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Obscenity on tribute walls: Five questions to Facebook

Paul Colgan

by Paul Colgan

25 Feb 02:33pm

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Filed under: Facebook, Internet, Social Networking, Tech, Web

177 comments

Update 7am: Despite the company’s statement yesterday, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy say Facebook needs to explain itself. The Punch is still awaiting a response to its questions put to Facebook’s press office.

Update 4.45pm Wednesday: Today there are at least two groups live on Facebook - one of which has over 3400 members - calling for the death of the man accused of Trinity Bates’s murder. If this happened in a newspaper or on a major news website the editor would be at risk of going to jail.

Update Wednesday 2.45pm : Facebook has published a statement about obscene content on the tribute pages to Elliott Fletcher and Trinity Bates on its website. It is printed in full below. We’re yet to hear from them.

Facebook’s statement:

We’d like to express our sympathies to the families and friends of Elliott Fletcher and Trinity Bates. In the wake of these tragedies, we are grateful to those who have used Facebook to pay tribute to Elliott and Trinity, but we are also deeply saddened that a few individuals have shown a complete lack of respect for these tribute Pages and Groups. We encourage people to report objectionable content to us so that we can react as quickly as possible to review and take down inappropriate material. We also urge Page and Group administrators to exercise their abilities to remove any offensive content from the Pages or Groups they have created. Administrators can ban people from a Page or a Group. More information can be found in the Help Center here for Pages and here for Groups.

Earlier post:

Below is an email to Facebook’s global press office and their Australian public relations representatives. An initial statement - which does not address the questions - was provided and is published below. The response will be published in full when it arrives.

As you are aware Facebook has now been forced twice this month to act against the distribution of explicit material on tribute pages to two minors who died in tragic circumstances. The cases were the tribute pages to 12-year-old Elliott Fletcher and an 8-year-old girl in Bundaberg.

My questions are related to the ongoing safety of general Facebook users and what the company is doing to protect the public from being exposed to unsolicited pornographic or obscene material. They are:

1. Aside from the standard “Report” function on posts from users, what is Facebook doing to stop recurrences of this kind of activity?
2. Have there been other instances of deliberate targeting of tribute pages by people distributing explicit material?
3. In this specific instance have you identified the perpetrators?
4. What are Facebook’s procedures for real-time monitoring the distribution of pornographic material on the site?
5. Have you any other comment?

This email will be posted on thepunch.com.au while we await your reply, which in turn will be published in full.

Please call me if you would like to discuss.

Kind regards,
Paul Colgan

**

Update 2.55pm: Facebook’s public relations representatives have provided this statement from Debbie Frost, Director of Communications and Public Policy at Facebook. We will publish the full response when it arrives.

We want Facebook to be a place where people can openly discuss issues and express their views, while respecting the rights and feelings of others.  We have instituted certain rules, enshrined in our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, to make sure the content and opinions our users create or share doesn’t go completely unchecked. When sharing an opinion turns into direct statements of hate or threats against an individual, for example, or when users upload nudity, pornography, or violent photos or videos, the professional reviewers on our team take quick action to respond to reports, remove the content, and either warn or disable the accounts of those responsible.

Facebook is highly self-regulating, and users can and do report content that they find questionable or offensive.  We strongly recommend anyone who creates a Page or Group on Facebook to use the specific privacy controls to manage their Pages or Groups they set up, and block or ban anyone who tries to post offensive content.  We also encourage our users to continue to use our tools to report objectionable content so that we can investigate reports and take action.

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177 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • Joe says:

      11:43am | 25/02/10

      Do we hold Telstra responsible for the abusive phone calls people make?  Do we arrest the mailman and charge people at Australia post if people use the mail to break the law?  The answer is no, because they had no control over what other people do and use their services, which is exactly the case here.  Facebook has 400 million members and it would literally be impossible for any organization, even our own police forces, to monitor and regulate all of the content available on the site.  People simply have to accept this when they use Facebook, after all no matter what, there will always be those in the world who seek to abuse services like these and cause trouble, be it online or in the real world.  The only answer is if people do not want their online presence such as the memorial being publicly available to others who are also able to add their own content and comment on it, they should not be using Facebook or making it available on the internet in the first place. Really people who think Facebook should monitor and censor all content on their site are also making the argument that all of our telephone calls should be monitored and all of our mail be open and read by Australia Post, simply to make sure no one is breaking the law or being offensive to others.

    • Noely says:

      03:32pm | 25/02/10

      I am with “Joe says: 12:43pm | 25/02/10” , If you set up a Facebook page for whatever reason, then you are responsible for monitoring it!  Not facebook?  If you want something secure then get a mate to make up a private website, if you do something on the likes of facebook and are too lazy or don’t care enough to montior posts and remove anything offensive then it is your own fault.  You can’t have it both ways, if you want to make something public and reach out to the masses, then you also have to make sure that you remove any offensive comments from the weird minority.  If facebook were charging for the service, then sweet, you can go them, but they are not!  You use something free, well, you get what you pay for.

    • Amelia says:

      06:17pm | 25/02/10

      I’m with Joe.

    • JB says:

      06:31pm | 25/02/10

      Completely agree with you, Joe. The SICKO posting the material is responsible. He could just as easily have set up his own webpage without going through Facebook. Facebook is not to blame!
      Facebook is just a medium and they have already said they will cooperate with the authorities. It’s up to the authorities to do something about it! Cyber laws are constantly evolving and I would be happy to see punishments introduced for this sort of thing - punishments for the INDIVIDUAL, not the medium.
      Anna Bligh is barking up the wrong tree by going after Facebook. Maybe she’s just trying to make it look like she’s doing something to calm the outrage.

    • gary says:

      09:28pm | 25/02/10

      you can blame face book most people out there are sick off SEXUAL PREDATORS like Luckman and Reid were . Both were given life sentences. in 1981 murder, Luckman was freed and had a sex-change operation at government expense.Robin Reid, due for parole in 2010 thats not life
      life is never seeing your daughter or son again
      maybe if face-book where around then the government might have some thing to answer for as there would have been an outrage
      Allyn John Slater yes may have problems and so have most off us but doesn’t mean we go hurt of kill some one
      yes some people take it to far with comments on face book but in 10 or 15 years hope face book and sites like that are still around when he gets out to make people aware and others like him
      that there is people out there sick off
      SEXUAL PREDATORS and child killers most people are feed up off the way SEXUAL PREDATORS and child killers are treated

    • WKH says:

      10:55am | 26/02/10

      I’m with Joe as well…spot on buddy. (can I use those dots).

    • Tim Bennett says:

      01:49pm | 23/02/10

      Under point 4, what exactly did you have in mind Paul?

      Facebook is the largest photo-sharing site in the world. It would be pretty spooky if they were able to do real-time monitoring of the distribution of pornographic material.

      However, it’s probably possible to:

      a) compare images to a database of known shock-site material (goatse, tubgirl, lemonparty etc - DO NOT IMAGE SEARCH THESE AT WORK, PEOPLE), and

      b) recognise images with a large amount of flesh-tones in them, though this is problematic because so many false positives would occur.

      For one of the original tribute page vandalism cases, google “An Hero” (again, not at work).

      Reply

    • Paul says:

      10:53am | 26/02/10

      As far as ‘quality’ photos are concerned I still reckon Flickr leads the pack. Blurry, drunk, crooked, every second photo is the same, mobile phone ‘snaps’ don’t count.

    • BMJ says:

      01:53pm | 23/02/10

      I just find these “internet” tributes soooooooo, corny.

      Reply

    • Julie Coker-Godson says:

      02:12pm | 23/02/10

      Please BMJ show some sensitivity with your comments.  The 8 year old girl was kidnapped from her home and her body later found battered and dumped inside a drain pipe, the other case was a very nasty accident if my memory serves me correctly.  Either way they were horrific and you never know who is reading The Punch who might be related to the victims in this tragic cases.

    • Zeta says:

      02:19pm | 23/02/10

      @ BMJ - I concur.

      @ Julie Coker-Godson - We’re not saying that the incident wasn’t heart breaking, but that Facebook tribute pages might not be the best way to memorialise a child who was too young to use Facebook herself.

      Facebook is a toy for bored adults to share drunken photosm,  play Mafiawars, and get phished by Russian hackers. Not for families to share their grief.

      It’s kind of like holding a wake in a strip club and being offended by the naked women and drunk buisnessmen. It wasn’t appropriate to go there in the first place. So too with Facebook.

    • Super D says:

      02:52pm | 23/02/10

      It takes about 2 seconds to set up a tribute group on facebook and about 3 seconds for the first moron to show up.  If you feel an online tribute is necessary then at least go to the trouble of setting up a web page.  Frankly I’d be pretty disappointed if I was to die and someone who I had never met set up some lame facebook tribute to me.  In fact if I could I would spend the rest of eternity haunting their lazy ass.

    • Andy says:

      03:44pm | 23/02/10

      Because you use face book for a certain brand of entertainment does not mean every person alive holds it in the same regard, nor do they share your opinions, or use it for the same purposes. Whatever happened to “If you can;t say something nice” People who hunt down such pages to deface them are sub-human slime balls that deserve jail time. Some adults use the resource to form parent groups and support systems. If you are too stupid to understand that side of it, you should be banned from it. Personally I dislike Facebook, and do not use it, but calling for free speech so that one can multiply tragedy is the pinnacle of hypocrisy. Get a life and do not terrorise people.

