How does that work?

>>Or could it confirm to someone sifting out sites like that, that the sheer number confirm that individual's warped sense of reality?<<

I would suggest that the actual number of people who are influenced by the existence of such sites would be very small. After all, the Internet is a very passive medium. You have to go looking, it doesn't come looking for you.

>>What's the demographic that's doing this?. I know of at least one webmaster of a particular site "martyring" himself.<<

That could be a clue to the demographic, right there. Classic existential angst. The Internet attracts hormone-fuelled self-pity like nothing else, not exclusively from the ranks of "Jihadists" either.

Looking at the quality of those sites, they mostly sound like a bunch of angry kids shouting for attention.

Ignore them. They'll go away. Only by giving them the oxygen of recognition will they survive longer than a couple of months.

I think you're underestimating the internet as a medium for recruitment, ideology and propaganda. It's no secret that various organizations of insidious intent use the net to communicate between eachother. It's basically free and practically impossible to police communiques on the net.

Absolutely I agree that the numbers that act based on information gained off the net is small...very small, probably. But what's the number of individuals of sympathetic background that just need a shove via an event of significant tragedy to inspire and motivate?.

I'd suggest those aren't the ones you find in places like here, or in yahoo chat, Myspace or Youtube sprooking on about Yanks sucking s**t.

Sites CELEBRATING (not just informing) killings need to be actively shutdown. Ignoring and laughing them away probably will bite us in the bum.

Hey, here's the flipside.

The more angry an individual gets the information they'll wanna grab about the nucleus of that anger. The more activity, the more red flags will pop up. IP tracking ain't brain surgery. An increase in activity in one particular area would show up like a massively swore red painted thumb, with a neon sign saying "look at me!" hovering above.

Er, has it occurred to anybody that you don't have to be in the USA, or be an American, in order to own a .com or .org website?

I don't think the domain name registrar is the issue here, CJ

>>you don't have to be in the USA, or be an American, in order to own a .com or .org website<<

The address is not relevant here, but the ISP host site is. Any restriction on a site's activity, for example, would be at the ISP level, as it is with porn, gambling etc., even anti-government propaganda in countries sensitive to it.

If a country wants to prevent access, they will do it at the IP address level, which "belongs" to the ISP.

Need to be careful here, some of my views have been edited, but first we are better served by knowing what the idiots are up to.
We in the west often let others use our freedoms against us, but in this case as has been pointed out we learn from these sites too.
In time from within the Muslim community answers to this hate will come.
Or a war will take place.
I think we understand that, while I am very much pro America I often question things like this, should freedoms be given to those who oppose all freedom?
For me the answer this time is yes, we gain from understanding the nature of the enemy.