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Web Censors Prompt College To Consider Name Change

babbage writes: "The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Beaver College is considering a name change. The president of the formerly all-girls college commented that she worries about derogatory remarks and jokes." And now she has Web censorship to deal with, too.

While insults and jokes have been around a long time (as has the word "beaver" as sexual slang), Web-filtering software has not. And some Web filters, which are by necessity based on logic not suited to all situations, block the college's Web site and e-mail. Check out the Inquirer article.

254 comments

  1. uk.local.essx and the hazards of regexps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    From a back issue of NTK (www.ntk.net; search engine there can dig it up): the newsgroup uk.local.essex dropped the final `e' because usenet spammers grabbed onto the last 3 letters of the name.

  2. Re:Saturday Night Massacre by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sure he improved relations with China, but why do we, as a whole, tend to forget that he was instrumental in screwing them up in the first place?

    It's said that only Nixon could have gone to China. Damn staight. He owed them a personal apology.

    The whole issue smacks of Arafat getting a Nobel Peace prize for making a weak promise not to kill thousands of innocent people anymore while people who laid down their lives rather than take one went unrecognized.

  3. Re:I dont get it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually, a merkin is an archaic term for a pubic wig, so our man was right on topic

  4. Re:Nixon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hey, at least when Nixon was in office we knew for a fact that we had a Dick in the White House.

  5. a character from an old tv show.. happy days by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    http://www.tvparty.com/70happy.html

    you will have to cut and paste, i'm too lazy to make a link.

  6. How many names should we change... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well right of the top of my head (no the other one:)

    To cities comes to my mind, Bangkok (sp?) in Thailand and Breast in France.

    So should we start changing names because it sounds silly in other languages, I don't think so.

    Who really cares, why am I even writing this?

    And what about /. if you lok at it the same way as you do with :-) well I'll find that offencive too.

  7. Re:I dont get it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A friend of mine wrote and recorded a song entitled L.A.F.F, (Ladies Against Fanny Floss).

    She was refering to thong bathing suits.

    It wasn't until she was informed how well the song was doing Down Under that she found out what fanny means in the Land of Oz.

  8. Sad day for the associated press... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    ... to run such a lame "story" as this. Let me save you the trouble of clicking the link:
    GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) -- Sarah Ferguson is no fan of grits.

    On a promotional tour for her very own Wedgwood china pattern, "Sarah's Garden,'' the Duchess of York told a crowd of several hundred that Southern cooking isn't her thing.

    "Do you want to know the truth? I didn't like grits,'' she said Tuesday at a department store. "I was told I must try fried okra -- that is if it is allowed by Weight Watchers.''

  9. blocking stupid sites by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wonder if it blocks USA today.

  10. New Poll!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Alright Slashdot already decided on a good name for the Suse Lizard.

    We can do it again!

    What do you think is a good name for was_Beaver.edu?

  11. I dont get it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Beaver????
    Hmmm..

    Must be some Amercian Colloquialism.

    Ahhh!! THATS RIGHT FOLKS!!!

    95% of the world DONT GIVE A DAMN about this particular name.

    But I always thought it was funny when Howard Cunningham was going to glue Joannie's Fanny to the bed. (Happy Days). because where I live a Fanny is what you merkins call a beaver...

    I say litigate the censoring programs out of existence for restriction of trade.

    1. Re:I dont get it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OK, i think Americans are more than 5% of the world's population. Besides, slashdot goes to America nerds for the most part. If you don't get it, don't worry about it.

    2. Re:I dont get it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes but most readers of slashdot are American, or at least familiar enough with American colloquialisms to know what beaver refers to. Be thankful for your own particular innocence.

    3. Re:I dont get it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      who the hell is Howard Cunningham?

    4. Re:I dont get it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      most readers of slashdot are American

      Well, let's say if slashdot continues like this, slashdot will end up with American readers only. Which is a more valuable target group when it comes to advertising and marketing than scattered individuals around the world are. It is in the interest of slashdot editors to make this an American-only publication, and hell, there isn't much to go any more.

      Slashdot didn't even report about the world's largest computer trade show which just closed its doors yesterday with a new visitor record. Do I have to mention that the show didn't happen in the US? Instead of reporting about things like this, slashdot reports about childish issues like colleges with stupid names. Slashdot itself has become rather childish in the last month, which matches well to the tendency to be come American-only.

    5. Re:I dont get it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "...is what you merkins call a beaver..." I guess you do get it, don't you. Stop your frikkin' whining. Either accept that more people from Californians (let alone all Americans) surf the internet than Brits, or find yourself a British site where you can whine about "merkins" til the cows come home...or do you not understand that colloquialism either.

    6. Re:I dont get it... by Monte · · Score: 1

      Must be some Amercian Colloquialism.

      Like the word "fanny" being a cuter form of "butt"?

    7. Re:I dont get it... by leitchn · · Score: 2

      Must be some Amercian Colloquialism.

      What?
      I'm British, and have never been to the US, and beaver has been acceptable slang for female genitalia for as long as I can remember.

  12. Re:They already tried once... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That name wouldn't work because everyone knows that women and seminary's don't mix.

    ba-da-da-dum. (I couldn't resist.)

  13. Open admissions Policy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If the college adopted an open-admissions policy they'd be known as "Open Beaver College".

  14. Re:How Silly -- DuBois or ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Do Boys" or "Do Bwah" ? I've always heard the latter.

  15. Re:Ydinvoimaa vastaan-tapahtuma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "sanoja"

    "ei suomeksi sanoja Slashdotissa"

  16. Nice beaver by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thanks... I just had it stuffed.

  17. Re:You and John Katz by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nothing wrong with porn. Learnt alot from old pornos when I was a kid. Thats probably why I knew where a damn clitoris was from an early age. Porno mags let parents avoid embaressing anotomy classes. Still some kids may still think its normal for a woman to be taking on 6 guys at once, but then probably only in America. You can subsitute a good graphic porno for showing what goes where and what else you can do for fun. Those flouncy cartoons they show you at school were shit, didnt even show the guy humping. Anyway, anyone got any double fisting pics?

  18. Re:First post. (or second, third, whatever).. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Heheh from http://all4Tish.org
    i took down the page temporarily b/c some dumbasses kept going for the same brianeli.jpg pic ... when the hits die off, i'll bring it back up

  19. Re:How Silly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't forget the town of Hempfield

  20. This is similar... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...to a story a few years ago about an elementary school changing its name... it was changed either to or from the Orchard, or something like that, for some stupid reason. Does anybody else remember what I'm talking about? I think the school was in the UK.

  21. Goood question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    For example, www.annapanna.dk sells roof tiles in Denmark. In Finnish that means "let me fuck".

    I doubt if any Finn finds that offensive enough to start getting them blocked. It's a good laugh! Why be so serious all the time.

  22. Re:First post. (or second, third, whatever).. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I got to CUNT institute of higher education. Our mascot is a VERTICAL BACON SANDWICH. Poeple make fun of it, dunno why.

  23. Sometimes a beaver is just a beaver by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When Sigmund Freud was asked to elaborate his passion for smoking cigars (a phallic symbol), he replied: "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."

    I'll just say: sometimes a beaver is just a beaver.

    It's the name of an animal for crying out loud. If you ban everything related to sex you'll only end up with a nation full of frustrated rapists.

  24. Re:Beaver College by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Do her sir? Does she like it sir? Ohhh sir, suit you sir.

  25. That was going to be my post! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm pissed you beat me to it. BTW, Slashdot is really become technology's Jerry Springer Show these days. I mean Beaver College? They should just post links saying "click on the banner ad above" and get it over with already. This isn't news for nerds in the slightest!

    1. Re:That was going to be my post! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Um, web censorship dumbass. This is a prime example of why web filtering needs to be rethought. A college is considering changing its name because of Internet censorship. Let us deal with the symptom and not the problem. If you can't make the connection as to why this matters I suggest you go back to school.

    2. Re:That was going to be my post! by Monte · · Score: 1

      They should just post links saying "click on the banner ad above" and get it over with already.

      On the other side of the coin, it's thanks to Slashdot that I know about things like Junkbuster and Intermute - so I'm blissfully banner-free. Self imposed web censorship! I love it!

  26. Re:Web filter only a small reason to change name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And here's the link (feast your ears, but only in realaudio): http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/atc/20000301.atc.07.ra m

  27. and when you're in NJ or KY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    don't even think about visiting beaverville.

    You're right though. The names should stay, even if they do make teenagers chuckle

  28. I DONT GET IT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  29. Re:Beaver College by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The office I work at is on a street called 'Côte du Beaver Hall' in lovely downtown Montreal. (just around the corner from PVM!)

  30. No more new-speak! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just change the name to "Cunt University", and let the chips (and dales...) fall where they may!

  31. The same thing happened to my college! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My College had to change its name too, a few years ago. We were called The CundKock Shytpiz Institute.

    Now we're called The CundKock Shytpiz Foundation.

    (Rimshot)

  32. Re:Ydinvoimaa vastaan-tapahtuma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    (to the tune of "Walking in Memphis")

    Yeah, I was trolling in Finnish
    Trolling with lots of umlats and double vowels
    I was trolling in Finnish
    But hot grits in my pants makes me howl

  33. Re:found it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    > Beaver has admitted men since 1973.

    Actually, Beaver has admitted men since about the dawn of time.

    The entrance requirements can be pretty demanding, though. But it's nice
    if you can get in.

  34. Re:Nixon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah...like when he was running for his second term: (Bumper Sticker) "Vote for Nixon in "72...Don't Change Dicks in the Middle of a Screw!"

  35. Lay Offs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lay them off or lay them?

  36. lol by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it's better to do poorly once you're admitted... then you're in, you're out, you're in, you're out...

