Chatting on MSN no more…

The Register reports that MSN is killing its open, unmointored chat rooms, except for MSN broadband subscribers in order to protect children from abuse. I think that's sad for lots of people who love to chat (and I remember how much of a chat addict I was back in '94/'95), but since those %&$&# apparently can't be stopped unless you take away their ability to communicate, it's probably a good thing. 

It's another example that the era of "free" and "anonymous" on the Internet will and must end at some point. In the long run, the Internet can't remain a lawless and anonymous space, but people will have to be held accountable for what they do. Unless that's understood and accepted by the Internet user community at large, we won't have proper protection from criminals, proper protection against spam, viruses, trojans and worms and appropriate security. In the end, security is not a function of software, but it's a function of administration. Protection from attacks against me, whether digitally or physically, is more important to me than the ability to roam around without being seen and known. You can't make yourself invisible in real life, either.