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CIPA Trial Comes to a Close

Cossie writes "As the latest major case on library/internet censorship comes to a close, CNET News has an article up summarizing the court battle over the CIPA (Children's Internet Protection Act). It's a decent summary of the case, including several quotes by judges commenting on the case." See our story from when the suit was filed describing the issues at stake.

204 comments

  1. The problem- Private Emails were illegal too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The problem- Private Emails were illegal too under the act.

    It was a crime to use offensive words in email, including political email.

    The law might have gotten further if it was not too fascist.

    But the US passed a workaround by joining the hate-speech laws the EU adopted and used a TREATY to enjoin the usa citizens... now extraditable to EU for Nazi Speech or White Pride Speech!

    A Treaty overrides Constitution evidently.

    Thus the locale law becomes moot.

    1. Re:The problem- Private Emails were illegal too! by CDWert · · Score: 2

      BZZZZTTTTT

      Wrong, you obviously havent read the treaty or specific exemptions,

      In the US it is still perfectly leay to say you hate whoever for whatever reason and they cannon deport you to say france, or isreal.

      These exemptions, after the US said it wouldnt sighn were put in specifically for the US and other countries (cant remeber which) that could NOT sigh the agreement with all the provisions in.

      You as a US citizen can still say build a PRO-NAZI website in German language, hosted here directed at Germans, with NO fear of extradition or breaking any laws.

      Now that said, I sure as hell would never travel ANYWHERE in europe, there they could grab you up and try you under their laws.

      "But the US passed a workaround by joining the hate-speech laws the EU adopted and used a TREATY to enjoin the usa citizens... now extraditable to EU for Nazi Speech or White Pride Speech!

      A Treaty overrides Constitution evidently.

      Thus the locale law becomes moot.
      "

      BZZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTT

      Where did you ome up with this, is it meant to inflame people or are you really so stupid as to belive it ?

      --
      Sig went tro...aahemmm.....fishing........
    2. Re:The problem- Private Emails were illegal too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are more than one international treaty covering Internet Speech!!!

      Not all have exclusions for Americans alone in them! Maybe the first one or two did but not ALL treaties!

      A Treaty overrides the USA constitution. You are appologizing for things without knowing all the facts (the many treaties USA is signing into).

      Many allow extradition.

      BZZZZZZZTT yourself

    3. Re:The problem- Private Emails were illegal too! by clarkgoble · · Score: 1

      As Bush showed with his "free trade" (i.e. tarrifs on steel, textiles, and lumber) a treaty is just an agreement. It has no real teeth. If some treaty tried to in a real way violate constitutional rights of Americans in America it would be ignored. The Constitution trumps all.

      However as someone else said, if you are going to an other country and have been violating that country's laws in our country you may be in trouble. But that goes both ways as the adventures of a certain Russian programmer found with Adobe.

    4. Re:The problem- Private Emails were illegal too! by CDWert · · Score: 2

      Apparently not a contsituional scholar, and most certainly a dimwit the US constitution IS the law of the land at its highest level and princples.

      "A Treaty overrides the USA constitution"

      Not to US citizens at home Im sorry it dosent, where did you go to school ? Some public school in Cleveland Ohio ?

      "Not all have exclusions for Americans alone in them! Maybe the first one or two did but not ALL treaties!
      "
      You were initially reffering to hate speech with the EU.

      "Many allow extradition."
      NONE allow for extraddition of lawful acts performed in the US, by US citizens. None.....

      If this were in the LEAST true you would have the French Judges extradite Yahoo executives for trial there, as it is they wont travel there because theyre fair game, just as many pro-nazi site owners operaters dont travel THERE.

      Here they CANNOT , I REPEAT CANNOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE BE EXTRADITED FOR CONSTITUTIONALY PROTECTED FREE SPEECH (Acts of subversion or thing not legal within the realm of free speach may, but it wont happen) !!!!!

      Like it or not Hate speech is PERFECTLY OK, and PROTECTED in the US , although some PC liberal communist wannabes would rather it not be.

      The Klan hands out flyers outside grade schools in the south, they march in rallies (mostly a joke I think) Nazi's show at black rallies, and so on and so on.

      Do you even live in the United States ?

      And I would seriously question your grasp on Constituional law and its interaction with Treaties as it applies to legal acts by US citizens on US soil. You are sadly misinformed.

      Whats more sad is there are those readers out there that may actually belive you.

      --
      Sig went tro...aahemmm.....fishing........
    5. Re:The problem- Private Emails were illegal too! by mpe · · Score: 2

      A Treaty overrides the USA constitution.

      No it dosn't. A constitution is the highest law of a nation state. A treaty is an agreement between 2 or more nation states.

      You are appologizing for things without knowing all the facts (the many treaties USA is signing into).

      Indeed the US is notorious for ignoring treaties, even when there is no conflict with the US Constitution.

  2. Anyone for an analogy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    So slashdot doesn't like the US Gov't to have supreme control over the internet to censor it. Slashdot wants the people, themselves, to do censoring if necessary, where everyone has their own choice.

    To change the wording around:
    The slashdot population doesn't like the slashdot editors to have supreme control over slashdot to censor it. Slashdot population wants themselves to have control (like the FAQ says), where each person has their own system (not editors with unlimited mod points).

    Posting anonymously, cause michael will have a hayday with this one...

    1. Re:Anyone for an analogy? by Contact · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The obvious flaw in this analogy is that libraries (and other public bodies) are funded by the public, for the public, where slashdot is a privately run company.

      If they want to use the mod system any way they like that's entirely their prerogative.