  37. how about lynchburg... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    RACISM ALERT!
    RACISM ALERT!


    only if you're black

  38. It must've been done on purpose... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I mean c'mon, look at the names of some of their buildings:
    - Atwood Library
    - Kuch Recreation and Athletic Center (I suppose this could be pronounced many ways, but the first way I read it, I was cracking up...
    -Dilworth Hall

    Campus Tour

  39. actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the beaver refers to the pubic hair surrounding the vaginal region

  40. bwaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i bet that school has been the laughing stock of surrounding schools for ages

  41. Save a tree... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... eat a beaver ;-) SCNR

  42. Re:Web filter only a small reason to change name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And MIT's mascot too.

  43. all4tish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    what was http://all4Tish.org/main/pics/brianeli.jpg ?

  44. native english translation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    May I suggest, "Shouldn't you be having a riot at a soccer game?"

  45. Re:Ydinvoimaa vastaan-tapahtuma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Jag tycker att Finnarna ska prata svenska och inte skaffa sig griller om Finsk överhöghet. Finnarna är en svensk besitning, glöm inte det

  46. Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Sorry, but who cares if a 3rd class US college has to change its stupid name or not?

    If the /. editors are on a private crusade against web filters, this is fine. But why do we have to listen to this pointless shit again and again? If they want to censor in "the land of the free", fine. But don't expect that we on the other side of the ocean care in any way. "Stuff that matters"? Phffft.

    1. Re:Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't you have a soccer game you should be having a riot at?

  47. you mean like the NY Post? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    THe NY Post "prides" itself on its "conservativism." It is .025 notches above the Weekly World News. I guess the inquirer must be like the Post.

  48. Re:don't you get it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    female genitalia, arteria vaginalis, poontang, bush, slit, pussy, snatch, bearded clam, mons, love triangle, urethral orifice, furry hoopsnatch, snapper, glory hole, gates of paradise.

  49. Do me! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Two buildings of a female dormitory at Purdue University are called Duhme (pronounced 'do me') and Wood. There are plenty of jokes made about that. Obviously the dilemma is the net nanny products getting in the way of normal browsing.

  50. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  51. Re:Ydinvoimaa vastaan-tapahtuma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Jos jätteitä ei saa haudata Eurajoelle kunnolliseen loppusijoituspaikkaan, niin minnes ne sitten dumpataan? Itäsuomen metsiin? Ihmisten takapihoille? Järki käteen.

  52. Re:You and John Katz by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What the heck's wrong with porn anyway?

  53. Re:Fist post. (or secunt, turd, whatever).. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i'm a stud-ent at orgyon state univertitty. out mascot is the Mighty Beaver. lots of people here felate that to the femail genatalia, but guess twat? no booty curves. all tits used for in that regarters is some immature jokes, that nobooty puts any weiner in. so these guys need to get off on it, and get it on with their lives.

    sorry, just head to get that out of my system. its chest not a big deal what a college is called. you didn't prick (or look up the dress of) the girl because of her name, but because of her dating reputation (or, dependsing, because of its partying repubetation ... but either way, not s/m of its name)

    =) thank you, chevy chase.

  54. HEY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    SO DO I!!!!!

    I WAS BORN IN BEAVER (THE TOWN) and have lived in Beaver Falls since I was like 6 (now 26) which is 20 mins from Beaver

    I work for Community College Beaver Country :P

    Email me sometime it would be nice to talk to a local slashdotter

    jason.salopek@usa.net

  55. One Possible Solution... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cleary a good possible course of action, to bring focus to the true meaning of all of this... Slashdot and the top officials at Beaver should start a program whereby interested Slashdot "member" families could sponsor a Beaver student to help provide physical and emotional support during this tumultuous period.
    "Adopt a Beaver" if you will. (And you will.)

  56. I remember! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Beaver College, when I was in college that was the best place to go to pick up Chicks, or at least that was what everyone said as I didn't go cause I was a freakin' computer nerd.

  57. Fuck, Germany by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There was a report recently on Dutch TV about a town in Germany named "Fuck". They showed tourists stopping beside the "Welcome to Fuck" sign to take photos. While I was in Taipei a few years ago it was always a scream to see some guy walking down the street wearing a TIT jacket or t-shirt.....Taipei Institute of Technology.

    1. Re:Fuck, Germany by ceeam · · Score: 1

      And I would say that it would be utterly stupid for them to even think about changing it.
      I recall that there's about 6000 languages and dialects in the world. Now, possibly every word you can think of means something ... uhm, juicy in one of it. ;-) For instance - ebay in many east-european languages will mean exactly 'fuck' also. So now what?
      Or say, do you remember a story here on /. about some brittish South Park College?

      PS: BTW, what does 'byte' mean in french? Why do they use 'octet'?

  58. Re:Ydinvoimaa vastaan-tapahtuma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    hei Trollking, ei suomeksi sanat Slashdot:ssa!

    hey Trollking, no finnish text in Slashdot!

  59. Re:Ydinvoimaa vastaan-tapahtuma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just joo, voitit banaanin tuosta mielipiteestä.

  60. Violence is Merkin! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lynchings aren't just white-on-black assassinations. Aside from most minorities falling prey to them at one time or another (Mexicans, Chinese, Aboriginals, Jews, etc. ), gays, horsethieves, killers who get off on technicalities, and generally anyone the townsfolk take a hysterical dislike to are all qualifying candidates for lynchings, particularly in the South and most rural areas. All you longhaired SV sysadmins who have ever driven thru Central/Eastern California have seen those beady squints...

    So, don't dis our proud cultural traditions, you furriners! We've got God on our side! Movies of a breast getting shot off are rated PG, while those of a breast getting fondled are rated X! That's the Merkin Way, and it's why we whup the economic asses of Yerp! Yeeeeeeehaw!

    (BTW, for those educated in California: a merkin is a pubic toupee.)

  61. Picky Comment on Language by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If Beaver College is actually a *college*, then the people who attend are presumably adults, at least for the most part. And when the college didn't admit male students, those adults would have been *women*. I can't imagine a college for children--girls, boys, or both--would actually be able to get accredited. (Yes. I'm one of those women who went to a women's college. Fortunately mine had a less giggle-inducing name.)

  62. Re:Web filter only a small reason to change name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And the beaver is one of Canada's national symbols.... Its even on one of our coins (the nickel)... Makes you wonder, no?

  63. Beaver Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    More fun than grits in the pants.

  64. Nixon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anyone here old enough to remember the jokes about "Dick" Nixon?

    1. Re:Nixon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dick Nixon before he dicks you?

    2. Re:Nixon by Frizzle+Fry · · Score: 1

      I do remember the advice in Steal This Book after the explanation of how to roll a joint:

      Don't use needle drugs. The only dope worth shooting is Nixon.

      The bus came by and I got on
      That's when it all began
      There was cowboy Neal
      At the wheel
      Of a bus to never-ever land

      --
      I'd rather be lucky than good.
  65. Re:don't you get it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    pussy = cat or willow tree
    beaver = dam-building animal
    clam = mollusk or scientologist

    :)

  66. Re:First post. (or second, third, whatever).. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What can you expect from an OSU Beaver? Everyone in the state of Oregon knows that the Ducks are number 1 around here.

  67. Phucket by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's a city in Thailand called Phucket.

  68. No, I'm smarter than you are. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The comments about web filtering were thrown in afterwards as a justification for their "beaver...must read on" trap to get you into some hardcore banner-ad-clicking (notice it's not even on their main page). If you're too much of a starry-eyed youngster to see that I suggest a Nice Dose of the Real World.

    1. Re:No, I'm smarter than you are. by UberQwerty · · Score: 1

      You are one or more of the following: Overly cynical; saving face; not as smart as you think. But you are definately wrong.

      However, these allegations are all ad hominum, so have a look at the extrapersonal facts:
      1. The title of the story ("Web-Censors Prompt College To Consider Name Change") did not mention the name of the college, only the information relevent to a story about censorship in general. It's the title that does the eye-catching, not the synopsis underneath. If you were surfing for stories about sex, you wouldn't have read this one.
      2. No other slashdot article on the main page, or even under "older stuff," has anything to do with sex, or anything else along those lines, suggesting the conclusion that slashdot isn't interested in selling out as the Jerry Springer show has. Only one article thus listed under "older stuff" isn't really news for nerds; the review of "Scream 3." Remember, though, that this is the work of Jon Katz, who thinks only somewhat clearly, and not at all completely, about what he writes.
      3. Slashdot has such a huge amount of readership that a _slang term_ ("slashdot effect") has developed to describe the overloading flow of slashdot readership to _other_ websites. With this many hits, slashdot could easily double your salary with just 1 more banner ad. There is still only one banner ad to justify slashdot's existance.

      Just because the Jerry Springer show exists doesn't mean everything else in all forms of media is equally corrupt, and nobody is a "starry-eyed youngster" for thinking so. I hope you'll think about who you flame in the future - the number one thing Jerry's show gets bashed for is its lack of respect for anything.

      --


      PUBLIC SPLIT ON WHETHER BUSH IS A DIVIDER -CNN scrolling banner, 10/15/2004
  69. Re:First post. (or second, third, whatever).. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, I can see you're the bastion of maturity.

    http://all4Tish.org/main/pics/brianeli.jpg

  70. Ward, I think you were a little hard on the Beaver by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So, are they going to censor this out of the old Leave it to Beaver episodes?

  71. You mean Testical Tech? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's what they called it when my cousin was there.

  72. Re:First post. (or second, third, whatever).. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Beaver all girls collage" eh... damn, I think the President or whatever has the right Idea. The joke is just waiting to be made...
    You're an idiot. If you're going to quote, at least use 'cut and paste'.

    College: n. an institution of higher education.
    Collage: n. a number of overlapping images pasted together to form a larger work.

  73. Rethought? Are you nuts? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What do you mean, "web filtering needs to be rethought". Web filtering needs to be abandoned, period.

    That, of all nations, the USA goes about to censor its own libraries, seems hilarious to me.

  74. your email by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    why do you have email@bates.edu but your server is at uchicago.edu?

