"In the future," Andy Warhol said, "everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." The internet made this prediction a reality. Check it out; a search for your name might surprise you. When I seached for mine (both under Debby and my more formal given-name "Debora") I found several articles written for various sites on the web, a reference to an anthology with an essay I wrote, several wormen who share all or part of my name, a list of children's workers for my church (what was THAT doing there?) and an air force base named after a great-uncle. The internet has given me my fifteen minutes, in a round-about way.

Fame is a strange thing. For some it is an accident of birth; take the fair princes of Britan, who this week topped Forbes Magazine's list of the most popular blue-bloods. For some it is an accident of fate, as in the case of Christa McAuliffe, part of the Teacher in Space Program, and victim of the Challenger space disaster. Fame seems almost alive for some, calling to them in low whispers and enticing them to do whatever it takes to make a name for themselves. Hence the problem with fame.

Enter YouTube.

YouTube, at first glance, is simply another website for us to post and view amusing videos. That's the intent and, for many of us, that's the purpose. I allow my son to roam YoTube (with some restraints). Together we have watched some of the funniest or most amazing things I've ever seen. Asian martial artists flip across the floor, through hoops, run up walls and put most gymnasts to shame. Robots modeled after a salamander, gecko and water strider. In one, to the tune of the Baby Elephant Walk, a little girl dances with an ostrich. All good fun, all innocent.

The problem comes in with people who are not in it for fun, who are not innocent. Perhaps YouTube says it best: " just like in the real world, most of the people are good, but some aren't. So please take care to protect yourself and your fellow users by keeping personal videos private, your identity a secret, your comments clean, and by using the flagging system to report abuse." Furthermore, they state, "YouTube doesn't allow videos with nudity, graphic violence or hate. If you come across a video like this, click the link on the video to flag it as Inappropriate ..." Unfortunately, many people enjoy these videos, and copy them rather than flag them for removal. Even videos that meet the standards of YouTube can be problematic. Behaviors that happen on accident or in a moment

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