Boston situation

[Christopher Jackson]

On Wed, 26 Feb 1997, Earl Young wrote:

>      The statement that blocking software doesn't work is not correct.  You 
>      may state that it is not 100% effective

Others have already weighed in here, but it needs repeating, as some
people are apparently not aware of what's at stake.

All the major blocking software I'm aware of blocks a lot of content that
no one would find objectionable.  They also block access to sites that
very few would find objectionable.  

This is chainsaw censorship, sometimes with political motivations, and
totally inappropriate for libraries, in my opinion.

For details, please look at :
	http://www.peacefire.org
	http://www.internetworld.com/1996/11/surf.html#watchmen
	http://www.eff.org/pub/Publications/Declan_McCullagh/cwd.keys.to.the.kingdom.0796.article

For any library that has installed, or is contemplating installing
filtering software, you need to know what's at stake.

The statement that "blocking software doesn't work" IS correct--for
reasons much more profound than its inability to deny access to all porn
sites.

    Christopher Jackson                      cjackson at monroe.lib.in.us	
    Reference Librarian                      voice: (812) 876-1272
    Monroe County Public Library             fax: (812) 876-2515
    Ellettsville, IN  47429                  http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/