[WEB4LIB] Re: Blocking the Internet Archive Wayback Machine

[Masters, Gary E]

It may not be that we don't understand (but there are many who do not) but
that we don't like it.

"Nobody loves an executioner."


Or, in my opinion, a censor.

People don't have the capacity to decide what others can or should read.
Parents do have this responsibility, but I am not sure that they do a good
job of it either.  But that can be outgrown.

Just my own opinions.  

Gary


Gary E. Masters
Librarian (Systems)
CDRH - FDA
(301) 827-6893 

	-----Original Message-----
	From:	Seth Finkelstein [SMTP:sethf at sethf.com]
	Sent:	Wednesday, January 16, 2002 10:13 AM
	To:	Multiple recipients of list
	Subject:	[WEB4LIB] Re: Blocking the Internet Archive Wayback
Machine

	> Ian Winship (ian.winship at unn.ac.uk) wrote:
	> My institution currently blocks the Internet Archive Wayback
	> Machine(www.archive.org) - the huge archive of old Web pages.  I
think
	> the rationale for this is that it allows users access to porn and
	> other sites that are directly blocked. (We use Websense)

	[For people who may not recognize my name, I'm the former chief
programmer
	of Censorware Project, now generating my own material at
	Seth Finkelstein's Anticensorware Investigations
http://anticensorware.com
	I've examined more censorware program internally than anyone else,
and won
	an EFF 2001 Pioneer Award for my work on the topic
	http://www.eff.org/awards/20010305_pioneer_press_release.html 
	But enough about qualifications ....]

		Yes, you're correct, more or less. According to WebSense:

			Websense URL Lookup Tool Results 

	        	The URL: http://web.archive.org/web/
		        is classified by Websense under the category:

		        Proxy Avoidance Systems

		However, in terms of emphasis, I would not describe the
situation as
	"allows users access to porn and other sites that are directly
blocked.".
	Rather, I would say it arises from the widespread misperception of
	censorware as programs which "filter" (remove ugly, yucky,
material),
	rather than *control* what people are allowed to read. Any site
which
	lets people out of the blinder-box MUST thus be forbidden. That's
what
	Websense means above by the term "Proxy Avoidance Systems" - escape
	from the control.

	> I wish to argue for its unblocking, but first would be interested
to
	> hear if anyone else has had the same problem.

		Per above, it's a generic problem of censorware. I have an
	extensive report on this regarding another censorware program:

	BESS's Secret LOOPHOLE:
http://sethf.com/anticensorware/bess/loophole.php

		See also:

	BESS vs Google: http://sethf.com/anticensorware/bess/google.php

		N2H2/BESS bans the Wayback machine too, see
	
http://database.n2h2.com/cgi-perl/catrpt.pl?req_URL=http://web.archive.org

			The Site: http://web.archive.org
			is categorized by N2H2 as:
			Loop Hole Sites

		All sites which provide anonymity, privacy, even language
	translation, etc. are necessarily prohibited under censorware. Such
	sites are "escape routes" from the necessary control. I've been
trying
	to get people to realize this, but I haven't been able to get the
idea
	into the debate much. I'm drafting a follow-up report focusing on
	more instances, but figuring out how to get publicity has been
problematic.

	--
	Seth Finkelstein  Consulting Programmer  sethf at sethf.com
http://sethf.com
	http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/19/technology/circuits/19HACK.html