SOURCE

"The giant Internet media company closed down those chat rooms and the ability to create new ones "in the past week," said Yahoo spokeswoman Mary Osako.

Chat rooms created and sponsored by Yahoo itself remain open, Osako said. The number of user-created chat rooms is variable at any given time and Yahoo does not track that figure, she said.

The user-created chat rooms in question, where Internet users converse in real time, had names including "Girls 13 And Under For Older Guys" and "Girls 13 And Up For Much Older Men" and were all listed under "education chat rooms," Houston television station KPRC reported. "

And we care because...?

And we care because...? BECAUSE some of those chat rooms were some of my Favorites!!!! Highly educational

This isn't a case of Yahoo stepping on peoples rights. Yahoo owns the servers, the let people use the Chat server as a priveledge. This is a case of Yahoo acting responsibly.

George, you may NOT give a damn....but there are lots of people who have created legit chat rooms that were shut down because of this fear that some wrongdoing was going on in some chat rooms.

It seems that there are a lot of issues you don't think are of any importance..but some folks do give a crap...like the decision today to allow people to have their houses taken away if a city government thinks something like a Wal*Mart wants the land your home is on to build a big box store.

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=100659
"Cities may bulldoze people's homes to make way for shopping malls or other private development, a divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday, giving local government broad power to seize private property to generate tax revenue.

In a scathing dissent, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said the decision bowed to the rich and powerful at the expense of middle-class Americans. "

if they want a walmart so bad, why don't the city councel give up their homes to build it?

If Yahoo would have simply taken responsibility and monitored the chat rooms this would not have happened.

But of course that would make them have to spend money for monitors. And nothing can be allowed to get between them and the bottom line.

End result is Pedio's getting free chat space to try to pick up children. Guess there are limits to the bottom line after all.

The sick kiddie porn traders will just move to IRC...

Too hard to find good targets there - if I were a pedophile, I would join some kids' forums to meet them, get their trust, then they would give my their MSN address and I can continue on there.

But this isn't about pedophiles - its about reputation. Yahoo was accused of supporting - albeit unknowingly - an activity that produces such intense hatred in people that the damage to their reputation would be severe even if they managed to prove that the rooms were empty and shut them down. The only option was to both limit future issues and show their dedication to the protection of children by massively overreacting.

There are some issues which are so filled with irrational emotion they can override all other concerns - pedophiles and terrorism being the main ones. Common sense is dismissed, free speech is not even concieved of, and other freedoms are seen only as giving people the freedom to break the law, all in the name of defending children-from-perverts/us-from-Them.

Hence the Cleanfeed fiasco: (The largest ISP in the UK cencored the internet by blocking some IPs. They refused to state how many IPs were blocked. They wouldn't confirm if a specified IP was blocked. They provided no procesure for appealing a block. Yet noone dared to criticise them because their actions were done in the name of protecting children. The police and child-aimed charities praised them publicly. Only a single reporter on the BBC wrote anything other than praise, on the BBC website - and article explaining that he had seen the cencorship system in Saudi Arabia (I think?) and at least when you try to access a blocked site there you are explicitly told its blocked, unlike BT where you just see a 'server cannot be found' message. AFAIK, the Cleanfeed system is still running.)

to rant or not to rant? that is the question.

kiddie porn? jesus, if you people new what kind of human filth was living in your neighborhood and quite possibly next door to you there would be no internet. there's been a lot of talk about that swartzmiller guy in california being the worst pedophile ever... well, he may be that but if you want to be startled check the state sex offender registry for your city. you will be surprised to find out he's got some stiff competition. I lived in a subdivision for about 10 years. 3000 residents in about 20 square miles. 33 sex offenders within 1/2 mile of my house. that's just the ones who were caught and branded.

goldenpi is right. there is no way to be rational about this. it's an issue that will evoke such panic and fear that people will kill their own family members to try to feel safe and I'm not exaggerating. shutting down chat rooms, p2p networks, businesses and anything else is acceptable as long as you can put that label on them.


and just for the record

"Cities may bulldoze people's homes to make way for shopping malls or other private development, a divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday, giving local government broad power to seize private property to generate tax revenue."

I've never been a big believer in the whole government conspiracy against the people routine but I'd be willing to bet you that the same people who are for this kind of crap are also for gun control. There was an incident in Granby Colorado about a year ago where a guy built a homemade armored bulldozer and wiped out half of the town buildings over this kind of bs. my guess is we'll see it happen again.


and while I'm on the whole conspiracy thing...... dammit, I'm out of teflon body glitter

gawd. I have to start sleeping.

Maybe at election time people will remember what this Supreme Court decision has done to peoples rights. Oh yeah that's right I forgot. People are lemmings or just don't give a shit. Right George?

Justices who voted for New London:

Breyer, Nominated by Bill Clinton
Ginsburg, Nominated by Bill Clinton
Kennedy, Nominated by Reagan
Souter, Nominated by George HW Bush
Stevens, Nominated by Gerald Ford

Sorry looks like you're screwed with either party in office.

"Maybe at election time people will remember what this Supreme Court decision has done to peoples rights. Oh yeah that's right I forgot. People are lemmings or just don't give a shit. Right George?"

Yes, they are.
Just look at the Presidential "election" that just occurred.
Lemmings for Bush, or Lemmings for Kerry ?
Two sides of the same wealthy coin.
Anyone who thought differently was
bashed with simplistic rhetoric.

Yes,
People are Lemmings.
The next "election" will reveal more of the same.

In response to what captdunsel mentioned, what was it that was quoted on CSI? Oh yes, "If people only knew what was out there hunting for them, they'd never leave their homes" The internet is the LEAST of our worries.

