In this Internet-driven sharing age, it's tricky being a camera-happy parent.

Take, for example, a friend of mine. She's always been a social soul and has long had the habit of posting photos of her children on Flickr, the photo-sharing site, for others to see. Flickr is, like most social networking sites, based on the idea of building communities around shared interests. This means that, unless the owner has marked his or her photos as private, other users not only can see them, but also comment and add them to their collection of 'favorites' -- a sort of album of other people's photos.

And this is where my friend ran into problems. She was used to strangers commenting on her pictures. She welcomed it. But one day she found that a candid photo of her six-month old son receiving toilet training had been marked as 'favorite' by someone she didn't know. When she checked the person's album of favorites, she found her son's portrait among a host of adult-oriented photos and those of nude children. She was livid. 'The photos of nude children were not meant to be sexual, they are photos by proud parents, taking photos of their sons swimming naked on the beach, etc.,' she said.

She complained to Flickr, and the user in question has been removed. (A spokesman for Yahoo, the company behind Flickr, said he couldn't comment on specific cases. But he said that if members flag the company about something to review, employees will look at the profile of the user in question and take action, which might mean deleting the user's profile.)

Now my trusting friend is less trusting, limiting access to many of her photos on Flickr to friends and family. She's also warned all her Flickr friends, many of whom confessed to her they hadn't considered the implications of posting their photos. 'They take social networking Web sites for granted,' my friend says. 'I used to be like that too, but now there are too many people there.'

My friend is not alone. Geraly Unite-O'Day, a Chicago-based mother of two with roots in the Philippines, had been a Flickr user for more than a year before she spotted someone had 'favorited' some photos of her with her children, along with comments such as 'a beautiful woman and her beautiful daughter' and 'what a cutie.' But when Ms. Unite-O'Day looked at his profile she found his albums included photos of children blindfolded and women in various sexual poses. 'I was uncomfortable with our photos amongst those and his Flickr contacts,' she said in an email, 'So I blocked him.' Since then she has marked all her kids' photos on Flickr as private (so only her friends can see them) and has removed all their pictures from her blog. Others have gotten themselves organized. One Flickr group called 'Not OK With the Fakes' gathers information on how to stop people from copying their children's images. 'Some people have no problem seeing their images pop up on Orkut, MySpace, PhotoBucket and the like, but we do,' the group's home page proclaims. The group has 646 members.

And the problem is not just one of ensuring that your photos are marked private when you add them to a Web site like Flickr. Photos take on a life of their own once they're digital. Another friend who volunteers as a moderator on community message boards says that users forget that what feels like an intimate, safe environment to share thoughts and photos may also contain 'lurkers,' people who follow proceedings but don't participate. 'A lot of people get a sense of safe security when they go on a board,' my friend says. 'They think it's only the group that is there, so they prattle on and on.' Mothers use photos of their offspring as their 'buddy icon,' and proudly post pictures of their children, unaware that others may be watching. 'All it takes is a right- click and 'copy,'' my friend says.

So what should you do to protect pictures of your children getting into the wrong hands? The best advice is not to post any pictures of them online that they may be unhappy to see circulating when they're older. And don't post any photos of your children on any Web site unless you can be sure that all the people who can see it are people you feel comfortable with. Remember: The Internet is not the comfortable little world inside your computer, but a vast unpoliced city that favors the anonymous.

How can you find out if your children's photos have been used? It's not easy, unless you're technically savvy (check out one way of monitoring your Flickr feed here: www .loosewireblog.com/flickr.html). If you're really concerned, you may want to consider services like Kentucky-based ReputationDefender, which promises to 'defend you and your family's good name on the Internet' by rooting out all data about your family online and, if you want, to destroy 'all inaccurate, inappropriate, hurtful, and slanderous information about you and/or your child,' as its Web site puts it.

