MidSouth Online - Kids Area

Kids Area
A fun collection of games and links.

About this Page

Here is a list of important things both teenagers and adults should remember when using the Internet.

Internet Safety Tips
Cool Rulez for Staying Safe on the Net.

In General:

Don’t tell anyone your password. Giving that out is like telling your locker combination to that one weird guy that likes you.
Passwords are like socks. Change both frequently. If you don’t, people will find out.
If you see a messed-up message post, the person that left it is probably messed up, too. Be smart enough to avoid trouble when it's in your face. Don’t respond to people that are that desperate for attention.
Remember that EVERYTHING that you type on the Internet – including email – can be looked at by someone if they want to see it bad enough. If you wouldn’t write it on the back of a postcard, don’t type it.
If something freaks you out, LOG OFF. Ask someone for advice, or just wait a while. The Internet isn’t going anywhere.
Don’t be a jerk. Don’t flame people. Use good netiquette.

While surfing:

Never enter an online area that will cost extra money without permission from your parent or another adult. You can lose someone else’s money quicker than you might realize.
If your name isn’t on the credit card, it’s not even remotely cool to give out the card number online. No matter how much you need that rare J-Lo CD single off of eBay, that's a bad idea.
Be suspicious when someone offers you something for nothing. If it doesn’t cost money it’s gonna cost you something else!
Read the fine print! You could be signing away more than you think. Many businesses hide tricky legal junk in pages and pages of small print just because they think you don’t have the attention span to read it all. Don't prove 'em right!

Chatting/Instant Messaging:

Don’t let people know who you really are. If they don’t already know you, they don’t need to know your phone number, your real name (or even part of it!), your address, or where your parents work. They don’t need to know more about you either. Someone that says she’s your age could just as easily be some greasy old man who really would like to meet you. This is serious!
Oh, and don’t share pictures of yourself. The only people worth showing a picture to already know what you look like.
If you meet someone who lives in or near your city, NEVER set up a meeting or phone call with them without your parent or another adult knowing. If you ever speak by telephone, use a caller ID blocker before every call so the other person can’t track you.
If someone is being annoying or making you uncomfortable, ignore them, sign off, or report them to the chat room moderator.

Email:

Always delete unknown email attachments without opening them. There are thousands of pathetic little e-Unabombers out there that’d love to nuke your computer with a virus.
Try to write emails as politely as you’d be in a face-to-face conversation. Remember, your emails can always be forwarded, and everyone would find out pretty quickly what a jerk you were.
My friend sent one of our inside jokes to this guy that had a user name that looked like mine. The guy got offended, reported him, and my friend got his Internet account canceled. Be careful with online joking. It’s not the same, and can definitely be taken the wrong way.
DON’T USE ALL CAPITALS WHEN YOU’RE ONLINE. IT’S THE SAME AS SHOUTING, IS HARD ON THE EYES, AND IT'S REALLY ANNOYING.
Chain letters are NOT cool. The Gap won’t give you any free pants for forwarding an email to 10 people, and you won’t have bad luck, either. You can lose your Internet access by sending these emails. If you send too many, even your friends will stop opening emails from you if they look like SPAM.