Social Network Sites & Chat rooms Safety
Guidance
Chat rooms or chat areas on websites are a great way to stay in
touch and meet people. However, there are some bad things that you
should be aware of. We hope that here at TalkWildlife, all the
people are who they say they are…. genuine wildlife enthusiasts
here to share knowledge, information and enjoy each other’s
company.
It's very easy for people to lie about
who they are
Unfortunately, we cannot
guarantee that the person you are talking to really is who they say
they are. It is easy to pretend to be someone you are not, on the
Internet. Just be aware of this fact….. most people are genuine…..
but sadly, some are not. Even if you’ve been chatting to the same
person for ages and you feel like you know them, remember it’s very
easy to lie on the internet and there is no way of knowing if
someone is telling the truth. Even if someone shows you a photo of
themselves, this could be a picture of someone else or could be
faked. This applies to webcam or video footage too; seeing a person
in a video, does not mean it’s them.
Your Profile
Be aware that information on your profile could potentially be
viewed by anyone. So if you wouldn’t be comfortable printing it off
and handing it out on the street, maybe it shouldn’t be on your
profile.
Just give an approximate area where you live…. A county or large
city, rather than a specific place name. Don’t post your email
address or phone number on a profile and remain within the chat
room of the site, rather than giving other addresses to private
chats within services such as Facebook or IM.
If you are at all concerned about a member, please contact AWFN
immediately.
Privacy
Settings
Use your Privacy Settings. If
you go to ‘My Page’and then click on
‘Manage my Page’, it will take you to the Settings
Page. Choose the ‘Privacy’ tab. We recommend that
on My profile page and friends’ option, you choose
‘members’.
Only upload pictures that you’d be happy for your mum to see –
anything too sexy to be passed round the dinner table should NOT
make it onto the web, as you don’t know who could be looking at it
or what they might be doing with it.
Sharing personal
information
Be careful not to share too much information with other people in
chat rooms. You don’t know who could be listening in or what they
might do with that information. If you wouldn’t be comfortable
yelling it out in a crowded room, its best not to write it in a
chat room. There are some adults who will try to get in touch with
young people and children because they have bad intentions. Bear
this in mind whilst you use chat areas. If anything makes you
suspicious tell an adult you trust or report any serious concerns
to AWFN.
Meeting up……. Be
careful!
You may be tempted to meet
someone who you have met on a chat room on forum. Do NOT meet
anyone without taking an adult with you if you are a young person.
If you are an adult then remember these people are strangers. Make
your meeting well known to others by telling friends about it, or
take a friend with you. Why not arrange a group meet if you find
members all in the same area. Arrange to meet in a public place.
Genuine people will not be concerned if you invite several people
along or meet in a public place.
Saving
evidence
It’s also a good idea to learn
how to save conversations. This way, if anything weird or dodgy
happens, you have evidence of it and you can show it to an adult
you trust or copy and paste it into our reporting form.
If you think someone has hacked into your account – report it to
AWFN
© 2012 Created by Wildlife Whisperer - Jason.