Its chief executive, Michael Fertik, says that the service searches for pictures using tags, labels, captions and text that are linked to any photos, as well as more complex searches, such as digging out the meta-data usually added to photos by cameras when the shots are taken. Photos often find their way outside the user's orbit, he says, but aren't usually leaked with malicious intent. 'It happens all the time,' he says, 'and usually doesn't start in malice but often starts in inadvertencies.'

If you use services like Flickr, then you should think very hard about each picture of your child you post. Consider your online album as the equivalent of leaving the treasured family album on a public bench for every passer-by to thumb through. Limit the number of people in your online group -- whether it's Flickr, MySpace or Facebook -- and remember that even then, photos still may leak out. Master the privacy features of the service that you use before you start uploading the family album.

You may want to consider photo-sharing Web sites with higher fences. EnjoyMyMedia (enjoymymedia.com), for example, takes a different approach by turning the computer folders where you store your photos into what it calls 'personal broadcasting channels' that not only take the hassle out of uploading photos but also restrict access to those family and friends to whom you have issued passwords. Boston-based CEO Keith Loris sees his service as the antithesis of the Web 2.0 mantra of 'share everything with everyone': 'I am not interested in my 15-year-old daughter's photos, videos, etc. appearing all over the Net,' he says. 'I want it to be really easy for my dad, college roommate, best friend, etc. to enjoy them, but I want it to be impossible for anyone else.'

This view resonates with another friend of mine, who found a simple headshot of his 1-year-old daughter had been 'favorited' by a stranger alongside headshots of dozens of other people. Where previously he posted lots of photos without restrictions so even the more technophobe members of his extended family could see them, now he's more cautious. 'I guess I'm distrustful of this person's site and intentions because of their anonymity,' he said, when I asked him why. 'Who are they? Why are they doing this? It could be all innocent. It might not be. Who knows these days on the Internet?'

His conclusion: 'With children, and in particular your own children, the feeling is that you should err on the side of caution.'

現在社會已經進入了一個由互聯網帶動的全麵“共享”時代，不過
，那些喜歡給孩子拍照並搗鼓到網上的家長們還真得多長幾個心眼兒。

看看我一個朋友的例子吧。她是個社交活躍分子，而且很長時間以來一直喜歡把孩子的照片貼到Flickr網站上“秀”給大家看。Flickr是(shi)一(yi)個(ge)照(zhao)片(pian)分(fen)享(xiang)網(wang)站(zhan)，它(ta)和(he)大(da)多(duo)數(shu)社(she)交(jiao)網(wang)站(zhan)一(yi)樣(yang)，也(ye)是(shi)基(ji)於(yu)為(wei)擁(yong)有(you)共(gong)同(tong)興(xing)趣(qu)的(de)人(ren)構(gou)建(jian)社(she)區(qu)這(zhe)樣(yang)的(de)想(xiang)法(fa)而(er)創(chuang)建(jian)的(de)。在(zai)它(ta)的(de)網(wang)站(zhan)上(shang)，除(chu)非(fei)照(zhao)片(pian)擁(yong)有(you)者(zhe)將(jiang)照(zhao)片(pian)標(biao)注(zhu)為(wei)私(si)有(you)
，否(fou)則(ze)，其(qi)他(ta)用(yong)戶(hu)不(bu)僅(jin)可(ke)以(yi)看(kan)到(dao)它(ta)們(men)，而(er)且(qie)還(hai)可(ke)以(yi)發(fa)表(biao)評(ping)論(lun)
、或者將它們收藏到自己的“最愛”裏麵。

不bu過guo，正zheng是shi這zhe一yi點dian讓rang我wo的de這zhe位wei朋peng友you遇yu到dao了le麻ma煩fan。她ta早zao就jiu習xi慣guan了le有you不bu認ren識shi的de人ren對dui自zi己ji的de照zhao片pian發fa表biao評ping論lun

