tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55107992011-12-14T19:04:52.978-08:00Library Internet FilterA blog about a possible internet filtering solution for librariesjcnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1001100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1117092449094270362005-05-26T00:23:00.000-07:002005-05-26T00:27:29.570-07:00One Ringy DingyUnited American Technologies, a "Christian-based phone carrier" based in Oklahoma, has a pretty good sales pitch. According to a story by John Avlon in today's New York Sun, the company describes itself as "the only carrier that is taking an active stand against same sex marriages and hardcore child pornography." Here, we pick up a taped telemarketing call after one potential jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1116749229984907852005-05-22T01:01:00.000-07:002005-05-22T01:07:09.990-07:00Informative sites are snubbed, too. The best porn blockers were heavy-handed against sites about health issues, sex education, civil rights, and politics. For example, seven products blocked KeepAndBearArms.com, a site advocating gun owners’ rights. Most unwarranted blocking occurred with sites featuring sex education or gender-related issues. Some drug-education sites were blocked. For example, jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1115455841276908172005-05-07T01:43:00.000-07:002005-05-07T01:50:41.490-07:00South Park Republican BingoMuch too much fun. You figure out how to play Southpark Republican Bingo do you call BINGO when the Texas legislature bans suggeestive cheerleading...or do you go with the Alabama legislature's banning books written by homosexuals - or people who, Lord knows, looked at a member of their sex with lust in their heart - or, and let's be kind here, the good folks in the jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1105558640138050822005-05-05T11:28:00.000-07:002005-05-07T00:15:58.310-07:00Cheerleaders Surprised Several of the cheerleaders had been taking photos of the squad along with personal pictures throughout the school year and posting them on the online photo-sharing site Webshots.com, parents and school officials said. The pictures were intended for their friends and other girls on the squad but were publicly accessible, along with more than 134 million others posted by thejcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1106866395603047332005-01-27T14:45:00.000-08:002005-01-27T14:53:15.603-08:00Don't translate past N2H2
An illustration of just how badly some filters work is offered by this post from Utah, From: Guy Durrant
Filtering in Utah is done by a statewide subscription to N2H2/Bess. We
are not required to use N2H2, but I suspect most districts use this as
it is available to them at no additional cost. The state picks up the
tab.
The state filters the "Translate this page" jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1102922820884416472004-12-12T23:22:00.000-08:002004-12-12T23:27:17.406-08:00How Ugly is Sonic Wall This ugly: I went to InstaPundit, and, starting at the bottom, clicked on his links and wrote down which ones were blocked by SonicWALL. Here, then, is the list, along with a few more I was able to find by clicking around from other blogs.
Across the Atlantic
Justene Adamec
Adragna & Vehrs
The Agitator
Charles Austin
Howard Bashman
Big Arm Woman
Bigwig
BitchGirls
Blogs jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1102922404882328962004-12-12T23:17:00.000-08:002004-12-12T23:20:04.883-08:00Instapundit discovers overblocking
FOR THE RECORD, the "SonicWall Content Filter" used by Panera Bread on its wi-fi sucks like a bilge pump. I just tried to check an article in Arms Control Today and the journal is blocked because it has to do with "weapons." Jeez. Who runs SonicWall?instapunditOne of Glenn Reynold's emailers suggests the problem may be over agressive settings on the filter....jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1102765991055981572004-12-11T03:50:00.000-08:002004-12-11T03:53:11.056-08:00Some might call it spam
In 2003, the numbers of complaints received by the FCC rose to about 240,000.
Now that might seem like a pretty unlikely and massive shift in either the material being aired or the society experiencing those broadcasts. Well, it is unlikely. In fact, it didn't really happen.
If you take Janet Jackson's nipple out of the equation (and god knows we'd all like to at this jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1097448473752449552004-10-10T15:38:00.000-07:002004-10-10T15:47:53.753-07:00How the First Amendment is supposed to workA controversial Pennsylvania law forcing ISPs to block access to Web sites accused of hosting child pornography is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Friday, handing a defeat to advocates of stricter online porn regulations.
The law, known as statute 7330, allowed the state to impose criminal charges on Internet service providers for permitting jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1096492973640660942004-09-29T14:11:00.000-07:002004-09-29T14:22:53.640-07:00Internet Filtering Google StyleInternet filtering, to meet even the most basic information ethics, needs to be overt. Google Inc.'s recently launched news service in China doesn't display results from websites blocked by that country's authorities, raising prickly questions for an on-line search engine that has famously promised to "do no evil."...
"That's a problem because the Chinese people jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1096390797556470792004-09-28T09:51:00.000-07:002004-09-28T10:48:20.156-07:00Blocking BlogsGreyhawk, blogging on duty in Iraq, notes: Looks like many GIs will have to rely on CBS and other such outlets for their news, since many weblogs are blocked by Websense, a company apparently selected by the Air Force to keep the troops away from objectionable material online.
