MSN Blog

Blog Scenario and Question:
In the novel, The Revealers, the students of Parkland Middle felt connected through SchoolStream or as the students called it KidNet where they were able to chat or instant message. Most of you do this nightly through MSN Messenger. With KidNet and MSN nobody could break into or eavesdrop on your conversation without it being known. Not anymore. Today’s technology allows you to assume the identity of another person. Do you really know whom you are talking to in the cyber world?

It is 10:00 pm on a Wednesday night; you have finished your homework and you are chatting on MSN with three other friends. After 10 minutes two more friends ask to join the chat. By 10:30 pm five more people have joined and it is fun; however, there is a joke said about one of the people, rapidly followed by an insult. At first, no one knows how to respond, then seconds later a message pops up stating, “I didn’t say that! It isn’t me saying these things. Someone is using my name. What is going on here?”

What is the issue involved in this scenario? Why is this serious?

What would be a responsible way to handle this situation?

How could a situation like this be resolved? How would one of the three main characters from The Revealers deal with this situation?

Blog Answer:
The safe thing about MSN is you have the choice of accepting or declining who you talk with, but even if you do know everyone you're talking to, there are softwares that enable you to hack other people's accounts, or to change your name into someone else's while you're in a group conversation and talk as if you are them, and no one apart from you will know who actually said it. This situation is serious because someone is taking over someone else's identity, and you might say something that may be harmful for the other person, or they might be doing it using your name. A responsible way to handle this situation is to first of all believe the person who said "I wasn't the one doing this", and try and figure out who it was that actually said those insults, but not to blame someone without knowing. This situation could be involved by talking it out, or if you yourself is the person, then say sorry (even if it is in that hidden identity), and say it wasn't the person that you are labeled as. The main characters from the Revealers would solve this by asking for an anonymous posting, or the person who was affected could send an email saying they weren't the one who said all this and that it was a huge misunderstanding.