Steve Benbows protege: Please don't feed the trolls, and please don't give them the satisfaction of succeeding in being a disruptive influence. This thread started off serving a valid purpose, that of encouraging networking between the new generation of folkies. From the tone of most of the postings identifying opportunities to make contact, most of you were already (almost automatically) making plans to do so in "safe" environments, which in itself argues an underlying awareness of the possible dangers of people misrepresenting themselves. And please don't be so ready to take offence, at those who followed the initial remark about safety by expressing genuine concern that our young people protect themselves. As a young person I am sure you must have been (probably more than you want to) been made aware of the need to do so for yourself. Even those of us who ain't quite so young anymore recognise the need to keep ourselves and our friends safe, and that people often misrepresent themselves online.
Why assume the remark was directed at you? You know you are not a paedophile and it is something which for those interested is simple enough to check and prove so just put it in the SEP (Somebody Else's Problem) catagory and ignore it as not worth your notice.