I agree completely. The Internet and availability of information is changing our world� Hell it makes OCF's long reach and big footprint possible because we were early adopters of this means to effect change as a small entity with far too little funding and human resources to have an impact on oral cancer and those touched by it. If the Internet was not free, it would create an even greater chasm between the haves and the have-nots. It would impact the very core of how things get done today vs 20 years ago, which would have far reaching financial impacts on world economies not just internet based businesses. For all the negatives that we have talked about, the positives far outweigh them. I am willing to give up some privacy for things like Khan Academy to exist. For those of you who are not familiar with how this simple idea that started in one man's home is changing education for both rich and the poorest of us you should Google it and read about it. Kahn is the very best of the opportunity incarnate. This forum is only technology, but when you couple it with caring knowledgeable people, look what happens. People make better choices at a critical point in the lives, anxiety is reduced, camaraderie grows. Technology has allowed the purest part of the human spirit to reach across the world.

That does not mean it is without an equal amount of bad. Misinformation, hate, lots of negative things live on the Internet. We just have to be good filters, and approach all this with a prudent, eyes wide open, mind set. Hence the need to have this conversation with the new users of the board occasionally.