[WEB4LIB] Re: What ALA thinks is appropriate for 12-year-olds

[P.A. Gantt]

Actually I agree with Diane here.
<Serious face now>

I work with young people daily.

I see no real problems. It's amazing
just how far out of proportion all of
this latest hysteria is getting.

If you look for bad you'll surely find it.
Me, I look for good.

My young folks are very level headed
and well balanced. Keep their heads
about them and use the Net wisely and
well for educational purposes.

> What is the problem?  Since http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/Cat6.html -

Nothing.

> is actually real live questions that real live people have asked?  Its not
> the folks at Alice making up questions.  They are just answering them.
> How can this be bad? 

It's not of course.

> Instead of asking their buddies and being informed by
> their questionable knowledge they get real answers from healthcare
> professionals.  I also noticed nothing pornographic about this site.  All
> answers for questions I checked were straightforward, plain English, health
> oriented and frequently referred the questioner to make an appointment with
> a  healthcare professional to ask more in-depth questions.  We used to have
> an anonymous question board at the University of Illinois, Undergraduate
> Library.  When I was a graduate reference assistant it was one of my jobs
> to try to answer those questions...lots of them were sexuality related
> questions.  I would have loved a site like this to help with those
> questions many of which I found the answers to in the book _Our Bodies
> Ourselves_.

Really great book.

> IMHO, maybe Dr. Laura is actually making sure that many people will go see
> this site and realize how wonderful and useful it is...you know reverse
> psychology ;).

Funny how extremism does that huh from either wing of the bird?!?
 
> Cheers!
> Di

And to you too!

P.A.