    2. Re:Anyone for an analogy? by silicon_synapse · · Score: 1

      This is probably a troll, but I'm on lunch so I'll bite. The internet is the network of all people connected to this particular network at any given time. You cannot point to one building and say "that is the internet." As such, I am part of the internet as are you. If you are not on US territory, should the US have supreme control over your activities when you are a part of the 'net? No. Slashdot on the other hand is a website; a meeting place if you will. I can point to their server farm and say "that is slashdot." I am not part of slashdot. I contribute to it, but at no point am I on equal footing with the slashdot editors who either created slashdot or have been given responsibilities (directly or othewise) by those who did create it. As a visitor I have no rights and neither do you.

    3. Re:Anyone for an analogy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The obvious flaw in this analogy is that libraries (and other public bodies) are funded by the public, for the public, where slashdot is a privately run company.

      If they want to use the mod system any way they like that's entirely their prerogative.


      Sigh-o-sigh -- it's become the mantra of corporate America -- we don't have to treat you any way we don't feel fit. The Constitution and Bill of Rights only applies in relation to various components of government. We, however, can run a body cavity search as you leave our store for no better reason than that we think you're cute.

  3. I'm stumped by AlexDeGruven · · Score: 2, Interesting
    The judges expressed empathy for communities that want to protect children from an aggressive commercial pornography industry intent on luring young customers.

    I'm sorry? Since when do we see ads popping up saying "Hey kiddies! Come look at naked ladies!"

    It just doesn't make sense to me

    --
    Randal Graves says: I'm a firm believer in the philosophy of a ruling class... Especially since I rule.
    1. Re:I'm stumped by Mr.Intel · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Since when do we see ads popping up saying "Hey kiddies! Come look at naked ladies!"

      They may not see popups but they may see porn-spam to web based e-mail used only in libraries. Not to mention results in search engines, and clever traps used to lure kids into chat rooms and porn sites.

      --
      ASCII tastes bad dude.
      Binary it is then.
    2. Re:I'm stumped by jlower · · Score: 2, Funny

      Since when do kids need to be lured to do things they shouldn't?

    3. Re:I'm stumped by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "clever traps used to lure kids into chat rooms and porn sites"

      What is your fascination with my secret closet of mystery?

    4. Re:I'm stumped by Contact · · Score: 2

      I would have thought the porn industry would be almost completely uninterested in trying to lure "young customers", as young customers very rarely have credit cards.

    5. Re:I'm stumped by cavemanf16 · · Score: 2, Informative

      You obvioulsy didn't catch this horrifying look at the US entertainment industry, did you?

    6. Re:I'm stumped by Mr.Intel · · Score: 2

      young customers very rarely have credit cards.

      IIRC, a good portion of stolen credit card numbers end up in the hands of minors. So you could say, "young customers very rarely have legal credit cards."

      --
      ASCII tastes bad dude.
      Binary it is then.
    7. Re:I'm stumped by Contact · · Score: 2

      I can't honestly see the porn industry being keen to acquire lots of juvenile customers with stolen credit cards, either. They'll end up eating the chargeback, not to mention the fact that the PR would be pretty horrific.

    8. Re:I'm stumped by Mr.Intel · · Score: 2

      I can't honestly see the porn industry being keen to acquire lots of juvenile customers with stolen credit cards, either.

      It's all about addiction. Get them hooked and they will stop at nothing to get more. It's just like tobacco and alcohol, once they start it is *very* hard to stop. As an industry they don't care whether it's internet porn, magazine porn or video porn. They make enough legitimate money that it doesn't matter if the initial taste was off a bogus card.

      --
      ASCII tastes bad dude.
      Binary it is then.
    9. Re:I'm stumped by Borealis · · Score: 3, Insightful
      clever traps used to lure kids into chat rooms and porn sites


      That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. Kids have no money. Porn sites run by getting customers to pay money. Thus porn sites have no interest in showing kids porn. Any traps out there on the net to lure people to porn are designed for ADULTS, because adults are the ones that can then pay these people to look at naked people.


      As far as chat rooms are concerned, it's pretty much kids doing their own exploring, they hardly have to be lured. Usually this is because the kids don't have parents or schools that satisfy their curiosity in regard to sex, so who can you blame there?

      --
      Unbreakable toys can be used to break other toys.
    10. Re:I'm stumped by Borealis · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This is interesting, i wasn't aware that pictures of people bumping uglies was particularly addictive. Oh but wait, that's sex, something that most people will become addicted to once they're exposed. Let's just cut off all their genetalia so that we don't have to worry about this new plague to assault our young. Heaven knows it caused enough trouble for your parents.

      The fact of the matter is, you can only look at so many pictures of naked people before you realize that they basically all involve the same parts, just in different proportions.

      Also, credit card fraud is expensive. It's not a matter of some vast porn industry conspiracy to "hook" people on this imaginary addiction. Porn sites scrape by when they make cash. Getting credit card companies on your case for trying to use stolen credit card numbers means that they go bankrupt. I somehow doubt most porn site operators are selfless enough to "take one for the team" to get kids hooked on porn at their expense.

      Don't be an idiot and think before you post.

      --
      Unbreakable toys can be used to break other toys.
    11. Re:I'm stumped by clarkgoble · · Score: 1

      Most porn sites try to entice you by giving some free porn and then getting you to pay for more. Don't you get those annoying emails and so forth? Perhaps I get them because I posed (with my real email address) to a few USENET groups. (Although none remotely dealt with anything sexual, unless alt.fan.davidlynch or alt.postmodern are porn).

