from every page (it might be; I've never been on).
Here is an extract from the "Safety Rules" of ask.fm, which can be called up from the 'small print' links at the bottom of the "Sign Up" page:
Questions that cross the line If you receive a question that makes you uncomfortable for any reason, do not respond to the question, tell a parent, guardian or other trusted adult and block the user who sent it so they can't contact you again. If the person keeps bothering you, report abuse to us by pressing the Report button and to law enforcement.
Anonymity Anonymity should never be used to ask questions that are mean or hurtful. Asking a question anonymously on Ask.fm hides your name from the person you're asking and from other users. We will never reveal your identity to the user. This can be useful if you're feeling shy or think that the recipient would be more comfortable answering a question without knowing who may have asked it.
If you break the rules, you are responsible - and we can supply identifying information to law enforcement if necessary.
Seem reasonable to me, but should be more prominent. Also don't know when these were published as I only visited for the first time a few minutes ago. They could have been updated in response to the media storm.
Obviously the safety rules don't guarantee a safe site, but there is no immediate impression of irresponsibility.
This just seems like teh interweb version of Truth or Dare? Not something anyone with braincells should be playing with since its designed to be humiliating or bragging. But I guess its popular for exactly this reason.
I remember when Friends Reunited - is that still about? - was blamed for loads of divorces because it inflamed old flames... I can attest to that - I contacted an old friend who I'd lost contact with and we met up - he then propositioned me and said he'd always fancied me and could we have an affair. I was WTF? and said no.
Here is an extract from the "Safety Rules" of ask.fm, which can be called up from the 'small print' links at the bottom of the "Sign Up" page:
snip ...text that implies the site is full of unpleasantness... snip
Seem reasonable to me, but should be more prominent. Also don't know when these were published as I only visited for the first time a few minutes ago. They could have been updated in response to the media storm.
Obviously the safety rules don't guarantee a safe site, but there is no immediate impression of irresponsibility.
Come on, that's arse-covering of the highest order. It's as much use as a screen door on a submarine and likely ignored by 99% of users - just like software EULAs are.
It's also rather indicative that they knew there was a serious problem.
As a PB social experiment, go sign up like my sneaky wife has done (purely to keep tabs on her niece, who is unaware she is following her, because of the anonymity), and involve yourself in conversations. If you get involved with a bunch of group-think, wayward teens, if is pretty scary.
Here is an extract from the "Safety Rules" of ask.fm, which can be called up from the 'small print' links at the bottom of the "Sign Up" page:
Questions that cross the line If you receive a question that makes you uncomfortable for any reason, do not respond to the question, tell a parent, guardian or other trusted adult and block the user who sent it so they can't contact you again. If the person keeps bothering you, report abuse to us by pressing the Report button and to law enforcement.
Anonymity Anonymity should never be used to ask questions that are mean or hurtful. Asking a question anonymously on Ask.fm hides your name from the person you're asking and from other users. We will never reveal your identity to the user. This can be useful if you're feeling shy or think that the recipient would be more comfortable answering a question without knowing who may have asked it.
If you break the rules, you are responsible - and we can supply identifying information to law enforcement if necessary.
Seem reasonable to me, but should be more prominent. Also don't know when these were published as I only visited for the first time a few minutes ago. They could have been updated in response to the media storm.
Obviously the safety rules don't guarantee a safe site, but there is no immediate impression of irresponsibility.
This just seems like teh interweb version of Truth or Dare? Not something anyone with braincells should be playing with since its designed to be humiliating or bragging. But I guess its popular for exactly this reason.
I remember when Friends Reunited - is that still about? - was blamed for loads of divorces because it inflamed old flames... I can attest to that - I contacted an old friend who I'd lost contact with and we met up - he then propositioned me and said he'd always fancied me and could we have an affair. I was WTF? and said no.
"Police officers are to be trained to say “No” politely in an effort to boost public confidence. Nodding, making eye contact, responding to body language and introducing themselves by name will also be on the curriculum in a new politeness drive. Officers should say, “I understand,” and “I can help you,” when talking to victims of crime.> http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article3837883.ece
There was a chap who had collapsed on Victoria Street today, being lifted into an ambulance. A policewoman was standing nearby keeping a general eye on things, so I pointed out that the man's sweater had been left lying in the street and he might like it loaded up. She nodded curtly, didn't pick it up and didn't bother to reply.
