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Both the state Senate and Assembly have proposed anti-cyberbullying laws. Kathy Wilson of Sen. Carl Marcellino's (R-Syosset) office said that the Senate has proposed two bills in the last two years that add computers to the list of modes of illegal harassment, but the Assembly passed neither.The Assembly's website states that the Assembly has proposed bills "to define and prohibit the bullying, cyberbullying and hazing of students and others on school property" as well as to add a database for reporting such complaints, but has not passed either yet.

Both the state Senate and Assembly have proposed anti-cyberbullying laws. Kathy Wilson of Sen. Carl Marcellino's (R-Syosset) office said that the Senate has proposed two bills in the last two years that add computers to the list of modes of illegal harassment, but the Assembly passed neither.

The Assembly's website states that the Assembly has proposed bills "to define and prohibit the bullying, cyberbullying and hazing of students and others on school property" as well as to add a database for reporting such complaints, but has not passed either yet.

Trolls use the Internet to emotionally upset someone they don't know. They typically pick people or issues that, in their view, need to be ridiculed. They don't use their real names and attempt to inflame online discussions by posting outrageous and hurtful comments just to see who will take the bait.Fortuny told the newspaper he created the blog to question the public's hunger for remorse and to challenge the enforceability of cyberspace harassment laws like the one passed in Dardenne Prairie, where 13-year-old Meier had lived. She killed herself in October 2006.

Hiring managers like Johnson say an increasing number of job hunters are just too casual when it comes to communicating about career opportunities in cyberspace and on mobile devices. Thank-yous on paper aren't necessary, but some applicants are writing e-mails that contain shorthand language and decorative symbols, while others are sending hasty and poorly thought-out messages to and from mobile devices. Job hunters are also using social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to try to befriend less-than-willing interviewers.

While some of what is published online may seem libelous (i.e., intended to harm the reputation of another), proving that point can be difficult and expensive. In order to prove libel, you have to prove malicious intent, something that might prove difficult if the offending Web page was put up by an adolescent. And many times, freedom of speech wins out.

Unless an actual crime has taken place, law enforcement officials often are unable to arrest anyone, even if they can identify the culprit. According to Lt. John Otero, commanding officer of the computer crime squad for the New York City Police Department, individuals would actually have to post a direct threat in order for the police to act. "For example, if they say, 'tomorrow I am going to hurt, kill, or injure an individual,' that would constitute a crime," he explains. A person posting such a threat could be arrested and charged with aggravated harassment. Although Otero says his department has seen some arrests, anyone under the age of 18 would not be dealt with harshly: "If the kid is too young, he would get a scolding and the incident would be brought to the parents' attention; if they are under 16, they are considered minors."

Like cliques, cyberbullying reaches its peak in middle school, when young adolescents are trying to figure out who their friends are and whether they fit in. "Third- and 4th-graders are just having fun with computers," says Loretta Radice, who taught computer skills to middle-schoolers in public and private schools for more than 15 years.

he group held a three-day workshop on climate change Aug. 15-17 at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. Eighty students from as far away as New York and Japan are learning how to educate others about global warming and what they can do to fight it.

Inconvenient Youth is a network founded and driven by a team of four teenagers based in Menlo Park, Calif. Their goal is to mobilize young people to educate their communities about environmental science and solutions using a youth-focused version of "An Inconvenient Truth."

In a survey of 45,000 children in middle school, 85 percent said they have been cyberbullied at least once, said Parry Aftab, executive director of the Internet safety group WiredSafety.org, based in Irvington, N.Y., about 20 miles northeast of New York. Just 5 percent admitted it at the high school level, she said.