    • wolf says:

      04:28pm | 23/02/10

      If you are lazy enough to use someone elses framework for an online memorial someone will come and kick it over.

      Probably one of the most famous was in the game World of Warcraft, where a player died and their online friends decided to host a memorial in game, on a live combat server:
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewP1zfm_Yqg

    • Kate says:

      08:33am | 24/02/10

      Andy, calm down. No one here said or even indicated that it was okay to deface tribute pages, which is disgusting. They’re just saying the very fact of these tribute groups can be a little insincere and tacky, which I agree with. It’s fine if it’s actually set up by people who know the victim, as a place to post tribute about the person they knew who was lost, or any updates. But I’ve been invited to join at least four Elliott Fletcher groups and already two Trinity Bates groups too. I am sad and sickened by what happened to these kids, because I have a soul. But joining a tribute group when I didn’t know them turns them more into symbols of victims rather than human beings.

    • Chad says:

      09:21am | 24/02/10

      Agreed. And if you go through five minutes worth of trouble to set one up, and are then too damn lazy to control it and delete unwanted pesky comments yourself… then you shouldn’t have started it in the first place.

      Why should Facebook have to delete these unwanted comments, from hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of new pages created daily, when the page creator can do it faster and easier?

    • clem says:

      09:27am | 24/02/10

      @wolf, that video is amazing.
      But you can’t blame the family and people who wanted to use Facebook as a tribute page. I’m not sure I would do that, especially now having seen that video and seeing what happens these days when you do, but the majority of people using the internet don’t belong to that ‘underworld’ class of people like gamers and social media junkies. Most people would probably not know how to set up a password-protected blog, which would be the best way to avoid having your tribute page trashed.

    • Julie Coker-Godson says:

      02:14pm | 23/02/10

      Mea Culpa on my part.  The Fletcher case was of a boy stabbed at school with the result that another student has been charged with murder.  My apologies for the error.

      Reply

    • M says:

      02:56pm | 23/02/10

      Facebook full stop is a anti social site which will only get worse.

    • Rover says:

      03:32pm | 23/02/10

      You’re not completely wrong, Julie.

      The first case to get reported recently was the P-plater crash in Sydney in which three young people died.

      Then there was the Fletcher case, and now the little girl in Bundaberg.

      All three are horrendous.

    • Trowel says:

      12:33pm | 24/02/10

      @clem

      All people who play video games and enjoy social media are “underworld” characters that support defacing corny and superficial tribute pages to tragedy?  Get your facts straight, and don’t tar the millions of gamers and Facebook users with the same brush as these variety of trolls. BTW, not all trolls attack these kinds of pages. Indeed, some go out of their way to stop the spread of ignorance, like attacking racist groups.

      The ones that do attack these kinds of pages, however, are low lives, and not fit to be named amongst the politically active trolls trying to help.

    • Clem says:

      04:48pm | 24/02/10

      @Trowel, sorry I meant “underground” as in, gaming and cyber-culture.
      “Underworld” is the wrong word here, and I wasn’t arguing these people are somehow more disposed to doing these revolting things. The point I was trying to make was that it would be easy to be naive about what goes on in gaming and cyber cultures.

    • AWM says:

      02:53pm | 23/02/10

      Posting those materials are abhorrent but perhaps they serve to remind us that in the big wild world not everyone is nice. And Facebook is just a reflection of the society we now live in. Like graffitti outside a shop Facebook shouldn’t be lumped in with the culprits or do anything more than what is reasonable. What will be interesting is the gap between what Facebook considers reasonable and what society thinks is reasonable.

      Reply

    • bella starkey says:

      07:59am | 24/02/10

      Surely the fact that two little kids were murdered is enough to remind us that the world isn’t a very nice place to be sometimes.

    • Ish says:

      12:02pm | 24/02/10

      Expanding on your metaphor holding Facebook culpable for how others use the site would be like holding a shopowner responsible for someone graffiting offensive remarks on their property…

    • The Shoe says:

      03:00pm | 23/02/10

      The big question all in authority should ask: How was the Internet allowed to get so out of control? I have been an Internet subscriber since year 2000 and have seen many changes, programs, malware, spyware and so on. On properly configured Windows 7, Apple and Linux machines, the latter is not so bad as once was. The big danger now are these “face-book like” sites. Time for government legislation to out-law them.

      Reply

    • Zeta says:

      03:19pm | 23/02/10

      You made the incorrect assumption that any one, ever, had any control over the internet, at all.

      It’s like having ‘control’ over an existential concept. Like control over the concept of language. The Internet is the concept of instant, global communication. You can’t have control over it any more than you can a pen, except the control you excercise yourself.

    • Jasper says:

      03:46pm | 23/02/10

      What? You mean something like Conroy’s ISP level filter that virtually every Australian ‘net user is up in arms about?

    • wolf says:

      03:49pm | 23/02/10

      Surely you jest shoe?  The internet has never been under anyones control.  Nor should it be.

      For a useful example of what an ‘out of control’ internet can do look no further than the protesters in Iran spreading their message through social media.  That image of the young woman who had been shot raised awareness of the issue, but would never have made it into a regulated internet.

      Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad.

    • Craig says:

      05:14pm | 23/02/10

      Easy ... It was made public.

      The Internet (or at least the US part that formed the backbone as we know it) started off as a way for the US military to spread resources so that no single attack could take them out.

      Control was limited to few military personnel

      This was rather unused, so a few university boffins were allowed to use it to share data faster, and experiment with computer to computer communications.

      Access was limited to only a few people and pretty much everyone knew everyone, so you could not get away with much (though I am sure some did).

      These boffins started teaching courses at university… so gave access to university students ... post graduate at first .. then undergrads.  Every September, (start of US school year) new students would join and had to be trained on the etiquette of the internet as it was back then. (Google “Its always September on the Net”)

      Control was loosened quite a bit… but you risked getting kicked out of university if you stepped out of line - and believe you me.. people were watching. Even then, things like alt.binaries.pictures.erotica had to be self policed and people were reported ... supposedly to the FBI… if the images were deemed too risque (though discussions in alt.binaries.pictures.erotica.d)

      Then one day .. someone decided that the general public would probably like this… Personal Emails.. Web pages .. advertising .. making contact with the world… The internet revolution began!

      Then practically everyone in the world joined and no matter what system of control you tried, there was simple more data being sent than any single group could monitor.

      The only real policing right now is self regulation, and a faint hope that someone with a finger over the button would agree with your sense of morality and delete offending pages. The big problem here is what offends me may not offend you .. or even absolutely horrify you. So some stuff is deleted that should not be, and other stuff floats about that others are stunned to see appear.

      Its a big bad world out there, and the net is merely a reflection of that. Just because there are laws and police, does not mean that there are no longer vices that people can access. Even in the nicest neighbourhoods, trouble arises now and then. We just need to respond as a community, act on any detected issues, and teach our kids the difference between right and wrong so that, hopefully, they will not cause problems and will report any offences they see.

    • The Shoe says:

      07:18pm | 23/02/10

      I take your points. However the Internet leads to serious crime in many cases. That is a fact. Perhaps it might be a good idea to charge people to access certain sites (on top of your ISP fee) and we’ll see how things go then. When things are free people tend to go over-board with that freedom and respect goes out the door.

    • Nina says:

      10:13am | 24/02/10

      Government regulation of the internet is not somewhere we want to go. I’m sorry….but i do not need the government to tell me what i can and cannot access on my personal computer!

      While i think the vandalisation of these so called ‘tribute pages’ is reprehensible….it’s more an issue for facebook than it is for internet regulation.

      This isn’t China….and we don’t want to start down that path

    • papachango says:

      11:34am | 25/02/10

      You scare me Shoe, with your attitude. You’d get on well with Senator Conroy I imagine.

      Think of the Internet as just an extension of conversations that people have all over the world (albeit recorded). Should we attempt to regulate every single conversation just in case someone says something that’s not nice? You simply can’t (just as you can’t ban all nasty sites, a fact Conroy is yet to grasp) Never mind the impracticality, even attempting to do so is Orwellian.

      What worries me more is Conroy getting involved - he will use this as ammo for his totalitarian censorship plans. He’s already tried to censor YouTube (who told him to get stuffed), now he’s going Facebook.

    • Rophuine Usiah says:

      03:33pm | 25/02/10

      “However the Internet leads to serious crime in many cases. That is a fact.”
      I’m interested to know what that means, and what your source is. It’s true that the Internet is USED in crimes, and it certainly ENABLES certain types of crime. Perhaps it’s time to start regulating people’s use of oxygen. I understand that many types of crime would be impossible if people’s access to oxygen was limited.

    • The Shoe says:

      10:24pm | 25/02/10

      Despite all the comments here, I still seriously question the merits of FaceBook. There is something that doesn’t gel. I am a conservative critter in my lifestyle and I like it that way. I choose friends carefully, so you won’t see my mug on any social lair site that I can tell you. Let me say that I do believe in the freedom of speech providing the linguistic expression is appropriate and I have seen many sites and unintelligent comments where this is not so. Changing of the Guard, perhaps.

