The Dark Furie

It's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood, a beautiful day in the neighbourhood, hi neighbour.

I've done my tour of duty on the internet. From the time the internet was completely black and everyone who used it was a green typed smiley, I was there. I've even seen the mobile internet go through the same evolution as the computer based one. I've typed with my fingers, I've typed with my thumbs, I've even drunkenly typed with certain other parts of me, but enough about that. The point is I've seen the internet evolve way beyond it's roots.

But there's one thing that is as true now as it was back then. People on the web are obsessed with sex. Every community site I've used I've eventually left or been driven out of due to so many people bugging me for "cyber" sex. It took me 24 hours to get pissed off with MySpace for this. I've had a look at Tagged and everyone is bugging everyone else for private video chat and private MSN conversations, even when they expressly state not to bother trying. Hell, my first conversation using the mobile web turned out to be some guy who wouldn't take no for an answer.

It's sad really. So many community sites end up being a prowling site for cybersex fiends no matter how well designed or how well moderated. You just can't stop this sort of thing without being oppressive and denying people the basic right of free speech.

So, imagine my surprise when I found a community that seems to be free of all that. I'm speaking, of course, of the My Opera community. Even better is the fact that this site doesn't prohibit these things, the people here are just mature enough to know how to act in a social environment. I know there's probably someone out there who has no business interacting with normal human beings, the law of averages states that there has to be, but I haven't bumped into them yet.

I've settled in here now. Most people will regularly find me on their recent visitors list, as I spend most bored nights browsing the latest blogs. I'll chat to people on select forums, and I'm pretty open with my blog posts. So far I haven't met up with anyone who seems to be out solely to cause trouble or offend. I've never been the target of anything like the woman in this news article.

So, if you've experience anything like this at a site you use, and you're not a member here already, then click here and join the neighbourhood. I'll even drop round to your new page with a welcome basket of mini muffins.