Re: Net and photos, names, etc.
Robert Haar (rhaar@MI.VERIO.COM)
Mon, 28 Dec 1998 22:19:35 -0500
>> From: Scouts-L Youth Group List [mailto:Scouts-L@LISTSERV.TCU.EDU]On
> Behalf Of Tuwanda@AOL.COM
>
> In a message dated 98-12-28 12:59:21 EST, bec@PIPELINE.COM writes:
> <<
> Somehow, every time I have read one of these threads the first thing
> that pops into my head is the old 60's lyric:
> "Paranoia strikes deep, into you heart it will creep. Starts when
> you're always afraid . . ." >>
>
> This is not the first time the word paranoia has been used in
> this thread and
> I must respond. My feelings are not from paranoia; they are from
> the reality
> of what I see and hear everyday on my job -- I work in the
> criminal justice
> field. So I think myself and others who have posted similar
> feelings about
> protecting our kids deserve a little more consideration. Maybe,
> just maybe we
> know what we are talking about when we try to warn others.
Paranoia is too strong. I interpreted its use as a bit of hyperbole.
However, I do beleive that some of the suggestions in this thread
have been beyond what is reasonable. Yes, there are child abusers
"out there" and yes, some of them use the Internet as a hunting ground.
But where are the real risks? It is much more likely to come from
other sources, so let us not get caried away with protection
from unikely events.
I work with embedded control systems. In doing Failure Modes
and Effects Analysis, you look at possible failure events (what
can go wrong), the effects (how bad is it) and probability
of occurence (how likely is it to happen). Using this, you can
reasonable decide where to put more design effort or to
invest more money to reduce risks.
Human perceptions are very bad in making this type of design
decision. Low probability events with highly emotional results
are feared too much. Thnik of all the people who are too
afraid to fly because of all the publicity that a plane crash
gets, while the same people think nothing of getting in a car
and driving on a highway, an activity with more real danger than
flying.
By all means, we should discuss what the dangers are, but let us
also keep the prevention methods in proportion to the real risks.
-----------------------------------------
Robert Haar
ASM, BSA T188, Rochester Hills, MI
email: rhaar@mi.verio.com
home page: www.mi.verio.net/~rhaar