    1. Re:your email by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, I really did care, thanks for answering.

    2. Re:your email by Romen · · Score: 1

      Well, the bates address is my old email. I first registered with slashdot quite a while ago (#10819), so it reflects my email as of then, which I haven't bothered to change, since it still works. I suspect you don't care, but I'm responding anyway.
      Sam TH

      --
      Sam TH
      AbiWord Developer
  75. Bwahaha funny thing is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Since the article says "Beaver" so many times, it'll probably be blocked by that damn software too!!!

    So they won't even get to see the warning that Beaver College's website is blocked.

  76. Re:Jeez... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Man, that had me rolling!

    ...a beaver who likes to "get wood" and chew on it!
    ...a furry little creature!

    damn that's funny.

  77. A Modest Proposal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am impressed and in complete agreement with the above post.

    Far too often, Slashdot is the victim of sensationalism, juvenile posting and adolescent hijinks.

    Accordingly, I suggest Beaver College change its name to Clitoris University.

  78. Mars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you live outside of Pittsburgh, people might think you're from Mars.

  79. What about mascots? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    OSU (Oregon State) Beavers.

    My fiance is a beaver, and pretty darned proud of it, too. Up to and including all of the jokes. :)

    Some people have a sense of humor, and can deal with it. Some can't, I guess.

    1. Re:What about mascots? by makohund · · Score: 1
      That was me. Darn that "post anonymously" button. (In mozilla it looks like it is active. Click it, then submit, only to see that the depressed button became a checkmark. Whoops. Used to netscape, I guess.)

  80. Re:Keep the Name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Beavis and Butthead is high art. It is the pinnacle of postmodern humor.

    Don't make me kick your ass

  81. Re:I know I sound like an asshole... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There is a dorm at Carnegie Mellon named Morewood.

  82. You and John Katz by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    want little kids to get their porn. So noble you are, while beating off.

  83. Fergie Doesn't Like Grits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Story is Here
    She's probably never had them poured down her pants. Thank you.

    Troll487

  84. I don't get it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ok, I'm not into it, but what about 'beaver' that's so bad?

  85. don't you get it? by TollTroll · · Score: 0

    pussy, beaver, clam, cunt, etc ad infinitum.

    --
    "Have some dignity" --Mickey Knox
  86. UCTAM Ports Natalie Portman to Reality by trollking · · Score: 0

    JoeSchmoe writes "The United Coalition of Trolls for the Abolition of Moderation has announced that they are porting Natalie Portman to reality. This comes just weeks after UCTAM changed leadership." Troll Dreams can come true after all! ;)
    Thank You,
    Troll King

    --
    Thank You,
    Troll King
    Subscribe
  87. Ydinvoimaa vastaan-tapahtuma by trollking · · Score: 0

    nyt on hetki taas panostaa ydinvoiman vastustamiseen, kun lisärakentamista
    esitetään varsin monilta tahoilta. Posiva on saanut Eurajoen kunnan
    hyväksymisen käytetyn ydinpolttoaineen hautaamiselle Olkiluodon
    kallioperään. Periaatepäätöstä haetaan eduskunnalta tämän kevään aikana.
    Suunnitelmat sisältävät niin ison maanalaisen tilan, että sinne mahtuu
    kahden uudenkin reaktorinkorkeaaktiiviset jätteet. Kiire saada
    loppusijoitus hyväksytyksi liittyy vahvasti ydinvoimateollisuuden haluun
    rakentaa lisää ydinvoimaa.
    Sehän auttaisi viidennen ydinvoimalan lupahakemuksen läpimenoa eduskunnassa.
    Investoiminen ydinvoimaan vie mahdollisuuksia moninkertaisesti
    työllistäviltä uusiutuvilta energiamuodoilta ja energiansäästötekno-
    logioilta.
    Ehdotamme tapahtumapäivää lauantaina 15.4. eri puolilla maata . Toivon
    mukaan ryhmä aktiivisia ihmisiä eri järjestöistä alkaa suunnitella
    tapahtumia paikkakunnillaan, esimerkiksi toritapahtuman: puheita, eri
    järjestöjen esitteitä ja lennäkkejä, korttikampanja ja mahdollisesti
    katuteatteria tai musiikkiesityksiä. Olemme valmiit toimittamaan kortteja
    ja mahdollista muuta materiaalia. Yhteisessä lehdistötiedotteessa
    kertoisimme, että niillä ja niillä paikkakunnilla kampanjoidaan k.o.
    päivänä ydinvoimaa vastaan ja uusiutuvien energiamuotojen puolesta.
    Liittäisimme tapahtumat Earth Day Networkin Clean Energy Now!-kampanjaan.
    Earth Day 2000 on 22.4., pääsiäislauantaina. Ei haitanne, että olemme
    viikon etuajassa.

    Toivomme palautetta, innostutteko kampanjaan ja mitä ehdotuksia teillä
    olisi, mitä tarvittaisiin liikkeellelähtöön.


    Thank You,
    Troll King

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    Thank You,
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    Subscribe
  88. Compare and contrast... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    beavers.com, beaver.edu

    I like how they're one of the 2000 top colleges in the US. Why is there even an award for that?

    now talk amongst yaselves...

  89. Re:Jeez... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    First of all, it is the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, not the NATIONAL ENQUIRER.

    Second, why would any software block a .edu domain??? Like there is going to be a porn site on a .edu? I somehow doubt that. How retarded this software is.

  90. Re:The Inquirer is a REAL journal. by pb · · Score: 1

    Yes, but my post was not a real post. It was humor. Darn, I forgot to put "HUMOR" in the subject line again...

    Besides, if they call themselves the "Inquirer", there will be that negative association. Why don't they change their name? Maybe web filters will eventually block all "suspicious-lookin g Inquirer sites too. Check out the link, their journalism isn't that serious. Anything that's written at a sixth-grade level for the below-average american can't be.

    So what do you think? Inquiring minds want to know... :)
    ---
    pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate.

    --
    pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate.
  91. Too bad, it's a nice place. by bobalu · · Score: 1

    Beaver College is really a nice place. You can't deny the jokes - when I was at Dow Jones we had a girl from Beaver College and it gave everybody a chuckle. More so because she was absolutely beautiful and smart. Btw, Glenside also has one of the coolest places to see a show - the Keswick Theatre. (http://www.thekeswicktheatre.com) I caught Dr. John there a couple of weeks ago.

    --
    The revolution will NOT be televised.
  92. URL correction by bobalu · · Score: 1

    Whoops! They're at http://www.keswicktheatre.com

    --
    The revolution will NOT be televised.
  93. Dumber School by jjohn · · Score: 1

    Yes, there are school names that would NEVER have made it through test marketing today. I have have to say that an all-girl school named Beaver sounds the setup to a marginal joke. Imagine the testimonials:

    "My life before Beaver was terrible. I was in a dead end job, I looked and smelled terrible and I was always irratable. But then, I found Beaver. Sure, there were a lot of sleepless nights, but it was worth it!"


    Sigh.

  94. Foreigners by Pseudonymus+Bosch · · Score: 1

    Um... if they have less applicants because of the name, they could resort to getting foreign students who speak English but don't know the slang (yet :) ).
    --

    --
    __
    Men with no respect for life must never be allowed to control the ultimate instruments of death.
    GW Bu
  95. Kinki & Fucking by Pseudonymus+Bosch · · Score: 1

    There is the Austrian city of Fucking (a somehow related link http://fucking.at/), where street plates are often stolen by souvenir hunters.

    And there is the Japanese prefecture of Kinki, whose authorities actually thought of changing the name, because of ridicule from Americans.
    --

    --
    __
    Men with no respect for life must never be allowed to control the ultimate instruments of death.
    GW Bu
  96. Re:Can we get a single topic right? by Otter · · Score: 1

    As well as the "Microsoft Invents Symbolic Links" and "Care to Register Your Own TLD?" postings, both of which give the impression that the editor didn't bother to read past the first couple of paragraphs. (No, they're not simple symlinks, and no, under that stupid plan, companies wouldn't be able to buy the .sucks domain for their own name.)

  97. Re:In Britain too by Bazman · · Score: 1

    And dont forget that when the polytechnic colleges were becoming universities, Newcastle Polytechnic nearly changed its name to the:

    City University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

    Then I think they thought about what .ac.uk domain name to register.

    [possibly file this under urban myths]

  98. Re:Name changes by alumshubby · · Score: 1

    Indeed. As they say in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, you have to go through Blue Balls and Intercourse to reach Paradise.

    --
    "How many light bulbs does it take to change a person?" --BMcC-->
  99. Re:How Silly -- DuBois or ? by alumshubby · · Score: 1

    One of the TWs I mentored at a previous job was from there, and went home there. She pronounced it dooBOYSS with a sibilant S.

    (Hey, Jennifer! Are you and Jeff reading Slashdot these days?)

    --
    "How many light bulbs does it take to change a person?" --BMcC-->
  100. Re:FPI by unitron · · Score: 1

    Federal Paranoia Institute

    --

    I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.

  101. Re:Saturday Night Massacre by unitron · · Score: 1

    Remember "Nixon is a Cox shucker"? (referring to Archibald Cox).

    --

    I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.

  102. Re:first beaver; then ball state! by unitron · · Score: 1

    Not to mention Slippery Rock and Hotchkiss.

    --

    I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.

  103. Re:Has the Web become too powerful? by ocie · · Score: 1

    the name itself reduces the interest of possible students by 30% according to the college's market research data.

    Probably not good for their finances, but it strikes me that the student who is willing to overlook a possibly funny name in the college is a lot more valuable than the Beavis and Butthead reject who says "Huh huh huh, he said beaver". Also, it seems that there should be several sites that help you screen colleges on different criteria (school size, undergrad only, student/faculty ratio, location, etc).

    This all reminds me of the episode of "The Simpsons" I saw last night. Bart was talking with the school superintendant who gave his bio (as I remember it) "I grew up in Queens, attended Ball State before I moved to Intercourse Pensylvania ... Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going on vacation to Lake Titicaca". And this man grew up to be the school superintendant!!

