This is not a trading thread. I want each of you to read this and think hard about it. I'm not your mom but I care about all of you and I want you to have fun but SAFE FUN. Do not kid yourself about this stuff - it does happen, it can happen.

And no, nothing happened here but some of the adults and parents here have noticed some our young friends here saying or doing things that make us a bit worried. The time to talk is BEFORE something bad happens!

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I know, I know. You've heard it a million times. "The Internet is not a safe place." "There's bad people on the Internet." "People could be out to get you." But you've never met any, right? Here's the thing. You might have, and not known it! People pretend to be someone else online sometimes. Sure, you're you, but that girl or boy who you're talking to might actually be someone completely different! You could give out the smallest bits of information--what school you go to, what sports you play--and by that alone, someone could actually track you down! Your parents and teachers weren't lying to you-the internet can be a very dangerous place for children like you.

Sure, it may seem silly to not trust anyone online. You're probably just talking to your friends from school, after all. It can even be fun to meet new people online to talk to. You should still make sure you're safe. You would never go to a stranger's car--and even though it seems safer online, sometimes it's not. I'll give you an example, okay? After all, it can be hard to imagine someone figuring out who you are and where you live just from an online chat, especially if you don't give out your address or phone number (which you should never ever do!).

Say your screen name is "soccer_girl" or "soccer_boy." You strike up a conversation with someone who asks if you play soccer for your school--and then asks what school you play for, because they know players on a couple of teams. Innocent question, right? Well, it could be--or it might not! If you do play soccer for your school, and you give them your school name (or even what area you live in), they could go to your school, wait for soccer practice, and find you! You might not think it's very likely--but it happens a lot! You've heard on the news about missing kids, right? Well, sometimes those kids run into people who they gave information to online in real life, and bad things can happen as a result. Sure, they don't happen every time, but it's not worth taking that chance! You've heard on the news about missing kids, right? amber alerts? Sometimes the kids that are missing have been taken by people they were talking to online. Scary, but true.

So what can you do? A lot! You can talk to people about hobbies, or sports, or your pets, or your dream job when you grow up! You can talk about schoolwork or papers you're writing. You shouldn't ever give out your phone number, your address, your real name, or your school. Sure, it may seem silly now, but kids have had really bad things happen to them before, and we don't want anything to happen to you. Even if someone says that they can be trusted, or give their information to you, it's important that you not do the same thing--at least not before talking to your parents. If you've talked to someone for a long time and given out information, you should let your parents know so that they can talk to the person too--even if it's a kid like you!

Maybe you say that it couldn't happen to you--that you know the person, that you've been talking to them forever, and that this is all just stupid. What if it's been someone pretending all along? That 15 year old boy you've been talking about sports with could actually be a 50 year old man or woman! You just have to remember to be safe, and if anything strange happens, or anyone tries to get your information or give you theirs, tell your parents. You won't get in trouble that way--but you could if you didn't tell anyone and something happened.

Your parents can help too. If you've just started going to a new site, have your parents look at it and make sure that it's safe for you. Your parents should always know at least what sites you're on, even if they don't know specifics of what you do. You can also get protection software that will keep bad sites from popping up--inappropriate things that you don't want to see won't show up that way, and your parents will be able to tell why they even tried to show up. Plus, it'll keep people from sending you stuff you don't want.

If you're worried about a conversation or situation, talk to your parents, a teacher, or some other grownup you can trust about it. They'll be glad you did. If you don't feel comfortable talking to your parents about the situation, contact a moderator for the site that you're a part of, and tell them what's going on. Either way, let someone know. Whether it's a teacher, a coach, an aunt or uncle, it's very important that you tell a grownup that something bad happened.