The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Comments on: MySpace seeks Judge's input on sex offenders purge

Database could be wrong 

Posted Tuesday 5th June 2007 13:16 GMT

I recently found the name of a neighbor on Texas' sex offender website. The zip code was right, but the picture and address were different. I've never used My Space before. So the question is, would Don be caught up in this witch hunt?

what about the fibbers? 

Posted Tuesday 5th June 2007 22:37 GMT

I've not actually used myspace so I'm not sure how rigourous the sign up procedure is (probably have to submit to a cavity search before long) but whats to stop a sex offender simply lying about their details to avoid being kicked off?

if the database is using partial matches to recognise a sex offender, then it's going to flag hundreds, if not thousands, of false positives.

I still don't get... 

Posted Wednesday 6th June 2007 01:11 GMT

How someone decides that another person has no buisness using a given website. The internet is a rather free place, and if you don't own said website, you really shouldn't be able to have too much control over who uses it. If its really a problem, start adding a "no using social networking sites" bit in the sentance that those convicted get. Even then it shouldn't be the responsibility of the site to prevent certain people from using it.

It just really irritates me when people try to push taste and morals on the internet. It has none, and there just isn't a good way to regulate it. People should give up on improving the internet, they just need to keep 2 facts in mind when using it to be safe:

1) The internet is hostile by nature.

and

2) Assume everyone on the internet is a 60 year old man until proven otherwise.

If anyone wants to regulate the internet, make people get internet licenses, and let me design the tests. Nothing like the American DMV, who will let any 16 year old with half a brain drive (If you can barely pass a driving test while giving it your full attention, what happens when you decide to talk on the phone whilst driving down the highway at 90MPH?)