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Date: 2000-08-21
Neues vom Filterwahn-.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- Idiotie ein Must: eine Frau Babcock wurde von einem US- Provider nicht als Kunde akzeptiert, weil dessen Filtersoftware den "cock" nach "Bab" und damit den ganzen Namen blockierte. -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- relayed by Bobson Wong <bwong@dfn.org> via gilc- plan@gilc.org WEB SITE BANS WOMAN WITH "UNACCEPTABLE" NAME NEWARK, N.J., August 18, 2000 - In a new twist on Internet censorship, Los Angeles attorney Sherril Babcock was blocked from joining the BlackPlanet.com online service - at least until she changes her name. When Babcock registered for access to BlackPlanet.com, a New York-based Web site dealing with African-American topics, she was told that her last name was "unacceptable," presumably because it contained the word "cock," and she was not permitted to register. Suspecting the matter to be a simple matter of the site's overly ambitious censorware, she contacted BlackPlanet.com hoping to clear up the problem. She explained that "Babcock was my father's name as well, and I am very fond of him." Crystal Martin, BlackPlanet.com's Moderator for Member Services, responded. She apologized twice for the inconvenience, but said "unfortunately, the letters that form the word 'Cock' is [sic] unacceptable and will not be recognized by our system." Omar Wasow, BlackPlanet.com's executive director, intends to continue using the censorware. Though he described himself as a strong supporter of free speech, he defended his use of censorware as an attempt to not offend his site's membership, even though there would be casualties like Sherril Babcock. When asked if he would register Babcock manually, thereby bypassing the censorware, Wasow explained that if the censorware made bad decisions even only one percent of the time, it would have meant over 8,000 manual entries given the current population of his online community. Babcock would just have to change her registration name to please the censorware. End of matter. Babcock is still not a member, and cyber- rights groups are having a good laugh over this latest episode of censorware's shortcomings. "Censorware is a non-solution for a non-problem. It doesn't block what it intends to, most of which doesn't hurt anyone, and it blocks far too much of what it shouldn't. It's a failure and it's scary that some want public libraries to adopt this junk," said Alan Brown, Internet development director for the Digital Freedom Network. The episode reminded Babcock of America Online's ban of the word "breast" in its chat rooms. The ban was only overturned when members of a breast cancer survivor's group complained that the ban left them with very little to talk about. According to the cyber-rights organization Peacefire, Internet censorware is so flawed that various versions have blocked Web sites including Time Magazine, the National Organization for Women, the Vatican, the Heritage Foundation, and even sites about dogs. "Would St. Francis of Assisi or Emily Dickinson also have been banned from BlackPlanet.com?", asked Bobson Wong, executive director of the Digital Freedom Network. The Digital Freedom Network (DFN) promotes human rights around the world by developing new methods of activism with Internet technology and by providing an online voice to those attacked simply for expressing themselves. DFN creates Internet applications to fight censorship, acquires technology tools for other activists, launches Internet-based campaigns on behalf of human rights, and serves as a technical resource for activists worldwide. DFN's Web site is http://dfn.org. -.- -.-. --.- - -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- edited by published on: 2000-08-21 comments to office@quintessenz.at subscribe Newsletter - -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- 
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