    --
    JET Program: see Japan, meet intere
  104. Re:Has the Web become too powerful? by SEE · · Score: 1

    Yes, they're all ways to do it. But, since my hypothetical Californian doesn't know anything about Beaver College, she doesn't have any reason to make a special effort to investigate it. She's sifting through a list of 150 colleges chosen from a first glance through the monster book; she's got to drop 145 of them, and it doesn't make sense to spend research time on one that's more difficult to research instead of the other 149. And so, Beaver College gets dropped.

    Anyway, it's only one of several reasons mentioned (not the "determining factor") in addition to jokes and the fact that the name itself reduces the interest of possible students by 30% according to the college's market research data.

    Steven E. Ehrbar

  105. Re:How Silly by Kris_J · · Score: 1

    My favourite is fictional; Medieval England, Iowa (Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey). At least I hope it's fictional.

  106. Re:Promote censorship (as in fight fire with fire) by Kris_J · · Score: 1

    Not to mention how much faster the 'Net will be for the rest of us...

  107. Why stories get posted by ToastyKen · · Score: 1

    Yes, the major part of the story was the recognition thing, BUT the part that's relevant to /. is the filtering part. That's probably why the filtering part was mentioned.

  108. first beaver; then ball state! by pjones · · Score: 1
    sorry if you went or go there, but we had the same jokes about Ball State University.


    I *do* want a Beaver t-shirt, before they change their name

    --
    Certified Black Helicopter Pilot *** Unwitting Dupe of One World Gov'ment
  109. Re:Has the Web become too powerful? by Romen · · Score: 1

    Fortunately, researching colleges (something I did fairly recently) does not require the internet at all. Otherwise, we would further depress the chances of people who start life impoeverished of reciveing the education they need to better themselves.

    But as to how you can learn about Beaver College from California -
    1 Just write to them
    2 Buy one of the monstrous books that lists every college in the known universe
    3 check the box on the PSAT or SAT or ACT that says (loosely) "I want junk mail"
    4 Look at the resources your school has. In my experience, they have information from just about everywhere.
    The Web is an invaluable resource for researching colleges. I know it helped me figure out where I want to go. But when particular people's access to your website is a determining factor in _changing the name of your college_ maybe we are relying a little to much on it.


    Sam TH

    --
    Sam TH
    AbiWord Developer
  110. Re:found it by Romen · · Score: 1

    While you did enough research to find that article, you didn't have the time to read the one this story is about. If you had, you would have noticed that Beaver has admitted men since 1973.
    Sam TH

    --
    Sam TH
    AbiWord Developer
  111. Slightly off topic, but kind of funny by Neuroprophet · · Score: 1

    I actually had a friend who went to Beaver college for a year. And one time when I was visiting, I noticed that one of the schools main signs had been altered by some students to read Beavis College.

    Guess you had to be there for it to be funny...

  112. Re:found it by Helge+Hafting · · Score: 1

    Beaver all girls school is just too easy a joke. I don't think I could say it with a straight face.

    Maybe not today. But if you had to say it over and over you'd get tired of the joke quickly. And then - no problem!

    Don't care too much about what others think.

  113. Re:How Silly by vermiculture · · Score: 1

    It's interesting to see that Intercourse is not too far from Buyertown. Coincidence? I think not.....

  114. Re:Update: New Name Chosen by Sloppy · · Score: 1

    C'mon, at least give Futurama the credit that they're due. (People kept making fun of the name of planet Uranus, so they changed the planet's name to fix the problem. New name: Urectum.)


    ---
    --
    As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
  115. C.O.N.D.O.M. by ien · · Score: 1
    College of Notre Dame of Maryland.

    Now that's an applicable name for a university.

    Just to be sure I am not passing judgement on the activities of students at the university, but I can understand if someone does based on this peculiar name.

    1. Re:C.O.N.D.O.M. by pmc · · Score: 1

      A few years ago colleges in the UK were allowed rename themselves as universities. One memorable near name change was when Newcastle-upon-Tyne College planned to rename itself "City University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne", until some spoilsport pointed out the unfortunate acronym.

      Two media companies (Carlton Communications (TV) and United Media (Newspapers)) merged recently. The original proposed name: Carlton-United Newspapers and Television. Strangely, that was shelved too...

    2. Re:C.O.N.D.O.M. by Mr_Dyqik · · Score: 1

      There's always the Cambridge University Netball Team, which unfortunately doesn't exist, and the King's College Ultimate Frisbee, which was started for it's acronym.

  116. Re:How Silly by great+om · · Score: 1

    There's a Boring, Oregon...

    gues what, it's boring...

    --
    ------- Oh damn.... the Sigfile escaped... -Great OM
  117. Re:found it & cnn article by Evro · · Score: 1
    I saw that, I just forgot. It's even in the Slashdot synopsis. Anyway, Beaver All-Girls College is funny, Beaver Coed College is not.

    CNN's bit on the South Park school thing.

    _________________

    --
    rooooar
  118. Re:How Silly by Gid1 · · Score: 1

    Arizona's got Wet Beaver Creek... now tell me that wasn't a joke.

  119. First post. (or second, third, whatever).. by delmoi · · Score: 1

    "Beaver all girls collage" eh... damn, I think the President or whatever has the right Idea. The joke is just waiting to be made...

    [ c h a d &nbsp o k e r e ]

    --

    ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
    1. Re:First post. (or second, third, whatever).. by xtype · · Score: 1

      Yes, but it is takes web censorship before the consider changing.

      As they were "Founded in 1853" and all of this time
      they had no changed there name, they are obviously not concerned about jokes being made of them.

    2. Re:First post. (or second, third, whatever).. by all4Tish · · Score: 1
      i'm a student at oregon state university. out mascot is the Mighty Beaver. lots of people here relate that to the female genatalia, but guess what? nobody cares . all its used for in that regards is some immature jokes, that nobody puts any weight in. so these guys need to get over it, and get on with their lives.

      sorry, just had to get that out of my system. its just not a big deal what a college is called. you didn't pick (or look into) the school because of its name, but because of its academic reputation (or, depending, because of its partying reputation ... but either way, not b/c of its name)

  120. Slashdot == Fud Machine by James+Dean · · Score: 1

    Oh please. This post really goes to show that all you lemmings who drool on everyword from the Slashdot crew really don't understand one damn thing about web filtering. Trust me I work in the industry and most of the info posted about web filtering software on this place is pure BS. This is just the worst case of yellow journalism I've seen in a while.

    --
    What Fools These Mortals Be!
  121. Re:The problem with names. by Tony-A · · Score: 1

    What did Exxon spend to find a name that would offend no one and was not an obscene or negative word in any language?

  122. Re:Name changes by Tony-A · · Score: 1

    I used to live in Skiatook, Oklahoma.

  123. Re:How Silly by KillNateD · · Score: 1

    I'm from central PA. The towns go, in order from northwest to southeast, from:

    Blue Ball, to
    Bird in Hand, to
    Intercourse, to
    Paradise.

    There are very tasteful "I [heart] Intercourse" bumper stickers at tourist traps.

    Also, they're towns noted for their Amish populations.

  124. Re:Name changes by blowdart · · Score: 1

    We're had problems in the UK with Compuserve and AOL banning Scunthorpe (letters 2-5 are the key), then there's Cockermouth and so-on. The problem doesn't lie with the words, it lies with idiotic filters.

  125. Re:Saturday Night Massacre by spinclad · · Score: 1

    Indeed, I dearly recall `Impeach the Cox sacker!' It was sweet to greet his image with it on his last announcement to the country, the night he resigned, as we listened from the balcony of my school's student center. My mother in law, recently come from Australia, at the time couldn't understand what we saw in him that called for such response; it was an unmixed joy to have helped bring him down.

    Flames accepted as fuel for the alchemical furnace. Yes he changed relations among the great world powers; I'm just glad he was dumb enough to record his office.

  126. Re:Jeez... (way OT) by itachi · · Score: 1

    Dude, um, the Philly Inquirer isn't really a step up from the National Enquirer. I mean, last week, they did the entire front page on the who wants to marry a mkillionare thing. Entire front page. It's not a newspaper, it might not be a tabloid, it's passable as a fishwrapper. Not that I don't like it or anything :)

    itachi, who seems to have wandered off topic a bit

  127. They're just about staying in business... by Pentagram · · Score: 1

    I checked up the story. It was AOL's filtering software.

  128. They already tried once... by gsutter · · Score: 1

    I guess changing their name to Beaver College, from Beaver Female Seminary , just wasn't good enough.

  129. Newspaper... by Kenshin · · Score: 1
    The local newspaper in this town is called The Oakville Beaver.

    No one seems to have a problem with the name... but the paper sucks. (I used to deliver it ages ago.)

    --

    Does it make you happy you're so strange?

  130. Re:Ahhh... big deal..... by johnathan · · Score: 1
    I go to Penn State, and I live in Beaver Hall, which isn't that far from Beaver Stadium, and East Beaver Avenue. Everyone makes fun of me when I tell them I live in Beaver Hall, oh well, I don't care (and I am not kidding either)....

    Well, being an MIT grad student, I actually am a beaver. So beat that.

    Go Beavers!

    --
    You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
  131. beaver college considers tuition structure change by havaloc · · Score: 1

    In response to growing demands by the public and its students, beaver college reported today that they were switching from a per credit tuition fee to a monthly, all you can learn tuition structure.

    The administration also said that they would offer year long "memberships" for a 10% discount.

    Said the administration "seeing the sucess of the subscription model in other ventures, we can only go up from here."

  132. Re:How Silly by Desert+Raven · · Score: 1

    Ah, but don't forget Virginville, PA

    My grandfather got himself a shirt:

    "I went to Virginville, but I stayed at Intercourse"

  133. Re:In Britain too by jovlinger · · Score: 1

    That's hillarious. They'd rather have the town change its name than add word delimiter recognition or an exception.

    And these people actually stay in business!

  134. Oregon by suky · · Score: 1

    Oregon's state animal is the beaver, there's even one on the back of the flag. Heck, Oregon State University is home to "The Beavers" sports teams. I wonder if they'll eventually filter out the state and university's websites..

