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COPYRIGHT 2005 South Florida Sun-Sentinal
Byline: Liz Doup
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Chances are, you don't know Scott Houchins, a choral director at Wellington's Palm Beach Central High.
But you can read about him on ratemyteachers.com, a Web site where students critique instructors.
You probably don't know Mark Greenberg of Coral Springs, Fla., either.
But you can read about him on cheaternews.com, a Web site where scorned lovers vent about alleged misdeeds.
Thanks to the Internet, your private life is no longer private. With Web sites and Web logs multiplying like fruit flies, your family, friends and enemies can blab about you, anonymously, to millions of people worldwide.
Not long ago, comments _ good or bad _ about a teacher, boyfriend or spouse found a limited audience. Someone shared thoughts with family and friends and it ended there.
No longer.
Log onto ratemyteachers.com and you can read how Houchins' former students feel about him.
"He gets a little picky and mean but overall hes (sic) a good guy," one writes. From another: "He cares a lot about kids."
Or check out cheaternews.com and catch the drama of Mimi and Mark Greenberg's broken 40-year marriage.
Mimi, 60, of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., recently blistered Mark online, accusing him of multiple misdeeds, including cheating, which he denies.
"He made a fool out of me and everybody knows it," she says. "Why does he deserve privacy?"
But what if a person disputes what's being written?
Their recourse is the same as someone libeled offline, says David McGuire, communications director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a Washington, D.C.-based civil liberties group. They can sue....
Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.
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