Monitor vs. filter vs. warn

[Karen G. Schneider]

Two of the software capabilities I discuss in my forthcoming book, now in
its first rough draft and being shaped up quickly, are monitor-vs.-filter,
and warn-vs.-filter.  There are several software programs available which
are intended to do nothing except monitor and report on "what's happening,"
 and several filters offer this capability, as well.  Several vendors
encourage people to do just that before implementing any filtering. The
vendors often talk about this feature as if it were useful for seeing what
users are doing, but of course, it is also useful for seeing what the
*company* is doing, since site lists can't be viewed in nearly all
products. Additionally, a number of products either will support
warn-vs.-block very soon, or would if there were demand to do so.  This
would allow authorized users to override a warning message.  Finally, you
can expect to see more configurability at the client and user level.

The decision whether or not to use a filter should be made with as much
information as possible.  Rhetoric is not where the rubber meets the ramp.


______________________________________________
Karen G. Schneider |  kgs at bluehighways.com
Director, US EPA Region 2 Library  |  Contractor, GCI
Councilor-at-Large, American Library Association
The Internet Filter Assessment Project:   
 http://www.bluehighways.com/tifap/
Author, Forthcoming: A Practical Guide to Internet Filters
(Neal Schuman, 1997)
Information is hard work  -------------------------------------------