    1. Re:Oregon by oz81dog · · Score: 1

      there is a department in central oregon called the Oregon Beaver Patrol, seriously, i have one of their hats (stolen, of course).

  135. Re:How Silly by CmdrPinkTaco · · Score: 1

    Driving from Las Vegas to Denver we always joke that we have reached the "Filmore-Beaver Valley" in Utah.

    (sigh) if only


    --------------------------------------------

    --
    Please give your mod points to others, Im at the cap. They will appreciate it more
  136. This school has a problem: taste has declined by himself · · Score: 1

    Far from being a joke, Beaver College has a real quandry here. Something that readers who weren't liberal arts majors might not know is that they're said to be the biggest study-abroad program in the U.S., and changing their name could dilute or kill that "brand" in order to save the school itself.
    The real enrollment is tiny (though I know someone who actually went there! Hi, Sally!) but the quantity of students from other schools that pass through the Beaver College programs is enormous: I did, my dentitst's receptionist's kid did, lots of random people do. That means that the larger of the two communities they serve is at risk with the name change ("Now where's that Beaver College that we used to use...?") -- but the smaller community is the whole reason for the larger community's existence.
    As someone pointed out, it's a shame that the Beavis & Butthead crew lowest common denominator rules. I guess the idiot population finally passed the 50%/critical-mass mark...
    I feel kind of bad for kids with a Beaver College diploma -- but I still bought a hat when I visited campus 'cause it says Beaver across the front.

  137. Re:Beaver College by po_boy · · Score: 1

    If memory serves, there is a female dorm at dennison college in Ohio that is named "Beaver Hall". The jokes about it were few, but appropriate.

  138. This isn't a big deal. by veldrane · · Score: 1

    I don't see what the problem is. I'm from northern Minnesota (not too far from Fertile, MN) and one of the more appealing colleges in the area is Moorhead State University. Moorhead, MN, is across the river from Fargo, ND, for those of you who aren't aware of this.

    The funny thing about this is that if you want to drive from Fertile to Moorhead, you go through Climax, MN.

    There's even an urban legend about a woman who got into a car accident and died in Climax on her way down. (pardon the pun) Allegedly, the headline was, "Fertile woman dies in Climax on her way to Moorhead."

    If you don't want to go to college in Moorhead, you can always go to BSU (Bemidji State U.), home of the Beavers.

    So I don't see what the big deal is about...so waht if it gets a few snickers? It's not the end of the world.

    -Vel

  139. Formerly all-girls college... by jesser · · Score: 1
    The slashdot effect should fix that by next fall.

    --

    --
    The shareholder is always right.
  140. Other school name changes? by bjorky · · Score: 1

    Does this mean that 'School of Hard Knockers' on the Simpsons is going to change its name as well?

    (O.k. so I realize it was the name of a film and not actually the name of the school, but you get the idea.)

    'This bra bomb better work Nerdlinger!'

    -----

    --

    "Defenestration" is to throw out of a window; what's a word for throwing 'Windows' out of something?
  141. Any words could be sewer :). by antdude · · Score: 1

    Dudes, keep the name. It seems like every words and names can be used in a dirty way. Like baskets, balls, banana, etc.

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  142. Re:Jeez... by oh+shoot · · Score: 1
    What could be stupider than letting a word-matching computer with the brains of a spell-checker on prozac decide what content you allow yourself and others to see?

    Sorry, but you are wrong on that one. These spell checkers are on Viagra.

    Of course, I'm sure 'checker' has a sexual connotation that neither of us has heard of...

    --Jeff

  143. Re:Ahhh... big deal..... by acaben · · Score: 1
    You're forgeting that the local radio station somewhat recently changed its name from "Bee 103" to "Beaver 103". And the mascot's name is "Bucky".

    Actually, it's the *new* Beaver 103, even though they changed thier name a few years ago. And, really, what more can you expect from a crappy radio station around here? I just wish 90.7 had a clearer reception in Bellefonte, where I live (and, I should note, where *Governor* Beaver was from), and that they didn't play so much (c)rap.

  144. One more for Internet vs world class action suit. by Rares+Marian · · Score: 1

    Okay gentlegeeks, and geekchix... Shall we run around Jericho or the end run around of making Canaanites evil enough to piss of the Israelites?

    Politics... ugh!

    --
    The message on the other side of this sig is false.
  145. I can't search for my University either!? by cybear · · Score: 1
    I went to Fuck U. and can't find the website for it either;)

    --
    Upon seeing the box was too small, Schrodinger's Elephant breathed a sigh of relief.
  146. DMIHE by threaded · · Score: 1

    Doncaster Metropolitan Institute of Higher Enducation was shortened by several of the lecturers to 'Dummy', the students being affectionatly referred to as 'Dummies'. They changed the name recently to Doncaster College. I think that was to do more with the embarasment of some tutors not knowing how to spell the former name.

  147. Why would someone applying to Beaver College.... by knarph · · Score: 1

    Why would someone applying to Beaver College be forced to use net nanny at all. They are most likely between the ages of 17-19 which to me is old enough to decide what they do and do not want to see on their own. And if they aren't god only knows how they managed to function through high school, let alone how they expect to go through college.

    --
    -- This post contains %100 recycled electrons Remove spam and eggs to send some mail.
  148. Promote censorship (as in fight fire with fire) by jmv · · Score: 1

    Let's promote thsi kind of software! Once 50% of the web is blocked by these filters (most of it wrongly), not using a filter will be a "big feature"!

  149. .edu (was Re:Has the Web become too powerful?) by supine · · Score: 1

    Focusing on the point about this site being blocked by Net Nanny et al.

    Is it too much to ask the content filtering software to pass thru anything from a .EDU server (or derivatives thereof) because you have to be a legitamite educational institution to register under that TLD.

    If we can't trust educational institutions to not host porn or bomb making HOW-TOs, then who can we trust?

    later
    marty

    PS. of course this assumption falls over once you start thinking of what might be on a page at students.institution.edu... doh!

    --
    "I can't buy want I want because it's free. Can't be what they want because I'm me." -Corduroy, Pearl Jam
    1. Re:.edu (was Re:Has the Web become too powerful?) by slashdot-me · · Score: 2

      You think edus don't have porn? Edus probably host the largest concentration of teenage males with web sites on the net. Beware *.dorm.college.edu

      Ryan

    2. Re:.edu (was Re:Has the Web become too powerful?) by Weezul · · Score: 2

      You think edus don't have porn? Edus probably host the largest concentration of teenage males with web sites on the net. Beware *.dorm.college.edu

      First, this is irrelevent since the issue was about TLDs not porn. Why should beaver have stricter blocking applied to it then the rest of the .edus?

      Second, I doubt that the censorware blocks much of the dorm room stuff.

      BTW> I really hope Beaver Collage dose not let the censorware make them change their name. Collages should take a stand against this kind of shit.

      --
      The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
  150. Nah, the best has to be.. by werd+life · · Score: 1

    Normal, IL. It is just too funny to go through there and see the cop cars that say NORMAL POLICE riding around town.

    1. Re:Nah, the best has to be.. by mosch · · Score: 2

      On that note, while at mardi gras a couple years back I saw a street barrier which had been defaced so it said N.O. P.D. -- All Warez. I have to admit, I was amused.
      ----------------------------

    2. Re:Nah, the best has to be.. by chialea · · Score: 2
      Normal, IL. It is just too funny to go through there and see the cop cars that say NORMAL POLICE riding around town.


      Try New Orleans -- their police cars, barriers, etc are all labeled:


      N.O. {logo here} P.D.


      Lea

  151. Re:How Silly by leitchn · · Score: 1

    Arizona's got Wet Beaver Creek... now tell me that wasn't a joke.

    I don't think it was - a comedy chat show host heard about that over here in the UK, and phoned up their tourist office, dropping all sorts of lines like
    "So what time of year is your Wet Beaver Creek open then?"
    And the woman on the end of the phone didn't see the joke at all - even with an entire audience in fits of laughter on the other end of the phone.

  152. Name changes by msaari · · Score: 1

    It has been mentioned in Finnish media that some Americans (don't remember for sure what kind of authority it was) had suggested that Helsinki, the Finnish capitol, should change it name. You know - Helsinki, sinkin' in Hell. Not to mention that the city's Internet domain name is hel.fi.

    But there are certainly some quite hilarious town names in US too and hey, if it's not funny in English, it's probably either really vulgar or just silly in some other language...

    --
    -- Mikko Saari (msaari@cc.jyu.fi)
  153. Re:How Silly by Kujo_42 · · Score: 1

    According to the article, it's not that they're afraid of people making fun of the name of their school so much as their dropping admissions.

    In addition, the college's market research shows that the school appeals to 30 percent fewer prospective students solely because of the name.

    That's a huge percentage. I remember when I was getting literature for schools, that was one of the school's that contacted me, and I blew them off because the name sounded small time and silly. Not having a very good Computer Science department didn't help them either, but my initial reaction was to the name.

    It's one thing to be idealistic and say "what's in a name?", but the hard truth of the matter is that people are prejudiced, and base many of their behaviors on first impressions. For a business (that's all a college really is), the name is the first thing that people see, and if it's something that turns them off, well, you can see the results.

    --


    "May the Code bless you and keep you until the day of your Compiling." ~Requiem
  154. 'Beaver' is a weird name? by linux_penguin · · Score: 1
    Freshman Aimee Drumheller agreed. But she noted that friends erupted in laughter when she told them the name of the college she was to attend.

    If someone introduced themselves as Aimee Drumheller, I wouldnt care which university they went to. I would already be shitting my pants laughing.

    --
    Simon

    The real linux_penguin has Slashdot ID 101961. Anyone else is an impostor. Including Bruce Perens.
  155. Re:How Silly -- DuBois or ? by Serveert · · Score: 1

    "Do Bwah" is the French pronounciation

    --
    2 years and no mod points. Join reddit. Because openness is good.
  156. This Story is a well crafted troll by yuriwho · · Score: 1

    The story may be true but do we really need stories designed to induce the majority of replies to try and make 'beaver' jokes. I can't imagine what this comment thread will look like by tomorrow.

