[WEB4LIB] Censorship

[P.A. Gantt]

> I used to be on the ALA's side on these issues, but a few encounters with people like Pat Ganntt, who would rather mock those who disagree with them than dispute the issues, have made me think a little deeper about these things.

> Those who cry "first amendment" at any attempt to protect children from the sick deviants who haunt the darker corners of the web are little different than those who cry "second amendment" at any attempt to keep murder weapons under any sort of reasonable control. Absolute liberty becomes leads to the Hobbesian jungle, where the uncontolled trash on the media makes life nasty and brutish, and uncontrolled guns keep it short.

> Just using my first amendment rights to comment on an issue that directly concerns libraries and the web (at the risk of inspiring another incoherent stream of unconsciousness from Gantt).

Please refer to:

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/#Behavior

Specifically:

o	"...Agree to disagree. The likelihood of convincing someone to change
	a strongly held opinion is nil. State
	your case, but give up on the idea of converting the heathen..."

o	"...Be civil. Treat others how you wish to be treated. No matter how
	insulting someone is to you, you will
         always look better to the bystanders (of which there
	 are many, I hasten to remind you) by responding politely..."
 
o        "...Respect the rights of others. An electronic discussion
	 is a commons. Your right to post ends at the
         right of others to not be insulted, badgered, or to have 
	 their time needlessly wasted. 

Thank you for your time. I am sorry the other person did not read the above.

Have a great week ;^}

-- 
P.A. Gantt, Computer Science Technology Instructor
Electronic Media Design and Support
http://user.icx.net/~pgantt/
[the Internet] could remain what it ought to be:
just a public instrument. There ought to be efforts --
not just talk but real efforts -- to ensure Internet
access, not just for rich people but for everyone.
~~ Noam Chomsky, MIT ~~