Online communities like Facebook and MySpace have exploded in popularity the past few years and have helped students at colleges and universities connect in many positive ways. Through these online communities, students have met other students with similar interests, formed groups to share specific interests, and transformed the ways that we communicate with each other. At Northern we realize how important these communities may be during your college years.

At the same time, there are some cautionary lessons that have emerged from participating in online communities. We advise you to use discretion when posting personal information on the World Wide Web.

What to know before you post:

• You are posting content onto the World Wide Web and you don't know who does and does not have access to your information. It's called the World Wide Web for a reason - All information posted on the web is public information.
• Information you post online may continue to stay on the World Wide Web even after you erase or delete that information from your profiles or blog.
• Future employers, graduate schools, and campus organizations may use information gathered from online communities as they are making decisions.
• Anyone with an "@msun.edu" email address may gain access to the MSU-Northern Facebook.com community, including individual student profiles, photos and groups.
• Read the site terms and agreements before you sign up. Did you actually read the terms or did you just check the box at the bottom of the page? Know what you are agreeing to before clicking "ok." By agreeing to the terms of use, online communities have your permission to republish your content worldwide and share information with advertisers, third parties, and law enforcement, among others.
• Change your privacy settings to keep your identity safe. Most sites allow you to limit who can find you in a search, who can see your profile, and who can view your contact information. The default setting in most sites is to make ALL of your information available to EVERYONE.
• Create complex passwords that contain both numbers and letters. Make sure that your passwords are unrelated to any of the information that you post (eg: your birthday).
• When creating a profile in a cyber community, post only information that is already public. Post general information rather than specific. For example, if you're listing your birthday, list the month and day, but leave out the year you were born. If you're posting your address, just post the city and state, leave out your residence hall or apartment number.

Your profile will be a part of how others know you -- something to keep in mind as you use Facebook, MySpace and other online communities.