1.13 How much should I worry about meeting someone dangerous this way?
Description
This article is from the Internet Personals: Advice for Gay Men FAQ, by Fred Young nssf@greatwildwest.net and Dean Esmay esmay@syndicomm.com with numerous contributions by others.
1.13 How much should I worry about meeting someone dangerous this way?
You shouldn't worry all that much about it. Most people aren't
really dangerous, after all.
Still, while I hesitate to put it this way, let's be blunt: we're
all going to be very depressed the first time we hear about
someone who gets raped or killed by some psychopath or homophobe
who posted (or answered) an ad. And I'd much rather you not be
that person.
Now, don't let that make you paranoid! Remember, you can meet
hurtful, malicious, or just plain evil people anywhere: in a bar,
on the streets, even through friends. There's no way you can get
through life without some risk of meeting someone who will hurt
you. However, in every situation, there are ways to minimize your
risks, and online personals are no exception. Use common sense in
any of your dealings with anyone you meet through personals, but
probably the most important thing to remember is this:
Before you meet, or even give your phone number or address to,
anyone, make sure that person is willing to give you the same
information. Especially if you are dealing with someone using an
anonymous e-mail address!
Also, be sure to check with your system administrators to see if
they keep your personal information in WAIS or Ph or other
publicly-accessible forms so that others can find out about your
address or other info through your e-mail address. Most systems
are far more secure than that these days, but some systems are
more careless about these things. Be sure your info is not
publicly available when you begin posting (and that's for
posting anywhere, not just personals groups!).
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