I knew that your mom was a sociology PhD, didn't I? I just didn't remember it.

And yeah. I had a bit of a time convincing one member of the committee that observing in public chat rooms was no different than observing interactions at the mall, and that it did not require informed consent. In the end, I convinced him. His comment to me went something like, "I'm persuaded professionally but uncomfortable personally."

Hrm. Public and private online. Fascinating. Somebody oughta write a book about that. :^D