You Control Access To The Internet

Hey folks,

Here is a tragic, yet, another example of why YOU have to control the Internet and what your kids are doing there. According to the AP - Mo. police probe blog in Web hoax case

By BETSY TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer
Sat Dec 8, 1:25 AM ET

A woman linked to an online hoax played on a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide and has been vilified for it may be the subject of a deception — someone on the Internet is posing as her and blogging about the case.

Lori Drew's attorney said Friday that she is not the writer. The St. Charles County sheriff's department is investigating who is behind the blog postings on Blogger.com to see if a crime has been committed, a spokesman said.

The family believes the postings are an effort to damage its reputation following the death of the Megan Meier.

"Any Internet message that purports to be a member of the Drew family is being managed by an impostor and undoubtedly is being done for the purpose of further damaging the Drews' reputation," the family said in a statement.

A blog entitled "Megan Had It Coming" surfaced more than two weeks ago. Earlier this week, the person writing the blog claimed the messages were being written by Lori Drew.

The detailed blog lays out Drew's would-be motives for getting involved with the MySpace hoax against Meier.

Lori Drew's lawyer, Jim Briscoe, said they have contacted Google Inc., which owns Blogger.com. "We have contacted Google, telling them that was an impostor," Briscoe said.

A Google spokesman said the company is currently reviewing the impersonation allegation.

Meier thought she was corresponding over MySpace with a cute boy named "Josh Evans" online. The boy never existed. Instead, Drew, her 18-year-old employee and 13-year-old daughter, and Megan's one-time friend, helped create the hoax.

When messages from the fictional boy and others on the Internet turned cruel, including one stating the world would be better off without her, Megan hanged herself in October 2006.

STOP!!! OK, question. Did Tina Meier, Megan's Mother, know ANYTHING about what her daughter was doing? Did she know where her daughter was visiting online? Did she KNOW that this was happening? If not, WHY?

Drew, a mother of two in her 40s, has denied saying hurtful things to the girl over the Internet, and prosecutors have said they found no grounds for charges against the woman.

Details of the case emerged last month, and the story drew international attention.

Since then, the Drews have been besieged with negative publicity, and Meier's death prompted her hometown of Dardenne Prairie to adopt a law engaging in Internet harassment a misdemeanor.

More on this in a second. This is tricky in my mind, and could be dangerous.

Now, elected officials say the law's first use could be to prevent possible harassment against the Drews.

"I would say that would be a possibility, that they could be the first," Mayor Pam Fogarty said Friday. "A law is a law is a law. You can't discriminate."

Briscoe said the Drews have not asked police to look into the blog postings.

St. Charles County Prosecutor Jack Banas said he heard about the postings through the news media and asked the sheriff's department to investigate.

Banas said he had no idea if someone might be charged under the Dardenne Prairie measure. He explained any charges he brings are under state law, not under local ordinances.

The prosecutor said Internet harassment and stalking are crimes in Missouri under state law, but noted the sheriff's department is still investigating if a crime has been committed.

OK, you start creating MORE laws about harassment on the Internet, you run into A LOT of problems. Where does Free Speech end, and harassment begin? Who decides. Who can PROVE that ANYONE is who they say they are, when they say it. My "Comment Checker" posted the subtitle "Pete's in a foul mood." If I had not told you, you would have just assumed it was me. My IP address. So am I responsible for what SHE said? ETC.

I get "harassed" from time to time online. I get called names, wished death upon, told I should just go away. I've been in many battles over the years. You know what? If I really get to the point that I no longer what to deal with some of these people, I simply don't. There is software, and all kinds of ways, you can block them. You could stop going where they are. Or you can do what I do, just ignore them. When you ignore them, it get boring to them, who do it for a reaction, no reaction, they move on.

Then you have this story from USA Today - Town shuns Mo. family after MySpace hoax

By Christopher Leonard, The Associated Press

DARDENNE PRAIRIE, Mo. — Waterford Crystal Drive is one of those suburban streets that seem so new as to have no history at all. But the suicide of a teenage girl — and allegations she had been tormented by a neighbor over the Internet — have brought a reaction that is old, almost tribal, in its nature.

Residents of the middle-class subdivision have turned against the neighbor, Lori Drew, and her family, demanding the Drews move out. In interviews, they have warned that someone might be tempted to "take matters into their own hands."

IS THIS NOT harassment? Has anyone proven that it WAS the Drew family that caused Megan to kill herself?

"It's like they used to do in the 1700s and 1800s. If you wronged a community, you were basically shunned. That's basically what happened to her," said Trever Buckles, 40, who lives next door to the Drews.

Drew became an outcast after she participated in a hoax in which a fictional teenager who went by the name of Josh Evans exchanged online messages with 13-year-old Megan Meier. Megan received cruel messages from "Josh" that apparently drove her to hang herself in her closet in 2006.

Through her lawyer, Drew — a mother of two in her 40s — has denied saying hurtful things to the girl over the Internet, and prosecutors have said they found no grounds for charges against the woman. Nevertheless, the community reaction has been vengeful and the pressure on the Drews intense.

