PICS

[KAREN SCHNEIDER]

(Tim, I tried to include part of your message in my reply, but my
machine kept freezing.  What did you do to my computer?  ;-) )

I keep forgetting about PICS, and Dr. Freud said there are no
accidents... My issue with PICS is the entire idea of self-rating.  I
believe that the handful of sites that I, personally, would consider
entirely inappropriate for most library settings will never rate
themselves, at least unless compelled to do so.  

But PICS is one solution that needs to be assessed.  Perhaps it
could be segued into a project.  Is there any reason PICS labels
couldn't be written for others by filter consortia members? 
Maybe it just needs better PR.  The PICS website will put off Mrs.
McGillicuddy with its opening sentence: "PICS is an
infrastructure for associating labels (metadata) with Internet
content."  However, if big server vendors such as Netscape and
Microsoft begin improving their proxy servers with an eye to
integrating tools such as PICS, it could take off.  

Karen G. Schneider/schneider.karen at epamail.epa.gov
Contractor, GCI/Director, US EPA Region 2 Library
http://www.epa.gov/Region2/library/