By Janice Castro

In the onslaught of pop psychology that has followed the grim discoveries at Rancho Santa Fe, so-called mind control experts have speculated that the fault somehow lay in the tech world, that something about the Web explained Heaven's Gate and the isolation of its members from the cushioning norms of society. Not true. The cult had been around for 22 years, and had seen better days. Most of its members were Web novices at best. Yet in some ways, the Web was made for groups like this. For it is not the culture of the Internet, but its utility as a two-way means of communication that attracts and connects militias, hate groups and wacky fringe movements. The profoundly American, truly revolutionary character of the Internet is fundamentally egalitarian. Everyone can take the stage online, even the nuts. But as the initial reaction to the cult's Web connection proved once again, the wild, unfiltered nature of the Internet presents a difficult quandry for the freedom-loving American society, particularly for parents.