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How to Stay Safe on Plug&Play
The net's great. It let's you chat and meet up with your friends where ever you are; it lets you swap pictures, music and videos; heck it even answers your homework and coursework questions. It's changed the way we live our lives. But just as in 'real life', nothing's perfect. We've all heard the horror stories about when things go wrong on the net. Stories about wierdo's trawling the net looking for poor unsuspecting victims whose lives they can ruin; stories about fraudsters that want to get their hands on everyone's money and will do pretty much anything to do so... The bad news is that these aren't just fairy tales. Lots of people experience problems online at some time, whether it's being bullied by people, being stalked by someone, downloading a virus or worse. The good news is that there's a lot you can do to avoid these problems, and better still, it's all pretty much common sense.
At Plug&Play, we want you to be able to get the most out of our service and the most out of the events that appear on our site while staying safe. Following the few simple steps below will help you to do this.
1. Don't believe everything that you read.
Not everyone is a honest as you. Before going to any event or activity that you find on the site check it carefully first. It might be worth contacting the event venue or organiser but if you do, don't give out any personal details unless it's absolutely necessary (which would only be if you needed to book tickets or a place if numbers are limited). If you do have to give out any personal information, consider carefully who you are giving the information to and what they could do with it. The best idea at this point would be to ask a parent or other trusted adult to give their details instead of yours.
2. Don't give away personal details.
As we've already said really. You never really know who you're dealing with on the net so always think twice before giving out any personal details. It's worth having a nickname and an anonymous email address (like a Hotmail or a Yahoo address without using your real name i.e. superted1220@hotmail.com). That way if you need to give out an email address, the other person isn't getting anything to identify you with and if it all goes wrong you can simply delete your anonymous email account and start up another. Never give out your home address or telephone number (even your mobile). When posting comments on the Plug&Play site, always use your nickname. That way if anything goes wrong you can just walk away.
3. Never go to an event on your own.
As embarrasing as it might be to have your mum, dad or uncle Frank trailing behind you to an event, you should never go on your own. At the very least, arrange to go along with a few friends and always make sure that a friend or family member knows where you're going and when.
4. Don't get involved in arguements online.
Arguements happen online all the time; on blogs, social sites and message boards. Often people think they can say whatever they like online and get away with it which can lead to nasty situations. Never get involved in arguements online, always walk away.
5. Use your common sense.
If something seems a bit suss, the chances are it is. Don't ignore your common sense or a gut feeling.
If you have any concerns when using the Plug&Play site, let us know. Likewise if you've found an event on our site that you think is inappropriate, inaccurate or misleading, use the 'Report this listing' link under the 'More options' tab on the events details page.
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