Re: Protocols at the Point of a Gun

[mpd@netcom.com (Mike Duvos)]

tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May) writes:

 > These stickers on CDs were actually very useful. Kids could
 > spot more quickly the juicy stuff. The taste of forbidden
 > fruit is so much better.

 > Likewise, the "age bit" that some are talking about will be
 > similarly useful. Minors will be unambiguously
 > identified--no more "is she or isn't she?"--and actions
 > taken accordingly.

This is just another great example of the Law of Unintended
Consequences.

One of the nice things about the Internet is that kids can
explore all sorts of subjects in the safety of their living room,
providing they follow a few simple rules about not giving out
personal information like their age, name, address, and phone
number, and don't arrange meetings or use information they obtain
without checking first with a well-clued caregiver.

An "age bit" definitely qualifies as the disclosure of "personal
information" about the user.

 > (Several years from now, I see a great hue and cry over the
 > fact that the "age bit" mandated by "The Children's Internet
 > Protection Act of 1997" will be used to deny the protection
 > of adult-seeming personnas to children. Pedophiles and the
 > like will find their tasks easier, and the Act's supporters
 > will say "But that's not what we intended!!")

I think the "age bit" will solve a lot of problems we have now
with 50 year old wankers posing as 12 year olds on pedo IRC
channels. :)