Comparing the net to the VCR was a joke. If all you can think to do with tcp-ip is maintain customer lists and look at pornography you're in more trouble than even the most die hard predator can provide...in that you're clueless and you're not helping others become less clueless.

You see, the Internet doesn't create the cultural or intellectual vacuuousness of pornography; it is caused by the persistent shame indoctrinated into us by well-meaning cultural and moral scions. Nearly 95% of the garbage your writer is so afraid of is hiding behind a secure web server with credit card validation requirements and clear representation of the adult nature of the content available once a valid credit card number is entered by the user.

Children aren't accessing the stuff without access to a valid credit card. The problem isn't a communications medium, but rather the abdication of responsibility that seems to be so persistent in this society. For instance, Iran-Contra was a big deal, involving lying to Congress, misappropriation of funds, and no convincing excuses except for a couple of old timers who "couldn't recall" many details of what happened. Billions of dollars were committed to a War on Drugs that serv ed to move military armaments to Iran and who knows where else. The results? A handful of presidential pardons and shrugged shoulders...and a little finger poin ting about the Federal deficit. Is culpability for their self-appointed patrioti sm too much to ask? Well, is it too much to ask parents to be frank with their c hildren about the dangers of online relationships, no matter how "safe" a state t he Congress thinks they can legislate them into?

It seems pretty simple, actually. Kids, don't give out any personal information about yourself when chatting like phone numbers, addresses, real names. Just give URLs and e-mail addresses. Parents, don't leave 6 year-olds or younger kids alone on the Net. Kids, finish your homework and be proud of the culture you create for yourselves using the new media. Share your learning with your families and friends. Parents who choose to ban their kids from the Internet are unfairly denying them the right to stake out their digital futures. Whatever you do, do NOT abdicate your responsibilities to the government or the television, as previous generations of parents were so quick to do because of exhaustion brought about by family Unfriendly policies in businesses worldwide.

Finally, telecommute...explore the web...learn what you can accomplish, say, and do online, but be responsible for yourself and your little brothers and sisters while doing so! The most important thing to remember, besides have fun, is that the only way to ethically "conquer" disgusting text, images, or video is to overwhelm the bad content with "good content", and this is the only medium in the histo ry of humanity where the playing field between gigantic publishing houses (like Forbes) is level with ordinary folks like you, me, and all the kids out there.

Good luck, folks.

My daytime phone number is 512-555-1212.
Austin, Tx.
I saw the story at 12:45pm Mon. June 24, 1996.