I'm not talking about work computers either, these are in the morale tent, designed for use by GIs while jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1095881272312825182004-09-22T13:09:00.000-07:002004-09-22T12:27:52.313-07:00Phoenix risingWith Congress and the federal judiciary at a standstill over how best to protect children from Internet pornography at public libraries, the city of Phoenix, Ariz., has jumped out front on the issue. The city's new ban on web smut is also already the target of a challenge by civil libertarians....
"The (U.S.) Supreme Court ruling reaffirmed that porn is protected speech under the jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1094626637288893232004-09-07T23:47:00.000-07:002004-09-07T23:57:17.286-07:0050% of Employees get porn messagesAccording to the survey, which was conducted at 350 companies in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, 28 percent of those questioned said they had downloaded sexually explicit content from the Web while on the job. U.S.-based employees were slightly less likely to do so than workers in other countries, Getgood said.
The survey also found abuse tojcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1094416353154153892004-09-05T13:28:00.000-07:002004-09-05T13:32:33.156-07:00SecurityThere are plenty of reasons to use internet filters in a library situtation which have nothing to do with censorship.
The most important is security. There are worse things on the internet than naked breasts...worms, viruses, dangerous software, spyware. In a library situation, where there will be many individuals using the same computers, a filter for security using either the library jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1094074731141992322004-09-01T14:25:00.000-07:002004-09-01T14:38:51.140-07:00LingerieLooking at my referrer logs I notice that this blog has a secret admirer over at another blog called Lingerie Dreams. (A very nice looking and rather well written site.) Now, should this sort of site be filtered?
It is an interesting question. In the course of showing and writing about lingerie there will, inevidably, be some pictures of naked breasts. But if that is the criteria then jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1094065147481423722004-09-01T11:32:00.000-07:002004-09-01T11:59:07.480-07:00RefocusThe July 1 deadline for libraries to certify CIPA compliance has passed. This does not mean libraries actually have installed filters; rather it means they have stated they have a plan to comply and that necessarily involves filtering.
To this point the debate, such as it has been, has been between hardcore free speech advocates for whom any filter is "bad news" and people who are either jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1093458986075355042004-08-25T11:35:00.000-07:002004-08-25T11:36:26.076-07:00Back I took a little vacation from the Library Filtering world. Back now.jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1086038191693265522004-05-31T14:14:00.000-07:002004-05-31T14:16:31.693-07:00Porn, More Porn than you can imagineMy friend and this blogs' semi-sponsorBob Turner has finally decided to call the anti-filtering crowd's bluff.
In the course of writing about internet filtering there has been a huge argument about the "tranparency" of the block lists. Basically, many filtering companies keep their block lists encrypted. This means libraries, inter alia, have no real idea of jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1083777553595277062004-05-05T10:19:00.000-07:002004-05-05T10:22:25.750-07:00XXX badwww.xxxchurch.com is an anti porn site. But the clever folks at Cyberpatrol block it anyway. Once that porn spider or keyword engine sees three "X" in a row it just know the site has to be bad.jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1082251934725615892004-04-17T18:32:00.000-07:002004-04-17T18:35:09.140-07:00Pumping up the threatWebsense, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN), the world’s leading provider of employee Internet management (EIM) software, today announced that the number of pornography Web sites in the Websense® URL database is more than 17 times greater than it was just four years ago—surging from approximately 88,000 in 2000 to nearly 1.6 million sites today. This dramatic growth has been fueled by new jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1081760088161349342004-04-12T01:54:00.000-07:002004-04-12T01:57:36.403-07:00MesotheliomaThe high price of mesothelioma ads has had some unintended consequences as firms try other means to land mesothelioma patients. In particular, some firms are attempting to boost their Web sites' spot on search engines' so-called algorithmic, or nonpaid, listings by tweaking the content and links to get a higher ranking. These efforts can include using the desired keywords (like "jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1081659997169661602004-04-10T22:06:00.000-07:002004-04-11T11:34:19.076-07:00Disable with EaseMary Minow's First Monday article on the legal hazards of library filtering is up at First Monday. A great, rich, smart, legal analysis which I am going to be reading several times before making too many comments. But here are the money grafs:Disabling filters with "ease" Is the KEY to avoiding lawsuits
What is a reasonable time frame that a library has to unblock a Web site or jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1081529008856914262004-04-09T09:43:00.000-07:002004-04-09T09:46:15.700-07:00Filtering and Collections DevelopmentWrapping up, I contend that filtering is a collection development issue. ALA’s Glossary of Library & Information Science agrees. Because we are dealing with a new technology that is accessed rather than owned makes no difference. It is still a “provided” resource within the library and thus deserves the scrutiny of a selection policy within a greater jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1081275830647568232004-04-06T11:23:00.000-07:002004-04-06T11:26:33.716-07:00BlockingOne of the more interesting things to see as I look at filtering solutions is what categories filtering companies are willing to block. Here is a link to the Cy-Block categories page. Cy-Block is happy to facilitate blocking of 58 different categories.