，而er且qie還hai歡huan迎ying他ta們men這zhe麼me做zuo。不bu過guo有you一yi天tian她ta發fa現xian，自zi己ji6個月大的兒子光著小屁股學習用馬桶的“走光”照被某一個陌生人收藏到“我的最愛”裏li了le。於yu是shi她ta看kan了le一yi下xia這zhe個ge人ren的de收shou藏zang夾jia

，結jie果guo發fa現xian
，裏li麵mian除chu了le兒er子zi的de照zhao片pian外wai，還hai有you很hen多duo成cheng人ren照zhao片pian，以yi及ji其qi他ta兒er童tong的de裸luo體ti照zhao片pian。她ta嗡weng地di一yi下xia頭tou都dou大da了le。她ta說shuo，父fu母mu給gei孩hai子zi們men拍pai的de那na些xie裸luo體ti照zhao片pian──比如在海邊光著身子撲騰的樣子──絲毫沒有色情意味
，他們記錄了父母們看著孩子長大的那份驕傲
；但現在卻被一些人拿來跟成人照片放在了一起。

隨後她向Flickr反映了情況
，那個用戶後來被清除了。（Flickr母mu公gong司si雅ya虎hu公gong司si的de發fa言yan人ren表biao示shi，他ta不bu會hui對dui具ju體ti個ge案an發fa表biao評ping論lun，不bu過guo他ta表biao示shi，如ru果guo有you網wang站zhan用yong戶hu反fan映ying情qing況kuang，他ta們men會hui檢jian查zha被bei投tou訴su用yong戶hu的de資zi料liao並bing采cai取qu必bi要yao行xing動dong，可ke能neng會hui刪shan除chu被bei投tou訴su方fang的de資zi料liao。）

guanggaowozheweipengyoubenlaileyuxiangxinbieren
，dantaxianzaizejiaqianglejingti。taduihenduozhaopiandoujialexianzhi，zhiyunxupengyouhejiarenliulan。tahaiyizijidelizitixingzaiFlickr上的所有朋友
，他們中有很多人都承認，以前從沒考慮過在這裏貼照片可能帶來的問題。我這位朋友說：“他們都想當然地認為社交網站不會有什麼問題。我自己以前也這麼想，但是現在網上人太多了，難免魚龍混雜。”

有我朋友這樣遭遇的不止一個。來自菲律賓的奧黛(Geraly Unite-O'Day)是兩個孩子的母親
，現住在芝加哥。有一年多的時間她一直是Flickr的用戶。有一天她發現，她跟孩子們在一起的照片被別人收到“我的最愛”裏麵，還注上了諸如“美女和她的漂亮女兒”“美人兒”之類的評語。她隨後又看到收藏者的相冊裏還有被蒙住眼的孩子和擺出各種性感姿態的女子的照片。“我看到自己的照片和這樣一些照片放在一起感到很不舒服”
，奧黛在電子郵件中說
，“因此我把他加到了封殺名單裏”。在那之後
，她把孩子的所有照片都加了“私有”標簽、不讓朋友之外的人看到，還從博客裏刪除了孩子們的照片。在這個問題上，其他人也組織起來並采取了行動。Flickr上麵有一個名叫“決不容忍騙子”(Not OK With the Fakes)的群體，它們搜集各種可以防止別人拷貝孩子照片的辦法。它在主頁上表示：有些人對自己孩子的照片出現在Orkut、MySpace、PhotoBucket等網站並不介意

，但我們要說“不”。目前
，這個網上組織已有646名成員了。

當你把照片放到像Flickr這樣的網站上之後，問題就不是將照片標注成“私有”那麼簡單了。數碼格式的照片擁有自己的生命力。我還有一位朋友義務擔任社區留言板的管理員
，他說，用戶們忘了這樣一個事實：在網上這樣一個感覺似乎很親密、很安全的分享照片和思想的環境裏或許也潛伏著一些別有用心的人，他們一直在“潛水”狀態中觀察著別人的一舉一動
，但自己並不參與。他指出，許多人進到一個話題組之後就被安全感蒙蔽了，以為那裏都是“自己人”