    • SpinningWheel says:

      06:52am | 26/02/10

      I to have been an internet user for many year and I agree with you it needs to be legislated against. Censorship for me personally is not a big deal as I don’t go to porn sites ect but then again I don’t hire smutty cd’s or buy obscene books either. You can’t blame the family for this, the reality is people posting this disgusting material should be more morally responsible , they seem to me to have no heart. But the reality is we are not all nice people. These families lost a child in a horrifc way and must be devasted, to add to their pain the defacement of their pages must seem another blow. It has certainly added to The Governments case for me that we need filtering, even just to protect the innocent from the bad guys.

    • Tarang Chawla says:

      03:14pm | 23/02/10

      @ Zeta

      Whilst I agree with you, in principle, that Facebook tribute pages are far from the best way to memorialise the death of a child, the reality is that Facebook is and can be whatever its users want it to be in. For the most part, that is part of the beauty behind it.

      Facebook is everything you’ve said, but much, much more - including a ‘place’ for people to mourn the untimely loss of a loved one. Ultimately, Facebook can be anything its users want it to be which, fantastic as it is, leads to situations like this one.

      Reply

    • KC says:

      03:17pm | 23/02/10

      Thanks for following this up Paul.  I inadvertently came across the filth when I joined a tribute page for Elliott Fletcher and wanted to pass on my condolences as the story touched me.  I certainly reported what I saw, which was extremely explicit and quite shocking (and I’m not that easily rattled), but I was forewarned when reporting that I would not receive a response which I think is a bit weak given the nature of the material and the site on which it was posted.  How am I to know if anything at all is being done - why bother reporting?  It certainly doesn’t foster any sense of community.

      Apart from the graphic material, there was also the barrage of pathetic comments from gutless cowards, which genuine users had to contend with and it’s just not good enough.  I didn’t attempt to find a page for the recent tragic case of the 8yr old girl in Bundaburg as I’ve learnt that this isn’t the forum for that, which gives me pause for thought about whole point or purpose of FaceBook entirely. Unless the page is heavily moderated or it is a private group I’m not sure what can actually be done to prevent this happening, but I would really love to see those responsible brought to task. I look forward to seeing any responses you might receive from FB but I’m doubtful you’ll hear anything other than PR dribble and certainly nothing worthwhile.  Sorry to be such a cynic, but thanks for trying.

      Reply

    • Rophuine Usiah says:

      03:42pm | 25/02/10

      Your point towards the end is exactly correct: unless it’s heavily moderated (unlikely) or private (excludes people like you), you can’t really prevent this. That’s exactly why these tribute pages are a bad idea. Grief is generally a fairly private process, and the bereaved don’t need the public, however well intentioned (or otherwise), deluging them with condolences (or otherwise.)

    • Shar says:

      03:19pm | 23/02/10

      I have noticed on other pages comments attacking the moderators of these pages for not removing material quickly enough… but what many may not realise is that these trolls are “blocking” the mods on the page before posting so that the mods cannot see their horrendous posts and obviously, therefore cannot remove them!  I would love to know what Facebook can do about that rather large loop-hole…

      Reply

    • john says:

      04:09pm | 23/02/10

      Shar you will find that in many cases, as in the case with the young boy, people started the groups and then left as admin, meaning that noone other than fb staff were able to remove the posts.  If people start a group they shouldn’t be able to retire as admin without deleting the group.

    • Shar says:

      04:17pm | 23/02/10

      Yes John in some cases that is true - possibly because the workload was far greater than potentially anticipated - certainly in the case of the original “RIP Elliot Fletcher” page, the very young St Patties boy that started it was overwhelmed with the responsibility within hours and retired.  However, in the case of many of the pages (for instance, the highly moderated “Rest in Peace Elliot Fletcher” page), the admins were blindsided with sneaky trolls blocking them before leaving their disgusting posts.  At least the posting of photos had been disabled…

      I do agree that admins shouldn’t be able to retire from a page they have started.  Can we get comment from Facebook on this?

    • Me says:

      03:24pm | 23/02/10

      Rule 1 people, Rule 1

      Reply

    • Jez says:

      03:33pm | 23/02/10

      Facebook’s “report” function is a joke.  A girl I know has had a fake profile created by a ex-boyfriend, containing some pretty insulting sexual content.  The profile has been reported by myself and many others over several months, but it’s still there.  And once you report something, that’s all you can do.  There’s no email address you can write to.  You can’t even report the same thing again.

      Reply

    • Saintsister says:

      07:43pm | 23/02/10

      You’re right that the report function is a joke.  I have reported a page in which someone encourages people “bash the f****g bitch”  and “firebomb her car”.  Apparently that’s OK, because the comments remain.

      I’m all for freedom of speech and the democratic nature of the internet, but with rights come responsibility and it’s being abused.  I don’t think censorship is an issue when threats and intimidation are involved.

    • Seano says:

      08:06am | 24/02/10

      Similar thing happened to my brother, some weird guy on the edge of this social circle created a copy profile and started to talk to my brother’s friends, pretending to be my brother. Weird.

      The bad thing was that after months of reporting the fake by family and friends FB finally acted and deleted my brother’s profile.

      Hopeless.

    • formersnag says:

      03:40pm | 23/02/10

      I am against almost all censorship of almost all kinds. But any site like “facebook” or “the punch” for that matter, can put automatic rude word detection into its software, or a menu option to delete/complain about somebodies comment/photo’s, etc.

      However, toughen the f*#% up a little, settle petal, etc. When i was a kid, bullying meant being physically assaulted, sometimes, seriously. When anybody was being verbally abusive, teachers, parents, Sunday school teachers, etc, trotted out the old proverb, “sticks & stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me”.

      Nowadays, the loony, left, nimby pimbies are trying to put evolution in reverse, they are training our children, nay everybody, to be weaker of constitution than past generations. One wonders whether this is a deliberate, create more “jobs for the girls” scheme to make more work for social workers & counselors.

      Reply

    • john says:

      04:12pm | 23/02/10

      Mate I don’t know weher you saw what was posted on those pages, but i don’t think anyone should have to “toughen up” over child pornography and sick gore pictures, but maybe that’s just me, I am a “loony, left, nimby pimby” after all…

    • OldGirl says:

      04:22pm | 23/02/10

      I am a 56 year old female, I have never seen pornograpy of any kind, it just has not intrested me.  Child pornography would make me cry. There is nothing more innocent or special than our children. Sure I am old fashioned but my way of living never hurt anyone. Respect is something we all deserve. And our children deserve a childhood.

    • sara says:

      04:34pm | 23/02/10

      A 12 yr old was fatally stabbed and an 8 yr old beaten to death and you say toughen up!! 
      Also, verbal abuse has hurt many people as much as physical abuse, in fact you seem to have some real problems there formersnag….you sound like a victom.

    • Dean says:

      08:59am | 24/02/10

      If you think bullying is only physical, take a look at suicide rates of children that are bullied at school or over the internet with no physical altercations even happening.  I’d say the world has obviously changed very much since you were a kid, especially considering your ‘jobs for the girls’ comment…

    • Jimmy says:

      03:47pm | 23/02/10

      What do these pages do in real life? Nothing! The only function they have is to make the creators and members look like they care. “Hey, look at me, I support a group, so I must care, right?” Tomorrow the same people will probably become a member of ‘How many on facebook do not buy bottled water?’

      Reply

    • Jay says:

      10:49pm | 23/02/10

      Thank you, Jimmy - there are better ways of showing you care about a given situation - other than joining a Facebook group so your ‘friends’ think you’re with the current ‘in’ thing…

      Tragedy porn - the 21st century must have.

      These tragedies are worth more than some pissing on Facebook walls.

      This includes the people that join the page - along with the trolls that deface them…

      And Paul, why don’t you bother yourself about the actual situations about the crimes, rather than inadvertently coming across as some low-rent Mrs Lovejoy.

    • Nathan H says:

      03:50pm | 23/02/10

      If someone creates a Facebook page, they are responsible for moderating it. That is clearly spelled out in the terms of service when you sign on to facebook. You might as well write to Holden saying, “Dear Holden, the other day someone used one of your cars for a ram-raid. How will you be preventing this from happening in the future? Yours Ironically, Online Columnist”

      Reply

    • Edgarr says:

      03:10pm | 24/02/10

      Spot on Nathan.

    • AG says:

      03:53pm | 25/02/10

      Yes true, but in some cases it’s the trolls starting the pages and everyone joins thinking it is legit only to witness vulgar images, distasteful comments and links to porn and violence!
      Then the people who were sucked in start abusing the trolls when they post this stuff and the trolls love it. What people need to do is leave the group and Facebook NEEDS to shut these pages down, but in these cases you can’t even report the page as the report link has been disabled!! Facebook need to make it easier to report things, have another option aside from the report link on a page. There should be a contact form where you can copy and paste the link of the page to Facebook so there are other means of reporting s they can’t close a page if nobody can report it!

    • Ruby says:

      04:44pm | 23/02/10

      I have been trying for some time to unsubscribe from Facebook as I have read that it is not a safe site .  They are impossible to contact.  If anyone can tell me how to resign from it I will be most grateful.  I find much of the “friends” comments so banal and boring I cannot be bothered wasting my time with facebook.

      Reply

    • Zeta says:

      04:50pm | 23/02/10

      Facebook don’t publish the URL for account deletion, only suspension. They will, after prolonged email harrasment, give it out. I’ll save you the hassle:

      http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_account

      This will ‘deactivate’ your Facebook for two weeks. If you don’t try logging back in in that time, it will delete your Facebook, although how much is left behind on Zuckerberg’s soul sucking servers is anyone’s guess.

