Gadgetopia

On the Web, Pedophiles Extend Their Reach: This is an interesting — albeit horrifying — article about the burgeoning pedophile communities on the Web. The combination of anonymity and remote congregation make it possible for shunned corners of society to operate “in the open.”

Today, pedophiles go online to seek tips for getting near children — at camps, through foster care, at community gatherings and at countless other events. They swap stories about day-to-day encounters with minors. And they make use of technology to help take their arguments to others, like sharing online a printable booklet to be distributed to children that extols the benefits of sex with adults.

And at the risk of just trying to freak people out, this part made me a little ill:

[…] elsewhere in cyberspace, the second group celebrated the news that one of their own had been offered a job leading a boys’ cabin at a sleep-away camp.

But participants in the conversation did not focus on the work. “Hope you see some naked boys in your cabin,” a man calling himself PPC responded. “And good luck while restraining yourself from doing anything.”