      Anyway, this is one area I think the government should step in. The fact is that these spammers not only target you unwantedly - they target you with active pornography. If I had kids I'd be very pissed about all that.

    12. Re:I'm stumped by Mr.Intel · · Score: 2

      Don't be an idiot and think before you post.

      Look, you are perfectly entitled to your opinion but don't bash me for having one too. I happen to know several men who are clinically addicted to pron. They have been in treatment facilities, lost jobs, lost their wives and kids and still cannot control themselves. It is a real problem and it has real consequences. I have given this topics weeks of thought so get off your high horse and quit criticizing things you know diddly about.

      --
      ASCII tastes bad dude.
      Binary it is then.
    13. Re:I'm stumped by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, you're dumb....

      a porn-webmaster..

    14. Re:I'm stumped by lblack · · Score: 2

      Don't be an idiot and think before you post.

      If you look at the placement, I think that's a .sig. It's funny, too, because it means:

      "If you think before you post, you are an idiot".

      -l

    15. Re:I'm stumped by almightyjustin · · Score: 1

      It's not a sig - I have sig separators turned on.

      --

      Omnes arx vestrum sunt adiuncta nobis.

    16. Re:I'm stumped by Kintanon · · Score: 2

      Not to be outright offensive, aww fuck that, this is gonna be outright offensive.

      If you are clinicly addicted to porn you are a fucking weak willed pathetic loser. If you lose your job because you are addicted to porn you deserve to be begging on the streets with a 40oz in a paper bag. What kind of pathetic wretch of a human can't stop themselves from looking at porn for 8 hours to go to work? For crying out lound! I look at a lot of porn and I'm married and it doesn't interfere with my work, or my marriage or anything. There isn't even an endorphine rush when you look at porn! It all looks the fucking same!! (literally) Hell, unless you're whacking off to the porn all the time you can't be getting that much out of it!
      Hey, maybe these guys didn't get enough from their wives, but damn, do the healthy American thing and get a mistress or buy a fucking hooker. Yeesh. Getting addicted to pornography has got to be the dumbest, most worthless addiction I've ever heard of! Anyone who DOES get addicted to pornography to the point where it affects their job performance or family life is just a complete fucking worthless human being who probably wasn't doing anything productive in the first place.

      Kintanon
      Damn... all this talk about porn is getting me horny...

      --
      Check out JoshJitsu.info for Brazilian Ji
    17. Re:I'm stumped by Mr.Intel · · Score: 2

      If you are clinicly addicted to porn you are a fucking weak willed pathetic loser.

      I see the humor in your post but unfortunately it is a true condition. I guess you could apply your same logic to say Everquest or "EverCrack" or any other time consuming/wasting endevour. Sure this seems like a lame problem to you, but you don't have it. I guarantee you that these people definately don't get bored with it. In fact it is the opposite. They can't stop from getting more to the point that they want to see more and more crazy stuff. From pinups to hardcore to fetish to plain illegal. It goes from there to prostitution and affairs and *that* is what wrecks the marriage. It starts with porn and moves on to other things. I am glad you don't have that problem, but others do.

      --
      ASCII tastes bad dude.
      Binary it is then.
    18. Re:I'm stumped by Borealis · · Score: 1

      This has more to do with spammers in general and less to do with what the government should stick their noses into with "porn protection". If they want to outlaw spam, i'm all for it. Howerver, making me use a politically and religiously biased filtering system at a public library where my tax dollars are at work strikes me as a tad beyond what they should be sticking their noses into.

      --
      Unbreakable toys can be used to break other toys.
    19. Re:I'm stumped by Borealis · · Score: 2, Insightful

      There are always going to be people who get addicted to things that they shouldn't be. However, this does not mean that the government should then be required to prevent anybody from accessing something that a few people find addictive.

      Sex is healthy. Most porn is relatively harmless, even to curious children (since even children will someday grow up and probably end up having sex). This isn't to say that there isn't some vile porn out there that has no redeeming value except to psychopaths and it's not to say that some people won't find porn addictive.

      However it is neither the governments job to censor it, nor is it the government's job to try to protect us from something that is harmless to the vast majority.

      Somebody else's lack of control is not an excuse for somebody to censor me. If you are of the opinion that such an act is justified then I really have no regard for how many weeks of though you've put into your opinion. People trying to censor what I can and can't see tends to get me more than a little mad.

      --
      Unbreakable toys can be used to break other toys.
    20. Re:I'm stumped by Borealis · · Score: 1

      Actually it's two separate statements and not at all related to my .sig (my sig being related to my dislike of .sigs)

      statement 1
      Don't be an idiot.

      statement 2
      Think before you post.

      That said I'm sometimes hypocritical on both counts :)

      --
      Unbreakable toys can be used to break other toys.
    21. Re:I'm stumped by rmohr02 · · Score: 1

      I don't really understand prOn, but it still seems to me that they should respect the decision of people who don't want to see it, and not try to fool them (anyone whose accidentally typed in whitehouse.com should agree with me [if you really want to go there, you have to type it in yourself]).

    22. Re:I'm stumped by Mr.Intel · · Score: 3, Insightful

      There are always going to be people who get addicted to things that they shouldn't be. However, this does not mean that the government should then be required to prevent anybody from accessing something that a few people find addictive.

      I agree.

      Sex is healthy.

      I agree.

      However it is neither the governments job to censor it, nor is it the government's job to try to protect us from something that is harmless to the vast majority.

      I agree.

      Somebody else's lack of control is not an excuse for somebody to censor me.