    • Emma says:

      05:51pm | 23/02/10

      Go to the top left corner. Click Account. Click Account Settings. Scroll to bottom of page. Click Deactivate account.  and P.s.  It’s not facebooks fault you have quote boring friends.

    • JJ says:

      11:30am | 24/02/10

      Before clicking onto Zeta’s link I would log into your account first and take out as much personal info as you can.

    • Judy says:

      09:00pm | 24/02/10

      you just go in to your ‘account profile page’ and way down the bottom you will see - ‘de-activate account’ it will remain for I think 30 days ? Before you do it, delete all your stuff on there FIRST.

    • gary says:

      09:44pm | 25/02/10

      face book like every thing else has its good and bad the same as the mail you get mail and bills the internet has its good and bad
      i use face book to post pics for my grown up kids to see as we only see them once a year as we are all most 2000 ks away good way to stay in contact its OK to blame face book but would you delete your email cos you get spam mail face book has its place

    • gary says:

      09:45pm | 25/02/10

      face book like every thing else has its good and bad the same as the mail you get mail and bills the internet has its good and bad
      i use face book to post pics for my grown up kids to see as we only see them once a year as we are all most 2000 ks away good way to stay in contact its OK to blame face book but would you delete your email cos you get spam mail face book has its place

    • Allen Ridak says:

      05:01pm | 23/02/10

      I used to be a huge troll on Facebok as it was easy pickings. Even I would never touch these tribute pages or torment families of murder and accident victims like these fools do. They are a group of people mainly from the UK, although there are quite a few in Australia and the USA. Telling them what you think of them will only make things worse, as they thrive on negative feedback. Their other hobbies include picking on mothers of stillborn babies and trolling rape victims (I’m not kidding).
      Facebook know exactly who these people are but choose to do nothing. Why would they take the page down when every media site in Australia is discussing or linking to their website? Publicity, good or bad = $$$ for Facebook.  I was removed from Facebook for upsetting a few Susan Boyle fans so I don’t see any good reason to allow this to go on.

      Reply

    • Kate says:

      08:46am | 24/02/10

      ‘Picking on mothers of stillborn babies and trolling rape victims’??? Seriously? I know you said you weren’t kidding, but… yikes! I don’t understand what these people get out of humilating people who are already humiliated and/or devastated. It’s pretty sick.

      I can only imagine what you must have said to get booted off Facebook altogether!

    • Emma says:

      05:59pm | 23/02/10

      Would you seriously talk to a random person you don’t know, about personal things? I wouldn’t in real life and I don’t on the net because they are one and the same.

      Reply

    • sumguy says:

      06:34pm | 23/02/10

      Omg how horrible i say ban facebook infact lets just flat out ban the internet…... o wait we are doing that never mind carry on

      Reply

    • Futureproof says:

      07:22pm | 23/02/10

      Criminals can steal your identity from facebook.  That’s the reason I don’t use it.

      Reply

    • Seano says:

      01:49pm | 24/02/10

      Criminals can steal your identity from your letter box far more effectively…

    • gary says:

      10:00pm | 25/02/10

      i agree with sumguy and   we should ban internet and mail cos it cold get stolen and eBay we might get ripped off and cars they kill some people and planes cos they crash most food cos they could yer just ban every thing cos every thing in the right place does no harm and on face book you don’t need your real name and your real date off birth and your don’t use real any thing all you have to do is use your head if it says you won a free TV do you click on it and give you details out over the internet no same as if you are walking down the street if some one asked you would you give it to them no its the same with every thing people need to use there heads and think

    • Jen says:

      07:47pm | 23/02/10

      More often than not these pages aren’t targeted, they are created by the same people that deface them.
      Facebook “Groups” can be moderated (posts by other people can be deleted, you must be approved beore you join etc) and the creator of the group is visible….if one makes a “Fan Page” (which is what these tools do) it is anonymous and there are far less moderating privileges.
      So they make these pages and people join them thinking they are genuine, only to be sucked into a trolls paradise.
      Facebook know who these people are.
      They all come from the same three or four online communities and they’re all really sad souls.

      Reply

    • emerald says:

      08:31pm | 23/02/10

      “Jasper says: 04:46pm | 23/02/10 What? You mean something like Conroy’s ISP level filter that virtually every Australian ‘net user is up in arms about?”

      Interesting you should bring this up.

      I found it rather curious that the tribute pages for recently deceased children have been targeted.  Why?  Is it the work of sick people who have nothing better to do, or is there more to it than that?

      What better way to get the majority on board for something like an internet filter, than to create a diversion.  We are so disgusted by the actions of whoever did this to those poor kids tribute pages we would probably pass the filter if it was dropped in front of us right now.

      Maybe I just have too much time on my hands to over think things, but hey, it’s something to think about.

      ~

      My deepest condolences go out to the families of the children who were taken from them.

      Reply

    • DG says:

      08:15am | 24/02/10

      I suppose the alternate hypothesis is that it shows that such a filter would be futile unless it blocked things like FaceBook and “tribute pages” that may be spammed with prohibited material.

    • Liz says:

      08:30am | 24/02/10

      What a stupid conspiracy theory! So you’re insinuating that the Government hacked into tribute pages for children and posted highly offensive material to get people on side for a filter which most people other than net freaks don’t care about anyway.

      You clearly have too much time on your hands. Go an volunteer for a charity or do something constructive.

      Whether you support Labor, Liberal, Greens, Nationals or whoever, this suggestion is patently absurd and offenstive.

      I wouldn’t set up a facebook tribute site, but people have a right to without being subject to this filfth. My condolences to the families.

    • nev il-pinto says:

      12:02pm | 24/02/10

      call me a conspiracy theoriest but that was the first thing i thought to

    • Public servant says:

      12:19am | 26/02/10

      I work in government. We have meetings to plan meetings and, often, we cannot get that right.

      Trust me, emerald, there is no government conspiracy. Government is simply not that organised.  Tin foil hat back on, sunshine.

    • James says:

      09:01pm | 23/02/10

      Interesting that they were quickly able to remove the Kevin Rudd page the other week but this one stays…..

      Reply

    • Seano says:

      07:59am | 24/02/10

      It’s likely that they have a filter that flags on certain words or phrases, so that these get processed quicker by their moderators.

      My guess would be that an offensive Tony Abbott page would get pulled down just as quickly…assuming FB think Tony Abbott is important…...hmmmmmm…..on second thoughts.

    • Anne says:

      09:21pm | 23/02/10

      Face Book and all sites like it are bad news eventually…...................

      Reply

    • Analogue Cheese says:

      09:19am | 24/02/10

      “hell is other people”, and facebook’s full of them.

    • Dibba says:

      09:39pm | 23/02/10

      Your comment:I find it ironic that so many posters here put all the responsibility back on those who are starting these tribute pages, yet virtually absolve Facebook from any responsibility.
      Face it, these guys are making millions from this site and should share in the responsibility to keep filth off it.
      I am fortunate that I have never suffered a loss that has ever prompted me to put up a tribute page, but if those grieving wish to do so they shouldn’t have to put up with attacks from indless idiots.

      Reply

    • Bud says:

      10:40pm | 23/02/10

      Most of the time it isn’t people grieving that make these pages, it is people just wanting to jump on a band wagon and have a big group with talk of the moment. That is why there are so many groups when you search Elliot Fletcher.
      It is also a disturbing trend for the groups to get huge then the title of the group be changed to something bad like recently several save the shark and whale groups have thousands of members then the title changed to We want every shark in the ocean killed (or words to that affect)
      And for the people saying Facebook should have staff watching the groups, there are millions of groups and pages, should they employ a staff member to look after each one?

    • Shane says:

      10:17pm | 23/02/10

      It’s a quandry. I’m a proponent of free speech and against censorship of every kind, yet the majority of the internet is a cess pool that should be completely regulated. Where’s the solution? I know that i’ll be seen as an arsehole, but I doubt if i will allow my kids access to sites like Facebook as they get older. They may hate me, but it’s junk and you don’t need it in your life.

      Reply

    • Eric says:

      05:26am | 24/02/10

      “the majority of the internet is a cess pool”

      Have you seen the majority of the Internet? Or are you just making assumptions, based on ... what, exactly?

    • Shane says:

      10:25am | 24/02/10

      Sorry, majority was a poor choice of words. But ALOT of it is garbage that presents more dangers than problems solved by its existence.

    • Sarah Jane Jones says:

      08:42pm | 24/02/10

      I’m sorry, but I think that saying the internet is nothing but a cesspool is just completely ridiculous. Sure, it has cesspools, but it means that people have access to a tremendous amount of knowledge. Think about how amazing sites like the punch are, or how the iranian people twittered about the protests and the election. If you want to know anything, you can just look it up here instead of having to go to the library and sort through books. It means that the population is more educated.

      Also, not allowing your children on facebook is disgusting. It is where the lot of social interaction happens, you would be severely detrimenting their ability to make friends and interact with their peers. What, you think that they won’t be exposed to far worse bad language and inappropriate material in the real world? Facebook is pretty censored because people don’t want to use bag language and discuss the worst things in a public forum. So you really wouldn’t be protecting them from anything.

