Internet Censorship and Blocking Software

[Richard J. Violette]

Dear Webers,

My S.O. forwarded me an e-mail message, which I will paraphrase:

A Medical Center recently installed an Internet kiosk in the hospital
which was locked down (after the first hour someone bookmarked the
Playboy web site) so that users can't get off the Medical Center's web
site.  For further precautions, they installed a copy of SurfWatch. 
Shortly after installing the software, the entire Medical Center's
library's web site was blocked by SurfWatch. 

For several days, people tried to figure out what was causing it.
Finally everyone there suddenly hit on it: the name of the library
itself. It's the Archie R. Dykes Medical Library.  After several frantic
calls to SurfWatch, the company finally admitted that their software
excluded the use of 'dyke.' They're issuing an update filter immediately
to all of their customers and an apology.

Although there is an element of humor here, the implications are
sobering.  Suppose, for example, someone is looking for a site that
tells how to build your own addition to your house.  Will it be blocked
if it mentions "studs"?  If the word "gay" is excluded, many texts from
Project Gutenberg, for example, will be blocked, not to mention such
innocuous sites as that of PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and
Gays).  Suppose the word "playboy" is blocked; then an English lit.
syllabus in which one of the required readings is "The Playboy of the
Western World" will be inaccessible.

Doesn't seem so funny anymore, does it?

/s/ Rich.V.

-- 
Richard J. Violette    | 1200 Court House           | "He chose to be
Catalog Librarian I    | Boston MA 02108            | rich, by making
Social Law Library     | Vox: (617) 523-0018, x318  | his wants few."
rviolett at socialaw.com  | Fax: (617) 523-2458        |       --Emerson