NCAA and major college compliance officials trying to curb recruiting infractions by Internet users have their work cut out for them.

A story in Thursday’s Journal-World took a look at this phenomenon in connection with Terrence Jones, a top basketball prospect from Portland, Ore., who announced, and then waffled on, his decision to attend the University of Washington next year. Jones and his family reportedly have been inundated with phone calls and blasted on social networking sites by fans of universities Jones didn’t choose, as well as Washington fans who are angry he is reconsidering his choice.

The first question to ask, of course, is: What is wrong with these people? Fans who would get this upset over the decision of an 18-year-old basketball player need to re-examine their life priorities. He’s just a kid, and no matter what he decides, he doesn’t deserve this kind of abuse from a bunch of people who don’t even know him. Wish him well and get on with your life.

The other facet of the story, however, is the threat posed by online networkers who view themselves as some kind of de facto recruiters for their universities. Using social networking sites to try to attract a player can be a secondary violation of NCAA rules.

It’s good that the NCAA wants to run a tight ship, but it’s hard to see how it can hold university compliance officials responsible for anything one of their fans — or someone posing as one of their fans — does on a social networking site. Kansas University officials have tried to educate fans about the dangers of online recruiting and they say they would immediately contact any individual they could identify that was engaging in such activity.

Identifying those people is the first hurdle. One of the charms of the Internet for many people is the ability to shield their identities or perhaps even pose as someone they are not. If KU officials are able to identify a possible violator who is a true blue Jayhawk, they probably would be successful in getting that person to cease and desist. But what about someone who is simply posing as a KU fan in an attempt to get the university in recruiting trouble? University officials are hoping fans will help them police potentially damaging behavior, such as online sites aimed at specific recruits, but how can they adequately police the vast Internet?

It will be interesting to see what the NCAA considers to be a reasonable effort by universities to curb the use of social media as an amateur recruiting tool. Cracking down on such behavior seems like an impossible task.