At some point I suspect it would be a lot easier to opt to block the entire Internet and only allow specifically approved sites to be jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1080329874361991812004-03-26T11:37:00.000-08:002004-03-26T11:40:26.250-08:00Children's LibrariesIn reality most public libraries have children's sections. Many of these sections have computers and those computers pose a distinct filtering challenge. Leave aside CIPA, do you really want children - say under 12 - having unrestricted access to the net where you are often only a couple of links away from porn, violence and all sorts of untoward material?
Just as the jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1080067850789897482004-03-23T10:50:00.000-08:002004-03-23T10:53:20.263-08:00School Library JournalI had missed this article in School Library Journal on the Kanguard open source filter. Nice to see Lori Ayre mentioning IF2K:
Library consultant Lori Bowen Ayre of the Galecia Group analyzes all of the major commercial software filters, including The Internet Filter IF-2K, a filter that she thinks is the most responsive to libraries' intellectual freedom needs.jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1079987510821816322004-03-22T12:31:00.000-08:002004-03-22T18:54:44.013-08:00Click through Lori Ayre posts an excellent comment on the desirablility of having a warn, don't block set up in public libraries. I commented:
Sometime ago, after reading the SCOTUS decision - and I was a lawyer - we reaached the conclusion that a warn, not block, option was critical for a library filter. (On IF2K we call it a "click through".)
Not only does this ensure adults their jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1078798034766737152004-03-08T18:07:00.000-08:002004-03-08T18:24:49.403-08:00Library Staff Computers Free
My blog readers are the first to know.....
Bob Turner, President of Turner and Sons Productions, announced a change to the pricing of the company’s IF2K library internet filtering product.
“Lori Ayre at Galacia Consulting mentioned on her blog that she thought it was criminal that CIPA required all computers in a public library, including staff computers, to be jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1078691245109557432004-03-07T12:27:00.000-08:002004-03-07T12:29:38.200-08:00Free Porn Seth Finkelstein takes US Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson to task for using a faulty internet search to come up with the statement that, "Olson told the justices yesterday, he typed in those two words in a search engine, and found that "there were 6,230,000 sites available." Finkelstein surmises that Olsen didn't put quotes around free porn and so ensured that his search which jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1078170437738709792004-03-01T11:47:00.000-08:002004-03-01T11:49:24.700-08:00Things have ChangedEveryone benefits: Tax dollars weren't wasted on an early-generation filter that blocked helpful and informative Web sites. Library patrons had and will continue to have access to the sites they need. Library staff will no longer be required to scrupulously police computer screens.
The board's decision to install a filter system follows the arrest of a convicted child molesterjcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1077907115752557532004-02-27T10:38:00.000-08:002004-02-27T10:40:39.606-08:00Pandering to Silly ParentsAlaska librarians are protesting a legislative move to force them to tell parents what books their kids are checking out.
June Pinnell-Stephens, collection services manager at the Noel Wien Public Library in Fairbanks, said the bill could allow parents to wield an "iron glove" over the content of everything their kids under 18 read.
"When you are talking about 17-jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1077906110315890822004-02-27T10:21:00.000-08:002004-02-27T10:30:05.890-08:00Silly Parents #1 I often wonder whether it wouldn't make more sense to built something which made parents and the people who pander to them a little brighter. Here from the LIS News is the reason that N2H2 actually has a block category called "Science". Roxanne Cleasby, a parent of an 8-year-old student attending Smith Elementary School, filed a Request for Reconsideration of Educational jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1077567510037729012004-02-23T12:18:00.000-08:002004-02-23T12:20:30.246-08:00Library Filter EssentialsA number of sites including Walt Crawford's valuable Cites and Insights, Marylaine Brock's Ex Libris and Lori Ayer's blog have been discussing library filters. As I have been researching here is what I have come up with as essential in a filter for libraries:
Block List The starting point for virtually all filters is a list of sites which the filter will block. There arejcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1077304423496100682004-02-20T11:13:00.000-08:002004-02-20T11:15:40.733-08:00CIPA ChallengesLibraries planning on implementing CIPA filtering should read Paul T. Jaeger and Charles R. McClure's article in First Monday Magazine on the potential legal challenges which may be mounted againt filters.
The key element to any 1st Ammendment attack on a library filter will be proving that the impostion of a filter in a particular situation leads to the infringement of an adult jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-107704761561703672004-02-17T11:53:00.000-08:002004-02-17T11:55:29.340-08:00Marylaine gets the tech wrongMarylaine Brock at exlibris is worried that by putting filtering in place teenagers will not be allowed to access web sites such as www.goaskalice.columbia.edu. But we do have a choice about CIPA, since it applies only to libraries that accept federal aid. Why aren't more librarians educating their boards about how filters interfere not only with the legitimate jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1077045370452619912004-02-17T11:16:00.000-08:002004-02-17T11:18:04.670-08:00Back Having moved to a lovely island just off the coast I'm back at library filters.
First up, Lori Ayre is shifting around to a more even handed position on filtering. I had rather thought she had gone to the dark side where all filters are the same and all are bad news....but no.
