MAD: A 'Cruel' Online Community?

_Yoda · Post by **_Yoda** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 3:35 pm

Runtu wrote:And by the way, I am totally offended by your signature. I'm the one who quote Obi-Wan (way back on March 19). Sheesh. LOL

OK, Spoiled Sport...I fixed it! LOL

I honestly didn't see your quote earlier.

;)

Post by **_Runtu** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 3:37 pm

liz3564 wrote:
Runtu wrote:And by the way, I am totally offended by your signature. I'm the one who quote Obi-Wan (way back on March 19). Sheesh. LOL

OK, Spoiled Sport...I fixed it! LOL

I honestly didn't see your quote earlier.

;)

Oh, for pete's sake, I was just teasing you. LOL.

Hmmm, does that mean I'm offended? Maybe I should send off my Greg Dodge letter.

_Yoda · Post by **_Yoda** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 3:44 pm

Runtu wrote:
liz3564 wrote:
Runtu wrote:And by the way, I am totally offended by your signature. I'm the one who quote Obi-Wan (way back on March 19). Sheesh. LOL

OK, Spoiled Sport...I fixed it! LOL

I honestly didn't see your quote earlier.

;)

Oh, for pete's sake, I was just teasing you. LOL.

Hmmm, does that mean I'm offended? Maybe I should send off my Greg Dodge letter.

I knew you were teasing, but I figured I better cover my bases. After all, what if Obi Wan Kenobi decided to use the powers of the force against me for leaving out his credit? ;)

Post by **_Runtu** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 3:50 pm

liz3564 wrote:Oh, for pete's sake, I was just teasing you. LOL.

Hmmm, does that mean I'm offended? Maybe I should send off my Greg Dodge letter.

I knew you were teasing, but I figured I better cover my bases. After all, what if Obi Wan Kenobi decided to use the powers of the force against me for leaving out his credit? ;)[/quote]

This is a good illustration of what happens on online boards. Even with friends, you're never entirely sure how things will be taken. Of course, once you stop caring how your posts affect people, you become like certain people on MADB. I always try to remember that there are real people on the other end of the cable.

Post by **_skippy the dead** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:34 pm

Runtu wrote:
liz3564 wrote:
The question then is, if you have software on your system that masks your IP address, is it possible for the MAD mods to block that? Seems to be a herculean task. Not that I need to worry about it - I've only been banned, not blocked. I can still read whenever I need to (although I surely miss the search function).

The software randomly changes the appearance of your IP address every time you log in. Theoretically, yes, they could block the IP address you used previously, but since the software changes the IP address the next time you log on, that person would literally have to sit at the computer the entire day, and do nothing but block new IP addresses as they appear. That person would literally have to have no life.

Hmmm...maybe it's more of a possibility than I originally thought...LOL

Thanks for explaining that. I was wondering what that was. Sounds kind of like what my son and his friend were doing with their website (jasonfoura.com). They put a link to a proxy server on the site so they could bypass school filters. He's evil, isn't he?

I was an English major and don't know much about such things. Call me clueless.

No excuse! I was an English major (and a lawyer, to boot), and I have at least a basic working knowledge! Hell, I can even write you a little Perl script if you need one (is that too geeky?).

Post by **_Runtu** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:36 pm

skippy the dead wrote:No excuse! I was an English major (and a lawyer, to boot), and I have at least a basic working knowledge! Hell, I can even write you a little Perl script if you need one (is that too geeky?).

Oh, I'm not that clueless. I know some Java programming, but I hadn't heard of an IP tunnel before. I'm not up on networking, sadly. I'm in the oil business, so we don't worry too much about IP tunneling.

Post by **_skippy the dead** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:40 pm

Runtu wrote:
skippy the dead wrote:No excuse! I was an English major (and a lawyer, to boot), and I have at least a basic working knowledge! Hell, I can even write you a little Perl script if you need one (is that too geeky?).

Oh, I'm not that clueless. I know some Java programming, but I hadn't heard of an IP tunnel before. I'm not up on networking, sadly. I'm in the oil business, so we don't worry too much about IP tunneling.

Cool beans. Just defending the honor of English majors everywhere - if there is such a thing. ;o)

Post by **_asbestosman** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:50 pm

liz3564 wrote:
Runtu wrote:I was an English major and don't know much about such things. Call me clueless.

Most parents don't. My kids hate me because I actually DO know about computers. I've disabled my younger daughter's computer before when she's been talking on the Internet with her friends instead of doing homework. LOL

Just wait 'till your kids discover how to boot off of thumb drives, and then install wireless via USB or dial in via the modem.

If they have physical access to the machine, they can beat you every time. The only way to stop them would be to lock up everything but the keyboard and monitor. You also have to make sure they don't have admin/root privileges. Then you have a chance of winning--assuming you keep your computer up-to date on patches. Oh, and please use a truly random-looking password. None of this P4$$w0rd or $74rW4rzR0ck$! garbage.

Post by **_Who Knows** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:59 pm

asbestosman wrote:
liz3564 wrote:
Runtu wrote:I was an English major and don't know much about such things. Call me clueless.

Most parents don't. My kids hate me because I actually DO know about computers. I've disabled my younger daughter's computer before when she's been talking on the Internet with her friends instead of doing homework. LOL

Just wait 'till your kids discover how to boot off of thumb drives, and then install wireless via USB or dial in via the modem.

If they have physical access to the machine, they can beat you every time. The only way to stop them would be to lock up everything but the keyboard and monitor. You also have to make sure they don't have admin/root privileges. Then you have a chance of winning--assuming you keep your computer up-to date on patches. Oh, and please use a truly random-looking password. None of this P4$$w0rd or $74rW4rzR0ck$! garbage.

Wow. My oldest is only 7 right now, but I can't imagine going through all of this internet/computer 'policing'.

You know, you should consider living in one of the amish communities in pennsylvania...

Post by **_asbestosman** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:12 pm

Who Knows wrote:Wow. My oldest is only 7 right now, but I can't imagine going through all of this internet/computer 'policing'.

You know, you should consider living in one of the amish communities in pennsylvania...

People think that kids who know this stuff must be really smart. That's not true at all. The knowledge these kids have comes from knowing how to use Google and/or the library. Many books tell you how to circumvent security. And then once one kid finds out, he tells his friends so they will worship him as cool, and then they spread it onward. But this information initially comes from security professionals or professional criminals who get caught.

Personally I'm glad this information is widespread. It will help people work harder to prevent it in the proper circumstances. I just wish that parents would take the time to be aware of the issues just as they take the time to figure out which schools are good for their children and other such things for their children.

I also think that learning about computer security is a good thing because it's applicable to many other circumstances. There are analogues between computer security and home security.