BBC Uses Skype Links In Murder Hunt 193
Nico M writes "The highly publicized UK murder hunt for the serial killer(s) of five young sex workers in Suffolk is using Skype to ask the public for information. BBC News is embedding freephone Skype links to both the police incident room and Crimestoppers UK. Is this the first time Skype has been used in this way?"
Why yes... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:sex workers? (Score:3, Informative)
This is probably a really bad idea (Score:5, Informative)
Anonymity is really important, especially if they want other sex workers to contact them. After all the recent "crack-downs" and "zero tolerance" policies, not to mention the bad reputation the police have, is it any wonder that prostitutes dont want to talk to them?
Re:Sex workers? (Score:5, Informative)
I am amazed that so few slashdotters (reading the first 10 posts or so) are unfamiliar with that term. (Do you all live under rocks or something?)
Its basically a superset of prostitute - including people in the industry who don't actually fuck for money, ie strip dancers, porn stars, topless waiters, dominatrixes (sp?) etc.
Nothing PC about it.
Re:This is probably a really bad idea (Score:5, Informative)
1) They have a normal number in addition to the skype links.
2) You can anonymously use skype from an internet cafe (most have it installed, with mic + headphones these days)
3) Its for convenience sake, so someone who doesn't think it's worth calling (for the little thing they remember seeing walking past) will just click on the link when reading a story.
Re:Sex workers? (Score:2, Informative)
They may not live under rocks, but it would be interesting to know where they do live.
Here in Australia, 'sex worker' is a fairly common pseudonym for prostitute.
> Nothing PC about it.
An ironic comment from someone with a web address of http://whineymacfanboy.googlepages.com/ [googlepages.com] !
Re:i cant see them (Score:4, Informative)
Re:sex workers? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Sex workers? (Score:4, Informative)
Yeah, illegal, except for "rural" Nevada. Enforced to various degrees depending on where you are, and there are always loopholes for people setting up brothels ("it's a massage parlor, dammit!"). As to why - probably due to religious taboos to a large extent. After all, the USA *was* founded by Puritans.
I hate to say it, but better illegal than legal *and* legally recognized by the State as a "normal" profession like in Germany. There was the recent case of an unemployed lady there who was refused continuing unemployment benefits because she didn't take a job as a "sex worker." (Cite: [telegraph.co.uk]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/ne ws/2005/01/30/wgerm30.xml [telegraph.co.uk] ) I'd be ok if it were legal for the purpose of harm reduction but not overtly encouraged by the State.
-b.
Re:Sex workers? (Score:3, Informative)
Agreed about the "legal but voluntary" part. As far as US police, I don't think that they try *that* hard. They may run an occasional sting operation in some cities to look like they're doing something or if the residents of the neighborhood complain, but the law isn't enforced all that severely.
-b.
Re:Sex workers? (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.snopes.com/media/notnews/brothel.asp [snopes.com]
Re:Sex workers? (Score:5, Informative)
Note there are no names or dates in that stpory. It's an urban legend. Never happened. http://www.snopes.com/media/notnews/brothel.asp [snopes.com]
There are NO SKYPE LINKS in TFA (Score:5, Informative)
Which idiot wrote the headline without even looking at TFA?
Story is false (Score:5, Informative)
Guys, this story is false. I see no Skype links. Do you see any Skype links?
Re:There are NO SKYPE LINKS in TFA (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Slashdot's most offensive moments (Score:3, Informative)
Oh, and for the record, I tagged this article 'deadpeople' and (since this is slashdot) 'iseedeadpeople.'
Re:Slashdot's most offensive moments (Score:3, Informative)
Murderers MySpace Profile! (Score:3, Informative)