Her first entry is a checklist of key features for library filters. Here are the items.Customizable Block Page
jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1074474471468540182004-01-18T17:07:00.000-08:002004-01-18T17:09:16.013-08:00Lori Ayre gets it wrongI am filled with admiration for the job Lori Ayre is doing pulling together information about filtering solutions for libraries which you can find here.I am not as impressed with her analysis of filtering issues. On her blog Library Technology Musingsshe announces:if I were to compile a list of obscene pages, pages with child pornography, pages that are "harmful to minors" jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1072683247888288592003-12-28T23:34:00.000-08:002003-12-28T23:35:11.653-08:00Wired NationWhen the Pew Internet and American Life Project began chronicling the online medium in March 2000, 52 million Americans logged onto the Internet each day. By this past August, that figure had swelled 27 percent, to 66 million. nytThe ease and simplicity of the net, aided by such useful devices as Google and broadband, makes the net critical to an increasing number of people. For me jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1072662060626371622003-12-28T17:41:00.000-08:002003-12-28T17:42:04.106-08:00Library WiFiNew York Public Libraries have set up free WiFi access. Which brings up an interesting filtering question - are computers connected to the WiFi network of an E-Rate certified library required to be filtered? has in place a policy of Internet safety for minors that includes the operation of a technology protection measure with respect to any of its computers with Internet accesscipaNowjcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1071791220883210202003-12-18T15:47:00.000-08:002003-12-18T15:47:54.170-08:00Seth SpeaksEveryone wants to censor something. The problem is that everyone has different things they want to censor. Sex, violence, hate speech, blasphemy, counter-revolutionary propaganda, DVD decryption algorithms, etc. For each one of these, someone can be found who will gladly explain why it must be suppressed for the good of society. This leads into what I call the "values" argument, or thejcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1071702537476620582003-12-17T15:08:00.000-08:002003-12-17T16:12:47.140-08:00Ad SenseA number of people come to this blog looking for personal filtering solutions. I have no recommendations to offer as IF2K is not in the personal/family filtering market; but here are some ads from Google which may help.jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1071623669698884812003-12-16T17:14:00.000-08:002003-12-17T15:07:04.640-08:00More UsefulThe ALA has an Internet Toolkit up. Well put together and resoundingly neutral about any particular type of filtering. But they make two interesting points:Consider providing a choice of filtered and unfiltered access to the Internet in keeping with court rulings that adults should not be limited to materials appropriate only for children and in recognition that the intellectual needs jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1069958119509718192003-11-27T10:35:00.000-08:002003-11-27T11:03:35.950-08:00LameOver at the ALA they have posted five pages of questions a library (in PDF) should ask a filtering vendor. All good questions but a fundamental abdication of the ALA's obligation to act on behalf of its members. Asking questions is not the same as demanding answers or setting standards. Any filtering vendor can, and no doubt will, answer the suggested questions. But will the answers be jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1068942238377399922003-11-15T16:23:00.000-08:002003-11-15T16:24:19.390-08:00K. G. Schneider on FilteringKaren Schneiderhas published her general take on filtering and what she is prepared to do in dealing with the filtering issues which have been raised by CIPA.My best advice hasn't changed in seven years. Filters are bad news. ....Internet content filters block access to Constitutionally protected speech, and do so in a way that removes accountability from the vendor jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1067919418893409942003-11-03T20:16:00.000-08:002003-11-03T20:16:57.430-08:00More From the Copyright Office"The ability to engage in legitimate research, criticism and comment about filtering software is even more compelling as a result of the recent Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). 52 Since CIPA requires libraries to install "filtering software" in order to block access to objectionable material as ajcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1067630044898463802003-10-31T11:54:00.000-08:002003-10-31T11:54:04.133-08:00Hack AwayLead by filtering critic Seth Finkelstein anti-filtering advocates have won a significant victory for transparency in filtering. The copyright office has granted an exemption from the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for people seeking to decrypt the block lists of filtering companies. The filtering companies wanted to continue to be able to keep jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1066782308494424492003-10-21T17:25:00.000-07:002003-10-21T17:25:08.273-07:00Hole in the AppleIs this intentional? The company chose a system called FairPlay. Instead of offering music in the standard MP3 format, all files are encoded in an alternative format called AAC. Outside of Apple's own iPod music players, few portable devices can play AAC files. In addition, each file has built-in software to limit a purchaser's replay rights. You can only listen to your tunes on jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1066780641484605632003-10-21T16:57:00.000-07:002003-10-21T16:57:20.810-07:00Filter InformationLori Bowen Ayre, a consultant at The Galecia Group is putting together a survey of internet filtering products suitable for libraries. Five companies up so far. You can see pricing, shutoff options and pricing here. No word on the ALA's own efforts in this area. While the press release from the ALA President suggested that there would be an effort undertaken, it is not clear jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1066338816683532912003-10-16T14:13:00.000-07:002003-10-16T14:13:36.630-07:00Woe Canada, Heathcare?Over at Tech Central Station Sally Pipes is beginning a four part series on Canadian Health Care. Unsurprisingly, she is not impressed. The median waiting time in Canada from referral by a general practitioner to treatment was 16.5 weeks in 2002 -- up 77 percent from 1993. For cancer patients, waiting times for medical oncology have increased from 2.5 weeks to 5.5 weeks and jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1066334969730507262003-10-16T13:09:00.000-07:002003-10-16T13:09:29.756-07:00Spidey SenseOne of the most important features of a library filtering system is the ability to add white lists. A white list is a list of websites or URLs which is not to be blocked. White lists allow libraries to ensure that they have control over the filters they install.One way of compiling white lists is to simply take a book mark file and add all the sites it contains. This is efficient and jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1065755865315929432003-10-09T20:17:00.000-07:002003-10-09T20:17:45.200-07:00Neil PostmanThere are very few cultural critics who I would cross the street to see; but when Neil Postman came to Vancouver a couple of years ago I spent much of a week listening to Postman say things which were remarkably obvious - once he had said them. He drew national attention with "The Disappearance of Childhood" (Delacorte, 1982), in which he asserted that television conflated what shouldjcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1065688333845559872003-10-09T01:32:00.000-07:002003-10-09T01:32:13.546-07:00Neal Stephenson: Ouicksilver on PaperNeal Stephenson is interviewed by Glen Reynolds over at Tech Central Station. REad the whole thing and all that. I liked Stephenson's remarks on paper, Paper's a really advanced technology. That was brought home to me by working on this, when I read a lot of documents from that era, which were put down on really good, acid-free paper. They're all pretty much jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1065650035525550042003-10-08T14:53:00.000-07:002003-10-08T14:53:54.940-07:00The need for TransparencySeth Finkelstein, being a bit Eeyorish about blogging in general, mentions an interesting point in the ongoing discussion about why it is critical that any organization concerned about intellectual freedom must demand access to a filtering company's blacklists, When I first circumvented the encryption of N2H2's blacklist, I was amazed at how much of it was junk and jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1064260353375391392003-09-22T12:52:00.000-07:002003-09-22T12:55:04.103-07:00Anti Filter FactsThe Free Expression Policy Project has an interesting fact sheet on filtering. If you need a quick backgrounder on filtering and its problems the fact sheet is a good place to start.Filters replace educational judgments by teachers and librarians with censorship decisions by private companies that do not disclose their operating methods, their political biases, or their lists of jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1063646809944109572003-09-15T10:26:00.000-07:002003-09-15T10:26:49.910-07:00CIPA do's and don'tsAn excellent opinion letter from the law firm of Ropes and Gray on the issues surrounding CIPA compliance. It can be found here in PDF. The key point is the "good faith" requirement imposed by the FCC is explained. It's a lawyer's letter and could serve as safe harbour for a library seeking to show that it is complying with CIPA. Simply by chjecking off the points in the Ropesjcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1063053127630628692003-09-08T13:32:00.000-07:002003-09-08T13:32:07.666-07:00Fairbanks Filter FolliesKaren Jensen writing in the Fairbanks News-Miner makes some telling points against spending $20,000.00 to filter the public libraries of Fairbanks. $20,000.00!!! I have no idea how many library seats there are in Fairbanks but I do know that IF2K would filter 3000 seats for that sort of money.Jensen's point is that this is a ridiculous waste of money to preserve E-Rate jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1062699714276291282003-09-04T11:21:00.000-07:002003-09-04T11:21:54.290-07:00A Modest Proposal LLRX.com also has an article which I wrote before the ALA's August 23 meeting in which I set out a process that the ALA could follow to set standards for filtering companies. You can, as they say in blogland, read the whole thing here.jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1062699185748534512003-09-04T11:13:00.000-07:002003-09-04T11:13:05.786-07:00The Law of CIPA For an excellent review of the legal logic behind CIPA LLRX.com provides an excellent summary of the law going to obscenity, child pornography and "harmful to minors". Mary Minow's article reviews the statutes and the cases going to these questions. The article also has this lovely quote illustrating the strangeness of the obscenity definition,In practice, prosecuting obscenity jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1062285422558189052003-08-30T16:17:00.000-07:002003-08-30T16:17:02.616-07:00Michael