Here is an extract from the "Safety Rules" of ask.fm, which can be called up from the 'small print' links at the bottom of the "Sign Up" page:
Questions that cross the line If you receive a question that makes you uncomfortable for any reason, do not respond to the question, tell a parent, guardian or other trusted adult and block the user who sent it so they can't contact you again. If the person keeps bothering you, report abuse to us by pressing the Report button and to law enforcement.
Anonymity Anonymity should never be used to ask questions that are mean or hurtful. Asking a question anonymously on Ask.fm hides your name from the person you're asking and from other users. We will never reveal your identity to the user. This can be useful if you're feeling shy or think that the recipient would be more comfortable answering a question without knowing who may have asked it.
If you break the rules, you are responsible - and we can supply identifying information to law enforcement if necessary.
Seem reasonable to me, but should be more prominent. Also don't know when these were published as I only visited for the first time a few minutes ago. They could have been updated in response to the media storm.
Obviously the safety rules don't guarantee a safe site, but there is no immediate impression of irresponsibility.
Come on, that's arse-covering of the highest order. It's as much use as a screen door on a submarine and likely ignored by 99% of users - just like software EULAs are.
Edit: It's also rather indicative that they knew there was a serious problem.
Possibly and the link to the rules was not at all prominent.
But it still seems reasonable.
The key as you say lies in the nature of questions asked and the way in which they are answered. And the extent and quality of moderation and checking performed by the company.
I am not sure you can accuse the company of permitting dangerous interchange or even of disclaiming responsibility on the basis of what I have quoted. Fenster's account though is more informative of what may be going on behind the registration page.
"Police officers are to be trained to say “No” politely in an effort to boost public confidence. Nodding, making eye contact, responding to body language and introducing themselves by name will also be on the curriculum in a new politeness drive. Officers should say, “I understand,” and “I can help you,” when talking to victims of crime.> http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article3837883.ece
There was a chap who had collapsed on Victoria Street today, being lifted into an ambulance. A policewoman was standing nearby keeping a general eye on things, so I pointed out that the man's sweater had been left lying in the street and he might like it loaded up. She nodded curtly, didn't pick it up and didn't bother to reply.
Clearly been to the US Dept of Immigration Officer School for Courtesy.
"Police officers are to be trained to say “No” politely in an effort to boost public confidence. Nodding, making eye contact, responding to body language and introducing themselves by name will also be on the curriculum in a new politeness drive. Officers should say, “I understand,” and “I can help you,” when talking to victims of crime.> http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article3837883.ece
There was a chap who had collapsed on Victoria Street today, being lifted into an ambulance. A policewoman was standing nearby keeping a general eye on things, so I pointed out that the man's sweater had been left lying in the street and he might like it loaded up. She nodded curtly, didn't pick it up and didn't bother to reply.
You were lucky you didn't have to ask her to open a gate for you.
"Police officers are to be trained to say “No” politely in an effort to boost public confidence. Nodding, making eye contact, responding to body language and introducing themselves by name will also be on the curriculum in a new politeness drive. Officers should say, “I understand,” and “I can help you,” when talking to victims of crime.> http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article3837883.ece
There was a chap who had collapsed on Victoria Street today, being lifted into an ambulance. A policewoman was standing nearby keeping a general eye on things, so I pointed out that the man's sweater had been left lying in the street and he might like it loaded up. She nodded curtly, didn't pick it up and didn't bother to reply.
The jumper wasn't a 1980s vintage Lyle and Scott Diamond patterned golfing number was it Nick?
The question all the mother's ask after seeing this site is "how is this allowed to happen?". I guess that's a really pertinent question and I would hazard a guess that the people who run Ask Fm haven't got a scooby about 90% of what's happenin on their forums. And probably don't care either: out of sight, out of mind.
But how can you ban this stuff anyway? Isn't Ask Fm based in Latvia. What jurisdiction would be have? And anyway, ban this site and another will emerge. It's unwinnable.
btw - Bebo is nothing like Ask Fm. Bebo was a MySpace/Facebook social site. Totally harmless.
I asked this earlier today. Tim helpfully explained it is also an accusation of racism, due to the twitterstorm surrounding Burley's comments on multiculturalism at the Olympic opening ceremony.
It began IIRC as a comparison with Kay Burley and therefore any female who didn't Vote Labour was a PB Burley aka stupid bint. I don't recall it appearing as anything to do with Aiden Burley who's name I'd totally forgotten.
