I previously complained about Yahoo chat rooms for pedophiles and perverts and their sponsorship by major US corporations. Thanks to Brian Duffin for letting me know that Yahoo has now pulled these chat rooms from its services, responding to the pressure created by outraged people.
Thank goodness there are still some people who still have a sense of morality and can speak out against such evil. I suppose we may yet hear the ACLU bemoan such “censorship” – but it’s clearly a case of good riddance.
I hope the blogging community helped motivate Yahoo.
I noticed Yahoo shutting down user-created chats came about the same time a lot of major companies pulled their advertising dollars. I think it’s pretty sad that it seemed to take something like that to get them to clean up their act. As for me, I closed my account with them and explained to my family out on the east coast (I’m on west) why I’d no longer be meeting up with them for our morning conferences.
I think what youve done and complainted about is stupid, and you odviously dont have a very open mind. The fact that some people on it are perverts isnt fair to ruin it for everyone else. And youve shut down yahoo, so what? they’ll just go somewhere else now, or in the regular chat rooms.
What are you going to do next, kick porn of the net? Shut down all chat rooms?
Impossible.
i,am glad they have shut down the user-created chat rooms i have report people to yahoo a good few times, but the did f-all,if it takes major companies to pull there money so be it,it may keep urs kids safe!!!!!!
just like typical parents pointing the finger at everyone else but yourselves for your childrens actions. Funny how people will rally to shut down a chat room but they won’t get off their duffs to stop priests from molesting young boys. I hope God had a sense of humor.
So here we go with the “GOD” thing again. I am so tired of hearing about the right wing, religious attacking those people who are out to set the world “straight” But yet they let their own sexually abuse children, and do everything to protect their own. What I would like to know is what makes anyone think that yahoo chat rooms or any other chat room for that fact cause an increase in adults preying on children? I will tell you why, its because of what we hear in the news…What I don’t hear in the news is the people in the neighborhood sexually abusing children. And I ask, where are the parents, why are they not taking responsibility for their childrens online, TV, Movie, Gaming … oh yea thats right…the political correct people have made it more difficult to put restrictions on their children….
It never fails people getting thier kids out of the way … Go play on the computer or watch TV punish one punish all no worries but remember you can only blame yourselves for not watching what your children are doing and not taking them outside to play… You won’t catch mine on without me knowing what’s on because it’s not the chat or the web it’s the supervisor… THE PARENT … All the sponsors in the world don’t want to get caught with thier pants down so they try and pull advertising who cares and stoping user created chat isn’t going to fix the problem it’s the parents.. so Yahoo and all it’s so called upgrades.. Pepsi,Statefarm,and all you others know what was going on don’t play stupid now.. you got what you paid for ADVERTISING no matter where it showed up.. Start blaming the parents and whatch how quick the problem stops… a good word or a good belt always works….
Gee thanks, Now the pervs have to go to other rooms in yahoo. LIke the ones that I want to go to. Now here comes the rant>>>At least in the user rooms you knew what you were getting into by the sick and twisted titles on the room and stay far away from them. Yahoo could have easily shut those down and left the rest of us adults be. Now I can’t go to any yahoo established chat room with out seeing pervs and spam bots clogging up the screen with everything from “come see me naked on my cam at another site” to “anyone one here like little kids, IM me”. The sick bastards that prey on children need to be shut down and locked up with their freedom taken away. But instead you have only taken freedom from the innocent. And like others have stated, the only way to protech your children from these monsters is to keep your eye on them. The monsters are still there, you only feel safe knowing that you have shut down one of their ways of getting to your youngsters. You will never shut down all of the ways. I know to many people who have turned the computer into a baby sitter. If you do not want the responsibility of a child then do not have children in the first place.
“Shut Down YAHOO!”
When I first loaded up Yahoo Messenger two years ago, and went through all of its kinks and kooks, the very first thing that popped up as I clicked on the User Rooms icon was a warning.
The warning pretty much let me know that some of the user rooms were not especially catering to the innocent and the socialite. That there would, in most probability, appear rooms of sexually oriented and or illegal content..