Moore on LibrariansMy friend Bob Turner sent along this quote from Michael Moore about librarians - you guys know who you are....BUZZFLASH: Now specifically, a little bit about your book. You've written in your columns that after September 11th, your publisher was going to deep-six the book unless you took out critical comments on Bush. You held firm. Is it true that the librarians of jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1061946356534884262003-08-26T18:05:00.000-07:002003-08-26T18:05:56.593-07:00The ALA meetsThe ALA convened a meeting of its Executive and member leaders to map out a response to CIPA. In its news release yesterday Carla Hayden, the ALA Chairman, stated that in the coming weeks the ALA members and staff would be o Begin developing criteria and tools for evaluating technological protection measures in such areas as transparency of the company and its blocked list, jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1061497309879145632003-08-21T13:21:00.000-07:002003-08-21T13:21:49.963-07:00CIPA FactsBob Bocher writing in the Library Journal provides a real service by outlining the requirements of CIPA and some of the considerations libraries should have when they are contemplating the filtering requirements.jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1061245433909380092003-08-18T15:23:00.000-07:002003-08-18T15:24:16.180-07:00The ACLU weighs in via Seth Finkelstein This is a memo which came out August 1 detailing the actions the ACLU recommends in the wake of the CIPA decision. From a librarian's perspective one of the more important aspects of the memo is this, We are contemplating further litigation. Libraries that refuse to unblock sites or turn off unblocking software (at least for adults) or make unblocking jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1061243968178085052003-08-18T14:59:00.000-07:002003-08-18T14:59:28.030-07:00HostileMinneapolis library officials will consider restricting patrons' access to Internet porn and pay $435,000 to a dozen librarians to settle a lawsuit that alleged the prevalence of the images constituted a hostile work environment, the librarians' lawyer said Friday.link wcco.comThis is a troubling case. It would be very easy to say this was yet another great argument in favour of putting jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1060882434425781642003-08-14T10:33:00.000-07:002003-08-14T10:38:27.066-07:00Filtering?Over at www.lisnews.com Blake is running a short piece about the Department of Justice appealing a lower court decision declaring the Child Online Protection Act unconstitutional. Blake is running it under his heading "filtering". This act is nothing of the sort. Rather it is attempting the prior restraint of legal speech with the threat of criminal penalties.Regardless of what people jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1060128856500305062003-08-05T17:14:00.000-07:002003-08-05T17:14:16.496-07:00Turn that Damn Thing OffOver at FindLaw Julie Hilden's article on the legal implications of United States v. American Library Ass'n. Inc. focuses on Justice Kennedy's concurrence with the majority. Justice Kennedy's concurrence focused on the point I have stressed above: Given the ability of users to request unblocking, Kennedy contended, "there is little to this case."Kennedy also wisely jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1059588001487702152003-07-30T11:00:00.000-07:002003-07-30T11:33:43.470-07:00CIPA Debate at the ALA CouncilMembers of the ALA Council are engaged in a spirited debate as to how best to respond to the CIPA decision and to the FCC's regulatory forebearance regarding the definition of compliance.Mark Rosenweig puts the case for proceeding carefully, sceptically and with the ALA's continuing opposition to filtering and support for intellectual freedom foremost in the ALA's jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1059498391029790362003-07-29T10:06:00.000-07:002003-07-29T10:06:31.086-07:00Filtering NewsLooks like N2H2 is being bought out. Secure Computing issued a press release today announced the all stock acquisition.jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1059254570210358142003-07-26T14:22:00.000-07:002003-07-28T12:12:19.750-07:00A good first stepThe President of the ALA, Carla Hayden, has taken a measured and broad ranging approach to crafting a response to the CIPA decision in a statement issued on July 25, 2003.
Important commitments from the ALA's Executive include:
Provide libraries with authoritative information regarding their choices and CIPA requirements, as they evaluate options and make decisions jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1059180102303339612003-07-25T17:41:00.000-07:002003-07-25T17:41:42.360-07:00CIPA Breathing RoomWith the FCC order yesterday the pressure is off the public libraries and the American Library Association to arrive at a solution for coping with CIPA. With some planning and a willingness to look for solutions to the filtering issue, the ALA has the opportunity to serve its members, promote freedom of speech and exercise control over the worst aspect of filtering software.As jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1059155406718781212003-07-25T10:50:00.000-07:002003-07-28T12:16:00.893-07:00FCC/CIPA - What isn't therePeople hoping for guidence as to what the FCC thinks is required to comply with CIPA will be disappointed with the order issued yesterday. Other than requiring some form of blocking or filtering as part of an overall policy, the FCC remains silent as to what, exactly, that software should do.
