Midnight Rambler offers a few more suggestions for safety:

I  have always insisted that my slave not give out any RT information, or pic without my approval. The same goes for any slave under my control.

PowGor at least, has within the software, a place to post a pic. I never allow RT pix to be used.

Slaves should be conscious of even small pieces of information which taken together add up to information you do not wish to share. Never post private information in a public channel. Even if you think you are alone, you may not be. People share private information when they trust sufficiently to do so. Yet how many of us have had such information on another offered to us unsolicited? It should be discouraged.

A slave may or may not mind, but should understand that information offered to your sister is information given to your sisters owner as well.

Many of us use MSWord. Not many however realize that when you transfer an MSword document you may also be transfering the win98 named registered owner of your PC as well. Open My computer and then the folder containing your MSWord documents. Let your mouse sit on top of any document and it will display your PC win98 registered owner as "Author" of the document. You can change it to some innocous inital or name by editing your registry.

If you are phoning someone, you can block caller ID and privatize your call by pressing *67 before dialing the number.

The community as a whole should become more safety conscious. If the "weird guy" just left your channel, pass the information along.

A slave should never "feel funny" about expressing those warning signs she feels. Tell your owner. Tell someone you trust.