Legal Question

[spankingdesires]

First of all, if this type of question is in the wrong section I'm sorry about that.

I wanted to ask a legal question. I noticed there is a personals sections here and I plan on trying my luck at that. But I find myself being nervous by a few things. I should say before I move forward that I don't have a partner and never have had a partner to explore my submissive side with. So for the time being, I do the best I can with self spanking and things like that, which is fine for now. So when I start using the personals section, what I am going to be looking for is essentially a spanking coach. All I want is someone to instruct me in my spankings. No web cam stuff, no pictures, nothing like that.

Okay with that in mind, my concern is people lying about their age. Say they underage and they say they are 26 and I get into an online relationship with a minor. See what happened was I saw this program on 60minutes a few months ago about a teenager who was looking at porn online and he got a virus that put underage material on his pc without his knowledge. A few months later police are busting down his door and his gets slammed with child porn charges . . . So my fears are basically that. And I am wondering what peoples thoughts are on that.

I'm sorry if this is too wordy. I talk a lot lol.

[thepast]

This site can not provide legal advice, nor can members provide legal advice to other members through the site. This is to protect both the members of the site and the site from any potential legal actions. So... in answer to your question... no one here would be able to provide you with the sort of "legal advice" you are seeking. (Note: any members posting legal information here or below will have their posts subject to edit by the Administration in accordance with this guideline).

However... that being said... I think the best idea is always "exercise caution." There are a lot of threads on our site that discuss first meetings, how to exercise the best safety measures you can to protect yourself, and how to have a successful relationship. I hope you will check those threads out.

In the meantime, welcome to the site, and hopefully you will find a lot of helpful threads here!

[spankingdesires]

Fair enough.Thank you for your thoughts.

[leo9]

There are many reasons to be careful about meeting people in 3D after corresponding online. The answers all come down to: get information (and if they won't supply it, back off); go by small steps; have other people cover you.

[fetishdj]

Not legal advice but good sensible computer security advice...

Get a good antivirus software and a firewall. Use them. Scan frequently. Also get hold of an Adware/malware scanner. Some antivirus systems claim to do this but there are also specialist ones out there such as 'Adaware'.

A firewall *should* if used correctly prevent any changes being made to your computer without your consent. You should get a notification when anyone tries to do anything. In general, a commercial firewall is better than the free one you get with windows but read reviews of any you buy.

Adware/malware are small programs that usually get installed into your computer by webpages. Often they are harmless but they can also be quite malicious. They are often subtle enough to slip past antivirus software (though some do scan for them specifically now). The most inoccuous ones simply send your marketing preferences to the website (mainly so they can tailor advertising to you) but some can do nastier things and you are better off not having them at all. Regular scans with an adware scanner helps to reduce these. Note: Porn sites are absolutely rife with adware and viruses so you should maybe scan for both everytime you visit any porn sites.

Having said all this, the underage pictures story you describe sounds like an urban legend. Its possible he was already messing around with paedo sites and got hit by someone in that community or by a virus on one of those sites but I do not beleive in the police appearing 'just as the files appear on his computer'. Whether it is true or not, it is certainly going to be a rare occurence.

There are ways to get to know true facts about people. Look out for red flags - signs that something is not right - in your discussions with someone. Asking for money is a big one (for scams not underage). Apparent immaturity in language is another. If you are building what is intended to be a proper relationship with someone then do not feel embaressed about asking for some form of proof of age before you progress. Easiest way to do this is on webcam or by photograph but there are issues with that as well. However, each sending photos to each other, fully clothed, showing something in the photo that proves it was taken to order (rather than copied from the internet) is one way to do it. For example, a photo of the person holding a copy of a newspaper released on the day with the headline and date visible. And bear in mind that trust and lack of trust works both ways, you should be prepared to also prove your own credentials because you could equally be a Ghanian scam merchant or a prepubescent.

There are lots of discussions on this site which discuss first meeting protocols and I suggest you read them as well. Basics include: no play on first date, safe meeting place in public, chaperones present (either overtly or covertly), safe call used (arrange with a friend that you will call them at Xpm and if you don't they are to raise hell with the authorities) and so on.