CDA

[Burt, David]

Jon Lebkowsky wrote:

>>Ronnie Morgan wrote:

>>The question is now, if there is a form of the CDA that passes all
legal
>>tests, will the library have to abide by it, even if the CDA says that
>>anyone under the age of 18 should not have access to porn?  From the
way
>>some of you talk, you sound as if you'd still protest it.

>Ronnnie, I believe you'll find that some librarians support free
speech.

Jon,

It's precisely this type of crude ad hominum that has so thoroughly
poisoned the wells in the filtering debate.  A librarian could certainly
want to protect children from pornography and still "believe in free
speech".  As a non-librarian, you should understand that "being against
free speech" is a pretty serious charge in our profession, akin to
saying a policeman doesn't care about enforcing the law.

Far to often filtering opponents wrap themselves in the first amendment
and the ALA bill of rights, and portray anyone who disagrees with them
as one of the evil censors, a collaborator, or a dupe of the fiendish
censorware corporate baddies, who have a hidden agenda to oppress the
masses.  These zealots also fail to see the irony of defending free
speech by using such tactics which are clearly meant to silence the
opposition.

If you want to argue the ethical, technical, legal, or theoretical
issues around filtering in libraries, fine.  But please, lay off the
character assassination.

Off to San Francisco, won't be opening my e-mail again until Tuesday.


  ***********************************************************
          David Burt, Information Technology Librarian 
          The Lake Oswego Public Library 
          706 Fourth Street, Lake Oswego, OR 97034
          URL:          http://www.ci.oswego.or.us/library/library.htm
          Phone:     (503) 675-2537 
          Fax:           (503) 635-4171 
          E-mail:      dburt at ci.oswego.or.us