Seth Finkelstein, after pointing out he is not a lawyer, points out that in jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1059151679671396632003-07-25T09:47:00.000-07:002003-07-25T09:47:59.830-07:00CIPA - FCC RulesThe FCC put out its CIPA rules yesterday. I am studying the document but you can find an ALA response here. And the Order itself here in DOC, TXT, PDFformats.What is interesting in my reading so far is that there does not seem to be any indication as to what CIPA complying software must actually do.jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1058933576598911912003-07-22T21:12:00.000-07:002003-07-22T21:12:56.646-07:00CIPA CertificationAs people wonder how best to cope with CIPA it might be worthwhile to take a look at the actual form which must be filled out. It is two pages and availible in PDF here.One service which the ALA might want to perform for its members would be to have an general legal opinion written in plain laguage detailing what the ALA believe would be the step to compliance. There is simply jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1058811260070429162003-07-21T11:14:00.000-07:002003-07-21T11:14:20.103-07:00StandardsThe debate over at the ALA Council in the wake of the decision to cancel the meeting with internet filtering companies is heating up.There seems to be some confusion between standard setting and endorsement. Standard setting is an entirely independent process - think Consumer Reports. The ALA would set the criteria it believes are the minimum standards filtering companies should meet. jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1058555720524575422003-07-18T12:15:00.000-07:002003-07-18T12:15:20.583-07:00ALA/Filtering Compnies meeting cancelledThe Executive Board met via conference call late yesterday afternoon todiscuss the Association's response to the CIPA decision.We are now working on incorporating Board discussion and feedback fromother member leaders and hope to release a final response next week. We will also not be holding the August meeting with the filteringcompanies. Instead, we willjcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1058412643776272132003-07-16T20:30:00.000-07:002003-07-16T20:30:43.840-07:00A Soft ApproachSpokesmen for N2H2 Inc. of Seattle and BioNet Systems LLC of Bellevue said the companies will attend a meeting Aug. 14 held by the American Library Association in Washington, D.C.The meeting is an attempt to introduce filtering companies to libraries."It's very important that the filtering industry understand the library market," said Emily Sheketoff, exec director of the library jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1058307256506184132003-07-15T15:14:00.000-07:002003-07-15T15:44:31.526-07:00Great CIPA signsCheck out the "Unfiltered" signage at librarian.netjcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1058298923041164582003-07-15T12:55:00.000-07:002003-07-15T12:55:23.093-07:00Market PowerIn the wake of the SCOTUS decision on CIPA the ALA has the opportunity to exert a fair bit of pressure on the filtering companies to open up their blocking lists and their methods to scrutiny. With over 90% of the libraries in America currently employing no filtering technology implementing CIPA will be a big issue for the next few months.It is possible for the ALA to assert its jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1058227474652296362003-07-14T17:04:00.000-07:002003-07-16T12:42:22.093-07:00Overblocking? You decide.Pop over to N2H2 and in their Tools in the upper right hand corner hit URL Checker. Type in the IF 2K URL http://www.internetfilter.com. We were as surprised as we're sure you'll be.UpdateAs of 12:30 July 16 www.internetfilter.com is no longer categorized as "pornography" at www.n2h2.com....Gee, thanks guys.jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1058131079778312792003-07-13T14:17:00.000-07:002003-07-14T17:00:33.106-07:00Bess on GuardN2H2 raises its banner in the CIPA world:Public libraries are the key to providing equal information-access to every individual in a given community. The Internet provides access to information far beyond the confines of the physical library. Unfortunately, the quest for information that has merit and value is sometimes derailed by the intrusion of blatantly objectionable material. jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1057962445596581382003-07-11T15:27:00.000-07:002003-07-11T15:27:25.606-07:00Cite and InsiteA full issue of Cites and Insights devoted to an analsis of the SOCTUS CIPA decsion and its implications for libraries. An excellent roundup of legal, press and interest group reaction and a package to be savoured at leisure.Very kindly Walt Crawford mentions IF 2K under the heading Commercial Alternatives. My correspondence with Marylaine at Ex Libris is quoted.Walt Crawford, jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1057961790727086292003-07-11T15:16:00.000-07:002003-07-11T15:16:30.723-07:00ALA Cipa Meeting SetThe ALA has set a briefing meeting for Washington on August the 14, 2003.The briefing is headed,Supreme Court Decision on the Children's Internet Protection Act Learn What It Means for Blocking and Filtering In the Library Market jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1057777215496446512003-07-09T12:00:00.000-07:002003-07-09T12:00:15.376-07:00ALA CIPA Legal FAQsVery helpfully the ALA has put up a FAQ page for itsmembers which can be found here.jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1057776582181732952003-07-09T11:49:00.000-07:002003-07-09T11:52:18.836-07:00ALA Filter FactsKaren G. Schneider produced a very fine technical note entitled Plain Facts About Internet Filtering Software which can be found here. I am putting up the link in my resources column and it is a must read to get a handle on the flaws and foibles of filtering.jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1057747879489952092003-07-09T03:51:00.000-07:002003-07-09T03:51:19.403-07:00Why Meet?Judith Krug, director of the Office of Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association, said that in the meeting, tentatively scheduled for Aug. 14, librarians will ask the companies to ensure that their software can easily be turned off and on again by librarians.The group will also demand that the companies reveal their database of blocked sites to libraries so they can jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1057741559549963612003-07-09T02:05:00.000-07:002003-07-09T02:05:59.526-07:00w.bloggar activeAnyone who blogs owes it to themselves to at least try w.bloggar.jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1057733397555321702003-07-08T23:49:00.000-07:002003-07-08T23:49:57.570-07:00Block that List
Filed under the just plain silly are the many categories of blockage available at Verso...