    Brace yourself for the slashdot locker room chatter.

    --
    no sig.
  157. Re:found it & cnn article by jwiseman · · Score: 1

    It's a fine line between clever and stupid.

  158. Re:How Silly by Erik+Fish · · Score: 1


    There's also a town called near there called "Colon". It's pronounced "coe-lun", too.

    And another called "Factoryville".

    Who WOULDN'T like to be from Factoryville?!

  159. Beaver College by dick+dawg · · Score: 1

    i don't think they should change the name, because it suits them well... if Snead O'Conner went there, would should be considered a shaved beaver?? shaved beavers are coo....

    1. Re:Beaver College by frinkster · · Score: 1

      At Purdue, one of the womens dorms is named "Duhme Hall" (pronounced "Do Me")

    2. Re:Beaver College by SPUI · · Score: 1

      I have a friend named In Hur (pronounced how you think :P)

      --
      http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%E5%8D%8D&btn G=Google+Search
  160. College of Juan de Fuca. by GossG · · Score: 1

    I don't know how accurate it is, but local myth is that Camosun College (a local 2-year college) changed their name from College of Juan de Fuca at the last moment when the "Fuca U" T-shirts started appearing.

  161. Internationalization and filters by Palou · · Score: 1

    Does anybody know how these filtering tools deals with internationalization issues? Now that would be a humongous task. They'd need to deal with terms related to ant obejctionable material in ALL the world's languages and in many cases including tons of slang names. Just one more argument why all the web filtering business is just nonsense.

  162. Re:Can we get a single topic right? by Leto2 · · Score: 1

    Don't forget that MS did NOT invent symbolic links, if you want to get an analogy with the Unix world, they should have used "hard links". Or "on the fly hard links"

    --
    <grub> Reading /. at -1 is like driving through Cracktown in a convertible that is stuck in 1st
  163. Re:How Silly by andy@petdance.com · · Score: 1

    And then you can come hang out in southwestern Wisconsin at the Bong Recreation Area.

  164. Re:Censorship, Cybersitter and Solid Oak by Anonymous._.Coward · · Score: 1
    Goddammit what is on beavers.com? Both my University and my local library filter it! Why can't I see nature at it's finest?

    The following error was encountered:

    Access Prohibited. Unsuitable use of University Facilities.
    --

    take a triptonica to subthunk

  165. Re:How Silly by JustShootMe · · Score: 1

    There's a city in michigan near Kalamazoo called "climax". We'd always make jokes about it while driving by.

    Gotta wonder...


    If you can't figure out how to mail me, don't.
    --
    For linux tips: http://www.linuxtipsblog.com
  166. web censors by CrazyD · · Score: 1

    This is just another example of web censors failing at their job.
    Its ridiculous for a college to have to change their name soley because some poorly written software decides to block all access information about the university.
    Besides Beaver College must be making significant cash off their name. I've seen shirts and hats in stores all around my college's Campustown for "Beaver College" and I'm nowhere near where the college really is.

  167. study abroad? by small_dick · · Score: 1

    the web page says it's coed -- i'm thinking of going to beaver college so i can study abroad.

    --


    Treatment, not tyranny. End the drug war and free our American POWs.
    See my user info for links.
  168. Re:How Silly by theancient1 · · Score: 1

    Hmmm... Isn't Canada's national animal is the beaver? It's on the nickels, too.

    I just don't like the idea that if they change their name because of it, it's almost like giving up on the word "beaver" to mean anything other than the negative things mentioned here.

  169. This explains it by luckykaa · · Score: 1

    Well done.

    I think you have succesfully demonstrated why they changed the name.

  170. Cockney by luckykaa · · Score: 1

    In Cockney rhymng slang, theres a large selection of place names e.g Barnet -> Barnet Fair -> Hair, and Charing Cross -> Horse

    All you need is some rude ones that you can associate with Harvard and Yale. Its about time the US developed its own cockney dialect anyway.

    1. Re:Cockney by technos · · Score: 2

      Have you ever been to New York and listened to the working-class locals? We already have one!

      --
      .sig: Now legally binding!
  171. Soccer? Whats that? by iainl · · Score: 1

    Sorry, there's no such thing as 'soccer', old boy.

    Do you mean the Association rules for Football?

    :)

    --
    "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
  172. Re:Censorship, Cybersitter and Solid Oak by locutus074 · · Score: 1

    Adult Site

    ENTER HERE

    That's all.

    --

    --
    We have fought the AC's, and they have won.

  173. Am I the only one...? by CyberDong · · Score: 1
    Did anyone else notice that Beaver college has a link to "Study A Broad?" They're just asking for it!

    - - - -

  174. Big Brother is Watching You! by mmt · · Score: 1

    Hmmmm.... Does this remind anyone of newspeak from 1984? The limiting of public names to support censorship? In newspeak, there was no word for democracy, so no one could try and form one. Revolution could not be described, so one could not attempt one. Though this is definatly not as severe as 1984, it's a start. Hear no evil...See no evil...Speak no evil...Think no evil
    ---

    --
    What exactly are the commercial possiblilities of Ovine Aviation?
  175. Cost of the change by carlos_benj · · Score: 1
    "....can you imagine how much money and manhours it will cost to change the name of a college?"

    Not much since it seems they're going to go through the expense of upgrading from College 1.1 to University 2.0 anyway. All of the costs you mention will be necessary for that change. I remember when Wichita State University changed their name to 'The' Wichita State University - perhaps to differentiate their facility from all of the knock-off Wichita State Universities abounding. Big bucks were spent just to add the 'The' (Oh, and the extra space that followed it).

    carlos

    --

    --

    As a matter of fact, I am a lawyer. But I play an actor on TV.

  176. $$$$ by Terrenius · · Score: 1

    I think it's really wonderful that people are worried about these girls feelings. I mean... name calling is perhaps the greatest danger to our children today, and we need to do everything we can to protect our college students from this... Seriously though, can you imagine how much money and manhours it will cost to change the name of a college? They have to change all official documentation, all the pamphlets and fliars and comercials, all the signs and banners. They will have to buy and design new uniforms for all athletics and everything else that contains the Beaver logo. It will cost an insane amount of money to keep these poor poor girls from getting made fun of. Where they gonna get the money? What programs are they going to have to cut? Are they going to be unable to give out scholarships? The entire thing is a farce. I hope someone else has thought of this, because it'd be an incredible waste. Sheesh.

    --
    "All of it lost, like tears... in rain."
    1. Re:$$$$ by Spud+Zeppelin · · Score: 2

      Seriously though, can you imagine how much money and manhours it will cost to change the name of a college?

      Not as much as you might think. Things like viewbooks get reprinted every year anyway, and letterhead, business cards, envelopes, etc. are all consumable supplies.

      My alma mater (Albertson College of Idaho) changed its name from The College of Idaho my senior year there -- and expense wasn't really a consideration (given the amount Joe Albertson had donated to the institution in the sixty years since he attended, the cost of the unilateral decision to change the name to honor him was trivial). The bigger issues were tradition (a big deal at small privated colleges, it had been "The College of Idaho" since its inception, back when Caldwell was still called "Bugtown") and development (would naming the instituion after Albertson discourage other donors? It appears the answer to that has been an overwhelming "no."). If anything, it (the name change) has been a boon, since it has effectively eliminated confusion regarding whether or not it is a public institution (no) and which school it actually is (people often confused it with the University of Idaho, in Moscow, where I went to grad school).

      They will have to buy and design new uniforms for all athletics and everything else that contains the Beaver logo.

      Though I couldn't find it on their website, I sincerely suspect their mascot isn't the "Beaver Beavers" -- if anything, it appears from the design that they are the "Beaver Gargoyles", which is in-and-of-itself more-than-mildly suggestive! Once again, though, I'd like to point out that schools typically change athletic uniforms every couple years anyway, as a minimum.



      This is my opinion and my opinion only. Incidentally, IANAL.

      --

      MOO;IANAL.
      There used to be a picture linked here.

  177. Re:Ahhh... big deal..... by Red+Eyes · · Score: 1

    You're forgeting that the local radio station somewhat recently changed its name from "Bee 103" to "Beaver 103". And the mascot's name is "Bucky".

  178. Re:How Silly by Red+Eyes · · Score: 1

    There's a town named Dubois (pronounced "Do Boys") and yes, there is a gay joke associated with it. Realistically, the name is French for "of the woods", but of course, having the word "wood" may associate it with more immature jokes.

  179. Prospectus for Allota Fajina College?? by soundman32 · · Score: 1

    Courses: Bonking 101 (How to hit rodents with a small mallet) Shirt Lifting 101 (Ironing made easy) Beaver Mangling 101 (Genetic Mutations) Campus Societies Ham Shank Club (Pork and other meat dishes) Pearl Necklace Soc. (Gems & Precious Metals) Fags R us (cigarrette and pipe smoking)

    --
    No sharp objects, I'm a programmer!
  180. Anyone take a look at the staff? by I_Machine · · Score: 1

    They have a Lewinsky as their Financial Aid Director and a Boblitt (close enough) as their Enrollment Management Counselor. The place is rife with potential jokes...wonder if they will have to lay them off after the name change... --

  181. Re:Web filter only a small reason to change name by tbarjoe · · Score: 1

    Not only that but it's our national animal too!

    Yea! for Canada. We like our beavers!

  182. In all seriousness... by The+Big+Bopper · · Score: 1

    ...Beaver is an excellent school. My wife spent some time there on a volleyball scholarship and speaks very highly of the quality of education she recieved while studying there. It was also perhaps the most challenging school, but she felt it prepared her for the work force.

    Now she is in her final semester at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and thinks its a horrible waste of time. There is very little hands-on work, the class sizes number in the hundreds, the professors are ill qualified to teach anyone, and most importantly she does not feel prepared to do any sort of valuable work with what she's studied thus far at UNC.

