CDA (PICS please)

[Mark Ellis]

Ronnie said:

>Then what are we arguing about, anyway?  Let's just implement this!!

It needs to be said here that PICS, even if widely adopted, will do nothing
quell the debate about in-library filtering. Censorship will still be
censorship --regardless of the mechanism used to implement it.

PICS has same benefits as content labels on cereal boxes and movies.  As an
adult, no one is stopping you from eating Froot Loops or watching _The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre_, but you've got open, consistent labeling to
assist you in making your decision.

And Joe Murphy said:

>One important thing to remember about PICS is that it was specifically designed
>to allow _anyone_ to design their own ratings system. It actively refuses to
>support any given vocabulary. So in that sense, there's really nothing to
>"implement," in the same way you can't just "implement" HTML. You still have to
>have some sort of content.

Although this is a great feature it also serves to increase users'
confusion about what PICS is and how to use it.  In my response to Ronnie,
I specifically pointed to RSACi because it is apparently the most widely
implemented PICS rating vocabulary and it rates the kinds of content that
people seem to worry about the most--violence, nudity, sex and language
(profanity/hate speech).


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Mark Ellis
Computer Services Technician            Phone: 604.231.6410
Richmond Public Library                 Email: mark.ellis at rpl.richmond.bc.ca
Richmond, British Columbia
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