Are you sure Miss Plato? I'm pretty certain it was reference to Aidan and his Olympics comments!
As a PB social experiment, go sign up like my sneaky wife has done (purely to keep tabs on her niece, who is unaware she is following her, because of the anonymity), and involve yourself in conversations. If you get involved with a bunch of group-think, wayward teens, if is pretty scary.
It is like an anti-adult, anti-authority cult.
Fenster
Do you think my preformatted tables of real terms UK public spending will go down with the ask.fm demographic?
General comment on parenting and websites - the stark choice between censorship (which will simply get evaded) and shrugging seems exagerrated - why not take an interest? My parents would ask me what I wanted to watch on TV, and often go along with it even if it wasn't what they wanted, then chat casually about it afterwards. I know plenty of parents who sign up for the same social media sites as their kids and keep an eye on how they're developing, chatting to them now and then about anything unusual. The trick is to avoid interference except in extreme cases - there's no reason why they should share your tastes and they'll try out things out of curiosity.
It's one of the areas where I don't feel British culture really gets it right - we have quite a rigid theory that kids will always grow away from their parents as fast as they can, so we need to restrain them until the bonds break. We haven't invented teenage rebellion, but we've institutionalised it. A gradually loosening bond of friendship and interest that never quite breaks is a more sustainable pattern that avoids some of the problems.
As a PB social experiment, go sign up like my sneaky wife has done (purely to keep tabs on her niece, who is unaware she is following her, because of the anonymity), and involve yourself in conversations. If you get involved with a bunch of group-think, wayward teens, if is pretty scary.
It is like an anti-adult, anti-authority cult.
Fenster
Do you think my preformatted tables of real terms UK public spending will go down with the ask.fm demographic?
Well if you get called a PB AF Tory, you'll know who else is there.
Here is an extract from the "Safety Rules" of ask.fm, which can be called up from the 'small print' links at the bottom of the "Sign Up" page:
Questions that cross the line ld be more comfortable answering a question without knowing who may have asked it.
If you break the rules, you are responsible - and we can supply identifying information to law enforcement if necessary.
Seem reasonable to me, but should be more prominent. Also don't know when these were published as I only visited for the first time a few minutes ago. They could have been updated in response to the media storm.
Obviously the safety rules don't guarantee a safe site, but there is no immediate impression of irresponsibility.
Come on, that's arse-covering of the highest order. It's as much use as a screen door on a submarine and likely ignored by 99% of users - just like software EULAs are.
Edit: It's also rather indicative that they knew there was a serious problem.
Possibly and the link to the rules was not at all prominent.
But it still seems reasonable.
The key as you say lies in the nature of questions asked and the way in which they are answered. And the extent and quality of moderation and checking performed by the company.
I am not sure you can accuse the company of permitting dangerous interchange or even of disclaiming responsibility on the basis of what I have quoted. Fenster's account though is more informative of what may be going on behind the registration page.
I may be guilty of viewing the quoted text through the lens of Fenster's account and the recent suicide, but I find it hard to believe the company wasn't aware of what was going on to a large degree.
Warning: Hyperbole ahead.
Would you think a warning on a hand grenade which said 'may cause death or mutilation, please contact an adult if you believe the grenade is being used irresponsibly' would absolve the manufacturer from known misuse of its product?
Here is an extract from the "Safety Rules" of ask.fm, which can be called up from the 'small print' links at the bottom of the "Sign Up" page:
Questions that cross the line ld be more comfortable answering a question without knowing who may have asked it.
If you break the rules, you are responsible - and we can supply identifying information to law enforcement if necessary.
Seem reasonable to me, but should be more prominent. Also don't know when these were published as I only visited for the first time a few minutes ago. They could have been updated in response to the media storm.
Obviously the safety rules don't guarantee a safe site, but there is no immediate impression of irresponsibility.
Come on, that's arse-covering of the highest order. It's as much use as a screen door on a submarine and likely ignored by 99% of users - just like software EULAs are.
Edit: It's also rather indicative that they knew there was a serious problem.
Possibly and the link to the rules was not at all prominent.
But it still seems reasonable.
The key as you say lies in the nature of questions asked and the way in which they are answered. And the extent and quality of moderation and checking performed by the company.
I am not sure you can accuse the company of permitting dangerous interchange or even of disclaiming responsibility on the basis of what I have quoted. Fenster's account though is more informative of what may be going on behind the registration page.