      They why isn't there naked weathergirls on TV in the US? Just because we don't agree with the law doesn't make it wrong. What makes it (legally) wrong is that in a court's opinion it says it's wrong regardless of our personal views.

      If you are of the opinion that such an act is justified then I really have no regard for how many weeks of though you've put into your opinion.

      Close mindedness will never allow you or I to see another viewpoint. This self-limitation can only close off new ideas and thoughts which leads to and end of wisdom and learning. You and I can disagree on every single point of consideration. However, that does not preclude us from understanding each other's point of view. I understand that you think it's silly for someone to get addicted to porn. I think it's silly for someone to get addicted to nicotine. That does not mean I disregard smoking or chewing or people who do so.

      People trying to censor what I can and can't see tends to get me more than a little mad.

      Any limitation of personal freedoms is difficult to swallow for Americans and people in general. Personally, I feel competent enough to make my own decisions regarding right and wrong. Having morals dictated to me by government is not good. I have religion for that. However, having a government designed to protect me from drunk drivers is good. So there are some valid arguments for both sides of this fence.

      --
      ASCII tastes bad dude.
      Binary it is then.
    23. Re:I'm stumped by Kintanon · · Score: 2

      Yeah, and I STILL can't get modded down for shit.
      I've been posting flames like that every few days trying to get below the Karma cap and I'm still at 77. No one mods me down for anything for some reason. This post is totally off topic and meaningless but I bet IT won't get modded down either!

      Kintanon

      --
      Check out JoshJitsu.info for Brazilian Ji
    24. Re:I'm stumped by Borealis · · Score: 1

      They why isn't there naked weathergirls on TV in the US? Just because we don't agree with the law doesn't make it wrong. What makes it (legally) wrong is that in a court's opinion it says it's wrong regardless of our personal views.

      Are you trying to claim that naked weathergirls are wrong? To be honest I'm not sure where you're going with that particular analogy. I don't have a problem with naked weathergirls, although I seriously doubt that it would be a big fad. As far as what a court rules making an act "right" or "wrong", is irrelevant to this discussion. Bad laws have been passed before and will be passed in the future. Just because they are law doesn't mean they aren't stupid or immoral and should not be fought (and sometimes broken).

      Close mindedness will never allow you or I to see another viewpoint. This self-limitation can only close off new ideas and thoughts which leads to and end of wisdom and learning. You and I can disagree on every single point of consideration. However, that does not preclude us from understanding each other's point of view. I understand that you think it's silly for someone to get addicted to porn. I think it's silly for someone to get addicted to nicotine. That does not mean I disregard smoking or chewing or people who do so.

      I can hardly see how censorship is supposed to lead to anything other than "limitation can only close off new ideas and thoughts which leads to and end of wisdom and learning". While you are disparaging closemindedness, I find it ironic that you also seen to be promoting censorship. In my mind censorship is enforced closemindedness. Yes I am rather closeminded on the subject of censorship, I unilaterally hate it and believe that it is the most foolish response a group of people can make. Does this make me generally closeminded or simply opposed to foolishness?

      You are also misinterpreting my response to what you said. I never claimed it was silly for people to become addicted to porn, i claimed that it was silly to state that porn is addictive. Undoubtedly millions of people see porn every day, yet only a vast minority find any addictive qualities to it. This is notably unlike nicotine addiction which causes a reproduceable chemical reaction in the body of one who consumes it that causes a dependency. Some people also find celebrities addictive and stalk them. By your arguments, we should censor celebrities in order to protect a minority from ruining their marriages by becoming stalkers.

      However, having a government designed to protect me from drunk drivers is good. So there are some valid arguments for both sides of this fence.

      Drunk drivers pose a danger to others, a clear case for trying to limit them. Porn... well that's not really a danger to all but a few who get obsessed with it and even then really doesn't produce the same results as several hundred pounds of metal travelling at high speeds into other people.

      As far as there being valid arguments in favor of filterware, I disagree strongly. If there was a filtering program that permitted flawless filtering of porn and only porn then I really wouldn't give a damn if the government wanted to install them in the libraries. While sex is a healthy subject, porn isn't something we can really expect libraries to support (although sex education is) if there is a reasonable way to not support it. However, there is no way that existing or future filterware will be able to fulfill the requirement that it only block porn. Existing filterware can't even block all porn, let alone not block things that aren't porn. Filterware fails on the basic premise that it's even effective, thus I can find no redeeming arguments in its favor.

      --
      Unbreakable toys can be used to break other toys.
    25. Re:I'm stumped by Mr.Intel · · Score: 2

      Are you trying to claim that naked weathergirls are wrong?

      No, but I am trying to make a point with this as an example. Currently in the US, you can't see naked weather girls on regular TV. You can in Britain and most of Europe. America is "censoring" this type of programming. I am not offering an opinion of the rightness or wrongness of this type of entertainment.

      Bad laws have been passed before and will be passed in the future. Just because they are law doesn't mean they aren't stupid or immoral and should not be fought (and sometimes broken).

      I agree.

      i claimed that it was silly to state that porn is addictive...

      OK, but I still think you are wrong. It is addictive, induces endorphin production and causes a "high" in some people. Again, just because you have never experienced this does not mean it isn't real.

      Undoubtedly millions of people see porn every day, yet only a vast minority find any addictive qualities to it

      Complete speculation. I won't argue this point because it lacks any merit other than your opinion.

      By your arguments, we should censor celebrities in order to protect a minority from ruining their marriages by becoming stalkers.

