Watching your back on IRC

Just like you wouldn't want to surf in real water when you don't know how to swim, you don't want to enter the Internet without knowing the rules of safety, would you? In real life we talk to many people everyday. We have interesting and fun conversations. But we always follow certain rules to keep our distance and out of trouble.

Chatting on IRC is exactly the same. You meet fantastic people online, but unfortunately you can also run into unsavoury people - just like in real life. In order to ensure that your chat time on IRC is safe and enjoyable, we urge our younger members to follow these simple rules. Adults should take note too!

Never give your real name, email address, home address, phone number, or school name to anyone you meet online. And do not ask someone else for this information either. Don’t call the person if they give you their number – they might have a Call Line Identity facility on their cell phone, and even on their Telkom landline.

Never arrange to meet a person you've met online unless you discuss it first with your parents, and unless an adult goes with you to a public place. Remember that people online may not be who they say they are.

Important points to remember:

  1. Show someone a picture of the person you are meeting.
  2. Don’t send your picture online to a stranger without your parent’s consent.
  3. Meet during the daytime at a public venue and use your own transport if possible.
  4. Let someone know who you are meeting and tell them if you don't call in 1 hour or so to give you a call.
  5. If possible, take someone with you, or don't meet the person alone.
  6. When someone asks for a private chat with you, be extra careful about any information you reveal about yourself: you have no way of knowing who the other person really is.
  7. Young people are urged to alert their parents or another adult they trust if they are receiving chat messages that are scary/dirty/offensive.
  8. If you are being harassed, alert one of the ops on #ZANet.
  9. If someone is harassing you while online, the best thing to do is to put the person on ignore. Just type /ignore <nickname> where <nickname> is the nickname of the person harassing you.
  10. Don't respond to "flaming" (abusive messages targeted at you). Report it to an op immediately and put the person on ignore.
  11. Don't flirt online, unless you're prepared to handle the consequences.
  12. Get out of an online situation that has become hostile. Quit and come back with a different nick.
  13. Find out more about a person before you arrange to meet them. Check to see if the nick is registered, and for how long. This will give you an indication if the person is a regular on IRC. Be extra careful if the nick is not registered at all. Ask the ops or other regulars about the person. They know most of the regular chatters and will be able to give you good advice.

Never trust anyone.
Never say it will never happen to me.