Why I Don't Chat With Anyone Or Respond To Any Comments Or Messages

When I was 15 the Internet was pretty new, and my friends and I thought it was the coolest thing to join chat rooms and talk to people. We had never heard of the Internet before and subsequently were very naive about everything. We were smart enough not to give out our phone numbers or addresses but there were so many other dumb things we did say. One of my friends growing up was named Graciela, and she always told me about this "girl" she met online who said she was a highschool freshmen and was also really into softball, like Graciela was. She told him the name of the team she played on, and he used that to find out where she went to school. She had also told "her" about the big final game of the season and when it was and where it was. I went I the game as well, unfortunately that spring I had broken my ankle and was only there as a spectator. The plan was Grasciela would change and we'd take her home after the game. It was by the girls locker room that Grasciela met this "girl" she had been talking to. "She" knew who graciela was because Graciela had sent her a photo. " She"gagged her with a rag soaked in cholororm and raped her for three days before beating her to death with a pipe and shooting her for good measure. "She" was a 42 year old man. The police found Graciela's body 4 days after it happened, along with her captor who took his own life. Two days after they found her I was watching the news and the images of her crushed an bleeding body from the forensics appeared on the screen with her name plastered under it. I didn't know she was dead until then, my parent didn know how to tell me. But I was forever rattled by the experience. That is why I was tentative to join this site at all, I had rarely eve used the Internet before because of this. Please teach your kids about internet safety, and don't be offended if I don't chat with you or respond to your comments or messages, because I could never do that after what happened. Thank you for your understanding. **update** June/28/12. EP is such a kind community, that it has made me feel safer on the Internet. Though I still don't even dare touch Facebook, and still use email cautiously, I have learned to open up a bit. Thank you to all my EPeople:)