      I am making no such suggestion and you are close to putting words into my mouth. If the government is going to make standards, then they should indeed be standard. If it is going to ban drugs because they pose a certain threat to the public health, then they should ban all things that have that same level of threat. Whether they be chemicals, weapons, computer programs or images. Since we have miscommunicated already I will try to be clear. I am not advocating censorship/gun control/drug legalization or anything else. I am merely pointing out that standards should be standard.

      Porn... well that's not really a danger to all but a few who get obsessed with it and even then really doesn't produce the same results as several hundred pounds of metal travelling at high speeds into other people.

      Certainly they are different in their immediate consequences. However, the effect on society, IMO is not so different. While I can't think of a porn related death, I can think of many broken homes, ruined careers and lost years. While we may disagree porn is this kind of a problem, I hope we can agree that anything that has these symptoms represents a danger to society. If you are still having doubts, I am sure I can link you to some studies on broken homes that support my argument.

      As far as there being valid arguments in favor of filterware, I disagree strongly.

      You are entitled to an opinion as am I. However, if I as a parent want to keep my kids from seeing porn on my home network, then I think it is perfectly acceptable for me to install filtering software. As for government implemntations of filterware, I agree that since filterware is flawed, there cannot be a good use for it in public settings like libraries.

      While sex is a healthy subject, porn isn't something we can really expect libraries to support (although sex education is) if there is a reasonable way to not support it.

      As an aside, I find this quote intriguing. Do you look at porn? If you have/will have kids, will you let them look at it? If so, then how do you reconcile this with libraries not supporting it? Just curious.

      --
      ASCII tastes bad dude.
      Binary it is then.
    26. Re:I'm stumped by Mr.Intel · · Score: 2

      Just to clear up my stance on Internet filters in libraries, read this post.

      --
      ASCII tastes bad dude.
      Binary it is then.
    27. Re:I'm stumped by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Web-based email is *not* used only in libraries. It's used by all sorts of people from all sorts of places.

  4. Hooray for free speech! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You must remember, for many people, public computers like those in libraries and schools are the only availiable internet access. This would have effectively denied 1st amendment rights to the poor, a flagrant violation of both the 1st and 14th amendments.

  5. Re:Linux vs Windows Trial Comes to a Close by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...at the command line virtually any operation can be performed with ease...

    you fewl, that is the point of linux/unix...to be easy to use and powerful. you're probably just a idiotic troll anyway, but you obviously dont know what you're talking about!

  6. Congressional Powers by PhxBlue · · Score: 5, Interesting

    From Atty. Rupa Bhattacharyya's arguments in court: "Even if you assume that libraries have a right to provide unfettered access to the Internet, they don't have a right to do so with a federal subsidy," she added. "The crux of this matter is whether or not Congress has the power to decide how to use its money."

    And she's right, but probably not the way she thinks. The answer to her question is that Congress cannot use its powers in a manner that violates the Constitution--including the First Amendment.

    --
    !#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
    1. Re:Congressional Powers by elmegil · · Score: 2

      So use the federal subsidy for some other library purpose than providing Internet Access, document it in your books, and tell the Feds to bugger off.

      --
      7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
    2. Re:Congressional Powers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      she added. "The crux of this matter is whether or not Congress has the power to decide how to use its money."
      This is a misnomer, the money appropriated from the people in the form of taxes(and other forms of raising money listed in the constitution and further addendums) belongs still to the people. So unless some representative or senator is paying out of pocket to support libraries, she has the wrong angle.
      Now if she had said that the people of the united states has a right to dictate how their money was spent then this would be a matter more correctly put. Unfortunately this opens a can of worms over federal money being used innapropriately. And leads further down the road to other unsightly turns in the U.S. Goverment (Civil War, various abuse scandals, congress floating blank checks etc). But the long story short is control does, come down to money and who wields it. As the abused adage states "don't be lulled to sleep take charge of your elected officials stand up and make them notice, vote with your wallet, vote with your power"
      Signed JerryMeander
      "The world is full of fools who would lead you astray in a false attempt to display their intellect, learn to smell sh!t and stear clear"

    3. Re:Congressional Powers by Stonehand · · Score: 2

      Not legal. The federal subsidy is allocated specifically as an "e-rate" for providing internet access, and is not applicable towards other programs.

      --
      Only the dead have seen the end of war.
    4. Re:Congressional Powers by elmegil · · Score: 2
      If the only amount of federal subsidy that's at risk is the amount for internet access, I can't see how that much money makes a hill of beans to the library. The impression I got was that the CIPA says "NO federal funding for anything if you don't install censorware."

      Yes, it may be somewhat difficult in the abstract, but I'd think there are enough private citizen free speech advocates with money to make up the cost difference for a reasonable network link per branch.

      --
      7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
    5. Re:Congressional Powers by civilizedINTENSITY · · Score: 2

      private citizen free speech advocates with money to make up the cost difference
      That would be a interesting solution, yes. Historically significant, even. I believe it should only be considered as a shortgap measure because the principles involved are important. The goverenment's role in resolving censorship and privacy issues needs to be addressed.

  7. Obviously judges with sense by meckardt · · Score: 4, Insightful

    - "The law's terms, if you will, are a sham."

    - "Every witness has testified that the statute can't be applied according to its own terms,"

    - "What right does the government have to require this kind of filtering system?"

  8. Filtering Programs by Dead+Penis+Bird · · Score: 1

    The problem with this, is that these types of programs may be effective in blocking out porn sites, but may block many legitimate, informative sites as well, reducing the amount of information available online.

    Sites get miscategorized frequently. The technology isn't perfect.

    --

    If I weren't nailed to the penis, I'd be pushing up the daisies!