I may be guilty of viewing the quoted text through the lens of Fenster's account and the recent suicide, but I find it hard to believe the company wasn't aware of what was going on to a large degree.
Warning: Hyperbole ahead.
Would you think a warning on a hand grenade which said 'may cause death or mutilation, please contact an adult if you believe the grenade is being used irresponsibly' would absolve the manufacturer from known misuse of its product?
Causing death/mutilation is not a misuse of a grenade.
General comment on parenting and websites - the stark choice between censorship (which will simply get evaded) and shrugging seems exagerrated - why not take an interest? My parents would ask me what I wanted to watch on TV, and often go along with it even if it wasn't what they wanted, then chat casually about it afterwards. I know plenty of parents who sign up for the same social media sites as their kids and keep an eye on how they're developing, chatting to them now and then about anything unusual. The trick is to avoid interference except in extreme cases - there's no reason why they should share your tastes and they'll try out things out of curiosity.
It's one of the areas where I don't feel British culture really gets it right - we have quite a rigid theory that kids will always grow away from their parents as fast as they can, so we need to restrain them until the bonds break. We haven't invented teenage rebellion, but we've institutionalised it. A gradually loosening bond of friendship and interest that never quite breaks is a more sustainable pattern that avoids some of the problems.
You must have been a very restrained child. I did everything I could to ensure my parents and siblings knew nothing about what was going on in my life. And I still do, to a certain extent.
The children will just go on other sites that their parents are not on. They may maintain a presence on one site to give their parents an illusion they know what is going on, but spend time elsewhere.
Given that children tend to be much more techno-savvy than their parents, I would not say blocks or filters are a perfect answer either.
As I said below, I'm not sure what the answer is. Responsible parenting would go a long way, though.
As a PB social experiment, go sign up like my sneaky wife has done (purely to keep tabs on her niece, who is unaware she is following her, because of the anonymity), and involve yourself in conversations. If you get involved with a bunch of group-think, wayward teens, if is pretty scary.
It is like an anti-adult, anti-authority cult.
Fenster
Do you think my preformatted tables of real terms UK public spending will go down with the ask.fm demographic?
Comments
I wonder if he still harbours any political ambitions.
One problem I do have with these sites is age profiles: a relative of mine joined Facebook at 10, like most of his classmates, despite Facebook having a minimum age limit of 13. Reporting him - and therefore all his classmates who had friended him - was not a particularly good idea.
There is a place for websites designed to attract under-16s. But these should perhaps have more moderation and checks in place than websites catering for the older population. Having a website such as Facebook that claims not to allow under-13s, and does no checks, is slightly dangerous.
Quite how those checks are done is a different matter, and may not even be possible. And indeed, such checks go somewhat against the original culture of the Internet.
Kids need to learn that the Internet is still the wild west, and you need to be slinging some mighty powerful shields to defend yourself.
I know teens like their privacy [and God forbid my parents knew what I got up to] but at least my mum acted as a chaperone/always picked me up/made sure I was where I said I'd be. I never felt squashed by it because she didn't ask anything bar 'did you have a nice time, dear?'
If the interweb had been there - she'd never have let me go on it in my bedroom when I was 10yrs old.
I'm not that keen on Murray, or tennis in particular, but I think Murray could justifiably be miffed if he didn't get SPOTY, as he's achieved as much, if not more, than most this past year.
Off topic,
I hope we don't get another night like last night. All the moaning, misogyny, racism, sexism, homophobia, blatent lefty/rightyism, and general wankyness made me want to call for a night of #pbsilence and my own column in the Guardian.
Anyone that declares themselves 'shocked' about anything clearly isn't fit for a political career in the modern world. I'm amazed that such an excuse of a phrase ever was allowed to run.
In the case of the ten-year old relative of mine, he pleaded strongly that he would be left out if he did not join, as all his schoolfriends were. A check showed many (although not all) were.
Your mum would not have been facing the same pressures. Would she have known how to lock down your mobile phone (and many children have mobile phones at 10) to prevent you accessing the 'net? And would she have had more knowledge than that bespectacled eight-year old genius in the school playground who could remove parental locks?
I have no answers to this.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BRKq55_CMAEG45B.jpg:large
If it makes you happy, what Bloom said was spot on (as you might realise if you had been to sub-Saharan Africa, or indeed anywhere south of Wallasey), and his non-apology apology for any *genuine* offence caused was genius.
