IT Curmudgeon

People find it easy to vilify a cause du jour without realizing that nearly everything in life has good and bad sides.

Craigslist recently became a favored punching bag of pundits. In this venue, anecdotal incidents are sufficient to make sweeping conclusions.

Social networking can be a scary place. There are predators there, though perhaps no more than are found in any other venue. People who cross the line between the virtual world and the real world take risks. It is a matter of wisdom, cautiousness and personal security. Care must be taken, and safety should be of utmost concern when these kinds of interactions take place. Meet in public, take a friend, etc.

The good side? Craigslist helps a lot of people empty their garages out and get a few dollars in return. Buyers, some of whom are very needy, purchase items they need for very reasonable prices. It is a gigantic garage sale. Sales are completed without sellers' fees and without shipping costs, which makes the transactions very efficient. A note to the wise, be careful.

Another good thing is that the Internet has traceability that can be better than fingerprints. Who today doesn't know that you can't do *anything* on the Internet without leaving a trail? Many of these predators are now being caught by the means they use to commit their crimes.

Our society is coming of age in a world of social networking and instant messaging. We need to make it as safe as possible, and people need to be very cautious. Any predators, if convicted, need to be kept away from society. Let's not indict garage sales, though, simply because a bad person used them to commit crimes.