Obviously this sort of list is not intended for libraries - the Science block is a giveaway - but it does indicate the levels of odd filtering people seem to want in the internet filtering marketplace.
jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1057641732610029092003-07-07T22:22:00.000-07:002003-07-07T22:22:12.656-07:00Filtering is a good thing
via librarystuff
jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1057609433403461382003-07-07T13:23:00.000-07:002003-07-07T13:23:53.453-07:00One Solution
A Modest Proposal
Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that Congress can condition Federal funding for libraries on the libraries' use of censorware (i.e., that a law called CIPA is consistent with the constitution), it's time to take a serious look at the deficiencies of censorware, and what can be done about them.
Suppose you're a librarian who wants to comply with CIPA, but jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1057358048286554322003-07-04T15:34:00.000-07:002003-07-04T15:34:58.666-07:00The Basics
The early returns from librarians are in and here are some basic requirements:
- the internet filter block list must be either publicly available or available to users
- cost of ownership matters
- "white lists" built locally, regionally or nationally are critical
- the filter has to be easy to turn off
The ALA is working out the details of a meeting between itself and filtering jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1057001551798467712003-06-30T12:32:00.000-07:002003-07-01T10:48:41.956-07:00Filtering and Religion
via the Shifted Librarian
Nancy Williard wrote a report entitled Filtering Software: The Religious Connection. Unfortunately it is no longer available at the link provided at Library Journal. If anyone has a copy of the report or a link to where it can be found I would be happy to put it up at this site or provide a link.
Update
via Catablog Here is the Williard paper.
jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1056999199713826072003-06-30T11:53:00.000-07:002003-06-30T11:53:19.760-07:00Filtering News
There is an excellent summary of filtering News at The Shifted Librarian.
Interesting that North Dakota is approaching the issue on a statewide basis. This makes a good deal of sense as most commercial filtering solutions, including IF2K, discount their product according to the number of licences purchased. As well, by implementing filtering statewide North Dakota will ensure jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1056920615158272332003-06-29T14:03:00.000-07:002003-06-29T14:06:01.096-07:00 Internet filtering Roundup
via Liblog
The Washington Post has a valuable roundup of press reaction to the SCOTUS CIPA decision.jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1056914694501779842003-06-29T12:24:00.000-07:002003-06-29T12:25:32.763-07:00 Co-operative Filtering
I received a wonderful note from Marylaine Block responding to my rquest for comments from librarians on what they'd like in filtering tech.
Along with wanting to turn it off - echoing many other responses - Marylaine suggested that librarians be given an advisory role in designing block lists and bringing a degree of human oversight into the filtering process.
While Ijcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1056787419102083392003-06-28T01:03:00.000-07:002003-06-28T01:03:39.046-07:00Four Score
via textism
If only Abe had Powerpoint he could have made a great presentation at Gettysburg.
A little warm up to help deal with the sales guys who are going to be arriving at the library.jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1056678127469937232003-06-26T18:42:00.000-07:002003-06-26T18:42:07.420-07:00Filter Problems I
via Instapundit
Mark Glaser has a roundup of reaction to the CIPA decision.
The problem is at all the various schools and libraries throughout the country. Who polices these software controls? Anyone with an agenda.
As they say in blog land, read the whole thing.
jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1056676939368783532003-06-26T18:22:00.000-07:002003-06-26T18:22:19.376-07:00First Ammendment Friendly
Jerry Berman, the president of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a high-tech policy group in Washington, said libraries should use their buying power. "I hope that they turn this unwelcome decision into an opportunity to make filtering First Amendment-friendly," he said, including requiring companies to disclose sites they block and to make programs easy for jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1056599027862993532003-06-25T20:43:00.000-07:002003-06-26T13:12:03.736-07:00Overblocking
A key argument against filtering is that it tends to "overblock", that is a filter will include websites which are not offensive in any way. The classic example is the blocking of breast cancer sites because they mention, well, breasts.
IF 2003 has tried to address this issue with context sensitive filtering algorithms; but a computer is only so smart so there are manual overides jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1056598747271414742003-06-25T20:39:00.000-07:002003-06-25T20:39:07.320-07:00On/Off
One assumption that SCOTUS made in its decision was that libraries would be able to turn off filtering for their adult users. Easier said than done but with IF 2003 on/off capacity is built right in.
A librarian with the proper access can turn the filter off for a particular computer or group of computers. He or she can also turn the filer off for a set number of minutes for a particular jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1056568911724646662003-06-25T12:21:00.000-07:002003-06-25T12:21:51.740-07:00Pricing
The cost of filtering solutions can be huge where a library or system of libraries may have hundreds or even thousands of internet enabled computers.
Worse, the cost of filtering in many cases is ongoing: there is an intital purchase price and then a yearly subscription. IF 2003 has a relatively low purchase price and no subscription fees ever.
The one time fee for a 10 computer jcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5510799.post-1056523541467248462003-06-24T23:45:00.000-07:002003-06-24T23:52:47.503-07:00Internet Filtering for Libraries
The recent Supreme Court ruling on the Children's Internet Protection Act means that any library in America which has internet access and accepts federal funding must install an Internet Filter.
Librarians have expressed concern that most commercial filters available today do not publish a list of the sites they block, are hard to modify in special circumstancesjcnoreply@blogger.com