    I admit, I've always had a great time giving her a good natured ribbing about the name of the last school she went to. Every time she said "Beaver", I snickered just to give her a hard time. Yes, I also asked her to bring me home a Beaver tee shirt but she never did.

    All of this isn't too odd though coming from Pennsylvania. Not far from there in Lancaster County there are such towns as Intercourse, Blue Ball, Bird-In-Hand, etc.

  183. Change the name of Beaver U contest !? by Markar · · Score: 1

    I propose that names be submited for here for inclusion and consideration in a /. poll. The winning name or names to be submitted to Beaver U. I'll start off with some suggestions. A change that has a rather sedate image and still is rodent is 'Woodchuck.' If they want a name that has high marketability especially with sports teams, I recomend 'Rabid Bat,' or perhaps 'Rabid Racoon' if they want to stick with rodents. :-)

    --
    "Open code, in other words, can be a check on state power." -Lawrence Lessig
  184. pr0n in the making... by Jesus+Christ · · Score: 1

    you would have noticed that Beaver has admitted men since 1973.

    Sounds like a pr0n movie series waiting to happen...

    "Rod Johnson's Freshman Year at Beaver College"
    Follow the adventures of freshman Rod Johnson as he goes to class and gets some ass at Beaver College. In our first episode, Rod learns about anatomy from everyone's favorite biology professor, Dr. Busty Lusty. Later, physical education takes on a whole new meaning when poor Rod stumbles into topless girls sorority party.
    Rated 'H' for 'Hemos loves to masturbate'

    I am the Lord.

    --

    I am the Lord.
    God Hates Moderators.

  185. Re:Middlesex Community College has Same Problem by Mr_Dyqik · · Score: 1

    The software must also have fun with anything related to the (English) counties of East SusSEX, West SusSEX, EsSEX. Could filtering in english libraries lead to the library's own site being blocked, from itself?

  186. Guess they'll have to rename Beaver Dam too now. by Eponymous+Trollbot · · Score: 1



    Last time I went there I didn't see any beavers though... whatta waste of a name.

  187. An AD For Beaver College... by wiz'l · · Score: 1

    " STUDY aBROAD AT BEAVER COLLEGE... A chance to see more than our 'Back Yard'..."

  188. Re:found it by babbage_ct · · Score: 1

    The summary says "formerly all-girls college."

  189. The Inquirer is a REAL journal. by mosch · · Score: 2

    Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the Philadelphia Inquirer is the major Philadelphia newspaper. It's real. It does *NOT* have articles regarding the end of the world, elvis, or how to lose 30 pounds in 30 minutes.
    ----------------------------

    1. Re:The Inquirer is a REAL journal. by kwsNI · · Score: 2

      Actually, that's an AP article, not something that a local reporter wrote. You can find the same article on MSNBC, FOX, WIRED and any major news network that subscribes to the AP. Hell, check your own newspaper today and you'll probably find it.

      kwsNI

  190. Jeez... by pb · · Score: 2

    First, why is Slashdot linking to the Inquirer? I know it's gotten bad here, but... Oh well, there's always the Weekly World News, right?

    Second, what web filter would look for "Beaver" as a word to block? What about all the legitimate "Beaver" sites out there about little furry creatures who like to "get wood" and chew on it?

    Feel free to change the name of your college; it's a dumb name. However, think about your reasons.

    What could be stupider than letting a word-matching computer with the brains of a spell-checker on prozac decide what content you allow yourself and others to see?

    That's about as smart as reading all your text files with 'grep -v [blahblahblah]'!
    ---
    pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate.

    --
    pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate.
    1. Re:Jeez... by DrMaurer · · Score: 2

      "First, why is Slashdot linking to the Inquirer? I know it's gotten bad here, but... Oh well, there's always the Weekly World News, right? "

      I'm assuming you're joking and that you do know that the Philidelphia Inquirer (spelling) is different then the National Enquirer.

      You never can be too sure.

      Onwards

      "What could be stupider than letting a word-matching computer with the brains of a spell-checker on prozac decide what content you allow yourself and others to see? "

      Beurocratic (sp) legislation regarding Library filtering these legit sites. Lazy parents. Republicans (sorry, just kidding, kinda). Stupider things abound. I have to deal with stupid people every day.

      They're called normal people.

      What should happen is for another debate. I, of course, think these programs are ineffective and of questionable morality. But what this school decides is important.

      I mean, if I'm doing a report on beaver migration and dam building, is the library going to block that? What about my (hypothetical) lazy parents who bought SurfWatch(or whatever) in leiu of spending time with me. Or what if I'm looking for the TV schedule of Two Angry Beavers? Whatever.

      Changing the name of the college may allow them to get back on the "Good" side of a bad-site-blocker program, but it sets a bad example.

      Do we change our names every time something bad can be made of them? Should we?

      It's just another "proof" against filtering software which is something stupid people want.

      So, is there anything stupider than the program? Yes. The people who want it.

      later

      --
      Dan
  191. ACK! by Danse · · Score: 2

    Those are the kinds of wackos that will be deciding what kids get to see on the net?! Methinks we're quite screwed if this stuff becomes too widespread.

    --
    It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
  192. Re:How Silly by copito · · Score: 2

    My personal favorite (especially since I have gone around it many times) is Detour, MD
    --

    --
    "L'IT c'est moi!"
  193. Re:Has the Web become too powerful? by SEE · · Score: 2

    Maybe is people were willing to do more research than just look at the fancy graphics in choosing a college, this would not be such a severe problem.

    Except, of course, that the research probably won't even include Beaver College as a possibility unless you have the Web. I'm willing to bet that 99.9% of Californians don't know anything about Beaver College (except maybe the name) and also don't know any alumni from the school. So how would one determine if one even wanted to bother to call up the college to send some literature?

    What the Web does is put all those thousands of college brouchures on the web, which makes starting with a larger pool of possibilities easier. Otherwise, you're stuck investigating a handful of schools with national reputations and a handful of schools geographically close enough for you to have heard of them, instead of finding the small college on the other side of the country that fits your needs perfectly.

    Steven E. Ehrbar

  194. The problem with 'filtering' by ch-chuck · · Score: 2

    is that with talk about sexual matters still taboo in many places, people have always resorted to 'double talk', suggestive language and innuendo, speaking 'martian' etc - you catch my drift? I heard That! Often it's not what you say but how you say it. So even the phrase 'hard disk' can have an obscene meaning if it's used with a wink and a nudge, say no more, say no more. All filters can do, at best, even with a huge ammount of sociological research going on every day to keep up with latest language trends in the singles and bar scene, etc. is just block trendy words that have taken on another subtle meaning to those 'in the know', and damn those who are stuck with a domain name in the older sense of the word. I might have a very happy web site for children who have a 'gay' old time like the Flintstones, and then suddenly I'm being blocked because some censorware has decided that ANYTHING with that term in it is inappropriate and offensive, and there goes my click-thru rate and ad revenue.

    --
    try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
  195. Re:A true test of the Internet's Power by mathboy · · Score: 2

    dude, "pair" of beavers?

    Mebbe you guys down think that beaver means
    something different than what Canadians mean. We
    do have alot of beaver here so we knows what we
    talks about. ;)

    (note the plural is the same as the singular. *AHEM*)

    Math.

  196. Keep the Name by Detritus · · Score: 2

    I would hope that they keep the name and not cave in to the drooling segment of society that considers "Beavis & Butthead" to be high art.

    --
    Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
  197. Power of positive thinking... by pspeed · · Score: 2

    Perhaps we can use a situation like this to eventually get sites filtered.

    Just start using common web names in derogatory ways.

    "First he told me to lick his msn hole and then he unzipped his fly and started waving his amazon around. Next thing you know he'll be trying to have sex with mpaa's."

    Hey, it's a thought...


    Educational sig-line: Choose rhymes with lose. Chose rhymes with goes. Loose rhymes with goose.

    --
    Edu. sig-line: Choose rhymes with lose. Chose rhymes with goes. Loose rhymes with goose.
    Comparing? THEN use THAN.
  198. Heh, Conan O'Brian tonight... by webslacker · · Score: 2

    "The problem is, they're changing their name to the College of Bearded Clams."

  199. Re:How Silly by Non-Newtonian+Fluid · · Score: 2

    My favorite? Jersey Shore, right there in the middle of the state....

  200. found it by Evro · · Score: 2
    This is sort of a lame article, but it was a school named South Park, changing its name because it didn't want to be associated with the show.

    Then again, they DO have a point -- Beaver all girls school is just too easy a joke. I don't think I could say it with a straight face.

    _________________

    --
    rooooar
  201. Re:How Silly by bgarcia · · Score: 2
    I currently live in Beaver County (which is outside of Pittsburgh), which has it's own Community College of Beaver County. There is also a Big Beaver Falls School District.

    I grew up attending Hempfield Area Senior High School, although interestingly, kids never seemed to make fun of that name.

    Sorry, but it seems silly to rename a school simply because people might make fun of it. Can you imagine everyone named Dick or Randy deciding to have their names changed? If all the Dicks in the world can live with it, then I think a college can certainly live with it.

    --
    I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.
  202. Re:Has the Web become too powerful? by bridgette · · Score: 2

    People who don't make an effort at choosing a college generally go to one they've already heard of, usually a nearby school (of all the graduates from a given HS that attend college, it's not unusual for 90% of those attend the same college (or one of 2-3 colleges)) .

    However, if I were shopping for a college, I would give their website a thorough look, since you can see a lot of really great stuff: course materials, office hours, reading lists, etc.

    And I would be very leary of a school that appered to have no web page (but for a CS school that would be pretty sad).

    But I doubt that there are many good schools that can't find enough qualified students each year. They just like to have lots of applications because:
    1) With more apps to choose from, they might get 'better' students.
    2) One common measure of a schools worth (I said common, not fair or accurate) is how many applicatins they get per open slot.
    3) They get 30-50 bucks per undergad application , 50-100 for grad and up to 200 per app for med school! KA-CHING!

