Student Services |
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| Online Communities |
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| Online communities are great ways to meet new friends and keep in touch with old friends. But, let’s face it, there are a few things we need to keep in mind when we join and set up profiles on sites like Facebook or MySpace: |
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| 1. The whole world, literally the whole wide world, will know you by what you share! |
| Play it safe. While you can restrict your information to certain groups, those groups are world wide and can be quite large. Nothing can stop members of that group sharing your info with others. Limit your personal info, such as, share your birth date but not the year; share your town but not your address. |
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| 2. Knock! Knock! |
| Sharing your name, e-mail address, phone number, personal identification or even an IP address can help someone track you down - when you didn’t want to be found! Limit your personal info, let me repeat: limit your personal info! |
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| 3. What happens on the net, stays -somewhere- on the net! |
| You can make deletions to your profile, but rest assured, it exists in its original form on someone’s computer, somewhere! Not only that, do you always read ‘terms of agreement?’ You may have given someone permission to own what you post! |
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| 4. You have the right to remain silent… |
| Laws govern information and behavior online just as they do offline. |
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| 5. Did you intend on your grandmother and her friends seeing you like that? |
| If you don’t want everyone to know something, don’t put it on the web! Use flattering pictures – not ones that you wouldn’t be proud to show a future employer, your family, your children ten years from now! |
| Have a good time on line - use it to meet people, communicate, set up study groups, virtual class reunions, share thoughts, opinions, music – but don’t give away your PRIVACY. |
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