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You are here: Home > Information > Our Chain of Command > STAR (Site Team and Research) STAR (Site Team and Research)As a part of WiredSafety, this division handles approved sites, services and reviews of products for a seal of approval and evaluates those products for permission to place links on the WiredSafety site or any of its groups, including WiredCops and Cyberlawenforcement, WiredKids and WiredTeens, and WiredPatrol. The site researchers, all WiredSafety STAR members, continuously scour the Internet looking for sites that deserve the WiredKids Safe Site Seal. They then sort the approved sites into groups based on content (dinosaurs, space, music) and age-appropriateness (for pre-readers, for adults, for teens). WiredSafety's unique system allows the sites to be evaluated based upon a number of criteria. These tests are subjective, but since the evaluations are conducted by at least three people per site, the decisions are consistent from review to review. Senior members of the STAR group handle any disagreement about the rating of the site. The sites, once approved, are permitted to carry the WiredKids Safe Site Seal of Approval. The team members take several classes to learn how to review sites using WiredSafety's standards. Once trained, they are given a stringent set of guidelines to follow when evaluating a Web site. They must determine whether a given site:
Each site is then rated according to age appropriateness: A) All Ages As mentioned, three different team members review and rate each site. When all three members agree, these sites can then be compiled and made available to parental control software manufacturers and placed on the WiredSafety site as "approved safe sites." While surfing, the tireless members of the STAR team also look for special interest Web sites such as suicide prevention, drug education, homework help, and many others. These are then approved as links for WiredSafety's own Web site. All links must be approved and rated by STAR teams before they are added. Parents, educators and even children are always looking for safe sites for children and families. Parry has tried to focus attention on good sites, rather than trying to filter inappropriate ones. As a result, webmasters can submit their sites to STAR for review. The WiredKids Safe Site Seal of Approval is a highly sought-after honor. The seal, often mentioned by Parry in the media, has helped dramatically increase the traffic of many sites following its receipt. STAR reviews filtering and blocking software, as well as other software and services that are recommended for review. The filtering and blocking software is evaluated by using a list of our pre selected inappropriate sites (bomb making, pornography, hate sites, etc.) to see if the software blocks them. We also check the software against a list of safe sites (i.e., alcohol and drug education) to see if it blocks these sites inadvertently. Our reviewers use the programs for a minimum of two weeks to see how family-friendly they are. The STAR group also selects one site every week for its Approved Site of the Week award. These are the sites that offer something special, as well as meeting our stringent criteria. And, once a year, WiredKids and WiredTeens announce the WiredKids Best of the Web Awards for outstanding sites that children, teens and their parents can agree upon. After passing the parents' approval, and following the recommendation by thousands of children around the world, STAR calls upon Parry's expertise as a leading children's Internet industry lawyer to make sure that the site complies with applicable privacy laws. Our STAR group also approves site reviews submitted by WiredKids and WiredTeens groups for inclusion at their site as a WiredKids Recommended Site. Celebrating the wonders of the Internet and valuable and fun content online is what WiredSafety is all about. As part of the essential foundation upon which WiredSafety was built, our STARs shine brightly in cyberspace. If you are interested in accessing WiredSafety's list of approved sites, follow this link >> If you are interested in sponsoring the site approval list or the WiredKids Summit, or if you are interested in licensing the list of sites, contact directly. If you want to recommend a site for review and approval, follow this link >> |
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