\\..I am breathing alot easier now..a young gentleman *almost 20* who I've known since his birth & have enjoyed a long close personal association with has been cleared & vindicated of a heinous charge leveled against him..in short..a young woman on his university campus who wished him to do something he was not comfortable with & went against his moral sense of right & wrong had vindictively accused him of harrassment & filed a formal complaint with the school in retaliation for his not submitting to her wishes..because of an obvious "gender bias" in our society which is abused more often than it should be he was brought up in front of the university board & summarily grilled..after executing a lengthy investigation which among other things looked @ the womans past history of similar behaviors he was deemed innocent of all wrongdoing..in turn she has been sent a severe letter of reprimand from the school president & faces possible expulsion for her irresponsible slander..all thru this tragic event he has maintained his innocence by refusing to change his own behaviors in the least & has been supported by his campus friends & of course his family without condition..needless to say?? we who know him closely are relieved beyond words the "truth" has prevailed & I am as proud & admiring of him as I can be for his "sticking to his guns"..although obviously differing in level of life-impact & magnitude this whole event has gotten me thinking of some of the simiiar behaviors seen "online" & unfortunately on this site as well..the"internet" is unique in that it is a medium which has given a "voice"to many otherwise disenfrancised people who normally would not have one in the "real world"..conversely *& unfortunately* it has likewise given a "bullhorn" to many others who should never have been given one..selfish & insensitive & inaccountable behaviors such as outrageous embellishments & reputation damaging flat-out "lies" seem to be the norm for some in cyberspace where certain individuals who would never DREAM of doing similar things to peoples faces in the real world are emboldened to become nothing short of cowardly "keyboard bullies" hiding behind their computer screens..this is unlike a regular social networking site insomuch as we have a great many vulnerable people in here who thru no fault of their own are not able to defend themselves against such vicious onslaughts..lacking the obvious monitoring & regulatory safeguards here which would inhibit much of this recklessness we are pretty much "on our own" in here..as another member prosed it 2 me so well it is like a lawless "lord of the flies" social wasteland where the rules of the jungle hold..we have a responsiblity not only in here but in our personal lives to live by a certain "code" in which we are ultimately held responsible for whatever we say or do..likewise we are also obliged to "check our facts" & seek out all sides of a story before coming to judgment..bringing the "sermon on the mount" here to a close I guess what it is I'm saying is lets all just be "adults" here if we can as we obsessive-compulsves are considered to be more introspective critters than your average "bears"..thanks for reading & have a nice weekend everyone..\\