HIT: Internet filters

[Mark Frank <mtfrank@EROLS.COM>]

Good morning, All!
    My many thanks to those who responded to my request for information
about filtering software used in schools.  The response was light, but
helpful, and I thank you all.  Several members expressed a wish for any
results, as they too are having the question arise in their schools.
    While doing some of my research on this, I found a site at
http://www.ninenet.com/about_filtering_internet_content.htm
It provided  me with links to several isp's that filter, and I found
that very useful.  As I said before, the provider suggested by the
parent, Mayberry, had no description of its criteria or user over-ride
policies, and I was able to go back to the parent and say that at least
this company may cause us problems.  We haven't settled the issue yet
though.  Good luck to you others out there facing these decisions -- not
only as to whether to filter, but also, if the decision is "yes", which
isp or software package to use.
Cathy Frank
Gibson Island Country School
Pasadena, MD   21122
mtfrank@erols.com

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
You might look at my web site set up for a workshop I did for the ISIS
confrence this past summer.  Go to:
http://courses.unt.edu/csimpson/filter

The filter company not telling you what they filter should be a red
flag.
There are many filters on the market that aren't really out to filter
porn -- they are POLITICAL filters. They block the National Organization

for Women, or the Democratic Party, or other "liberal" sites. Be careful

about that.  I like to do a "belwether" search to see if the company is
really interested in inappropriate materials or just selling products.
The search I do is for the Jimmy Carter interview in Playboy. There is
no
inappropriate content in that interview, though that is where Carter
admits to having "lusted in his heart." A filter will generally block
the
interview because of the word "playboy" in the URL, not because of any
inappropriate content. That means it will also block "Playboy of the
Western World" a book with no inappropriate content.

Make sure you know what the filter criteria are, and that you have the
ability to release material immediately, not having to go through a
committee or to a tech director who may be at a conference for a week.

Good luck with it!


Dr. Carol Simpson
Asst. Professor
University of North Texas School of Library & Information Sciences
Denton, TX
csimpson@lis.admin.unt.edu
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

We are also wrestling with the filter issue.  So far, however, we do not

have any filters at any level.  Our current policy is - every student
and staff person signs  an AUP prohibiting student surfing and chat
rooms and requiring use for classroom purposes.  Then, we promised
elementary parents that teachers would pre-select web sites used for
class projects (but not necessarily links in sites), use sites that are
reviewed in reputable publications or supervise student use.  Our
classrooms, library and computer lab are all internet accessible.  The
policy has worked.  The very few kids who have strayed from what they
said they were doing have had their privileges yanked.

I truly believe that if we'll do our students a better service to
instill a sense of responsibility  rather than deny access.  We know
that filters aren't perfect and that disreputable sites work very hard
to use names which won't be caught. We also know that students are
denied access to valuable sites when filters are used.  If your computer

lab is staffed (our teachers are responsible for computer teaching),
isn't that enough?

Judy Crocker
Chamisa Elementary Library
Los Alamos, NM  87544
drummer@rt66.com


_ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Cathy,  I posted a message to LM_NET about two weeks ago to let people
know that I had just completed an article on filters.  As you
contemplate making a decision about filtering you might want to check
out the peacefire website at www.peacefire.org

Here is a copy of the article.  The opinions expressed are my own.

Do Filters Cause Harm?
By Kathy Geronzin
Co-Chair Intellectual Freedom Committee
of IEMA

As many of you know, I have studied the debate concerning filtering
software for several years, and I have previously addressed many of the
issues involving the use of filters.  Now I would like to address the
filter debate from a different angle and that angle is that the
installation of filters causes harm to the students, schools, and
libraries where they are used.  I believe this angle is one that has
gotten little, if any, coverage in other sources.

The debate over filtering software has heated up in recent months as
many
politicians recommend filters be installed in schools and public
libraries.  This summer Elizabeth Dole stood on the steps of the Des
Moines Public Library and advocated filtering software for libraries.
Another strong advocate of filtering software is radio talk show host,
Dr. Laura Schlesinger.  She began using her radio program to lamblast
ALA and public libraries for not installing filters since last spring.
Judith Krug, Director of the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom, says
Dr. Laura has ratcheted up the filtering debate.  This spring the Iowa
legislature budgeted grant money for schools to use to install filtering

software on their computers. The advocates of filter use cite protecting

children, harmful to minors, and blocking illegal pornography as reasons

to install filtering software.  As professionals dedicated to providing
access to our patrons we know the filtering debate has many complexities

and it is not the simple solution toted by the advocates.

