Staying ahead of the curve

[thedqs]

Yes, in some respect we will be behind the curve. Just think of the relationship between you and your parents, the point is how can we use tech to help us, if not curb then educate, problems and how to avoid them in new areas. Firewalls would be great if we could assign a port to every "channel". Proxy could be very useful if there was no SSL that basically renders the proxy useless.

What one needs to do is continue learning and educate their children on how to make decisions for themselves.

[mkmurray]

I have a longer rant that has lots of scriptural references and whatnot, but I tried to keep it this side of the line.

And I think you handled it perfectly. Thank you for your comments.

[russellhltn]

Are cell phones really that different than the old-school landline?

The old-school landline phones couldn't send photos. Private photos.

I agree, this isn't something that has a technical solution. But there is a need to inform parents of how new technology may be used inappropriately and what to look for. But I see that as something for our church leaders to address, not a technology forum.

I'm not sure as it's something to address in this forum, but a valid technical issue is to help parents set up appropriate restrictions. You wouldn't want to let a 4th grader loose on an unfiltered Internet. So some basic filtering would be wise to stop accidental exposure. But not all parents are sufficiently computer literate to do that.

Technology is no substitute for parenting, but parenting in this age may take some technological help.

[The_Earl]

The old-school landline phones couldn't send photos. Private photos.

I routinely sent various binary bits of information from my computer to a friends computer in the mid 90's over landline phone, mostly software. We had modems, free time, and the technical knowledge to make the connection.

My father knew generally what we were doing, who I was talking to, and what my interests were. He also knew that I was not likely to fall into something I shouldn't, because he was involved with my computer use. He introduced me to the wide world of BBS and modems.

I agree, this isn't something that has a technical solution. But there is a need to inform parents of how new technology may be used inappropriately and what to look for. But I see that as something for our church leaders to address, not a technology forum.

I'm not sure as it's something to address in this forum, but a valid technical issue is to help parents set up appropriate restrictions.

My list of appropriate restrictions:

• No computer use after 11pm.
• No unsupervised computer use generally.
• Screening of all friends, computer, phone, school, or otherwise

You wouldn't want to let a 4th grader loose on an unfiltered Internet. So some basic filtering would be wise to stop accidental exposure. But not all parents are sufficiently computer literate to do that.

I wouldn't let a 4th grader loose on an unsupervised computer. I wouldn't let a 4th grader loose on an unsupervised telephone, friends house, shopping mall, roller skating rink, television, etc...

A filter does not equal supervision.

Technology is no substitute for parenting, but parenting in this age may take some technological help.

Why would you come here for technical help for something your child knows about? Why wouldn't you have your child show you what they do on the computer, or with their phone?

If your <person> can not be honest with you about what they are <activity>, then you already have a problem. Trying to filter, or block, or restrict, or audit is a solution AFTER there is a problem.

If your child spends a lot of time <activity>, ask them about it. Have them show you what they are doing. If <bad thing> happens because you didn't understand the risks involved with <activity> then you have failed your child. Not because you didn't understand <activity>, but because you didn't understand your child.

Really, technical help works for questions like:
How do I know if <person> has a problem with pornography?
How do I stop my <person>'s contact with <person>?
How do I stop <inappropriate activity>?

not:
How do I raise my children?
How do I teach my children to react to bad influences?
How do I teach my children to protect themselves from <thing>?
How do I teach my children to make correct choices in <situation>?

In short, there are no technical preventative solutions. Only technical help solving existing problems.

The Earl

[russellhltn]

In short, there are no technical preventative solutions. Only technical help solving existing problems.

That seems to be right along with my statement "Technology is no substitute for parenting, but parenting in this age may take some technological help", no?

We can spend far too much time debating on when should the Internet be filtered, but we would agree that in some circumstances, Internet filtering is a valid tool to use in parenting, correct? The same can be said about many other tech tools as well. Not all parents are that techy and may need help.

It might be worth considering having the Church behind such a forum. Not only would be be a good resource for members, but it would be a positive publicity and appeal to non-members who hold family values. Clearly, that's to be decided by our leaders, but I toss the idea out for consideration.

[arxpoetica]

My two cents:

I think the Church will eventually figure out the huge benefits of adopting a social-networking like platform in many/most of their online service.

I can think immediately of one potentially huge area that would benefit from such a network: genealogy.

In a sense, the Church already benefits a little bit from adopting such practices, though it's understandable why they are careful in jumping in feet first. But if you look at this very web forum (LDS Tech), it's definitively a step in that direction.

Guaranteed, social networking is a useful model. As a web developer, I know a little bit about it. I've worked on sites that have developed social networking tools, and there's no question how the model can be beneficial.

In fact, if you look at the way the Church is organized, we are *constantly* trying to improve on real-world methods of staying in touch with each other. Home teaching, relief society, priesthood, missionary work could all benefit. I'm not making a joke here or going off on some randomly manic idea. It's pretty rational. And I think the Church will ultimately see the light on the matter. We are a Church, united as one. I think that's pretty much the same model social networking has going for it. Of course, we can always call it something else since it does have a bit of a bad name.

[mkmurray]

Of course, we can always call it something else since it does have a bit of a bad name.

How about "Celestial Networking?"

[arxpoetica]

ha ha! ~