For instance
“Older Men for Teens”
or perhaps
“The UnderAge Hashers”
or even
“11-15yrz-girls stipppp teeeze”
Before the user rooms were brought down, Mormanite, it was evident that the companies sponsoring Yahoo! and Yahoo!’s chat services as well as managing directors were well aware of what was going on in the user rooms. They were well aware of the dangers in some of these rooms, and were making money off of these rooms just as easily as if it did not exist.
There is no way a company would sponsor and or open their chatrooms, and not be aware of a glitch in their networks. Obviously, the MANY MANY sexual encounters, rapes, and real life kidnappings that occured from some Yahoo! Chat User Rooms (recorded by Police in America as well as in many News networks) was ignored.
Why?
Because Yahoo! is a company, a business, and in business one spends time making MONEY not babysitting children of morally-decrepit and or responsibly-handicapped parents.
I agree with all the commenters who pointed out that Yahoo! and its user rooms should not be shut down because it is not their company’s responsibility to babysit the children who enter their user chat rooms, obviously having been warned of dangers, and who OBVIOUSLY chatted within rooms of such nature as “11-15y girlz with older MEN”.
I do condemn those legal-aged patrons of those illegal sites of sexually harassing and even luring young girls and boys, and other illegal activities they were involved in. The right thing to do is to shut down Yahoo completely, because these men and women are still lurking around the Yahoo! Chat Rooms, where even such hobbies as “Books and Literature” may spark their sickened minds to lure other victims into their traps. It isn’t hard to realize how many loopholes this issue has, that porn bots invade all of Yahoo!’s chat rooms, that their are still pedophiles everywhere, and it still amazes me that so many people could blindly agree that shutting down the user rooms solves the problem.
For those of the parents who ignored their children’s adventures in Internet Land, I hope you do remember this time to check on their whereabouts, and to be RESPONSIBLE.
For those of us who used the user rooms for hobbies and meeting other brilliant chatters online, it is a waste…
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I would just like to say that I amtired of all you whining about the “Great loss” of yahoo user rooms.
I wrote yahoo a letter and this is it….
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing in regards to the rash
action of removing the userroom option
taken by yourselves in accordance to
concerned parents.
I can fully understand and appreciate
the seriousness of the actions of both
prties. However, what I can’t
understand is why are the parents
complaining to you about their childs
safety. It almost feels like they are
portraying yahoo as some kind of
babysitter, who is supposed to monitor
and keep their children safe.
In my opinion, the parents are to
blame for allowing their child or
children onto the internet, which for
many years has always been regarded as
unsafe. If the parents were so
concerned, why did they not have some
sort of child minding program, where
they, the parents choose where the
child can and can’t go.
If you ask me there is an awful lot of
bad parenting going on, and you at
yahoo are getting the brunt of their
lack of control.
I would only ask one thing, and that
would be to create a room yourself for
myself and my friends who knew how old
everyone was and always acted
responsible. I am speaking on behalf
of some 40-60 plus people. Who are now
just hovering in cyber-space.
If you did this we would be grateful,
as many such as myself have been
enjoying yahoo for many years.
The room in question would be called
The Furry Forest, and would hopefully
like to find it in entertainment or
hobbies.
Yours respectfully and sincerely.
Alan Pritchard.
Now what’s written except for the request is my view on the whole situation.
I am 22 years of age from England U.K, and yes I hate all the bad types who come online ruining it for others.
But did any of you give thought to the innocent ones, who go on to relax and make new friends?…No you did not.
As far as I can see there are a few who are “judging books by their covers.”
Now if you wish to complain about yahoo. First think to yourselves is it the parents who are to blame?
Of course it isn’t. It’s this company or some other wild and wacky new fad.
I was brought up well. These “new” parents of this generation are lazy arrogant and couldn’t give a s*** about their kids, which is why you have runaways, abusive behaviour, bullying etc.
Now if you think I am wrong please tell me.
Because it bores me to think you people have nothing better to do than debate about this sort of thing, when there’s war poverty and worse which you all could be helping with.
Think about what I have said.
