Safeguarding Our Kids Online

Assemblyman

Dave McDonough:

Commonly- Used Online Acronyms
AFAIC	As far as I’m concerned	AFK	Away from keyboard
AIM	AOL Instant Messenger	A/S/L	Age/Sex/Location
ATM	At the moment	BBS	Be back soon
BCNU	Be seeing you	BF	Boyfriend
BFN/B4N	Bye for now	BMG	Be my guest
BOTOH	But on the other hand	BRB	Be right back
BTDT	Been there, done that	CD9	Code 9: Parents nearby
CID	Consider it done	CSL	Can’t stop laughing
CU	See you	CUL or CUL8R	See you later
DQMOT	Don’t quote me on this	F2F	Face to face
FWIW	For what it’s worth	G2G	Got to go
GF	Girlfriend	GGN	Gotta go now
GOL	Giggle out loud	H8	Hate
HAK	Hugs and kisses	HAND	Have a nice day
IC	I see	ILY	I love you
IM	Instant Message	IRL	In real life
JK	Just kidding	KIS	Keep it simple
KIT	Keep in touch	L8 or L8R	Late or Later
LBH	Let’s be honest	LOL	Laughing out loud
MIRL	Meet in real life	MorF	Male or Female
NE	Any	NBD	No big deal
NMU	Not much, you?	NP	No problem
Noob	“Newbie” (a novice)	OIC	Oh, I see
OMG	Oh my god	OTP	On the phone
P911	Parent emergency	PAW	Parents are watching
PCM	Please call me	PIR	Parents in room
PLZ	Please	POC	Point of contact
POS	Parents over shoulder	PRW	Parents are watching
ROFL	Rolling on floor laughing	RL	Real life
RSN	Real soon now	RUOK?	Are you okay?
SFETE	Smiling from ear to ear	SIT	Stay in touch
SOZ	Sorry	SYS	See you soon
TAFN	That’s all for now	TBH	To be honest
THX	Thanks	TMB	Text me back
TOY	Thinking of you	TTFN	Ta-ta for now
TTYL	Talk to you later	W/E	Whatever
WFM	Works for me	WTG	Way to go
WU	What’s up?	WYGOWM	Will you go out with me?
YT?	You there?	YW	You’re welcome

Assemblyman Dave McDonough:
Keeping Families Safe

Assemblyman Dave McDonough, Chair of the Minority Task Force on Sex Offender Watch, knows that today’s children are computer savvy and spend hours a week on the Internet. Unfortunately, many sexual predators know this and are now online using Instant Messaging chats to meet potential victims.

Assemblyman Dave McDonough is working to protect our children from these dangerous predators and wants to help keep our children safe while online. Here are some tips to follow:

Keep computers in the family room so responsible adults can monitor Internet use and online discussions.
Keep kids out of online chat rooms and monitor their online conversations (and be aware of commonly used acronyms), websites and “profiles” on social networking websites.
Get to know your child’s “online” friends just as you would get to know his or her other friends.
Set reasonable guidelines and rules for Internet usage, discuss these rules, and post them near the computer as a reminder. Consider signing a "family contract for online safety."

Teach Children to Remember

	Recognize techniques used by online predators to deceive their victims.
	Refuse requests for personal information.
	Respond assertively if you are ever in an uncomfortable situation while online. Exit the program, log off or turn off the computer.
	Report to law enforcement authorities any suspicious or dangerous contact that makes you uncomfortable.

Sample "Family Contract for Online Safety"

Kids’ Pledge:

I will not give out personal information such as my address, phone number, parents’ work address/phone number, or the name and location of my school.
I will tell my parents right away if I come across any information that makes me feel uncomfortable.
I will never agree to get together with someone I “meet” online. If someone wants to meet me, I will tell my parents.
I will never send or post a picture of my family or myself without first checking with my parents.
I will not respond to messages that are mean or make me feel uncomfortable in any way and I will tell my parents right away so they can contact the service provider.
I will not send or post mean or hurtful messages about other people. I understand that if I do so, the website, internet service provider, or my parents may revoke my Internet usage privileges.
I will talk to my parents about our family rules for Internet usage, including what times I am allowed online, the length of time I can be online, and appropriate websites for me to visit. I will not break these rules or access other areas without first having my parent’s permission.
I will not give out my passwords to anyone besides my parents. My parents will have access to all of my accounts online.
I will check with my parents before downloading or installing software or programs, or anything else that may jeopardize my family’s privacy.
I will help my parents understand how to have fun and learn things online and teach them about my interests online and with other technology.

Child Signature

I will help my child follow this agreement and will allow reasonable use of the Internet as long as these rules and other family rules are followed.

Parent Signature

**** Click here for printable form ****

HOW TO OBTAIN INFORMATION ABOUT SEX OFFENDERS LIVING IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Call the Sex Offender Registry at 1-800-262-3257 to determine if someone is a registered sex offender. You will need the name of the person about whom you are inquiring and one of the following: an exact address, a complete date of birth, a driver’s license number or social security number.
Access the Sex Offender Subdirectory online through the State Division of Criminal Justice Services website at www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us. Click on "Search Subdirectory" and enter the name of the person about whom you are inquiring. For more general information, enter your county or zip code and a list of names of registered sex offenders in your area will appear.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Assemblyman McDonough at mcdonoughd1@assembly.state.ny.us, call him at (516) 409-2070, or stop by his district office located at 404 Bedford Ave., Bellmore, NY 11710.

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