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Mike Domitrz from Can I Kiss You? offers a suggestion in light of the recent security and child protection issues of MySpace. He offers up the proposition that users, when signing up, would have to pass a rigorous randomly-generated only safety quiz before being granted the permission to create an account on the site. This was mentioned in his regular e-mail newsletter, The Date Safe Advocate.

Well, his idea is a good start, but I have to elaborate on it a bit. Here are my elaborate thoughts on it all…(read more)

I’ve never been a MySpace fan simply because as a college student graduating this Fall with a major in Computer Science and web design, it’s a utterly horrible layout and the individual websites of users are usually exceptionally hard to read, unusable, and annoying (with banner ads, intrusive audio/video on the page, slow load times, etc). But that’s not the point! I agree that the quiz would be a good idea to implement but I still don’t think it’s enough (though it’s a good start).

For example, passing a quiz is relatively easy if you take it enough times (even if it’s randomly generated each time). Sure, it absolutely will deter those who aren’t “smart enough” to pass the quiz the first time. It will also help the younger generations (namely teens on the site) to learn about online safety. But learning about it doesn’t mean retention of the information learned. People generally assume they are safe online. This is especially true of persons under the age of 18 who are not internet savvy. Obviously, the internet isn’t a safe place unless you’re cautious about what information is given out.

So in addition to the quiz, I think a credit card verification is necessary. What it would do is require all new users to re-authorize their account with a credit/debit card – if they don’t do this, they are cut off of the system until a valid verification. This is pretty simple since the Privacy Policy of the site can do as it pleases since individual users don’t own the content, MySpace does). MySpace could then put a $1.00 charge on the card for verification and then do a reversal so the site is still free to users. New users would be required to have a credit card when signing up.

Why you might ask? Well for one, it verifies the person is 18+ or if not, at least has the parents permission to use the site. The parents are typically curious as to why their son/daughter would be using the card, so then that’s the PERFECT opportunity for parents to step in and say “Yes, you can have my credit card as verification” or “No, MySpace isn’t appropriate for you.” In this way, the parents have a better idea of what their sons/daughters are doing and gives them the chance help their children understand online safety. Plus, it gives a physical address tied to that account, real name, and anything else that can be obtained through a warrant for credit card records if it came to that.

In the event a predator lures a minor into their sick world, then you’ve the address and records of the child and the predator on file (through their credit card information). It’s an immediate tracking down of the predators. If the predators decide to run, that credit card on file can automatically be traced (if it came to that). Plus, the parents can no longer use the excuse “well, I didn’t know what my child was doing.” Yes you did…you gave him/her the credit card number for verification. Obviously, when the credit card expires, the user would be notified on the site and the same would apply as above: update your information or be cut off of our system.

Unfortunately, there will still be predators out there relying on MySpace to do the sick things they do. That’s a lot tougher to stop. But with a credit card validation and quiz, you know the person has an idea of what is safe online (the quiz) and you have a physical address of the person (via the credit card). I think it’s an additional safety precaution into the good idea of using a Online Safety quiz.

In related news. Mike contacted me back for an interview. It’ll be in the form of a podcast coming soon in which I’ll of course post the link to it when it’s ready to go live!

Comments or ideas always welcome and appreciated.

The podcast is available for download via iTunes or this direct link. For more information on the show, go to datesafeshow.com