Adam Walsh Murder Solved

Originally posted by ngchunter
Anyone doing that is behaving extremely irresponsibly as there is always a good risk that the person isn't faking it. "Most are," even if true, is not good enough. There are laws against that kind of thing and ignorance isn't excuse, especially when the person professes to be a minor, regardless of whether you claim to have believed them or not. My state's law covers it, I bet most other states do too.

Yes it is illegal to have "sexually explicit discussions" with minors in a lot of states, and most moderated adult oriented chat rooms will kick out people under 18 just for that reason.

I used to moderate a chat room that was adult only and we frequently got "young girls" coming in, when another user would complain about it they always confessed to be fakes.

And while over the years I met a couple that I do believe really WERE underage girls, they always lied and claimed to be much older (but eventually it usually comes out). In adult rooms the ones that really ARE underage don't want to be seen as "just kids", just like in the real world. They use the internet to change their personas too.


[edit on 17-12-2008 by Sonya610]

Originally posted by Sonya610
And while over the years I met a couple that I do believe really WERE underage girls, they always lied and claimed to be much older (but eventually it usually comes out). In adult rooms the ones that really ARE underage don't want to be seen as "just kids", just like in the real world. They use the internet to change their personas too.

This is why I specified unmoderated. It can get complicated when you try to factor moderators into it, especially when only adults are supposed to be allowed there and moderators are supposed to kick the rest out. Do you then have a reasonable defense? Could go either way in court I guess, depending on what was said or if you saw live images of the minor, giving you clear reason to suspect the person to be a real minor. Clearly that's an extreme example, but the point is that even the presence of active moderation doesn't automatically exhonerate the person. My original point was to try in a room that isn't being actively moderated, the sickos have no way to be certain that you're lying, so what you're witnessing is criminal behavior.

The effects include people being afraid to assist young children in distress. If they are alone on the side of the road or crying in the street/mall many won't get near them for fear of being labeled a pedophile, especially men.

This is very, very true.

In fact I have been there myself - my friends' family disintegrated, the wife developed a drug problem and disappeared, the husband basically went nuts and kicked his two teenage sons out.

I ended up being basically the only adult that still gave a damn, and tried to make sure they were fed and had things to do other than go into the ghetto and get high, so I ended up hanging out with a bunch of teenage kids and driving them around all the time, making sure they had safe places to stay, something fun to do, etc.

No less than five times in that one year period, I got pulled over, my car searched, I got interrogated by hostile cops that thought I was sleeping with them, the kids getting pulled aside and asked questions like "How much is he paying you for sex? Is he giving you drugs?" and other vile things.

Eventually the cops would always figure out that I was doing exactly what I said I was doing, keeping them fed and off the streets, but usually only after an hour or so of being accused of being a pervert with a guns pointed at me.

The bright side is that now I know these kids will be my faithful friends as long as I live, and that they will go through life knowing that someone was willing to make sacrifices to protect them even when everything else went sour, without wanting anything in return.

But perhaps that will offer some insight into why I get so bent about this issue.

Originally posted by ngchunter
Could go either way in court I guess, depending on what was said or if you saw live images of the minor, giving you clear reason to suspect the person to be a real minor. Clearly that's an extreme example, but the point is that even the presence of active moderation doesn't automatically exhonerate the person.

The presence of an active moderator does not exhonerate ANYONE. Poor moderation is not a crime, and the moderator will not be held responsible if some idiot carries on an innappropriate conversation with an underage person.

You take the other person at their word. If they SAY they are underage you run the risk of ending up on Dateline if you choose to engage in sexually explicit conversation with them. Moderators have nothing to do with it, they are not responsible for what you do, they are not legally responsible for kicking minors out of chat rooms.

Originally posted by xmotex
I ended up being basically the only adult that still gave a damn, and tried to make sure they were fed and had things to do other than go into the ghetto and get high, so I ended up hanging out with a bunch of teenage kids and driving them around all the time, making sure they had safe places to stay, something fun to do, etc.

The very definition of a father. Bravo sir!

Not only are you rewarded with the temporal satisfaction of doing the right thing, and the gratitude of your family, but you will have eternal reward as well. It's people like you who are the last threads holding this society together.

Originally posted by Sonya610
Poor moderation is not a crime, and the moderator will not be held responsible if some idiot carries on an innappropriate conversation with an underage person.

Nowhere am I trying to suggest that a moderator would be held responsible. Just trying to think of what slimy defense some sicko might try to use on a jury. Again, I'm not even saying it would work, just thinking it might be something they attempt. Once in a while, you'll unfortunately find 12 people stupid enough to buy it.

Moderators have nothing to do with it, they are not responsible for what you do, they are not legally responsible for kicking minors out of chat rooms.

Legally responsible is one thing, and I am not in any way suggesting they are, useable by a defense team is something else entirely. Doesn't mean they could be held accountable themselves though.