    • D says:

      02:12am | 24/02/10

      All I can say is that facebook is invasion of privacy and absolutely anti social oh and a waste of TIME. Really pathetic, people need to pick up the phone If It’s so important to gossip about rubbish, why let the world know?! who cares!

      Reply

    • Bud says:

      08:45am | 24/02/10

      Facebook is an invasion of privacy?  My guess is you have never used it you’re just going on stories you have heard, no one outside those on my friends list can see a word or photo I post.
      Why should I pick up the phone and make several calls and give Tel$tra money when I can tell them all at once with one post?

    • AG says:

      11:37pm | 24/02/10

      That’s your opinion but alot of good has come from Facebook. My business for example would never have started if it weren’t for friends seeing my work and suggesting I set up a business page. I know of many people who have come to large successes through Facebook.
      These groups on the other hand are a way for people to share their feelings, I think that moderation is the key and if you join a group and notice something of this kind to report and leave the group… The group will not continue if it has no members….

    • AG says:

      11:41pm | 24/02/10

      And to add, how can it be an invasion of privacy? You only let people who YOU are friends with know what YOU want them to know…
      It’s simple - don’t write private stuff on facebook!

    • AG says:

      11:50pm | 24/02/10

      I completely agree to all above!

    • Davey jones says:

      06:57am | 24/02/10

      facebook has caused more trouble ever since it first started and other sites like twiter are just as bad they all should be taken down

      Reply

    • Seano says:

      07:54am | 24/02/10

      When and where’s the book burning?

    • Remove Http Referrer says:

      07:10am | 24/02/10

      Finally, depending on your privacy settings on Facebook, feed on your Facebook profile. Remove Http Referrer

      Reply

    • Brendan Richards says:

      07:28am | 24/02/10

      Whoever has posted that sort of material obviously have no idea of the heartbreak that the family members and friends of those victims are going through. They’re obviously nothing but unsympathetic, insensitive pricks who don’t know how to show sympathy.

      Reply

    • Steve says:

      07:35am | 24/02/10

      I tend to agree. After being a FB user for 12 months and enjoying LIMITED communication with friends, I’d rather pick the phone up, or visit them, or even turn the computer off and take the family out of a picnic or a nice afternoon drive to a country market, or a park. Anthing but sitting in front of a computer.

      Reply

    • Maxa says:

      07:37am | 24/02/10

      D, I agree wholeheartedly with you. I have a Facebook page and no longer use it. I have never had an argument on it, nor have
      I seen abuse on it, I just saw that it was an invasion into peopes private lives, thoughts and whatever else. Not to mention it was too slow for me. I have since re-discovered my garden.

      Reply

    • Seano says:

      07:47am | 24/02/10

      There’s nothing wrong with social networking, I use FB all the time and it’s a great way to keep a lively banter going between family and friends, it’s also great for scrabble and chess players. But I make it a point not to join every group, page or accept every application.

      I also think that whilst the attacks on tribute pages are very wrong, sick and sad that the tribute pages set up by people who don’t know the victim or their families is at best misplaced good intentions and at worst horning in on someone else’s grief.

      I agree with FB there’s nothing wrong with self regulation. The problem is that FB does not respond quickly enough, if at all when there’s a problem.

      My NRL footy club had to pull general comments from their FB page recently because of a spate of abusive, foul and offensive comments that set off a number flame wars. Of course the clowns starting the trouble weren’t members of the club or even supporters, they were just a couple of Gen Y no hopers who’d obviously not had let’s say had a firm enough hand growing up. Comments by one of these rocket surgeons indicated that there were moving on to another club when the fun had been stopped at my club.

      What sad little people that the best they can aspire to is internet troll.

      Reply

    • Ish says:

      12:30pm | 24/02/10

      Gen Y rocket surgeons you say

    • Seano says:

      02:56pm | 24/02/10

      Yes largely Gen Y.

      Re: rocket surgeons, Google malapropism.

    • Bek says:

      07:55am | 24/02/10

      It was inappropriate for a tribute page to be set up for such a young child who died in such tragic circumstances. The responsibility lies with the people who set up these pages in the first place. I can’t imagine it would have been the parents so who was it who thought they had the right to do it. It is those people who should own up and apologise to the family for the disrespect shown to this girl. Get a life, If you knew this girl go and show your support to the friends and family in a meaningfull fashion not setting up an attention-seeking, dramatic facebook page that only makes you feel important.

      Reply

    • AG says:

      12:02am | 25/02/10

      I know of another tribute page set up for a pregnant woman and her daughter killed in a tragic car accident, it was the woman’s sister who set up the tribute page. People were sending condolences and poems, some that were then used on a board at the funeral. For some people this is how the mourn and cope with such grief. It’s not always set up by some stranger trying to ‘get in on the bandwagon’...
      I do know that in the case of the little 8 yro girl it was actually one of the trollers who set up the group in the first place! Then family set up a REAL group where people have to be accepted by moderators to join!
      So many people commenting with so little knowledge of facts.

    • Sandra says:

      08:01am | 24/02/10

      Facebook is a ridiculous medium - ever heard of the telephone or email? It’s subscribers are too concerned with telling the world about personal drivel nobody with a life could possibly be interested in. They should get off their collective arses and go outside in the fresh air. No wonder the population is fat and getting fatter.

      Reply

    • Bud says:

      08:49am | 24/02/10

      “too concerned with telling the world about personal drivel” And how is his different to a bunch of blokes at footy training or at the pub or a woman at lunch with the girls doing the   Oh guess what I did the other day?

      Absolutely nothing.

    • BaSH PR0MPT says:

      08:01am | 24/02/10

      This drivel from the media about material being put on Facebook tribute pages just draws the ire of the technologically savvy elements of the community. We all know you can report things, we all know the report function works; we also all know that these idiots starting bleeding heart ‘tribute’ groups are usually doing so just to get huge lists of people and thus feel more ‘popular’ in the internet community of choice.

      We also know that the media will jump up and down on these things, and we know that as long as the media pay attention and feed the trolls that these trolls will cash in on easy media attention. You are the cause, and in no way the solution. Ignore idiots and they go away, it’s been proven for the last 40 years of the Internet existing without so much media interference and exposure of idiocy.

      Reply

    • DG says:

      09:39am | 24/02/10

      I agree entirely.

      I’ve seen many “memorial” pages on social networking sites that don’t get trolled. The ones that seem to be targeted are those that receive plenty of media attention (whether it be celebrities or another case raised in the media). The media interest assures that the site will get plenty of hits and hence trouble makers find themselves with an invitation to create havoc.

      The same thing happens in the real world with protesters and counter protesters getting together and shouting at each other across the street - this just means that they don’t have to leave the house to do it.

      After all it’s pretty much the same thing as the Fred Phelps picketing funerals and people handing out condoms at world youth day. People doing whatever they want no matter how much it hurts or upsets other people.

    • Lynne says:

      08:16am | 24/02/10

      Facebook also hosts many race hate sites, etc.  To run these must be in violation of the racial villification laws in many countries, including those in the state of Calfornia.  I would suggest that anybody finding offensive and illegal pages on Facebook submit a complaint to the Attorney General’s Dept in that state.  The gurus at Facebook can waffle on about “freedom of speech” all they like….freedom of speech brings with it, a responsibility to not enter into such activities as inciting racial hatred, etc.

      Reply

    • Barx says:

      08:19am | 24/02/10

      Rather than stop the crude images, Maybe we should just stop the crude attempts to spread Grief porn from random strangers who try to latch on and involve themselves.

      ‘OMG I was totlaly devastated by this poor girls death i am in tears please pray for her and her family poor angel i am so upset’

      Yes tragic. Yes unnecessary. But stop trying to make it about yourselves.

      Reply

    • Bud says:

      08:54am | 24/02/10

      Exactly, I read on one of the tribute pages for Elliot Fletcher the other day, I have been inconsolable all week, this has affected me more emotionally than anything else in my life and I didn’t even know him.

      I am just hoping no family or friends of hers have died or it would mean a stranger means more to her than them.

    • Jake says:

      09:15am | 24/02/10

      I agree Brax. Facebook is less about staying in touch with you friends and more about telling the world about you. People today especially through sites like this a living their own version of celebrity life.

      You look at the socal pages in the papers now and every nobody is posing like thode stars on the red carpet do at the oscars. It is pathetic, I look at photos of my own friends and they are posing like Angelina Jolie, it is just sad.

      People style their personal photos of themselves now to get them just right for their facebook pages. We live in a wannabe celebrity culture and it is just ridiculous, society is on a slippery slope and these “trollers” are the symptom of the lowest of the low trying to get attention from strangers ini the worst possible way.

    • Jake says:

      09:39am | 24/02/10

      .......apologies for my absolutely shocking spelling mistakes above….eeek

    • James says:

      09:45am | 24/02/10

      Agreed.  For the most part, it is just people trying to broadcast an image of themselves.  I am sure that every Facebook user has at least one or two friends who constantly update their status, as though we care what they are eating for dinner, or whatever other inane rubbish they choose to tell us about.

    • Cruella says:

      08:20am | 24/02/10

      Facebook has become a cesspool ~ period. Like everything else it is open slather for all the mindless, bored and boring morons to amuse themselves. It is no place for tribute pages.