    1. Re:Filtering Programs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At the bottom line is the question of who decides what you get to look at and where. If the library gets to decide what it offers, that's really just akin to them deciding which books they stock. If they use software which comes with a pre-configured, unreadable list compiled by somebody with God only knows what agenda, they are not protecting the public so much as moving control out of the hands of voters and the public and into the hands of the companies which make such software.

      Better yet, under the terms of the DMCA we can't even try to figure out the list if the company for some reason saw fit to obscure it in some manner that can be construed as copyright. Maybe they number the blocked sites with a "proprietary" method i.e. "We count by tens because...blah blah blah..." and this, only by virtue of novelty rather than by actual utility becomes their legal shield.

    2. Re:Filtering Programs by sketerpot · · Score: 1

      You're right, but there is a question that I have: what the hell is wrong with porn? I really don't see anything wrong with pictures of naked people, and I definately don't think that children need to be protected from dangers that exist only in the minds of some misguided people.

  9. Well. by brain-in-a-box · · Score: 1

    If you argue that Libraries should allow pr0n access because of free speech, shouldn't they also provide pr0n videos and magazines because of free speech ?

    --
    You are the dot in slashdot !
    1. Re:Well. by chazzf · · Score: 1

      You are comparing apples and oranges. The Internet is a medium of communication, like the telephone system or the post.

      If the government tried to regulate the decency of what was sent through the mail we'd have a valid comparison here. My two cents...

      ~Chazzf

      --
      No statement is true, not even this one.
    2. Re:Well. by Dr.Dubious+DDQ · · Score: 2
      If you argue that Libraries should allow pr0n access because of free speech, shouldn't they also provide pr0n videos and magazines because of free speech ?

      NO. There is a HUGE difference between "providing" and "not forbidding".

      It's the difference between "requiring all DVD's to be unencrypted and lacking region codes" and "not throwing people in jail for bypassing these restrictions in a reasonable and fair manner".

    3. Re:Well. by Contact · · Score: 2

      It's not a question of whether or not they should supply it - it's whether they're ALLOWED to supply it. If this kind of filtering was applied to books, libraries would be banned from offering books by Chaucer, Henry Miller etc etc...

    4. Re:Well. by Skuld-Chan · · Score: 2

      Some of them do - like Playboy - which according to the last place I worked (rulespace.com) was adult material.

      Often the definition of what porn is - is very broad. For instance should books on sex be banned? Again check your local shelves you might be suprised.

      We can probably skip the discussion on what these filters tend to actually filter. Just I think its funny when my dad (who is a certified librarian at a public school) tried to visit the American Library Association but was stopped by "web sense". Their filter also used to block "entertainment" until my father pointed out that people do enjoy reading - since the school was using the metaphor for a long time that the internet could replace the library.

    5. Re:Well. by Stonehand · · Score: 2

      It does regulate the decency of the mail; sending "obscene" materials through the mail is an offense.

      However, that tends to be subject to local community standards. If memory serves, there was a Tennessee postmaster who found out about a non-TN couple mailing out bestiality videos. He ordered some for evidence, then initiated prosecution.

      --
      Only the dead have seen the end of war.
    6. Re:Well. by seanachais · · Score: 1

      If libraries were truly filtering the content in literature, they would never allow the Bible. If censorship begins, where does it end?

    7. Re:Well. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is kinda ironic, CIPA means pussy in Polish

    8. Re:Well. by sketerpot · · Score: 1

      No, they wouldn't. Censorware programs set a double standard for deciding what to block. They will block offensive stuff that they are requested to block unless it comes from a prominent source like an online Bible or the "Family Research Council. It's still bad. Very bad.

  10. Open access by JWBsDad · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Our local library put the internet terminals in the middle of the library where anyone could see what you were looking at. Should this be considered a violation of free speech because even a minority of the local populace could intimidate you into not visiting sites you would otherwise want to. Should the library be forced to provide rooms for internet access where you could browse in private?

    --
    Ahhh yess, the obligatory sigh oh, did you say sig?
    1. Re:Open access by civilizedINTENSITY · · Score: 2

      Aren't you confusing privacy rights with free speech rights? Sounds more like requiring the "free speech" to occur in a public square.

  11. Can we agree that there is a problem? by jlower · · Score: 2, Interesting

    So this law is deeply flawed and should be thrown out. It appears that is the sentiment here and I would have to agree.

    But, would anyone else agree that there is a problem here that needs to be addressed somehow? Should kids (or adults for that matter) be able to view whatever the hell they want on a public PC in a public library? I would love to hear some of the big brains here suggest alternative solutions.

    Sadly, all that I can think of is good old fashioned human supervision.

    1. Re:Can we agree that there is a problem? by lysurgon · · Score: 2

      Sadly, all that I can think of is good old fashioned human supervision.

      Exactly!

      That's what it should be. Look, the problem of displaying purient material to minors is not a technological one, it's a social one. It would naturally follow that it has a social solution.

      So you make a rule sheet and stick it next to all the terminals in the library: "You should not display material of a pornographic nature on this machine." Put the computers somewhere were an attendant can glance around and see the screens. If there's a gang of 14-year-olds (or a 20-something perv) looking up playboy (or goatse), you kick them off.

      Content filters are not a solution. I mean, if you remove all the "mature content" what's left but "immature content"?

    2. Re:Can we agree that there is a problem? by Mr.Intel · · Score: 2

      Put the computers somewhere were an attendant can glance around and see the screens.

      This opens a whole other can of worms too. Now you have "Content Monitors" and you can be sure the regular librarians don't want to have any extra duties. So you have to hire more staff, where does the money come from? Federal/State/Local funding? Now you have regulations about who can be hired and what their job functions should be. It gets to be a big hairy mess real fast.