，於(yu)是(shi)就(jiu)無(wu)所(suo)顧(gu)忌(ji)地(di)聊(liao)個(ge)不(bu)停(ting)。媽(ma)媽(ma)們(men)將(jiang)孩(hai)子(zi)們(men)的(de)照(zhao)片(pian)當(dang)做(zuo)自(zi)己(ji)的(de)網(wang)絡(luo)圖(tu)標(biao)，而(er)且(qie)滿(man)心(xin)驕(jiao)傲(ao)地(di)希(xi)望(wang)貼(tie)出(chu)來(lai)給(gei)大(da)家(jia)看(kan)
，她(ta)們(men)意(yi)識(shi)不(bu)到(dao)或(huo)許(xu)有(you)其(qi)他(ta)人(ren)在(zai)看(kan)著(zhe)這(zhe)一(yi)切(qie)。這(zhe)些(xie)人(ren)隻(zhi)需(xu)輕(qing)點(dian)鼠(shu)標(biao)
，然(ran)後(hou)按(an)“複製”就能為所欲為了。

那(na)麼(me)，為(wei)防(fang)止(zhi)孩(hai)子(zi)的(de)照(zhao)片(pian)落(luo)到(dao)別(bie)有(you)用(yong)心(xin)的(de)人(ren)手(shou)裏(li)，你(ni)該(gai)怎(zen)麼(me)做(zuo)呢(ne)？最(zui)好(hao)的(de)辦(ban)法(fa)就(jiu)是(shi)不(bu)要(yao)把(ba)那(na)種(zhong)等(deng)孩(hai)子(zi)們(men)長(chang)大(da)後(hou)若(ruo)在(zai)公(gong)開(kai)場(chang)合(he)看(kan)到(dao)會(hui)感(gan)到(dao)不(bu)高(gao)興(xing)的(de)照(zhao)片(pian)掛(gua)到(dao)網(wang)上(shang)。還(hai)有(you)
，不(bu)要(yao)把(ba)孩(hai)子(zi)任(ren)何(he)一(yi)張(zhang)照(zhao)片(pian)貼(tie)到(dao)任(ren)何(he)一(yi)個(ge)網(wang)站(zhan)裏(li)，除(chu)非(fei)你(ni)能(neng)保(bao)證(zheng)所(suo)有(you)能(neng)看(kan)到(dao)照(zhao)片(pian)的(de)人(ren)都(dou)不(bu)是(shi)自(zi)己(ji)討(tao)厭(yan)的(de)家(jia)夥(huo)。記(ji)住(zhu)：互聯網並非濃縮在你電腦裏的美好世界，相反
，它就像一個無人管製的大都市，匿名者在裏麵如魚得水。

怎(zen)樣(yang)才(cai)能(neng)知(zhi)道(dao)你(ni)孩(hai)子(zi)的(de)照(zhao)片(pian)是(shi)否(fou)已(yi)經(jing)被(bei)別(bie)人(ren)盜(dao)用(yong)了(le)呢(ne)？這(zhe)可(ke)不(bu)容(rong)易(yi)

，除(chu)非(fei)你(ni)在(zai)電(dian)腦(nao)技(ji)術(shu)方(fang)麵(mian)很(hen)有(you)一(yi)手(shou)。如(ru)果(guo)你(ni)確(que)實(shi)擔(dan)心(xin)，你(ni)可(ke)以(yi)考(kao)慮(lv)求(qiu)助(zhu)ReputationDefender 這zhe家jia設she在zai肯ken塔ta基ji州zhou的de公gong司si在zai其qi網wang站zhan上shang承cheng諾nuo
，它ta能neng搜sou索suo到dao你ni家jia人ren在zai網wang上shang的de所suo有you數shu據ju
，而er且qie，如ru果guo你ni需xu要yao
，它ta能neng銷xiao毀hui所suo有you關guan於yu你ni和he你ni孩hai子zi的de不bu準zhun確que的de、不恰當的、有害的或誹謗性的信息
，從而捍衛你和家人在網上的好名聲。