      Reply

    • Tod says:

      08:50am | 24/02/10

      Last year a friend of mine tragically passed away from a heart attack leaving behind a wife and 4 young children. A friend of his set up a tribute page which was a great way for his friends to reminisc about the fun we all had. A lot of great tributes were left which were all passed onto his grateful widow.
      Facebook, like all websites or tools can be either used or abused. The people who abuse it should not be able to destroy it for the people who do find it a useful way to connect with people. I have found it a useful way to track down old school friends and other blasts from the past.

      Reply

    • Jake says:

      08:51am | 24/02/10

      Paul, you are missing the point.

      Facebook is a social medium, just like sitting on a bus or a cafe. You can only stop offensive material appearing on facebook as much as you can stop someone producing offensive content on a bus or in a cafe.

      There is a difference, granted, between the degree of anonymity one has on an internet site, and the offenders cannot be physically restrained. Welcome to the internet. In reality people can be tracked down and prosecuted.

      The main issue here though is the specific targeting of a tribute page for posting this sort of material. This is not facebook’s problem, but a social problem. If anything, facebook is providing a place for people to express there love and respect.

      Reply

    • Alan K says:

      08:54am | 24/02/10

      I find Facebook allows some comments that are not very complimentory to certain people or the police. I have read several comments about police who are just doing thier jobs, and are being abused on Facebook for doing it. Some of the groups can also be leading to causing problems or worse feelings towards certain public figures. To me this sort of thing should not be allowed to be put up on the Facebook pages. Maybe every entry needs to be scrutinized before it is made public so unwanted types of posts are not permitted in the first place.

      Reply

    • Analogue Cheese says:

      09:13am | 24/02/10

      facebook - give us a ‘do not post’ register or summink, by which we can state upfront we’re not interested and want no part of our identities pawned around on social networking services. 

      I don’t want a bar of social networking, but unfortunately there’s currently nothing stopping titheads from dragging the images/reputations/tragedies of unrelated persons into their online orgies of stupidity.

      Reply

    • facepalm says:

      09:13am | 24/02/10

      The internet is not to be taken seriously. It’s handy for banking, IM, email, shopping etc, but you cant expect that every one in there is going to care about some kid that got stabbed or wound up in a drain pipe anymore than you can expect them to care about the thousands of kids that die everyday world wide that just don’t have a tribute page.

      The culprits of these ‘attacks’ are bored and apathetic, they aren’t evil, and they aren’t criminals. They have not stolen, they have not killed, they have not impeded or removed any other’s rights, and the internet isn’t a tangible place. As far as i can see they have failed to meet the terms and conditions of an internet networking site. Locking up people for offending another’s sensibilities would be no different to locking up homosexuals, and by the same token, locking up people who want to lock up homosexuals.

      Reply

    • Jagger says:

      09:23am | 24/02/10

      What about all the Facebook tributes that praise the American terrorist that lit his family home on fire and flew a plane into the tax building?  What about them?  Or is it different for right-wing americans?

      Reply

    • Harquebus says:

      09:24am | 24/02/10

      Terrible things do happen and most can sympathize but, internet tributes are for emotional wimps. The internet is an adult place. End of story.
      There is always a trade off between functionality and security. The more secure you try to make Facebook and others, the less functional they become.
      Paul Colgan is just another IT illiterate who really needs to study up on computer networks.

      Reply

    • Julie Coker-Godson says:

      12:44pm | 25/02/10

      @Harquebus:  Who declared the internet an adult place?  You?  I saw no such declaration that the internet was “Adults Only”.  The internet is a great technology for communication and anyone interested in using it is entitled to take advantage of the benefits it provides.  Unfortunately, we get some very nasty people at the same time and it is those people we should try and “weed out” of the internet system by a) identifying them b) prosecuting them and c) closing down their ability to communicate by the net (i.e. remove the phone line for a start).

    • Harquebus says:

      11:56am | 26/02/10

      You need to brush up on computer networks Julie. The internet was designed by and for the US military.
      Google arpa or arpanet
      IPV6 is coming. No one will know what is being communicated.

    • Dave says:

      09:28am | 24/02/10

      I find it funny that everyone is attacking Facebook for hosting all of this and they should be doing more or get closed down.

      Why? Many of you may not have heard of Usenet it was basically the beginning of the internet and is still around today, if you haven’t go to google and type in Groups, click on Google Groups and one good example of what can be posted uncensored on there is a group called aus.tv   (type that into the groups search) it was once (and if filtered right through a mail browser still is) a great group for discussing Australian television, a lot of the groups are now muslim hate posts and political rants and because it is going to thousands of servers around the world is almost impossible to remove.

      Reply

    • Buggirl says:

      09:29am | 24/02/10

      Love it when the herd start saying stuff like Facebook is mindless drivel for bored morons etc etc, well frankly I couldnt give a toss what you think.  I have a pretty busy workload and dont always have the time (or energy as I have MS) to catch up with friends in the real world (many of my friends have kids like me and that gives even less time!!) and Facebook gives me that option to have a chat generally catch up with how people are going etc etc.  I’m not the least bit interested in these grief pages - tragic yes - but I’ll leave the real sincere grieving to the families and friends of those lost.  People who go and join these sites, well its a bit like stopping and gawking after a car accident.

      Reply

    • Cly says:

      09:49am | 24/02/10

      You’re obviously a moron Paul. What a fine demonstration of how little you understand the internet, personal liability and just plain common sense.

      This is just an article preying on others like you purely in attempt to push yourself up the media world ladder.

      Reply

    • Gregory says:

      10:16am | 24/02/10

      If you are attacking Facebook for this then you as well attack the entire internet. If you think policing a HUGE site with millions of people is an easy task, your dreaming. it doesnt mean Facebook doesnt have any responsibility, but to put all the blame on them for tribute pages being vandalised is just stupid. You will never stop people doing whatever they want on the internet, if someone wants to do it, they will do it. Putting in stricter rules or criminal punishments or an internet filter may limit those people, but your never going to stop all of them. I think some people here should realise this fact.

      Funny also, how some people seem to have a natural extension of hatred towards facebook. Usually I find the people that hate facebook are generally anti social or dont have too many friends to talk to in the first place.

      Reply

    • Me again says:

      12:32pm | 26/02/10

      How ironic!!  Maybe people who are complaining are actually out there enjoying extensive social lives in the real world for the most part, and aren’t sitting hunched over their computer, chatting to cyber friends they may not know from Adam?

    • BB says:

      10:40am | 24/02/10

      I was unlucky enough to see the photos posted on Elliots tribute pages. I reported the immediately . Not only did I feel sick just because of the nature of the images but the knowing that children (who I strongly am against being on facebook) had viewed them. I see a couple of ways around it… when a tribute page is set up (and there should be an option for a tribute page because like it or not… there are generations who like them) ALL photos should only be allowed to be put up by administrators. There should be easy to read instructions and guidence for administrators. And I have always been against a charge for facebook… but if it keeps kids off and creates an easier to trace system (linked to a bank account) I believe that would put it in the too hard basket for a lot of these people.

      Reply

    • sarah jane jones says:

      06:57pm | 25/02/10

      charging for facebook to keep kids off? Do you know what facebook actually started as? It was a university website for univeristy students only. You had to have a univeristy email address in order to join. That opened up around 2006 and anyone could join. So I find this idea that facebook is for “adults” only somewhat ridiculous. It is for anyone who wants to use it, but it is predominantly used by teenagers and uni students.

    • Grant says:

      10:43am | 24/02/10

      - Aside from the standard “Report” function on posts from users, what is Facebook doing to stop recurrences of this kind of activity?

      Thankfully facebook is basically a self regulated forum, where inappropriate material is the responsibility of the moderators who created the page.

      - What are Facebook’s procedures for real-time monitoring the distribution of pornographic material on the site?

      Real-time monitoring of the, 120 million users and millions of groups, you are joking right?

      What if the ‘private’ facebook page is created by a swingers group with sexual photo’s from their latest escapade between consenting swingers, should that be banned?

      How about a ‘private’ facebook page relating to material on sexual dysfunction or sexual health which includes photos?

      I mean really, our first world problems are so bad and we are so comfortable in our lives that our worst concern is some kid scribbling abuse and posting shocking imges to get a reaction out of people, that’s it that’s our worst problem at the moment.
      And to all the wowsers who think our society is breaking down in to a cesspool of violence and moral degradation due to the many modern vices, like t.v., computer games, the internet, then think again. 

      Compare your standard of living to the majority of the world, and how we are fairing against Africa, the middle east and any eastern block country.

      I think the fact that we can afford the internet means that we are doing fine.

      Reply

    • alyce says:

      10:44am | 24/02/10

      these freaks have been doing this for a couple of months, posting car accisent victim photos on the mill park accident kid’s tribute pages… nothing shocks me anymore, sad and disgusting!!

      Reply

    • Ellen says:

      11:36am | 24/02/10

      Yep Alyce, it’s the same group of people making these pages that deface them. . Like that group for that bully kid in queensland that got stabbed. They make the group themselves wait for “mourners to join” then desecrate them.  Some people have a strange idea of fun. That goes for both sides.

    • jakess says:

      12:34pm | 24/02/10

      I think the trolls do it for the Lulz

      Reply

    • Seano says:

      01:50pm | 24/02/10

      And yet very rarely are they funny.

    • Stuart says:

      12:40pm | 24/02/10

      Why does Facebook get the blame for the behaviour of people who use Facebook? Facebook isn’t making you use Facebook. Facebook is making people post obscene things. This is lame. Don’t like the material, report it, it gets removed. That’s more than reasonable under the circumstances.