More than 100 residents gathered in front of their home on a recent evening, holding candles and reciting stories about Megan.

Last December, after neighbors learned of the Internet hoax, someone threw a brick through a window in the Drew home.

VANDALISM!

A few weeks ago, someone made a prank call to police reporting that there had been a shooting inside the Drews' house, prompting squad cars to arrive with sirens flashing.

Filing a false complaint.

Someone recently obtained the password to change the Drews' outgoing cellphone recording, and replaced it with a disturbing message. Police would not detail the content.

Are you getting this?

Clients have fled from Drew's home-based advertising business, so she had to close it. Neighbors have not seen Drew outside her home in weeks.

Death threats and ugly insults have been hurled at Drew over the Internet, where she has been portrayed as a monster who should go to prison, lose custody of her children, or worse. Her name and address have been posted online, and a website with satellite images of the home said the Drews should "rot in hell."

WAIT. Is this NOT Internet harassment?

Some of the threats "really freak me out," Buckles said while standing on his front porch after dark Tuesday. As he spoke, a car slowed and stopped in front of Drew's home. It sat there idling for a few minutes, then sped away. Buckles said it is a common occurrence.

"I just really hope that no one comes out here and does something insane," Buckles said. "If they do, I hope they get the right house."

{Laughing} Folks, this is not a laughing matter. I know. But this is MOB Mentality, and it seems NO ONE is doing anything about it.

Sheriff's Lt. David Tiefenbrunn said patrols have been stepped up around Drew's house. "There could be individuals out there with a vigilante-type attitude that might want to take revenge," he said.

MIGHT BE?

The Drews — Lori, husband Curt and two children — live in a one-story ranch-style house. An older man at the house, who described himself only as a relative, said Lori Drew would not comment. He would not say whether the family planned to move.

Ron and Tina Meier's home is four houses away from the Drews. The sidewalk is curved, so the neighbors can't see each other from their front doors. The breach between the once-friendly families seems beyond repair.

"I think that what they have done is so despicable, that I think it absolutely disgusts people," Tina Meier said. "I can't take one ounce of energy worrying about who does not like Lori Drew or who hates Lori Drew. I could not care less."

So? Mrs. Meier. You have my sympathy for the loss of your Daughter. You really do. But you REALLY do not feel you have had any responsibility in any of this? Sorry, I do.

Just a year ago, Waterford Crystal Drive was the kind of quiet suburban street where joggers waved hello while kids played in the yard. Lately the road has been choked with news trucks, and neighbors hustle inside to avoid questions.

The Drews used to fit in just fine, said neighbor John McIntyre, who described Lori Drew as an intensely social woman.

McIntyre fondly remembered Megan, too. She came across the street to babysit McIntyre's 4-year-old daughter, Genna, and arrived with a clipboard and notes, determined to do the job right.

"She was a good kid," he said.

Megan became friends with the Drews' young daughter, according to a report provided by prosecutors. The girls had a falling-out in 2006.

A teenage employee of Drew's named Ashley said she created the "Josh" account on MySpace after a brainstorming session with Drew and her daughter, according to a prosecutor's report. Drew said the girls approached her with the idea, and she told them only to send polite messages to Megan.

Ashley sent Megan many of the messages from "Josh," and Lori Drew was aware of them, prosecutors said.

On Oct. 16, 2006, there was a heated online exchange between Megan and Ashley, posing as Josh. A few other MySpace users joined in, calling Megan names. It ended when "Josh" said the world would be better off without Megan.

Tina Meier said Megan went to her room, crying. About 20 minutes later, she was found hanging from a belt around her neck.

Did you try to find out what happened? Did YOU go to her room and check on her. You saw she was upset, why not go and comfort her, finding out what was wrong in the first place?

Drew's attorney Jim Briscoe told NBC that Drew "absolutely, 100%" had nothing to do with the negative comments posted about Megan and wasn't aware of them until after the girl took her life.

So far, NO ONE has proven otherwise. So, I know some of you think I'm being to hard on Tina Meier here. That I should have MORE compassion on her because she lost her Daughter. I do. But I also know that a parent has a responsibility to make sure they KNOW what their kids are up to at all times. They MUST know and CONTROL the Internet at all times. It a great tool. I use it all the time. But it has a VERY dark side to it.

You know, it amazes me every time I see a story about someone meeting someone on the Internet, then meet them, and end up raped or dead. I amazes me every time I see that someone is devastated because they met someone on the Internet, then found out they are NOT the person they claimed to be. It amazes me that Parents allow their kids to go on the Internet whenever and wherever they want, without having all the passwords to check on them. Then they are surprised when something happens.

It is YOUR job as a parent to control the Internet. TO KNOW what your kids are doing. Forget the pychobabble of they need their freedom, they have rights, they are old enough to know better, ETC. They are the KIDS. They have minds full of mush that WILL be controlled by you, or someone else. Who would you prefer?
Peter

Souces:
AP - Mo. police probe blog in Web hoax case
USA Today - Town shuns Mo. family after MySpace hoax