Helpful Tips

1. Don't give out any personal information like telephone numbers, home address , school name or parent's office address.

2. Don't use your real name as your log on name.

3. Sometimes you may meet a friend online and discover that you both live in the same city.

Do NOT start setting up meetings and telephone conversations without your parents' supervision! If you are going to speak by phone, make sure you have caller i.d. blocking so that the other person cannot track you.

4. Stay cool and calm when you think that someone appears to be rude or causing trouble.

Some kids sometimes appear to be ruder than they mean to be. Sometimes this is because you only have the words to read, so you can't hear what the tone of voice is. The other reason people can be ruder online is that they don't have to take the consequences of their rudeness. Don't panic or jump to conclusions.

5. Learn how to use "smileys" to show how you are saying things. Read the smileys sideways - they make a face.

:) or :-) is a smiley face. You are happy and smiling when you speak.

6. Because you can't see or even hear the person you are chatting with , it would be easy for someone to fool you. YOU know that because you can do it too, right?