      Reply

    • John says:

      01:10pm | 24/02/10

      Faebook and wittter are venues for low life people who cannot communicate in real time and real life. They look for their kicks in putting evil smutt and comments on these sites dedicated to people looking for lost friends and family. You lot need to get a life and come out of the fairytale world you live in.

      Reply

    • Seano says:

      01:47pm | 24/02/10

      Have you actually used Facebook? Your description of it sounds more like a fairy tale.

    • HarlequinBeetle says:

      06:36am | 25/02/10

      Goodness….are you referring to our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd;  Tony Abbott, Joe Hockey, Bob Brown et al?  Book reviews; Gastronomic reviews/recipes; Genealogy contacts? Australian tourism, state by state? Even, journalists from The Punch !!!
      Pondering:  just who have you had contact with on Twitter?

    • Luke Smith says:

      01:34pm | 24/02/10

      Its interesting that theres all this bleating about Facebook ‘letting this stuff happen’ when for all I can tell the pages lasted minutes if not seconds before they we’re deleted. Did any significant number of people even see these defacements?

      Isn’t this proof enough that the system works just fine as it is?

      The ignorant comments from people who obviously have never used Facebook or Twitter are quite hilarious.

      Reply

    • It is not so bad. says:

      02:33pm | 24/02/10

      Facebook, Twitter has its role to play in todays society.  By that I mean, it acts as a security devise, it exposes the low life persons to show their ugliness and discontent.  It pulls out the criminal minds of our community, as it entices them to come forward and sort of show their face.

      Reply

    • john says:

      06:15pm | 24/02/10

      Just went and had a look at the largest group calling for the death penalty.  It’s like reading the rantings of psychopaths, a person volunteering to “castrate him and slit his throat”, people making threats against his father, it’s crazy.  All the while forgetting that he hasn’t actually been found guilty yet!  I would like to quote one genius, in response to a post from a woman pointing out the fact the he is innocent until proven guilty, she replied with (and i quote) “They dont charge innocent people with MURDER!!!!! HELLOOOOO!!!!” O’RLY?

      Reply

    • DocBud says:

      11:31pm | 24/02/10

      I agree with your sentiments, John, however, I do believe that in a free society these people should be allowed to spout their garbage. That is their viewpoint, so let them have it.

      As soon as you start trying to regulate thought you run very quickly into difficulties. If you can think it, it is better for everyone that you can say it as well.

    • Tamara says:

      07:17pm | 24/02/10

      The people who post these messages are trolls. Trolls enjoy it when people respond to them and publish what they did. They love it. The way to get rid of trolls is to ignore them. Then when the trolls see that their actions have no reaction from anyone they stop doing it.

      Reply

    • AG says:

      12:19am | 25/02/10

      I agree Tamara, That is exactly what I said above. If you join a tribute page (or any page for that matter) that gets defaced, simply ‘report’ and ‘leave group’, there will be no group if it has no members…. There is absolutely no point in arguing with trollers - they like it, that’s why they are doing it , to get a reaction.
      I started my business through facebook, stay in contact with family overseas and reconnected with lost friends, it is a wonderful tool when used correctly. People just need to learn how to safe guard themselves whilst using it.
      I feel sick and saddened that there are such awful people out there who would put such terrible things on tribute pages or worse set up the tribute page themselves!
      Maybe having special ‘Tribute Pages’ created by Facebook is the key?
      Where only moderators can post images, links are not allowed and creators need to provide some sort of identity when creating them?

      Reply

    • Jeefunk says:

      08:41am | 25/02/10

      It would be good if people stuck to the topic. We’re all horrified by the murder but the point of this debate is the group of people who find it comical - those Facebook trolls. here’s the interesting thing about Facebook: the majority of members use their real names. So Facebook is one small item of functionality away from switching to a 100% verified database of members. It’s not a huge leap is it? And if you’d rather go by an alias and don’t want your membership verified, it’s pretty obvious you’ve got something hide. It’s true what others have said about trolls - you have to ignore them. But how about going a step further - by verifying accounts - and eliminate them?

      Reply

    • Daddio D says:

      08:55am | 25/02/10

      I think the author of this article, Paul Colgan, or Colgo to some, has taken an extremely good stance here. I’ve followed the discourse of debate, respecting some posts, laughing at the inanities of others. I have little to add to it apart from saying that having experienced the early days of internet debates, from which I know a lot of good and a lot more of badness, I’ve never joined sites such as Facebook, Twitter or such like despite all the invitations by many of my friends to do so. They can “do you your head in” either way. So I recommend everybody deletes themselves from such sites as Facebook, Twitter and that no one joins any such future site. The internet is a library of information, not a place of insults or, dare I say, a place to congratulate or commiserate. If you feel anyway inclined to do either of those, do it by txt’ing or snail mail. It’s more like you to be human, not android.

      Reply

    • Dave says:

      08:57am | 25/02/10

      Why are people blaming facebook for all of this??? I dont use facebook, but this isn’t ANY of their fault. Instead of blaming Facebook, why dont we be rational for just a moment and blame the sicko’s posting the content in the first place??!!??

      Anything other than this course of action is an attempt to limit free speech. I dont approve of the content posted on these memorial sites, its offensive and disgusting, but in our society people are free to say what they want, even if others disagree or find it offensive - otherwise we really are just another state of China.

      Reply

    • Grant says:

      09:01am | 25/02/10

      Paul,

      Facebook is the conduit; facebook itself isn’t uploading offensive material. 

      If illegal material is uploaded then it should be reported to police and the police can pursue it from a legal point of view.

      Facebook cannot pass judgement on 120 million users personally uploaded photos and photos uploaded to the millions of groups.  How are they to judge what is illegal or appropriate for the hundreds of different legal jurisdictions around the world, that’s why there is a report function.

      What might be considered legal here could be illegal in Dubai, Iran or Saudi Arabia.  Seriously, are you guys even thinking about the bigger picture?

      The moderators who create the group have complete control, they should be held responsible for not taking the material down or deleting inappropriate comments.

      Reply

    • Garry L. says:

      02:57pm | 26/02/10

      120 million users? Where have you been? It’s more like 400 million, so they say. Though if you were to take out all the fake accounts, bogus celebrity profiles and those ‘second’ accounts people may have, yeah, it’s probably more like 120 million actual people use Facebook.

    • Steve says:

      09:21am | 25/02/10

      Pollies need to shut up about things they don’t understand.  Anna is just trying to win votes.  People who create groups/pages/etc…  need to take some responsibility and self-regulate the group themselves.  There are millions of groups on Facebook.  With many millions more using them.  You can’t expect every post and image to be filtered by the server.  There’s so much, but it’s also be too hard to manage because what’s legal in one country might be offensive in another country.  Also a computer would still miss a lot, a human is the only true way to regulate these things.  But some groups are of things people don’t like, yet thats the cost of freedom, or in this case freedom of speach.  Your gonna get these loons from time to time.

      Administators need to take resonsibiliity and realise that THEY have to look after themselves, no one is going to do it for them, so Pollies should stop asking companies to take responisbility for what people should be doing themselves.

      Reply

    • AG says:

      10:26am | 25/02/10

      What you say is true Steve, but in the case of the 8 year old girl it wasa troll who set up the memorial site in the first place, waited until 3000 people had joined then started saying the sickest of sick things implying the 8 year old girl ‘was a prostitute and she asked for it’ (I was unlucky enough to see this myself) utmost disrespect to the poor family and to the 3000 unsuspecting members of the group who thought they were paying their respects to the family of the deceased!

    • facebook unsure says:

      12:34pm | 25/02/10

      I dont know if the administrator of the tribute pages in all cases is related to the family, and surely this should be the case, and I do disagree that a complete stranger should set up a site because it could be the creep acting as an administrator.

      I understand why people use tribute pages, to express their own thoughts on the events and show the family how many people in the community are supporting them through these terrible events. Sometimes it is nice to know you are not alone.

      However, stricter guidelines on the setting up of these pages and the fact that photos need to be approved by the administrator before being visible would certainly help. As for comments, well you can go on any public forum and be exposed to that crap, and it would be very hard to control. If you are going to take up the responsibility of setting up such a page, you should take the time to monitor comments and delete and report this is really all you can do on a public forum unless you make all comments to be approved first just like when you comment on the courier mail site.

      Reply

    • Zeta says:

      12:34pm | 25/02/10

      Isn’t it a little disturbing that we’re now several days into the life cycle of this story, and I don’t know, what’s the life span of a story about a murdered 8 year old? Two weeks? Four plus a not guilty plea at trial? Eight if Naomi Robson does a live broadcast from the court house with a lizard on her shoulder?

      Anyway, say we’re about half way through the affected outrage; and the story still seems to gravitate to the sensational social media aspects.

      This is after the Facebook page of the accused murderer has been made public. Were it not for the page defacements, the vigilante action, etc etc, wouldn’t news desks across the country have been directing their foot mobiles to bang on every door of everyone who could possibly have known the accused? Where is the is profile of a guy said to have committed a heinous murder?

      Look I’m interested in Facebook issues as much as the next bro, I’m like one of those people who doesn’t have TV yet endlessly surfs entertainment blogs. I hate Facebook, eschew it from my life, but still like commenting on it because it’s relevant. But I’m a consumer of mass media too and I’m more interested in knowing what makes murderers tick.