      --
      ASCII tastes bad dude.
      Binary it is then.
    3. Re:Can we agree that there is a problem? by lysurgon · · Score: 2

      This opens a whole other can of worms too. Now you have "Content Monitors" and you can be sure the regular librarians don't want to have any extra duties. So you have to hire more staff

      Nah, I'm thinking you put the machines where some of the regular staff can just glance over and make sure nothing shady is going on. In my old hometown library they had the two computers next to the reference desk, so the reference person could just glance over in his/her spare moments and see what was going on.

      Of course, in really large libraries with big computer banks (e.g. NY Public Library main branch) you'd need someone to handle it (they have 60 or so machines). But they already have someone there who does Q&A for people, so that person can just be the friendly monitor.

      It's a community model, not a policing model. Eventually you just want to make it the normal thing to do for the library populace to keep tabs on itself: e.g. other patrons report abuses or even tell the person they're in violation. I know it sounds odd that people might actually take care of each other and (gasp!) speak to strangers, but that's exactly the sort of behavior a public institution such as a library is supposed to foster. It's a community space.

    4. Re:Can we agree that there is a problem? by jlower · · Score: 1

      I haven't been in a library for a long, long time but in my youth the librarians ran their libraries like little kingdoms. They were not a bit bashful about asking you to shut up, move, or leave and right or wrong, that's what we did.

      I wonder if anyone has bothered to ask the librarians themselves what should be done?

      Filtering just won't work. There's too many sites just like mine that will easily slip under the radar of the nanny-software companies. Some kid will be reading Slashdot - see my sig at the bottom and go 'oh, boobies!'. One click later...

    5. Re:Can we agree that there is a problem? by mttlg · · Score: 2
      Now you have "Content Monitors" and you can be sure the regular librarians don't want to have any extra duties. So you have to hire more staff, where does the money come from?

      Like it takes extra staff to notice half a dozen kids huddled around a computer screen giggling uncontrollably and mumbling things like "boobies!" every few seconds. Besides, I'm sure if the signs said something like "If you see someone viewing inappropriate material, report this to a staff member," there would be plenty of "concerned parents" monitoring content themselves. After all, if they're concerned enough to try to force their ideals on the rest of us, they should be able to look around when their kids are in the library, right?

    6. Re:Can we agree that there is a problem? by kathybt · · Score: 1

      The whole idea of 'Content Monitors' would be extremely hard to sell in the librarian community (I'm using 'librarian' to refer to people who have a degree in Library Science, and who are usually (with the board) the people who make and enforce policy, as distinct from the people who staff the check-out desks and shelve the books, who usually report to a librarian). A central tenet of professional education in Library Science is that public libraries have a mission to provide information to anyone who asks in a non-judgemental way. Libraries are forced to restrict what they actually have on the shelves by budget constraints, so there are selection policies to guide the spending of public money, but there is a world of difference between 'telling people to be quiet' and telling them that they can't read material that is available to other patrons because (in a staff member's opinion) it is indecent/you are not old enough/it is controversial and you can't handle it/whatever. Most public libraries fight this kind of 'the library staff knows best' censorship tooth and nail, and certainly the American Library Association does. Monitoring what people are looking at on the Internet is, from this perspective, WORSE than filtering software, since it gives all the judgemental power to a staff member.

    7. Re:Can we agree that there is a problem? by MadAhab · · Score: 2
      Like it takes extra staff to notice half a dozen kids huddled around a computer screen giggling uncontrollably and mumbling things like "boobies!" every few seconds.

      Kids have, since time immemorial, done this with National Geographic or anything else that depicts traditional peoples with exposed breasts. I fail to see why kids doing the same at open terminals (from which they can be banned for "misbehaving") constitutes such a threat to civilization.

      Before snorting too loudly at the revolutionary nature of the Internet, it would be wise to consider the extreme legislation advanced in recent years to contain the free flow of information made possible by the Internet. If Internet isn't, in fact, revolutionary, then why are so many working so hard to counteract its effects?

      --
      Expanding a vast wasteland since 1996.
    8. Re:Can we agree that there is a problem? by Mr.Intel · · Score: 2

      I know it sounds odd that people might actually take care of each other and (gasp!) speak to strangers, but that's exactly the sort of behavior a public institution such as a library is supposed to foster. It's a community space.

      I am totally with you on this one, but I just don't see it happening. I grew up in LA and none of the community monitoring that went on was for public good. If it happened, it was because the library workers were nazis and just wanted to control you while you were there. In small towns I have seen this would be much more practical. I also like your idea of the QA guy walking around "being friendly".

      --
      ASCII tastes bad dude.
      Binary it is then.
    9. Re:Can we agree that there is a problem? by Mr.Intel · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I am glad your first posted comment is a good one...

      A central tenet of professional education in Library Science is that public libraries have a mission to provide information to anyone who asks in a non-judgemental way.

      This is exactly why I don't think any kind of governmental control over library internet access would work. Regardless of intent or implementation, it would only serve to undermine the very purpose of a public information store (library). It seems that in it's zeal to "protect" the public from harmful information, it instead is "protecting" us from ourselves.

      --
      ASCII tastes bad dude.
      Binary it is then.
    10. Re:Can we agree that there is a problem? by frank_adrian314159 · · Score: 2
      I know that I'll get flamed to hell for this, but I got karma to burn. I'm going to play devil's advocate and ask "What the hell are libraries doing being Internet cafes in the first place?". As budgets shrink around the country, I'd think that libraries have more important things to spend money on than SysMins, Windows license fees, and IP charges for online info. Things like basic literacy, librarians, and books, maybe?

