[WEB4LIB] Re: checking link content

[Dan Lester]

Friday, December 07, 2001, 3:54:05 PM, you wrote:

JAP> The good news is that in the 6 editions of the book, I can still 
JAP> count on one hand the number of formerly benign sites that have 
JAP> subsequently turned into porn sites.

This is the key to this discussion.  Sure, you could check them all
manually.  Sure, you could develop software that would do some content
checking and maybe catch a few.  But the real story is that the reason
we know about formerly useful sites turning into porn sites is because
it is a relatively rare situation in general, and even rarer for sites
that libraries might link to.  And, even if you somehow checked them
all every month, there would still be a chance of one getting through.

All too often librarians (and others) manage by worry, by "what if
this bad thing happens".  If this particular bad thing happens, there
is hardly a crisis.  Someone tells you of the problem.  You remove the
link.  Problem solved.

Happy holidays,

dan
-- 
Dan Lester, Data Wrangler  dan at RiverOfData.com 208-283-7711
3577 East Pecan, Boise, Idaho  83716-7115 USA
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