      I imagine the average punter, the man on the Bondi tram if you will, is far more interested in the accused then they are the medium by which he’s being pilloried, but it’s a story that seems to be untold.

      Facebook, in this case, seems to be a big distraction from the real yarn: that an 8 year old girl was murdered by some brand of nut job. Who was he? What made him kill? That’s the story mainstream Australia wants to read.

      Not that a Facebook page was defaced. Pity the major outlets are missing this point at the moment.

      Reply

    • Gill says:

      12:46pm | 25/02/10

      As IT tech who is heavily involved in computers and web design and so on, I have been telling my teenage kids for quiet sometime now that these “social networking” pages are dangerous and nothing but a site for stalking (yes even old friends). To be honest I believe that facebook, myspace and so on should be closed down full stop. There are many many thousands of incidents on these sites that the “press” have not published or commented on and some of them are quiet sickening. The information highway has opened too many doors and unfortunatly cannot be closed. How very sad for my future grandkids.

      Reply

    • Seano says:

      01:48pm | 25/02/10

      As a former IT tech of 15 years (currently having a sea change) I find your comments strange.

      Millions of people use social networking sites every day without problem. Just because a computer is in the home doesn’t mean that there ends parental responsibility.

      As an IT tech you should know that the internet was created as an academic tool for sharing information. Many of the advances whe have had in the last few decades in Medicine, Science, Technology, Education etc may not have occured had it not been for the internet.

      “information highway has opened too many doors and unfortunatly cannot be closed”
      You seem to be throwing the baby out with the bath water and as IT Tech I would have thought the best thing you could do would be to educate those future grandkids and others on how to safely use this tool safely.

    • Gill says:

      03:01pm | 25/02/10

      Seano prehaps you have been out at sea for too long you obviously have forgotten how to read.  I do educate my kids hence my comment “I have been telling my kids for quiet some time” and did I at any stage mention parental responsibility? I think NOT. The internet is a dangerous place just like the real world no matter how “educated” you are.

      I agree with the fact the internet has assisted with many advances as you call them however my comment was on “social networking” sites NOT the internet.

      The original MSN chatrooms were closed due to similar issues that facebook is now experiencing.

    • Paul says:

      05:10pm | 25/02/10

      As a cantankerous old man who has never liked computers, I’ve been telling those damned kids to keep off my lawn for some time now. Back in my day, people respected their elders. I saw the interweb once and I didn’t like it. What’s so funny about a cat riding an invisible bike anyway?

    • Seano says:

      08:46am | 26/02/10

      Gill should you be throwing around insults when your own comprehension skills are so poor?

      1. Millions use social networking happily and successfully.
      2. Telling your kids that these pagers are “pages are dangerous and nothing but a site for stalking” is hardly educative because it is simply untrue.
      3. The internet can be a powerful tool for good when used appropriately censorship is not the answer.

    • Scott Glennon says:

      01:12pm | 25/02/10

      If I were Facebook, I’d draft a letter demanding that the government ask it’s countries internet users to stop defacing my website with offensive material.
      Our government needs to grow back some gonads, stop whinging and blaming other people for trivial crap and start doing your job again.

      Reply

    • Sarah Jane Jones says:

      07:14pm | 25/02/10

      because censoring the information its people are able to view is exactly what the government should be doing, and doesn’t set a dangerous precedent at all.

    • Ben G says:

      02:03pm | 25/02/10

      Hopefully Facebook will respond to Stephen Conroy by saying that anyone who disagrees with them about anything is a child-porn defender and likely enthusiast.
      One thing’s for sure, Facebook aren’t gonna get $250 million this election cycle! Maybe next though. Many more people who use facebook will have reached voting age which will make them worthy of buying off.

      Reply

    • nat will says:

      02:21pm | 25/02/10

      Why can’t facebook:

      1) Immediately delete the image once “Report” is pressed.

      Reply

    • Alyssa says:

      03:37pm | 25/02/10

      And assess it later. Perfect!

    • DG says:

      03:44pm | 25/02/10

      Because trolls would go around pressing “Report” on every image they could find and Facebook would have several hundred million photographs to review.

    • Mr Subramanian says:

      03:49pm | 25/02/10

      Or, perhaps more sensibly, establish a threshhold wherein the more times something is reported, the more it is escalated until enough “Reports” means immediate checking by the moderators…

    • AG says:

      03:55pm | 25/02/10

      Because on some of these pages the report link has been disabled by hackers/trolls Facebook don’t even know these pages exist in some cases.

    • Ashley says:

      03:54pm | 25/02/10

      The internet is just an extension of the real world and I approach it as such. As for FB being a cesspit, well society’s a cesspit.  Many of its undesirable aspects cannot be policed.  Sexualising tween girls by marketing pole dancing and sexy underwear to them is just one example.  FB is great if you have interesting friends who can talk and think about a broad range of topics. Just like in the real world, it depends on where and with whom you hang out. What I’ve found interesting through internet communication is how many people you come across who despise the culture being foisted upon us by the mass media, the big corporations and the consumerist agenda. Meanwhile in the workplace, and day to day encounters, most people just behave like unthinking obedient sheeple. The net is a place you can give free reign to your ideas, humour and thoughts. I can see why the powers that be would love to censor and control it, and its not necessarily to get rid of the truly nasty stuff.

      Reply

    • TG says:

      03:58pm | 25/02/10

      There was a piece in the New York Times a couple of years back which discussed the kinds of people who do this sort of thing, what they say their motivations are, and looks at some steps which might or might not be effective in limiting it - it’s called “The Trolls Among Us” and the link is
      http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/magazine/03trolls-t.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all

      I recommend having a read of it.

      Reply

    • Reginald says:

      04:35pm | 25/02/10

      Punch is not without it’s insults, untruths and twists when it come to politics.And many consuder them obscene

      Reply

    • nicky says:

      07:55pm | 25/02/10

      Under what jurisdiction does Senator Conroy think Facebook falls? They don’t even have an office here. And it’s highly likely some of the people defacing these websites don’t even live in Australia. As others have mentioned they congregate online and then venture out to attack.

      Facebook - like the internet as a whole - is impossible to regulate as the trolls have extensive internet skills. They can find their way into anything. The fact that they often hack into existing Facebook accounts to post obscene material is testament to how lightweight Facebook’s security measures are.

      Why would Facebook spend millions of dollars making a service they offer for free - which generates massive revenue - secure? It’s not a public service. They might start caring if millions left in droves, but I can’t see that happening anytime soon. They have the upper hand at the moment.

      To all Facebook users, buyer beware I say.

      Reply

    • Fabian says:

      12:53am | 26/02/10

      Facebook provide an open service that allows people to interact with each other in a variety of digital settings.  It is nether good nor evil.  If it was to monitor those personal interactions as some here are suggesting it would be no better than those pushing this mandatory internet filter.  Groups on Facebook are like clubs, Facebook is just the meeting hall.  It’s not up to the owner of the hall to keep those who meet there under control, its up to those who run the club. Unfortunately as a society we’ve failed our children by not instilling respect and responsibility into them so we’re reaping what we’ve sown.

      Sadly I also know the truth surrounding the tragedy involving Elliott. If I’d posted on the tribute site what I know about those events I would’ve be labelled a callous monster, which is far from the truth because I literally shed a tear for both families at the time.

      Unfortunately the details will never be known by the masses because a) it could jeopardise the trial and b) we’re not supposed to feel remorse for the alleged perpetrator of a crime.  While it’s not ethical to go into any detail believe me when I say there were only victims in that whole tragic and very sad affair.

      I hope the police catch up with the vandals who defaced the tribute page, but by the same token I don’t believe it was up to Facebook to actively monitor it.

      Reply

    • Mick says:

      08:49am | 26/02/10

      Oh what have I missed out on?

      Wait up guys, I’ll just run back in the house and grab my hammer and sickle flag and then we can start the march.

      Reply

    • Mick says:

      09:26am | 26/02/10

      What we need to do is look at this through the eyes of the law.Have facebook broken any laws? If not, then everyone should get down from their high horse.
      If they have then we should bring the full force of the courts against them. Have the clowns posting ‘inappropriate’ ( Who decides what’s inappropriate these days anyway?) messages/pictures broken any laws? then the same course of action lies for them. But until either facebook or the posters actually BREAK a law they are doing nothing more then being annoying little trolls, and the media are doing nothing but drawing attention to them, exactly what they want.

      Reply

    • Chook says:

      09:29am | 26/02/10

      I don’t agree with censorship. Facebook is a cesspit, but you don’t have to look at it.

      Reply

    • Seano says:

      10:38am | 26/02/10

      I agree about censorship. But Facebook is a cesspit? I use it everyday to banter with and keep intouch with family and friends without drama.

      Possibly these problems occur for people who use Facebook to try and connect with everyone on the planet, opening themselves up to all sorts.

    • Lynne says:

      12:38pm | 26/02/10

      I must confess that I use Facebook all the time to keep in touch with family and friends and have joined various interest groups.  But I stand by my position that a large number of Facebook pages do indeed, infringe upon laws both in their home state of California and abroad. Also, I guess we all know that it’s impossible for them to properly moderate Facebook, because it is so huge.  Therefore, reporting a page or post is an exercise in futility.  An easier way is to email them directly, at info@facebook.com and complain to them directly

      Reply
 
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