Boston situation -Reply

[Earl Young]

There does not seem to be any significant Constitutional issues.  The city is 
not attempting to block access - only to avoid paying for access.  There are - 
to be sure - lots of stuff on the Web that children ought not see.  I do not 
subscribe to the idea that seeing objectionable stuff automatically scars you 
for life, but parents ought to be in control of such things and the state ought 
not be subsidizing access to material that "community standards" find 
objectionable.

Is this a potentially slippery slope?  Yes.  Will it spill over into 
inflammatory rhetoric and other political expression?  If we let it.  But by 
proclaiming that no standards are appropriate we grease the way for people to 
demand major restrictions.  I have no qualms about a library blocking access to 
pictures of people having sex with dogs.  That's out there.  So is material for 
pedophiles.  The city has no particular reason to put themselves at risk by 
failing to block sites where there is a probability of material that would 
otherwise not be in the library.  I suppose that's my litmus test - if it would 
be on the shelves, it should be available on the net. Otherwise, what's the 
problem?

Earl Young
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Boston situation -Reply
Author:  DLESTER at bsu.idbsu.edu at INTERNET
Date:    2/25/97 1:27 PM


>>> Ari Herzog <ari at ici.net> 02/25/97 07:25am >>>
What do members of this group feel about the Boston Public 
Library situation?
     
For those not in the know, Mayor Menino has issued a 
statement for
CyberPatrol to be installed on all BPL libraries, which comes 
as a result of some children viewing online pornography.
     
=========================================
The mayor has bought himself a mess.  If he thinks that CP 
or any other similar product will block all the porn, he's 
mistaken.  I'm sure we all know that.  However, whatever his 
personal beliefs may be, he probably sees it as "politically 
necessary" or "damage control".  When the public learns that 
even WITH a blocking product on it that kids can still find
plenty of objectionable stuff (depending on one's definition, of 
course), he may wish he'd never tried to "solve" the problem. 
Or he may be able to sell that at least they're trying, and like 
with drugs or other criimes that "we're doing the best we can 
with limited resources, but if you'd raise the taxes then....."
     
Other than that, of course I think it is stupid and 
wrongheaded, and probably a violation of the constitution. 
But, I'm not sure it is a battle I'd choose to fight.....but I'd 
have to know a lot more about the local situation before I'd 
decide that.
     
dan
     
     
Dan Lester, Network Information Coordinator
Boise State University Library, Boise, Idaho, 83725 USA 
voice: 208-385-1235   fax:  208-385-1394 
dlester at bsu.idbsu.edu     OR    alileste at idbsu.idbsu.edu 
Cyclops' Internet Toolbox:    http://cyclops.idbsu.edu 
"How can one fool make another wise?"   Kansas, 1979.