該公司首席執行長邁克爾•福提克(Michael Fertik)表示，這項服務能借助任何與照片有關的標注
、作者名、biaotihewenzilaisousuozhaopian
，hainengshixiangengfuzadesousuo，birunengzhaodaozhaopianpaisheshiyouxiangjishengchengdeyuanziliaodeng。tashuo，zhaopianjingchanghuituolisuoyouzhedekongzhi，dantamentongchangbushichuyueyicaibeixielude。futikeshuo，zhezhongshimeishimeikedouzaifasheng，suiranwangwangbushichuzieyi，danhecuxintaobukaiganxi。

如果你使用Flickr一類的網站，那麼無論貼出孩子的哪張照片
，你都應該再三斟酌。可以把網上影集想像成被你留在公共長椅上的一本珍貴的家庭相簿──每個路過的人都可能過來翻看一番。不論是Flickr，還是MySpace或者Facebook
，你ni都dou應ying該gai限xian製zhi群qun落luo裏li的de成cheng員yuan數shu量liang
，並bing且qie記ji住zhu就jiu算suan這zhe樣yang

，照zhao片pian仍reng有you可ke能neng被bei泄xie露lu出chu去qu。在zai上shang傳chuan家jia人ren照zhao片pian之zhi前qian，要yao充chong分fen了le解jie網wang站zhan的de隱yin私si保bao護hu政zheng策ce。

你也許想考慮一下其他一些防範性比較強的網站。比如
，EnjoyMyMedia (enjoymymedia.com)
，它就采取了不同的做法，把你存儲照片的電腦文件夾變成一個“個人播放頻道”，zheyangyilai，bujinzaishangchuanzhaopianshijianhualechengxu，erqiezhiyoucongninalidedaolemimadejiarenhuopengyoucainengkandaonidezhaopian。gongsichangzhuboshidundeshouxizhixingchangkaisi•羅瑞斯(Keith Loris)表示

，該公司的服務和Web 2.0技術所倡導的“和所有人分享一切”的概念完全背道而馳。他說：“我不想讓我15歲女兒的照片
、視頻在網上隨處可見。我希望我的父親、同學，還有最好的朋友能夠很容易地看到它們，但對其他人就不行。”

這個想法正與我另一位朋友不謀而合。他發現自己1歲sui女nv兒er的de大da頭tou照zhao出chu現xian在zai一yi個ge陌mo生sheng人ren的de收shou藏zang夾jia裏li，裏li麵mian還hai有you幾ji十shi張zhang別bie人ren的de頭tou像xiang。以yi前qian他ta曾zeng經jing貼tie過guo很hen多duo照zhao片pian都dou沒mei有you設she定ding限xian製zhi條tiao件jian，這zhe樣yang是shi為wei了le讓rang那na些xie對dui電dian腦nao操cao作zuo一yi竅qiao不bu通tong的de家jia庭ting成cheng員yuan也ye能neng看kan到dao照zhao片pian。但dan現xian在zai他ta警jing惕ti多duo了le。他ta說shuo
，我wo覺jiao得de自zi己ji對dui這zhe個ge人ren的de網wang站zhan很hen不bu信xin任ren
，對dui那na些xie不bu知zhi名ming的de人ren也ye多duo了le些xie警jing覺jiao。我wo問wen他ta為wei什shen麼me
，他ta說shuo：他們是誰？為什麼要這麼做
？這種行為可能是沒有惡意的，但也可能不是。現在的互聯網
，誰能說的好呢？

最後他說：“對孩子

、特別是自己的孩子
，我感覺怎麼小心都不為過。”