YOu know, there are probably a bunch of really scary, creepy old men who are going to call Adelphia or Bell or whoever for the first time ever because they will have been inspired by the network "news" specials.

"You mean I don't have to hang around the playground anymore? Now get me hooked up to that Internet, sir. I've got me some molesting to do, right from the privacy of my shack in the woods. Thanks, mainstream media!"

Not sure about completely, but yeah I'm a little skeeved too.

They're only doing it because it's cheap to make and people watch it. It's almost more skeevy that people want to watch. I think it's a mix of, Ooo Sexy Topic, and Watch the Bad Guy Get His. Maybe if they keep doing the show, they'll run out of potential child molesters and will have to shut down operations. That would be cool.

Me, too.

Would I have to have a television to know what this NBC is??

I think it's predatory, and I think that they've possibly entrapped a few people who wouldn't have ever crossed that line otherwise.

They do manage to attract and catch an impressively scary number of total fuckheads.

But I think that they (and Perverted Justice) themselves have crossed many, many lines. Not just of taste, but of ethics as well.

But, eh, if it makes shitheads think twice or thrice about IMing everyone pictures of their wangs at the drop of a hat, the end result will probably be a net positive, pun intended.

I remember pranking back when ICQ/AIM was becoming mainstream-popular, and when it was still new enough to be amusing, and how quickly one could generate a screenful of solicitations from weirdos simply by generating a profile that was Female and Teenaged. (or, frankly, any age.) I PUT ON MY ROBE AND WIZARD HAT.

Would I have to have a television to know what this NBC is??

It's an evil organization bent on monetizing the internet predator panic AND making us look at Howie Mandel as much as possible. It must be stopped.

Hasn't that show been running for awhile? I wouldn't be surprised if some of the more current marks were trolling the net to get on the show.

US Media gloms onto a scary story and runs with it. After they did the countless things terrorists can blow up in your neighborhood they moved to online preditors.

Just wait for spring and the shark attacks to return.

I happened to read a headline on my.yahoo.com earlier saying they wanted sex offenders to register IM and email addresses so places like Myspace could filter it out. Yeah, like that is going to make a difference.

It's a bit much. I don't like pedophiles either, but the way these shows constantly go on about it makes me wonder if they have other motives.

The whole idea that MySpace is putting "safety nets" in place is ridiculous, since a lot of them are based on age but it's really easy to lie about your age on MySpace (I'd be interested to see the % of people on the site listed as over 80- I'm 99!)

NBC is connected to Microsoft isn't it? This might sound a little conspiracy minded but could MS be using NBC to fan the flames of (understandable) fear to maybe push through some internet regulation that might be financially beneficial to them? I'm not sure how, but the thought occured to me.

I used to read Perverted Justice, back when it first started up. Talk about skeevy.

It just all seems like so much tilting at windmills, so much thoughtcrime and FUD.

It's a pretty subtle piece of work. If you don't like it, well, obviously you're a pervert and possibly a threat. Burn the witches.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of sex abuse is perpetrated by people the victim knows - primarily family members, followed quickly by people of influence or authority in their lives.


OMG!! INTARNETS ARE EVIL! OMG OMG! RUN!

Y'know, now that you mention it, I wonder if a TV news network does have sort of a vested interest in convincing people that the internet is slimy and dangerous.

I was thinking more that regulations would be pushed through requiring 'protection software' for all networked computers and all of a sudden MS Pedo-B-Gone would be released and they'd make a fortune.

I don't watch much network TV... seriously, what program do they do these investigations on?

It's actually a series now, Doohicke- it spun off from one of the tabloidy news shows. The show is "Perverted Justice"!

Oh I had no idea they had their own show now. That's kind of gross. It's so prurient and it preys on parents' most primal fears. But when you think about it, it's really not as scary as they make it out to be. "Oh noes! Your underage daughter might offer to have sex with a stranger and said stranger may actually take them up on said offer!"

Having had semi-professional dealings with MSNBC.com, I'm not going to come to NBC's defense (besides, on the .com, I got paid directly by Microsquishy). But, a little perspective: On the cable channel, their two biggest hits are "To Catch a Predator" and Keith Olbermann, and they're supporting both wholeheartedly. For a few months, Howie and "Deal" was the only NBC show that had an audience, and since it was easy to do so, it got run 37 times a week. Despite becoming perpetual 3rd Place on Thursday, NBC is standing by "Office" and "Earl" and "Scrubs" (sorta) and "30 Rock"; any other net would've canned them all by now. And NBC is also the network of "Heroes" and parent company of the network of "Battlestar Galactica". Unfortunately, the way the bean-counters are in charge at Network TV, "Predator" is paying a lot of the bills for the rest of NBC News. But that Perverted Justice organization is obviously driven by its own perversions and is beyond defending. It's definitely a deal with the Devil, but far from the first - or last. On the positive side, most (not all) under-18s on the internet are annoying and anything that'll make it harder for them to log on is fine with me :)

jomnc, the MS-to-NBC connection is weaker than most casual observers think. And nobody on either side seems smart enough to make a good conspiracy like that... BUT THANKS FOR GIVING THEM THE IDEA.

I saw one of these shows when I was in the US last year, and I'm honestly not sure how prevalent they are.

But the report I saw, well, I have no qualms about it. Maybe I'm just getting old and reactionary, but if an adult man knows that it's both a serious criminal offence and also considered by the society in which he lives a morally reprehensible act to have sex with a 14-year-old child, yet embarks on a course of action which will - he believes - lead him to do just that, well, he deserves all he gets.

We're not talking 17-year-old boys here - the guys on the show I saw were all over 35, a couple of them looked to be at least 50. On each occasion, it was them who initiated the "are we going to have sex?" conversation with the girl at the face-to-face meeting. I don't buy that they've been entrapped into crossing a line they would not otherwise have crossed. If they have any kind of a moral compass they would know that what they are planning on doing is soooo wrong.

If I had a young daughter I would be glad that there are a few less nonces* on the streets.

*nonce = UK slang for child molester

*nonce = UK slang for child molester
Oh my god, seriously? I've been using for years as just a generic playground insult, like 'plonker'. Oh god.

Oh god indeed.

Wait, you call people plonkers too?

Oh. My. God.

I don't buy that they've been entrapped into crossing a line they would not otherwise have crossed. If they have any kind of a moral compass they would know that what they are planning on doing is soooo wrong.
Of course it is and I don't think anyone would seriously say that they don't deserve whatever they get, although I am sure there are people who have been tempted to cross the line between fantasising and actually carrying out their fantasies.

I don't know NBC from a hole in the ground and have never heard of or seen this show (know of Perverted Justice, though) but, along the same lines, I am sick and tired of the regular "Oh My God there are perverts on the Internets and they're coming to get your children!!!!" stories regularly being spewed forth on the "current affairs" shows on TV. Of course there are perverts on the Internet. There are also perverts in schools and libraries, in supermarkets and workplaces. But, guess what? They have always been with us, only they are now more visible because society is doing something about them instead of hiding them away and pretending nothing is wrong. Of course there are more now that in the "good old days", because there are more people overall! If you are going to be hysterical, at least be accurate!

"if an adult man knows that it's both a serious criminal offence and also considered by the society in which he lives a morally reprehensible act to [insert behavior], yet embarks on a course of action which will - he believes - lead him to do just that, well, ..."

... then he is a sociopath.

They had a "Law & Order" episode last week? Two weeks ago? That was all about how creepy these shows are. I had no idea they actually existed. I thought it was just a L&O making fun of Hard Copy or something.

Ugh. It's nauseating on so many levels.