"It seems that there are a lot of issues you don't think are of any importance..but some folks do give a crap"

Maybe we should discuss other things that people give a crap about and totally forget about the purpose of the site.

How about botany? We could study the larch.
Scientology and the tiny aliens?

Citigroup has just decided to swap assets with Legg Mason. Good or bad?
Boston Scientific Settles on Probe -- Ouch!

The hummingbird neatly splits the difference between birds, which get all their lift from the downstroke of their wings, and bugs, which get equal amounts of lift from both downstroke and upstroke.

They survived the dinosaurs, but leatherback turtles may have moved one step closer to extinction when last December's tsunami washed away some of their most important nesting beaches in India's Nicobar islands.

But let's get to music news:
Stingy German firms are refusing to sponsor a free rock concert in Berlin which is part of Bob Geldof's Live 8 campaign to pressure world leaders to eradicate African poverty, its promoter said on Friday.

#

We may never know who killed the Notorious B.I.G., but at least one former Los Angeles police officer thought he had a good idea who was behind the murder: rival rap kingpin Marion "Suge" Knight.

Jack Johnson believes musicians should be consistent when it comes to honing their craft

*

Britain's Glastonbury festival, highlight of the UK's summer rock scene, lived up to its reputation for mud and mayhem when torrential rains brought chaos to the opening on Friday.

* TV commercials create the latest hip playlists

#

No magic spells could make "Bewitched" enjoyable, after all the work put into it by a coven of rotating cooks stirring the long-simmering cauldron.

Studios target older, richer DVD buyers

*

Academy Award winner Chris Cooper will star in Chain of Command, the latest work by recent Pulitzer Prize winner John Patrick Shanley, which will be given a July 29-31 workshop at the Powerhouse Theatre on the grounds of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, as part of the 2005 summer season of New York Stage and Film.


#

When it comes to smuggling animals across the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. Wildlife Inspector Ed Marshall has seen it all.

#

Authorities described this week's raids on San Francisco pot clubs as one of the largest drug crackdowns in the area in recent memory, and said the arrests were the first step in uncovering a major international drug operation.

#

The suspect in the BTK strangler case was working on a book about his life until authorities found out and cut off contact between him and a woman who was helping him write it.

#

A woman who pleaded no contest to embezzling at least $700,000 from her church, crippling a reconstruction effort and causing a retired pastor to lose his pension, was sentenced to 5 to 10 years in prison.

#

Aruban police arrested the father of a young Dutch teen already in custody in connection with the disappearance of a young Alabama woman, and said Thursday that he was considered a suspect in the 3-week-old case.

#

The United States' popularity in many countries — including longtime allies in Europe — is lagging behind even communist China.

#

The case against two men accused of robbing a street mime dressed as the Statue of Liberty began Wednesday with testimony from Lady Liberty himself.

"but there are lots of people who have created legit chat rooms that were shut down because of this fear that some wrongdoing was going on in some chat rooms."

Maybve if they tried this new-fangled telephone thing...

Yup.
Why try use new methods when the old ways should be good enough for anyone.

In fact,
Anyone who tries to use something new should be sued or jailed.
Dam kids

George, I agree.

In fact, I may try to get this article posted

http://www.tiresafety.com/construction/const_nav2.htm

It's a facinating adventure into the realm of tire making

"ow about botany? We could study the larch.
Scientology and the tiny aliens?

Citigroup has just decided to swap assets with Legg Mason. Good or bad?
Boston Scientific Settles on Probe -- Ouch!

The hummingbird neatly splits the difference between birds, which get all their lift from the downstroke of their wings, and bugs, which get equal amounts of lift from both downstroke and upstroke.

They survived the dinosaurs, but leatherback turtles may have moved one step closer to extinction when last December's tsunami washed away some of their most important nesting beaches in India's Nicobar islands."

Now you're talking George..see you CAN think outside the box, and I feel honored that I helped your mind soar beyond the doldrums of corporate music shenanigans!

I don't know about you guys but I'm VERY interested in long distance savings......

Yeah, its a music site, we should talk music, but Ive been wondering why I couldnt get into my favorite chat rooms at yahoo and just now found out.
I say leave the rooms there and point the FBI at 'em. Chances are yer chatting witha 40yr old gay man and not the local high school slut. I'm really a 14yr old grrl posing as a old dude.

Sites like www.Perverted-justice.com do EXACTLY that.
The Pervs hit up on what they think are kids, only to be exposed. Check out the site. They have even managed to send some of them to jail.
The sickos felt comfortable on yahoo.
A SMART FBI would have used similar tactics to catch them, rather than drive them deeper underground. VERY smart.

capt i spend way too much on long distance. LOL anyhow, leave the chat rooms alone i say and let the fbi catch the perves.....

"The case against two men accused of robbing a street mime dressed as the Statue of Liberty began Wednesday with testimony from Lady Liberty himself."

I'm just glad they didn't kill the guy. A mime is a terrible thing to waste.

Aw man, there goes the "Ask a Witch" and "Satanism vs Christianity" rooms. I so loved those, it's great to watch the fundies come in and get intellectually slapped around.

I've never seen anyone trolling for young girls, but I've seen a lot of "girls" come in spamming to cyber with young guys. Thankfully my favorite rooms always had a "no ASL" and "this is not a dating room" rule.

lol Heathen, everytime I see the billboard on the highway, "3 out of 5 teenagers are solisted online", I have to think of the jailbait that jumps out at me from musical chatrooms. Im in chat to joke, flirt, discuss music, spam Dmusic, and to get outta Redneckville for an hour, I didnt buy a PC this morning and expect someone to come over tonight.
Then again the 14yr old grrl that turned me onto KoRn is 19 now