Since when is "Adult" a dirty word?

[Jamie McKenzie <mckenzie@FROMNOWON.ORG>]

         From Now On - The Educational Technology Journal
         at http://fno.org

        -------------------------------------------------------------
         Vol 8|No 8|May|1999

       Two articles this month at http://fno.org

        1) Strategic Deployment of Hardware
            to Maximize Readiness, Staff Use and
            Student Achievement
            available online at http://fno.org

        2) Since when is "Adult" a dirty word?
             brief excerpt below but article should
             be read online to see the list of 32 pages/sites
             like the National Cancer Institute and the
             US Department of Ed blocked by SurfWatch on 5/10/99
            erroneously for "sexually explicit material."


                    Since when is Adult a dirty word?

                              by Jamie McKenzie


                                                       A S l@P is an
electronic insult -
                                                       an unfounded and
defamatory label
   Even though the filtering of           applied to a Web page without
   information by third parties is                            looking.
   often represented as a gift to
   children. . . as some act of           A S l@PPER is a company which
   decency in an indecent world,             indulges in indiscriminate
   some members of the filtering         S l@PPING without regard to the
   industry embrace and commit            damage done to the victims of
   indecencies of their own.                  S l@P.

                                                     For other new forms of
electronic
                                                     misconduct, see SPAM,
Telephone
                                                     Slamming and SCAM.



    * Some filters block perfectly legitimate information by relying upon
      crude word searching strategies which block articles on adult learning
      and breast cancer.
    * These filters may defame the character of some individuals and
      information providers. They often announce that a site is blocked
      because it contains "sexually explicit" material even when no such
      material is present and they have not taken the time to check the
      content before characterizing it falsely.
    * It appears that some filtering companies may insult first by blocking
      most sites which contain the file name "adult.html" until someone
      complains. They only retreat and apologize after being "caught in the
      act." They systematically defame and then retreat, damaging hundreds
      and thousands of reputations as a matter of course.
    * We are seeing broad-based, wide brush attacks on the character of the
      electronic community with the disregard for individuals and providers
      we normally associate with Internet Spammers. They have invented a new
      form of insult . . . the electronic smear campaign . . . the S l@P.

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