Emailing with children

[oriecat]

I have a little fan site dedicated to Bloom County (the old cartoon). The other day I got an email from this kid, who said he is 10 and he likes Opus and can I send him some comic strips... He seemed to think that he was writing to Berkeley Breathed, the artist. So I wrote him back and told him that it wasn't my comic, that I just had a fan site and that he could write to Berkeley from his website... the kid wrote me back again and asked if we could be pals anyway. I didn't respond yet and he wrote again just saying hello. So I wrote back and said hi, how are you. and so he wrote back, again asking if we can be pals. I am not sure how to handle this. First off, of course, there is always that underlying suspicion that it's not a kid and it's just some scam. But the email address appears to be genuine and it's from an isp in Canada. So I don't want to blow off this kid, but I also don't want it to appear improper. Not that I would ever say anything improper, but I just imagine how a parent might feel finding out that their 10 year old son has been writing to a 32 year old woman. So should I ask him to have his parents email me about it? Should I just nicely say I don't think it's such a good idea? Just not respond anymore? :? I hate being paranoid about this, but people get so freaked out nowadays with kids and the net...

 

[terri]

Oh, no, Orie, don't not respond! The kid initiated this and for now, I'd just play along. Keep it very, very simple. Chances are this 10 year old will disappear pretty quickly, anyway. If he asks a question about who you are and what you do, answer plainly. You'll also find out pretty quickly if it IS a scam, but for now, I'd take it one email at a time.

Then again, I AM a trusting sap. :roll: My mind immediately thinks he's just a lonely little kid, used to some internet time, and has found a mutual interest. He could turn out to be a total pervert - but again, you're not giving out any personal information, so I wuldn't sweat it. Let it be a harmless thing as long as it stays a harmless thing.

My 2 cents.

 

[voodoocat]

I've had some young girls trying to be "e-pals" with me over the years. I usually find that after a few emails there isn't really anything else to talk about since the two worlds are so far apart.

 

[vonnagy]

thru icq I got a couple of marriage proposasl from some young philipino woman at one point, she wasn't but 15 :? got the the whole life story situation and pleading i couldn't shake her.. i believe it was geniune.. but i think she was disturbed.

anyways, it sounds like in your case its a bit more innocent and i wouldn't worry about it too much oriecat, sounds like you've done a bit of background research there anyway. if you are worried, just back up all the emails for reference, including sent messages.

 

[mrsid99]

Hmmm.....this doesn't help with your question any but as an observation there's a bigger age gap between me and a 32 year old woman than you and a 10 year old.
Personally I'd be delighted to be corresponding with a woman that age but then again chance would be a fine thing.

 

[oriecat]

Thanks for the reassurances guys. I too figured, like Terri said, that he would probably disappear pretty quick, but I just wanted to be sure I was doing the right thing.

Hey mrsid, you're welcome to email me anytime. I won't tell Mom.

 

[Dew]

i wouldnt do it ... i would freak out if my 10 yr old would be talking to a 32 yr old woman and would be very suspicous .... can u say, "Michael Jackson" :? ... no one on earth believes he's just friends with those kids ... walk away

then again, could be a cop trying to set u up :?

 

[ceno2000]

i totally agree with dew there are alot of grownups posing as kids to bust older people...
if you do keep emailing this person keep things real light and simple

 

[zio]

can u say, "Michael Jackson" ... no one on earth believes he's just friends with those kids

i think he was just friends with those kids...i think since he completely missed his childhood all he's wanted to do is give it back to kids. its ironic that the family that has come out this past winter has had several other similar charges brought against wealthy people...

oriecat i'd stay away from talking to a 10 yr old...on his part though, i'd have to say good for him for talking to an older woman he's learning at a young age!

 

[metroshane]

If I were that 10 yr old boy...I know how I'd want you to respond.

 

[Dew]

can u say, "Michael Jackson" ... no one on earth believes he's just friends with those kids

i think he was just friends with those kids...i think since he completely missed his childhood all he's wanted to do is give it back to kids. its ironic that the family that has come out this past winter has had several other similar charges brought against wealthy people...

.. im sure everyone here would be the first ones to line up their kids to have a sleepover in his bed ..

ok, lets just say if michael jackson was trully friends with those kids ... the parents dont seem to think so ...nor the cops ... she doesnt need that kind of trouble ... beside, they would have nothing in common anyway ... what would they talk about?

cops tell parents to be very suspicous of adults (that are not family members) wanting to befriend their child ... and that is for a very good reason my friend ... lets get real here ... all intentions arent always good

although i know Orieocat have good intentions .... it would just take for him to say something (and u know how young boys get dillusional and bragging to their friends) ... "i have a girlfriend." ... his parents get wind of that, contact the cops and orio is sitting in jail ... but she cant prove otherwise ... by the time they clear her ... her name is ruined and she's known for that :?

stuff like that happens all the time ... this is not a perfect world we live in .. in cases like this .. they will arrest her first and sort out the details later ... get rid of him

 

[voodoocat]

although i know Orieocat have good intentions .... it would just take for him to say something (and u know how young boys get dillusional and bragging to their friends) ... "i have a girlfriend." ... his parents get wind of that, contact the cops and orio is sitting in jail ... but she cant prove otherwise ... by the time they clear her ... her name is ruined and she's known for that

Fortunately for Orie, there is such thing as evidence. The cops will see logs on both Orie and the boys computer as well as get any emails exchanged from the ISP. If nothing went on, they will see this and drop any charges.

 

[Dew]

so you're saying that people dont get convicted on lack of evidence? .. what if he emails her a photo of himself in a comprimising way ... the emailing back and forth would be confirmed as contact .. that is called circumstantial evidence

OJ Simpson didnt get convicted but some people are suspicious of him

people's lives get ruined ... whether she would go to jail or not

... they will be able to read some of the emails if its still in the hard drive and has not be over-written

 

[voodoocat]

Purely circumstantial evidence won't get someone convicted in a court. It doesn't matter if emails have been overwritten. Like I said the ISP will have backups of any emails going through the system. I'm not saying that it wouldn't suck if your worst case scenario happened, but let's get real. Nobody gets arrested for exchanging emails back and forth. Unless there is some sort of threat to someone.

 

[havoc]

Martha Stewart was just convicted on curcumstantial evidence. Either way though Voodoo, i wouldn't want to be arrested, then HOPE for the cops to be smart enough to check with the ISP for email logs. I hate to sound mean, but i am with Dew on this one. Drop the kid, the risk is all too real.

Oh yeah, and OJ is a murderous ****. If i saw him on the street i would rather slit his throat then shake his hand. The "Juice" is forever on my **** list.