And MODS, PB Burley is a specific and nasty smear and surely unacceptable?
We should keep it.
It means I should stop reading, and not bother with any more of the message.
PS Thanx to all who suggested other series the other day - I have them bookmarked for when CSI Miami runs out. Its so formulaic its hilarious - Horatio says some terrible cliche and puts on his sunglasses, cuts to titles. Makes Star Trek Original look novel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv1VQ7uSC-s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGcWo0E9yCI
So it's an accusation of anti-semitism.
POLWAS.
Bloody brilliant compilation - great find!
This is quite a spectacular case of fail that fits in perfectly with the property crash:
http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/08/the-builders-of-this-spanish-skyscraper-forgot-the-lift/
Basically, when the Spanish architects got over-ambitious and increased a planned 20-storey building to 47 storeys, making it the tallest residential building in the EU, they forgot to increase the number of lift shafts. Do you want to live in a penthouse not accessible by lifts?
That even tops the Spanish submarine that was too heavy to submerge (or at least, surface again afterwards).
http://www.ibtimes.com/sinking-feeling-spanish-submarines-too-heavy-float-1275183
Ask Fm (I dont know if any of you have accessed it) is nasty, horrible and seriously dangerous.
I didn't even know what it was till a few months back, but then my sis in law starting haviing BIG problems with her teenage daughter: truancy, withdrawn behaviour and 'cutting'; a teenage craze (esp among girls) whereby they slice their arms and legs to the point where they often need hospitalisation. We were all going WTF? Just couldn't understand it. Then her school directed the family to Ask FM and we were all shocked.
Basically it is a website used by teenagers who specialise in synthetic loneliness and narcicissm and claims that they hate their life so much they want to die. Then all the anonymous posters write vitriolic things like "well f*cking die then bitch" or "no-one would give a f*ck if you die anyway, ugly c*nt" and others give tips on the best way to top yourself.
My niece is 13!
I considered myself pretty streetwise till I saw this. It was absolutely bananas. Scarier was the fact that the teenagers encouraged eachother to give their respsective 'child psychologists' the run-around. To tell them that they had suffered poor parenting, or lack of love as a child when there is ZERO wrong with them. It is all synthetic. Sadly, as this week has shown, the trolls and expert narcissistic-teens on there every now and again attract someone who really is bullied, and really is suicidal, and the end result is tragedy.
My niece has been stopped going there by her Mam. Had her phone taken off her. But she was on there last night (my wife saw it) and people were encouraging her to cut her throat. How she accessed it is beyond us. Teenagers are so far ahead of the game it is scary. And even more scary is these are hitherto, well-brought-up, normal kids.
There's a bad world out there on the web. Seriously bad.
Is he still pretending not to know that Enola Gay is not, in most contexts, the name of a woman?
Did your sis in law or her family report the abuse? If so, what was the company's reaction?
I really don't know what the answer is. It's the on-line equivalent of these assholes:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3108987/Suicide-teenager-urged-to-jump-by-baying-crowd.html
But if it is this bad, I'm amazed no journalists have done shock-horror pieces on it. Or perhaps they have, and they just weren't newsworthy.
Ask.fm isn't something I've tripped across but the notion of asking teenagers to confess to things seems like a very dangerous game. Either to make up crap to gain attention which then bites them on the bum, or to expose a real issue and get slaughtered by the rest.
For the unpopular - I imagine such sites are just appalling extensions of the fear at school. Poor buggers.
http://politicalbetting.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/93767/#Comment_93767
I think she'll be okay because she's cunning and sly and smarter than she lets on. I think she just loves the attention. But her arms and legs look awful (incidentally, every pic she puts on FB of her cuts get hundreds of 'likes').
How adults deal with this is a head-scratcher. Every teenage generation goes through its age of rebellion. My era was the ecstasy generation and that came with its risks. But this generation are pushing the boundaries, with dubious social networking sites providing them with an encouraging audience.
Our niece is 12 and was nagging her parents to let her on Facebook as all her mates were now using it. I wasn't popular when I suggested that the proviso should be that her parents had access to her account so they could monitor her closely on it. But that is just one solution for one site. You want to give your kids some more freedom and privacy as they grow up, but you also want to be able to monitor them to keep them safe. Its really tough balance, just not sure what the answer is tbh.
