Book and Site Banning and Burning

[Jamie McKenzie <fromnowon@EARTHLINK.NET>]

Earlier this year I found articles on my Web site
were being falsely banned by a filtering company
that had simply banned the files because they contained
the word "adult."

As we recognize banned book week, we need to remain
vigilant to new forms of book (and article) banning that
creep into our schools and our libraries in the name of
child protection.

This company falsely labeled my article "sexually explicit."
It was an article on adult learning previously published
in eSchool News.

When I filled out the forms to have them reconsider, there
was no response for 10 days.  It wasn't until I posted a message
on LM_NET and took legal action that the site banning ceased.
And today this company no longer uses the simple logic of banning
all files such as "adult.html."

I am sometimes perplexed by the readiness of some to
sanction crude censorship when it is electronic.

I was recently blocked in two different speaking locations
from visiting the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums at
www.thinker.org and from the National Gallery of Art
www.nga.gov until the network administrator gave me a
"special" IP address.  One can only speculate as to the "offensive?"
materials in these museums that some censor deemed inappropriate
for schools.  They are simply two of the best sites on the
Internet, but students and staff alike in these districts were
being deprived in the name of "decency."

Let's be clear about this "decency" thing.  It is indecent to
impose one's own family definition of decency on other families.
The ALA Bill of Rights makes this clear.

I am seeing a "crack down" against student e-mail and access
to information nationwide.  We build networks so that students
may communicate globally and do research.  Then some folks
filter, restrict access and limit what students may do.

There is growing national data (see Education Week,
Technology Counts '99: Building the Digital Curriculum
  http://www.edweek.org/sreports/tc99/) that we are
not seeing widespread curriculum integration of new
technologies despite a huge investment in hardware.
This is partially because there is far too little spending
on professional development, but I think there is another
trend little recognized.

Ever since (and even before) the Columbine shootings, there
has been a tendency for conservative groups to link the
Internet with evil.  They see it as something to be heavily
filtered.  And while it is true that there are plenty of
pornographic, racist and offensive sites on the Internet,
there are also many offensive programs on TV and sexually
explicit magazines at the grocery check out.

I see parents and schools having an obligation to teach
young people responsible behavior.  Play pens make sense
for toddlers, but young adults must learn to cope with
temptation and controversy.

It seems to me that we must continue to focus on the danger
of book banning, as books remain a vital element in our search
for understanding, but we must also keep an eye on new forms
of book banning emerging on the electronic frontier.

Best regards,
Jamie
Jamie McKenzie
Editor - "From Now On - The Educational Technology Journal"
fromnowon@earthlink.net            http://fno.org
500 Fifteenth Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
Voice (360) 647-8759  Fax (360) 738-9083
"Adult is not a dirty word."
"The question is the answer."  "Hits are not Truth."

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