The hangout room list site was shutdown by yahoo. The list has a new home at yahlist.net
Chat rooms, cheaters…..grown adults preying off of little childeren…..oh my.
Obviously everyone is upset in one way or another from this chat room conflict. And it also seems that everyone has somebody to blame. Yahoo itself, the advertising companies, parents…whatever. In my opinion, stop spending all of your precious energy on blaming the other guy and just stand up for what needs to be done. Rather than complaining and giving the people in charge a reason to tune you out, give them a strong reason to listen. Parents are upset because the government has put restrictions on how a parent punishes their clild. Then, fight to put restrictions on porn sites and chat rooms. Stop being lazy for a change and download free software to gaurd your childeren. Sit beside them when they go online; watch TV with them. People who are trying to take “God” out of the “Government” are crazy. If I remember correctly isn’t God for everything right? Example: the Supreme Courthouse has the Ten Commandments, doesn’t that say don’t lie, cheat, steal, kill, and so on? So why take that down? Isn’t that what our country, our law, our foundation stands on? What I am trying to say is, don’t blame…act. It’s time to stop being lazy, and start working together for a change.
I guess you should shut down the churches next, if molestation is what you are seeking to end. The fact is that these impurities thrived long before computers. You can’t put out a fire by blowing at the peak of it. You have to put it out at the base of it. And where do you find it? Easy. The most “immoral” of humanity exists behind a mask of morality. Yes, that’s right. Why? because they know “God” will forgive them. The message that the churches have created in order to get a buck from the weak is basically, Cut off your hand and another one will grow back. Maybe you should be shutting yourself down. Or maybe you already have. You have long since left your own drivers seat so you can let your FICTITIOUS savior take the wheel. …Children Love Fiction. Really, If you consider this CENSORSHIP an accomplishment, you’re really misled and will perish without anything of worth under your belt. Sleep tight, psuedo-soldier.
Great, next thing you know, they’ll be digging out the roads to prevent road accidents. Seriously, shutting down the service because you don’t want your own little freaks to logon to them is a pretty disingenious way of dealing with it.
Its sad. This use to be a country that liked choices (no matter if they were bad or not, they still liked the fact that they have the power to choose). This is called (freedom). All of these so called “parents” who dont want the choice to choose to be responsible for their own children, who expect that society should raise them,,, why did you even have children to begin with if you cant swallow the responsibility to watch over them and (TEACH) them whats right and wrong, instead of expecting the world to take the wrong away. It will never happen, thats why we teach our children, supply them with the knowlegde and morality to stay out of the perverted rooms, not to talk to older perverted people….etc. If you cant take care of yourselves and make your own decisions, and if you cant teach your children to do the same,,, then a country that allows you to have freedom is not for you.. move to Iran or somewhere.
Taking away the user rooms did not help. The perverts just moved into the public rooms. Haha, that attempt failed.
Dude, there are no pedos on Yahoo.
Are you guys morons?
Unfortunately, thanks to the efforts of the religious movement to shut down user chats, many chat users were left to twist. That is, left to hang, shafted. A notable RolePlaying community was on yahoo, and now many players were forced to stop using their writing skills, there by decreasing yet again, the intelligence of another generation. Its also funny to note, by removing user chat rooms, the amount of pedophiles, and sexual predators has increased, as User Chats allowed private, PASSWORD protected enviroments. I’d push for them to reinstate.
what absurd reasoning. So, because pedophiles use user-rooms that makes user rooms evil? Pedophiles also capture children in white vans. Does that mean that people will have to start painting there vans sidderent colours by force? Your opinions are a reflection of faschism and how people without an education in philosophy should not be able to make any patitions and rightfully ignored.
Hey you whiners, read! The post is not about chat rooms being evil per se, but about a small minority of chat rooms specifically operated for clearly perverted purposes. Getting on the backs of sponsors and providers to speak out against that is not censorship (only governments can censor) – it’s citizens’ exercising their free speech right to speak out against obvious and ridiculous evil.
More people need to speak out against evil. Whether it’s racism, theft, murder, or child molestation, speak out and oppose it.