"Police officers are to be trained to say “No” politely in an effort to boost public confidence. Nodding, making eye contact, responding to body language and introducing themselves by name will also be on the curriculum in a new politeness drive. Officers should say, “I understand,” and “I can help you,” when talking to victims of crime.
They should avoid saying “No” to “unrealistic requests” — opting instead for phrases such as “What I can do is ... ”. The study of politeness-training is one of the first documents to emerge from the new College of Policing, which states on its website that it will “not create a raft of bureaucratic guidance for the Police Service”.
The politeness agenda comes after remarks from Damian Green, the Policing Minister, that officers need to be more well-mannered, and long-standing concerns that most public complaints about officers concern rudeness. > http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article3837883.ece
http://www.politicshome.com/uk/article/83253/the_independent_thursday_8th_august_2013.html
Questions that cross the line
If you receive a question that makes you uncomfortable for any reason, do not respond to the question, tell a parent, guardian or other trusted adult and block the user who sent it so they can't contact you again. If the person keeps bothering you, report abuse to us by pressing the Report button and to law enforcement.
Anonymity
Anonymity should never be used to ask questions that are mean or hurtful. Asking a question anonymously on Ask.fm hides your name from the person you're asking and from other users. We will never reveal your identity to the user. This can be useful if you're feeling shy or think that the recipient would be more comfortable answering a question without knowing who may have asked it.
If you break the rules, you are responsible - and we can supply identifying information to law enforcement if necessary.
Seem reasonable to me, but should be more prominent. Also don't know when these were published as I only visited for the first time a few minutes ago. They could have been updated in response to the media storm.
Obviously the safety rules don't guarantee a safe site, but there is no immediate impression of irresponsibility.
First impressions: should be country-specific, and give contacts for helplines. Alo should be linked to from every page (it might be; I've never been on).
I remember when Friends Reunited - is that still about? - was blamed for loads of divorces because it inflamed old flames... I can attest to that - I contacted an old friend who I'd lost contact with and we met up - he then propositioned me and said he'd always fancied me and could we have an affair. I was WTF? and said no.
It's also rather indicative that they knew there was a serious problem.
As a PB social experiment, go sign up like my sneaky wife has done (purely to keep tabs on her niece, who is unaware she is following her, because of the anonymity), and involve yourself in conversations. If you get involved with a bunch of group-think, wayward teens, if is pretty scary.
It is like an anti-adult, anti-authority cult.
But it still seems reasonable.
The key as you say lies in the nature of questions asked and the way in which they are answered. And the extent and quality of moderation and checking performed by the company.
I am not sure you can accuse the company of permitting dangerous interchange or even of disclaiming responsibility on the basis of what I have quoted. Fenster's account though is more informative of what may be going on behind the registration page.
One like this:
http://www.thatindielook.com/acatalog/m7376.jpg
Even the police have limits.
The question all the mother's ask after seeing this site is "how is this allowed to happen?". I guess that's a really pertinent question and I would hazard a guess that the people who run Ask Fm haven't got a scooby about 90% of what's happenin on their forums. And probably don't care either: out of sight, out of mind.
But how can you ban this stuff anyway? Isn't Ask Fm based in Latvia. What jurisdiction would be have? And anyway, ban this site and another will emerge. It's unwinnable.
btw - Bebo is nothing like Ask Fm. Bebo was a MySpace/Facebook social site. Totally harmless.
Do you think my preformatted tables of real terms UK public spending will go down with the ask.fm demographic?
It's one of the areas where I don't feel British culture really gets it right - we have quite a rigid theory that kids will always grow away from their parents as fast as they can, so we need to restrain them until the bonds break. We haven't invented teenage rebellion, but we've institutionalised it. A gradually loosening bond of friendship and interest that never quite breaks is a more sustainable pattern that avoids some of the problems.
Warning: Hyperbole ahead.
Would you think a warning on a hand grenade which said 'may cause death or mutilation, please contact an adult if you believe the grenade is being used irresponsibly' would absolve the manufacturer from known misuse of its product?
That's its function.
The children will just go on other sites that their parents are not on. They may maintain a presence on one site to give their parents an illusion they know what is going on, but spend time elsewhere.
Given that children tend to be much more techno-savvy than their parents, I would not say blocks or filters are a perfect answer either.
As I said below, I'm not sure what the answer is. Responsible parenting would go a long way, though.
I would sign up just to see that!
Teenage suicide would soar.