+ Anyone can be anything on the internet! Just because someone says they are a cute 15-year-old girl does not mean that they are in fact - cute - 15 - or a girl. For all you know, they may in fact be a 45-year-old man. + Don't ever post personal information on your profile or in areas visible to the general public and strangers. Profiles are publicly visible, so don't include your last name, phone numbers, addresses, or anything else that can lead someone to you. Comments are also visible to the public and are not the place to share any personal information -- use private messages instead. + Don't record yourself in a compromising fashion. Be cautious exposing your private life online. Never give out personal information to people you don't know and never send pictures or do things on webcam that you wouldn't want anyone else to see. Remember -- just because someone seems nice and genuine at first doesn't mean they will keep that stuff to themselves, and once they have a copy of it you have no control over where it goes!

+ If you're uncomfortable with the way a conversation is progressing, JUST GET OUT! Don't worry about offending anyone. Utilize the "Ignore User" feature as well as the "Report Abuse" buttons. If necessary, report the matter to your local police or www.cybertip.ca. + Take precautions when meeting people you have only met online -- DON'T GO ALONE! Always take someone with you, a friend or preferably an adult, and plan to meet in an open and public place. Be sure someone you trust knows where you're going and when you'll be back. Taking a cell phone helps provide extra security. + If at anytime you need someone to talk to, contact Kids Help Phone. Kids Help Phone is toll-free and totally anonymous. Teens contact Kids Help Phone about issues including all variety of physical, emotional, and cyber abuse; drugs and suicide. To get counseling, call 1-800-668-6868 or go online at www.kidshelpphone.ca.

• Be aware of what your child is doing online.
• Place the computer in a common family area -- this way you can easily keep an eye on what they're doing.
• Have a talk with your child about the dangers associated with any communication medium.
• Educate yourself. If you understand how the internet works, you can better understand the dangers and risks.

• Every official picture hosted on the site (pictures on the top of profiles and in galleries) are checked for content before going on your profile -- if you can't wear it in the street or at the beach, it's not allowed.
• Users can block anyone from sending them messages and can choose to only receive messages from friends.
• Over 800 volunteers check content on the site and remove anything inappropriate.
• We do not knowingly allow anyone under the age of 13 to join.
• We regularly liaise with the police on issues of legality and safety, and do everything we can to co-operate with any investigation involving the site.
• There is a "Report Abuse" button on every profile. This means that if there is any perceived offense by anyone, that comment or picture can, and if needed, will be removed promptly.

We're proud to work with the Edmonton Police Service and Calgary Police Service to help keep our users safe. Any suggestions are welcome.

We would also like to take this opportunity to mention that Nexopia is probably the largest site of its type in Canada, and also one of the most responsible. A lot of other sites do not have any safe guards in place to protect their users.

Your online experience with sites like Nexopia can be safe, as long as you follow common sense rules like those listed above. For more information check out http://www.cybertip.ca.