Blocking Email, Chat, and Game sites

Dan Lester dan at 84.com
Thu Jan 14 01:54:35 EST 1999


A month or so ago there was a discussion on this list about methods of
preventing users at library workstations from accessing web-based email,
chat rooms, and game playing sites.  As I mentioned at the time, we've
solved that problem by locking all browsers into a proxy server that blocks
sites of these types.   Once again, we're only blocking by function, not by
content.  People can still see "nasty" things of all sorts, but they can't
email or chat about them.  

I've now put our proxy blacklist on the web, as a number of others
requested.  You can find it at http://www.84.com/blacklist.htm   Feel free
to use any or all of it on your own proxy server, and please let me know of
corrections or additions.  I know that no list will ever be complete or
perfectly accurate, but we've been noting URLs when users are using the
inappropriate services, and adding them to the list.  We do our best to
block only the inappropriate functions, and not the entire site.  For
example, we block chat.yahoo.com and mail.yahoo.com but not www.yahoo.com

 It is easy to tell when people are using the services that signs on the
machines say are not permitted.  The clues include rapid and frequent
typing, turning the monitor away from the aisle, and turning the monitor
brightness way down.  Please note that we don't note what the user is
chatting or mailing about.  However, when the user has left we check where
he has been by one of a number of methods and add the site to the block list.  

In addition to blocking usage that violates library policy, analysis of the
proxy server logs informs us of the places that users most frequently
visit, which gives some ideas of sites that should be cataloged and topics
of current interest.

Please contact me with any questions or comments.

dan



--
Dan Lester, 3577 East Pecan, Boise, ID 83716-7115 USA 208-383-0165
dan at 84.com   http://www.84.com/  http://www.idaholibraries.org/
http://library.boisestate.edu/   http://cyclops.boisestate.edu/ 
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