Betty teaches you the importance of keeping your OFFLINE identity separate from your ONLINE identity

Betty

Betty
Cyber Defender & Clubhouse Supervisor

Betty learned the hard way about sharing too much information online when rumors she had spread through her online blog upset some of her friends. Since then she has made it her goal to educate everyone about what information is inappropriate or unsafe to share online to prevent others from getting hurt.

As a Cyber Defender, Betty focuses on the most important information you should never share online, your offline identity.

Favorite Quote:

A stumble may prevent a fall
- English Proverb

Favorite Food:

Tea and crumpets

Interests:

Chatting, macrame, collecting teacups

October 21 2008

Personal Information: Politicians and their permanent records

Elections are always a very interesting time to be a citizen. Throughout the course of a campaign, the candidates' lives are closely examined by everyone. Journalists and other politicians are eager to find examples of mistakes they have made in the past in order to make people question their judgment and their decision making. This negative campaigning, also called mudslinging, can sometimes unearth some pretty bad "secrets" that can potentially ruin people's careers.

My dear cadets, remember what I said about your permanent record? Thirty years from now it probably won't matter what your hair looked like, what shoes you wore, or even if you didn't get the greatest grade on that biology test. But it will matter what you posted online, especially if you become a politician.

Anything you say and do online will still be around when you're an adult and can easily come back to haunt you. Just look at former Congressman Mark Foley. He had to resign from Congress after it was discovered that he had been chatting inappropriately with high school students online.

Mark Foley may not have realized that his actions in Cyberspace were easily traceable or that anyone would look into them, and as a result his reputation was destroyed. Learn from his mistake, cadets, and don't ever let anything that could ruin your reputation or your future end up in Cyberspace.

posted by Betty
topics: Personal Information, Case Studies

October 7 2008

Safe Online Communication: Moderators

Moderators are people who have the authority to enforce the rules and terms in games, forums, and chat rooms.

Game moderators make sure that the game is running smoothly and that players are safe and behaving themselves. They understand how the game works and can offer help to players.

Some things you should let them know about are game bugs, other players who are breaking the rules or harassing people, and questions you have about the game.

Forum Moderators monitor any content that is posted. In order to maintain order and safety on a forum, moderators have special abilities. They can move, delete or pin posts, and they can ban users temporarily or permanently. They can also answer questions about the content on the forum.

Some things you should let them know about are forum trolls (people who are misbehaving), flaming, offensive content, harassment, and rule breaking.

Chat Moderators watch chat rooms to make sure people aren't chatting about things they aren't supposed to. They warn people about giving out personal information and harassing others. They can ban or mute people who are breaking the rules.

Some things you should let them know about are people who are asking for personal information, spamming, rule breaking, and harassment.

posted by Betty
topics: Safe Online Communication