Let us turn our attention for a moment to the issue of what   filtering
software blocks.   Users of filtering software have reported the
following words have been blocked Super Bowl XXX, NASA, the White House,

the Vatican, news, travel, tourism, cancer, sex, and the dirty word of
all time - adult.    They also report subscription services such as
Electric Library, UMI Proquest, SIRS, etc. have been blocked.  Teachers
have reported that websites given to them at professional conferences
were blocked as have e-zines (on-line magazines) such as T.H.E. Journal
and  N.O.W.

A former employee of Borders bookstores, Paul Taylor currently employed
as a Computer Coordinator for Salem-South Lyon School District,
installed Cybersitter on his computer and then did several searches in
the Border's bookstore website.  He installed the filter 'as is' and
made no adjustments to the settings.  He thought the Border's website
itself might be blocked, but what he found out was even creepier.  When
he searched for the book Satanic Verses his search resulted in no books
by that title nor did it return any titles with the words satanic or
verses.  When he typed in the author's name "rushdie" a list of books
written by Rushdie appeared, but the title of the book Satanic Verses
was shorted to simply "Verses".  All instances where the word satanic
would have appeared were removed from the citation and review of the
book. When titles, citations, and reviews are edited in this way it is
expurgation and such expurgation changes the intended meaning.  When he
searched for the Fred Astaire video, "Gay Divorcee" he learned
Cybersitter does not like the word "gay".  Searches on the words "rape"
and "molestation" were completely blocked.

This brings us to the question of how many websites are on the Internet
and what percentage of those websites are pornographic.  It is estimated

there are about 12 million websites on the Internet and of that number
approximately 800,000 are pornographic.  The most sites blocked by any
filter is about 150,000.  That means even when a filter is used only 1%
of the pornographic sites are blocked.   Eva Davis, a librarian from
Michigan, asks "Why would  anyone purchase filtering software if they
block less than one percent of pornographic material on the Internet?"
When Consumer Reports evaluated filtering software they selected 22
pornographic websites to use during the test. They found the most
effective filter blocked 18 of the sites and the least effective filter
blocked only 4 of the 22 sites.

One facet of the debate concerning the advocacy of filters that is
frequently missed is that the sale of pornography is a business.  It is
a big business accustomed  to making huge profits.  What that means to
us is most pornographic sites are not going to be free and they will
require payment or a credit card number before the site can be entered.

Then there is the question of how filters work.  Because most filters
use
keyword searches to determine which sites to block they rarely block
pictures or graphics.  Other types of alarming information they don't
block are hate sites and those where the authority of the author is
questionable.  When a filter is installed the school is saying we can
control the websites our student have access to.  This could make the
school liable if pornographic sites are accessed.  The installation of
filters on all the computers in a school can be very expensive, at
$40.00 or more per computer.  When filters are installed the school is
turning over the control for the content of Internet sites to someone
else and is letting them make the decisions about which sites will be
blocked.

Some filters use a system of alarms which sound off when alleged
inappropriate sites are downloaded.  One report said a girl using a Maya

Angelou site was very embarrassed when the alarm sounded because the
word breast appeared on the site.

In review some of the ways filters cause harm are:

        they block websites on health related issues that could
mean the
difference between life and death
        they are not effective screeners of pornography
        they block sites that libraries have paid subscriptions
to use
        filters with alarm systems can cause embarrassment to
library patrons
using legitimate sites
        when words are deleted from titles or explanations it
can change the
intended meaning of the work
        they are very expensive per computer
        they give censorship control to an outside company
        they keep students from finding the information they
need for school
assignments.

What are some of the answers to the problems associated with Internet
use
by children and students?  The first and foremost answer is adult
supervision of computer use.  Secondly, students should be introduced to

safety guidelines for Internet use, and schools should have acceptable
use policies.  We need to be prepared  to give positive examples of
Internet use by students, and become familiar with appropriate Internet
sites for student use.

As the debate over filters continues we must be prepared to do four
things.  One, educate ourselves about the issues concerning filtering
software. Two, educate our administrators and teaching staffs about the
harm filters can cause. Three, be able to field calls or visits from
people who insist that our schools install filters. Four be ready,
willing, and able to write letters and advocate for unfiltered access in

libraries.

Jay Jacobsen, Executive Director ACLU in Texas says "The function and
purpose of both the library and education is to expose children to a
wide range of ideas, and any time you start narrowing those ideas, you
narrow and reduce the level of education."  Filters narrow and reduce
the level of education.  They cause harm in many ways to the students,
schools, and libraries where they are installed.  Let us work together
to keep them out of schools in Iowa as we seek to find ways to integrate

the use of technology and the Internet without them.

Kathy Geronzin
Northeast Community Schools
3690 Hwy # 136
Goose Lake, IA 52750
319-577-2249
FAX 319-577-2248
geronzin@hobbes.caves.net
The opinions expressed are my own.

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