>>According to my sources, regulation will happen but it is taking forever >>to get it passed. Killians: >You need better sources. There is no way to regulate the internet as you >seem to predict as it is both in and not in too many countries all at the >same time. The only regulations in any form of consideration are local >limitations at libraries and schools and figuring >out how to tax business transactions in the future. My response: I have good sources...some are politicians and one is an FBI agent in this state. Perhaps "regulation" is a strong word to use, sorry. What I am trying to say is that Internet crimes such as stalking, hacking and harassment are going to be taken more seriously and legislation is in the works. According to the FBI agent I spoke to, most hacking and stalking is not investigated as thoroughly for the general public. In other words, entities who are not celebrities, politicians (or politicians who think they are celebrities), or large companies, until now, have had a difficult time getting the authorities to do full investigations. There simply are not enough authorities to handle these cases. Only "high profile" cases are investigated. With new legislation, there will be some changes on this end. That was what I was trying to say. So I guess those that enjoy attacking other peoples' computers, can enjoy doing so for a bit longer. I cannot wait till what I have been told about new legislation is put into effect. Then again, my sources are probably are not as accurate as the Killian's knowledge, because my sources are only an FBI agent and two local politicians. I am quite sure, though, that the Killians know lots about the local goings-on in Washington State. BTW- Charleen Schuster does not deserve to be brought into anything between you and I. You don't know her so leave her alone. I am sure she would prefer to stay out of it. Let me also state that I don't participate on APF. I have stated numerous times, to many, that friends have sent me posts from there that I have found very disgusting and have NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with ferrets. Some have been full of profanity, threats and pornographic references. There were many disgusting things said about me and at one point, I was even accused of posting for Debbie (that really made me laugh). I did feel flattered that a few people spent so much time discussing me on a forum that I don't even post on. LOL! Occasionally, friends joked that it should be named "alt.pet.danielle". I did have to go there and copy some postings for a complaint I filed, but no, I don't spend much time there and would have preferred that my friends did not send me the garbage (sorry guys). I am sure that Sam is correct when she states that there are some good things on that board, but from what I have seen, the bad has outweighed the good and it is unfortunate that it is not a moderated forum. I understand that there are many on there who don't get along with Debbie Gambrielle. Somehow, I got lumped in with her as being her "best buddy". This was simply not true and I don't know who started that garbage (maybe Debbie, I don't know) but I do know that once someone started down that path, it caused me a tremendous amount of nasty emails, threatening suggestions and so on. Troll is an excellent word for her, but I think those who provoke her are just as much trolls. Some of the things that have been posted on APF, are very cruel. I don't think it necessary for anyone to post things like "step in front of a bus" or really disgusting references to people doing pornographic acts on their children. I am against censorship, but I also have my limits. That is inexcusable on any newsgroup, mailing list or forum. Honestly, I think several people who are active on APF (I am not going to name-names and I am not referring to Sam), enjoy trolls. They get some kind of rise out of it. I feel very sorry for those people that jump on the bandwagon without knowing anything about who is being discussed. That is what I mean when I refer to "mob mentality". Followers who cannot think for themselves. These are my opinions from reading some of the posts on that board and also hearing, from others, what has transpired. I don't think that the FML even compares to APF. BIG is an excellent moderator and I know that if anyone tried to post such things on here, he would squash them (thankfully so). I don't know what APF has been like lately, and I don't care. All I know is that I saw repeated attacks, threats and profanity towards several on that board and that is something I don't feel is beneficial to learning about ferrets. Perhaps calling it APD (alt.pet.discussion) would be a better name for it. I am glad that Sam and a few others have found beneficial information on APF, but the majority of what I have seen has been really rude and crude. Just my opinion. Take it or leave it OR go there and see for yourself. Again, it might be different now or might not. I know that this post is not entirely about ferrets per say, but it is related to ferrets and what has transpired in the community of ferret enthusiasts. [Posted in FML issue 3457]