Good for you for blocking and reporting the person for their sexually inappropriate behavior. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that anything will happen to them, much the same as the phishers out there who try and steal bank accounts (many fake spyware programs are actually browser hijackers and run by the Russian Mafia for instance, quite untouchable by American courts).

You exemplify where the policing has to take place, namely, at the individual user level. You state that these chatrooms should be monitored, and in a sense, that is exactly what you did. You blocked and reported someone for inappropriate behavior. Having someone monitor every chatroom out there for every inappropriate behavior is not possible (nor is it desirable unless you are a "Big Brother" fan). However, what needs to happen is for chatrooms to become "self-monitoring" as people there should police themselves, and look out for each other.

In a way, every chatroom, every blog, every discussion board is a community unto itself. There really aren't that many "Internet Police" out there, and considering the millions of sites, the only way we can really continue to function is to have the "good drive out the bad." I think there are definitely more good people than bad out there, although it seems that the bad get all the press.

If you find yourself online in a place that makes you uncomfortable, then your first option is always to leave. However, if it's just one jerk ruining it for everyone, then the majority can usually force the bad egg out. Awareness is definitely a key, as is peer support from your fellow community members. No place no matter how safe it seems, is 100% safe, so you should always have at least a bit of a guard up. The trick is to find places that meet your needs, and being safe is always one of those needs.

Regards,

Jeff cooper
Education Technology Support Consultant

I go onto websites with gamerooms and i have been approached by many people saying they are my age...one time a man who said he was 45 in a teen room asked me some sexual questions...i blocked him and reported him...I think websites like that should monitor who goes into those chatrooms...
~A 13 year old