notto

One of the activities I do for my company is to do technology assessments for school technology. I always check for talkorigins.org when nobody is looking. I haven't come across this, but it doesn't suprise me that some do filter it out without question. Most of the schools here are provided filtering through an educational cooperative that acts as the ISP and chooses what is filtered (not another company).

One thing that I always do is advocate for teachers to test the filter and if they can't get to sites they think they should have access to, they should be able to request that they be allowed. It should also be possible for teachers to get to sites that students can't through authentication. If they can't do this, I recommend advocating to get another filter service.

I would also advocate parents to discuss filtering issues with their school board and administration to find out what company they use. Parents (and others) are generally blinded by the "yeah, we use filtering" line but don't understand the capabilities and limitations of this software. The descision makers in schools often don't know enough about the software they use because they were sold this as a service from another company. Specifics should be discussed and parents should ask for sample sites in all categories (this is typcially how this is done) that are not allowed. They should also be able to see the specifics about how the decision to filter a site is made. These can be surprising.

[ March 30, 2002: Message edited by: notto ]</p>

Id

Amazingly, at my school, Talk Origins is not filtered, but guess what is: ICR!

Blue_Metal

At my school our filtering software blocks Atheist sites with 'Alternative Religions' and sometimes 'Illegal/Questionable Content'. And next year we get The Bible As History: 101! I'm so glad I'm graduating.

Blue

Automaton

I'm going insane. Our calenders are actually wrong. 1984 may actually only be a few years away.

Krieger

Thats sick and wrong. No computers in public schools or other public places should have internet "filters" of any kind.

Heleilu

How do you get around your filter? I've graduated, but my school used I-Gear. My sophmore year you could change the proxy settings, but they closed that loophole and all I could use was the old Shoudouka trick. Even that didn't work a lot of the time.

Bree

I don't know what my university uses, but I can't look up anything with the word "breast" in it. Apparently doing research on breast cancer isn't allowed. I can't even look up "birth control" for Christ's sakes!

Anyone know how to install and run MSN if it's blocked?

beachbum

Doesn't it make your heart glow, knowing that you can now surf the net without having to think. That's right the religious right has created enought net nanny software to take the guesswork and thinking out of using the net. Gloryfuckinghallelujah.

Oresta

I don't know what my university uses, but I can't look up anything with the word "breast" in it. Apparently doing research on breast cancer isn't allowed. I can't even look up "birth control" for Christ's sakes!
Anyone know how to install and run MSN if it's blocked?

Your university uses a filter program? Where is that? Oral Roberts U?
Edited to fix UBB.

[ April 11, 2002: Message edited by: Oresta ]</p>