    --
    - bridgette
  203. In Britain too by Pentagram · · Score: 2

    A couple of years ago many filters blocked pages with reference to the town of Scunthorpe (due to substring at index 1-4). I don't know why the software couldn't check for spaces around the blocked words, but Scunthorpe council got quite annoyed. They complained to one of the firms producing the software and the reply was that they ought to change the name of the town to Sconthorpe. Caused quite a stir...

  204. Middlesex Community College has Same Problem by weave · · Score: 2
    I had a public speaking gig in Portland Maine in Oct '98 where I spoke to the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations. One of the Marketing folk told me over dinner that they were having serious problems with filter software blocking their College's site (Middlesex Community College). They speculated that it was because the name "sex" was in their name and asked me what they could do about getting unblocked.

    I found it hard to believe at the time that a site would be banned simply for having the letters s-e-x WITHIN a word. But these days, nothing surprises me when it comes to these filters.

    I told them that these things have really stupid rules for determing which sites to block and the only thing they really could do is change the name of their college since attempting to find every version of filter software out there and getting their site unblocked would be time consuming and probably futile.

    Sigh...

  205. TWSU by wowbagger · · Score: 2
    Could be worse. My alma mater, Wichita State University, during my undergraduate time there, changed their name to The Wichita State University. Their SLD is now twsu.edu. They did this, I guess, because of Washburn State University, Washington State University, etc.

    Needless to say, during the conversion, there was much ado made of the change.

    Such stupid behavior for an alleged institute of higher learning....

  206. Civil Law Suit? by lw54 · · Score: 2

    Since potential students can't reach their website, what would keep them from filing a civil law suit against the censoring companies?

  207. Ahhh... big deal..... by Fisics · · Score: 2

    I go to Penn State, and I live in Beaver Hall, which isn't that far from Beaver Stadium, and East Beaver Avenue. Everyone makes fun of me when I tell them I live in Beaver Hall, oh well, I don't care (and I am not kidding either)....

    I don't really see a particularily good point in changing the name. I don't think they should accomodate some crappy censoring program, it should be the other way around, that is what is wrong with censorware.

    Ben

  208. The problem with names. by cbustapeck · · Score: 2

    The problem with names is that any name, no matter how well intentioned, will be made fun of, eventually. Especially if people want to.

    Ever been in a group of people where someone decides that it is fun to find and make fun of the sexual connotation in whatever anyone else says? Ever notice how s/he is able to do this with virtually every sententence? It will always be true.

    Even if, at the extreme, a mascot or team was replaced with something so arbitrary as a number, people would find ways to make fun of it. 69, anyone?

    My point is that unless the name or mascot is offensive and dated, like the Cleveland Indians Chief Wahoo, it should not be changed, as whatever new thing that is created will be at least as easy, if not easier than what was there before. And some filters block the term "beaver"? It makes the blocking of "soccer" seem almost... not completely insane?

  209. Re:Censorship, Cybersitter and Solid Oak by locutus074 · · Score: 2
    beaver.com should pursue every maker of censorware that blocks their pages. They block legitimate pages, legitimate universities .. and so forth.
    Perhaps you mean beaver.edu? The site beaver.com is something totally different.
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    Not what you think, though.

    EAGER BEAVER COMPUTERS

    SERVING SPOKANE SINCE 1989 Hee hee.
    --

    --
    We have fought the AC's, and they have won.

  210. Leave it to Beaver ;-) by Markar · · Score: 2

    I think the school ought to sue the software companies whose software filters them out. :-)

    --
    "Open code, in other words, can be a check on state power." -Lawrence Lessig
  211. Has the Web become too powerful? by Romen · · Score: 3

    Everyone's friend Jon Katz notwithstanding, maybe this is a sign that the Internet is not always a liberating force. I suspect that the name calling hasn't changed much in a long time, but the _neccessity_ of a high-visibility web site in the college admissions business is certainly a recent development. Maybe is people were willing to do more research than just look at the fancy graphics in choosing a college, this would not be such a severe problem. (Maybe that's a little harsh)

    Aside from that, blocking an entire domain that is obviously legitamate is just so ludicrous that it suggests that the people writing this software simply have no intelligence, in addition to not having a clue. Unbelieveable. (shakes head)


    Sam TH

    --
    Sam TH
    AbiWord Developer
  212. Article focuses more on problems with name alone by SuperKendall · · Score: 3

    The article itself mentions the problems with filtering software, but that is not the main focus - I mean after all, how many people are really not going to see the college web page because of filtering software?

    It does mention numerous non-internet related problems - a 30% less appealing rate to prospective students not because of blocking, but simply because people would be embarassed to say they were going to school there. Even worse (and also part of the problem) - graduates from the school are deciding to not include the name of thier college due to fear of rejection by employers.

    They are voting to decide if they want to change the name, so at least the students have a say - perhaps they could change it to "Dam Mammal". I know I wouldn't mind saying I had graduated from "Dam Mammal". If you pronounce it with a French accent it sounds quite distinguished!

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  213. Re:A true test of the Internet's Power by radja · · Score: 3

    whoa! Nice pair of universities!

    //rdj

    --

    No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
    --Sheikh Abd-Al-Kadir, 1587
  214. bad / missing links by acarlisle · · Score: 3


    The actual Inquirer web site is here, and the actual article is here.

    -ac

  215. Web filter only a small reason to change name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4

    NPR did an interview with one of the "Media Representatives" from Beaver College today, and the sexual connotations of beaver was one of only three reasons that beaver was problematic. The web filtering part is just not that big of a deal; they are more concerned that people associate "beaver" with weak or silly. (One poll they did found that 30 percent of applicants wouldn't even apply because they didn't like or respect the name) Not everything everywhere happens because of the 'Net.

  216. I know I sound like an asshole... by Frac · · Score: 4
    But the names of the colleges mentioned are hilarious as hell:

    Beaver College

    Ball State University (Ball U, BSU for short)

    Morehead University (yes please)

    The word 'beaver' too often elicits ridicule in the form of derogatory remarks pertaining to the rodent, the TV show Leave It to Beaver and the vulgar reference to the female anatomy," Beaver president Bette E. Landman lamented in a letter sent Feb. 15 to alumni, parents, staff and students.

  217. Update: New Name Chosen by debreuil · · Score: 4

    They have caved in and picked a new name, I guess selling the old domain was worth a lot more than the cost of changing the letterhead. So for school year 2001, it will be officially know as U of Pussy. From rodent to feline. Wow.

  218. Webcams by summdood · · Score: 4

    Keep the name and put up 20-50 web cams all over campus (and dorms of course). With the ca$h they'll make tuition could be free!

  219. How Silly by mosch · · Score: 5

    Pennsylvania is known for all it's silly and slightly odd town names. I mean while you're visiting Beaver College drive through Amish country and go to Intercourse, if you run out of gas before you get there, you'll end up in Blue Ball. Oh, and if you're worried about anti-drug web censorship then don't mention that you're from Smoketown or Pottstown.

    I hope my point is clear.


    ----------------------------
  220. A true test of the Internet's Power by Skim123 · · Score: 5
    I've got an idea - let's make a very reputable university - MIT, Yale, Harvard, and the like - change their name. We can use the Internet to let people know that we, society, have chosen to use the word "Harvard" as a slang word for female genatalia. Before too long, 20% of prospective studentds will turn Harvard down simply because of the name!

    So, next time you see a cute girl walk by, be sure to say to your friends, "I'd like to see the Harvard on that!"

    --

    I could not justify my existence if I were a turkey farmer. Would I terminate myself? Undoubtably, yes.

  221. Censorship, Cybersitter and Solid Oak by arcade · · Score: 5

    First of, there is nothing new in censorware malfunctioning like this. There is nothing new that censorware block sites they shouldn't. Take a look at peacefire.org for lots of examples.

    beaver.com should pursue every maker of censorware that blocks their pages. They block legitimate pages, legitimate universities .. and so forth.

    Furthermore, I read that the inquerier article "promoted" cybersitter from solid oak software. Well, take a look at the aforementioned peacefire site. Solid Oak software don't want criticism. They block every page that critizises their software. Like www.spectacle.org which has delivered quite a lot of criticism.

    Not to mention. I wrote to solid oak once, and told them my opinion about them blocking peacefire, and that I would NOT buy any form of product from them, as long as they had that kind of attitude. You know what the jerks did? Heck, they mailed my abuse@department. The funny thing is .. I *am* my abuse department. When I answered to their complaint that they were being childish, and that they should stop sending *fake* abuse-messages (complaining about SPAM? When I send them opinions and feedback?). The freaking head of solidoak answered that they had sent the case to the "FPI" for investigation (I have a feeling that the nutcase have some problems with writing "fbi" or something ;)

    Ohwell. Enough ranting.


    --
    "Rune Kristian Viken" - arcade@kvine-nospam.sdal.com - arcade@efnet

    --
    "Rune Kristian Viken" - http://www.nwo.no - arca
  222. Can we get a single topic right? by alexhmit01 · · Score: 5

    Between this and the LophtCrack article, it is getting rediculous. Everytime there is a mention of something that could be connected to something the "hacker community" doesn't like, we get a yellow journalistic story.

    Beaver College is considering changing it's name because alumni are being discredited and recruiting is hurt because of it. That is a SERIOUS problem for a institution of higher learning. The web filtering stuff was kinda a flippant icing on the cake, yet the story here would appear that it is a major part of the story.

    The Lopht crack story involved someone charged with using it for committing computer crimes, and one of the minor charges was possession of burglary equipment. That is kinda like charging a double homicide defendent with 2 charges of murder, 2 charges of assault with a deadly weapon, and one charge of illegal possession. Clearly the murder and assault w/ a deadly weapon are the REAL charges, but the minor one is throw in.

    Can the "editors" please READ the articles? If it is real, consider it, if it is yellow press by someone more concerned with getting a story line on slashdot than reporting really news, kill the story. This discredits slashdot, and is kinda silly, because a lot of the posts are people like me complaining.