Here's an interesting article about a new interactive Web-based multi-user chatting environment called There.

This isn't the first attempt to build a graphical chatroom area on the Net, but it is the first three-dimensional meet-space designed solely for people to socialize—with no rules or objectives. Right now it's in beta and visitors to the site (linked to above) can get the required software. As with anything of this nature, it's got some pros and cons. On the plus side:

• Avatars that look like Abercrombie and Fitch models.
  
• "Therebucks," or virtual cash, players can cheat and steal to obtain.
  
• Shopping in cyberstores.
  
• Doesn't require broadband—dial-up'll do ya.
  

I've always felt that the Net is gradually headed in this direction. People want to build their own avatars, create their own rooms, and conduct business not on static Web pages, but in a flowing, Doom-esque universe in which each part was designed by a user. This will require a new kind of programming language and design tools, but when it comes along it's going to blow away the Web as we know it. We aren't There yet, but this is a crack at it.

The Soul Snatchers

Although the odds of becoming a victim of ID theft are pretty small, that'll be no consolation if it happens to you. Another problem is that there is currently no accepted definition of what the crime of ID theft is.

The Trans Union Credit Bureau fielded 522,922 inquiries from concerned consumers in 1997, and the FTC processed 86,168 cases of reported ID theft in 2001. Trans Union breaks down their stats into three categories: "True person fraud," when the scammer takes over someone's identity and then obtains credit for that ID; "Account takeover fraud," when the scammer gains access to an existing account; and "Precautionary inquiries" from consumers looking to protect themselves.

That's the background briefing. Now check out this article by David Lazarus of the S.F. Chronicle. Turns out Lazarus has been the victim of ID theft himself, and is still dealing with the havoc wrought all over his credit rating. In his article, Lazarus tracks the case of Cheryl Crofts, who was worried about becoming a victim and who tried to "freeze" her credit files maintained by the Big Three agencies: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Thanks to a new California law that took effect January 1 of this year, she's allowed to request that her credit files be sealed until such time as she grants permission for them to be opened. You can see how that would thwart a scammer. But in keeping with this afternoon's theme, you'll see there was a catch:

"It was really, really, hard," Crofts told me. "You have trouble getting information from each company, and then you have to make your request by certified mail."

Worst of all, the total cost to freeze one's files is about $100 (unless you're already a victim of ID theft, in which case it's free.

Crofts finally gave up. "They need to make this much easier," she said. "And much less expensive."

The Vigilantes

Here's a fun story with the dateline: Tombstone, AZ. You know it's gotta be cool. Seems that residents of the site of the Shootout at the O.K. Corral have caught the overflow of illegal aliens making the border crossing. In response, some locals have set up civilian patrols in an effort to stop the flow of drugs, guns, and aliens surging from the South. Predictably, these ad hoc citizens' groups with names like Ranch Rescue and the American Border Patrol are catching a lot of heat for stepping in and doing what the U.S. Border Patrol is failing to do: secure our borders.

In a report released last month, Border Action Network said groups such as Ranch Rescue and the American Border Patrol have connections to a national network of anti-immigrant, racist, white supremacist organizations. Residents, the report said, are worried and scared of them.

3:03:41 PM       

Yesterday evening, in a bizarrer shocker, Pete Townshend of the Who "admitted paying to view Internet child pornography."

In his defense, Townshend says that he's not a pedophile, but rather that he was viewing the material for "research purposes."

"I am not a pedophile. I think pedophilia is appalling," he said, explaining that "On one occasion I used a credit card to enter a site advertising child porn. I did this purely to see what was there."

Townshend said he could not remember the details of the sexual abuse he believed he suffered as a child, "but my creative work tends to throw up nasty shadows—particularly in Tommy," he said, referring to the 1969 rock opera.

"To fight against pedophilia, you have to know what's out there," he said, adding that he was involved in an anti-pedophilia campaign that had fizzled out.

But there is no valid excuse for looking at kiddie porn in the context that Townshend provides. A celebrity like Pete has plenty to juice to consult with psychologists and police officers who could assist him with his project. Otherwise, we're sorry to say, he's guilty and should be prosecuted along with all the other low-lifes who get nabbed doing this. It's not the reason, Pete, it's the fact that you bought it, period.

Disturbing Evidence

Some details are coming to light about the St. Louis serial killer Maury Travis, who was apprehended last summer.

We don't have many African-American serial murderers on the books, which makes Travis's case noteworthy enough, but he also filmed himself torturing his victims to death in a secret chamber he'd constructed in his basement. This is helpful because he committed suicide while in custody, leaving the police to reconstruct the details of his lethal rampage with the remaining evidence.

The scenes on the tape were so disturbing that Police Chief Joe Mokwa ordered psychological counseling for the officers who viewed them. "They'll give you nightmares," he told ABCNEWS' Primetime.

Who Do You Want to Sue Today?

How about Microsoft? On Friday the megacorp capitulated in court and now has agreed to pay eligible Californian consumers $1.1 billion to settle an on-going "class-action antitrust lawsuit" aimed at punishing Microsoft for exploiting its software monopoly. If you live in California, here's how to cash in on your new-found riches:

According to the terms of the settlement, 13 million Californians who bought certain Microsoft desktop software products between 1995 and 2001 will be entitled to vouchers worth from $5 to $29, which can be spent on similar products from Microsoft or any other vendor.

More Fun with Frivolous Lawsuits

You really don't want to mess with a British psychotherapist, and you especially don't want to mess with one who wrote a book titled, Fat Is A Feminist Issue. That's just common sense. But Weight Watchers never listens to us, and now they're in trouble because Susie Orbach is in an ugly mood.

"I believe that it is the very 'problem' of recidivism that has made Weight Watchers its fortune," wrote Orbach in an editorial in London's Daily Mail last month. Orbach has claimed that nine out of 10 Weight Watchers graduates fail to keep off the pounds they've lost, a figure the company disputes.

Orbach's suit would be the first to hold a weight-loss company responsible for clients' gaining the weight back.

Nude-Air

Yes, it's America's first-ever nudist flight, and it's heading to Cancun this May 3. Chartered by the Houston-based travel agency Castaways, the Boeing 727-200 can fly up to 170 passengers.

The Castaways contingent must wait until the flight is under way to disrobe and must dress before de-planing. The captain and crew will remain dressed for the flight, which costs $499 round-trip and is believed to be the first of its kind.

9:08:43 AM