      I mean, sheesh. If they got their priorities straight in the first place, they wouldn't need to bump against this issue at all...

      --
      That is all.
    11. Re:Can we agree that there is a problem? by bluGill · · Score: 2

      In Minnesota it is illegal to display anything of a pronographic nature in public. Note that this statue applies to everything, not just comptuers. You can have all the porn you want, just make sure it isn't a public place.

      In other words, it isn't just web porn that the law keeps out of the library, it is all porn. It doesn't however prevent you from checking out playboy (if the librarian chooses to carry that magazine) but if you do, you are required to make sure that nobody can see you with it in public.

      I'm not sure that the above law is perfect, but it is a lot better than one narrowly targeted at comptuers. And it avoids the issue of filtering. No need if you go to legitimate sites. (Although it doesn't cover what happens if the person before you leaves a trojon horse to get you into trouble)

  12. NOT their money by Mr_Perl · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Even if you assume that libraries have a right to provide unfettered access to the Internet, they don't have a right to do so with a federal subsidy," she added. "The crux of this matter is whether or not Congress has the power to decide how to use its money."

    It's not IT'S money it's OUR money. Amazing how often our representatives seem to lose sight of that.

    --

    My poetry site welcomes the unusual.
    1. Re:NOT their money by goldspider · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Exactly, my friend, but while it would seem that you are using this point to oppose the CIPA, it can also be used to support it.

      If a community decides that it wants its libraries to use filtering software, don't the citizens of that community have the right to NOT fund that library if it chooses to ignore the wishes of the community?

      --
      "Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
    2. Re:NOT their money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "
      If a community decides that it wants its libraries to use filtering software, don't the citizens of that community have the right to NOT fund that library if it chooses to ignore the wishes of the community?
      "

      No. That is a 1st amendment violation. To analogize,

      'if a community decides that it wants its libraries to ban jews, don't the citizens of that community have the right to not fund that library if it continues to ignore the wishes of the community?'

    3. Re:NOT their money by goldspider · · Score: 0, Offtopic
      Apples and oranges, my friend. Banning a certain group of people from public facilities is illegal.

      But as it stands, it is well within the rights of a community to define obscenity standards, and statutes associated with that definition. I would think that includes the enforcement of such standards.

      Now the constitutionality of that can certainly be questioned, but I don't think that quite relates to this topic.

      --
      "Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
    4. Re:NOT their money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "
      But as it stands, it is well within the rights of a community to define obscenity standards, and statutes associated with that definition. I would think that includes the enforcement of such standards.
      "

      'Community standards' are inherently unconstitutional, since something one can say or do in one place suddenly cannot in another.
      The 1st amendment must be applied consistently,
      or not at all.

    5. Re:NOT their money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not your money anymore though, the goverment unlawfully took it from you fair and square.

      damn, I'm just oozing all sorts of sarcasm today.

    6. Re:NOT their money by gorilla · · Score: 2

      Wouldn't that be better to do at the community level, either by their representatives in the libraries adminstrative system, or by the conditions attached to local funding?

    7. Re:NOT their money by Stonehand · · Score: 2

      No. Once you've sent the money to the Treasury, it's theirs. If you don't believe me, write the Treasury and ask for "your" money back to spend as you choose.

      That's why the government decides how to budget, instead of individual taxpayers figuring out how to spend their individual little contributions. You can send requests and advice, but it IS the Gov'ts money, and it can spend it on researching ways to breed less-intelligent catfish if it wants.

      --
      Only the dead have seen the end of war.
    8. Re:NOT their money by markmoss · · Score: 2

      If a community decides that it wants its libraries to use filtering software

      1. Communities are one thing, Congress is something different. Constitutionally, Congress's regulatory power is _supposed_ to be very much more limited than states and localities. If that Red/Green map bandied about after the 2000 election means anything, it's that different parts of the USA have quite different community standards... If you want to put filtering software into your local library, run for the library board on that platform, don't try to impose your desires everywhere.

      2. The actual standards used in commercial filtering software are not set by community standards, or even by Congress, but rather by the software vendors. AND THEIR BLOCK LISTS ARE SECRET, AS ARE THE METHODS THEY USE TO CREATE THE LISTS!!!

      3. Similar filtering software has actually blocked political speech in the past, even the Democratic party web site, and probably still is now. It's hard to tell, because simply probing a filter to determine what it blocks and publishing the results is apt to bring a lawsuit for "revealing trade secrets." OTOH, the filter vendors assume no responsibility for improperly blocking a site -- since they won't even reveal their blocking criteria, it's hard to prove they f'd up...

      So what would be acceptable filtering? I can see two approaches:

      --Open source filtering: your block list is open to public inspection. Of course, you'll have a hard time making money off of selling that list, since anyone can just download it and feed it into their server themselves, so it might be hard to get the staff needed to keep up with thousands of new porn sites an hour. (Not that the commercial vendors seem to be doing much better.) And you'll have teenagers downloading the list and trying to visit every site on it. (Keeps them off the streets. 8-)

      Government certification: The filter software will be checked out by bureaucrats, who will do just as thorough a job as the Aussie patent officials that approved a patent for the wheel, or the INS officials who rubberstamped Mohammed Atta's application for a student visa so he could learn to fly airliners into buildings. And, in the everchanging world of the internet, the job will be done with the promptness of that gov't contractor who mailed out the approval five months after Atta became the world's most famous dead terrorist...

      Private Certification: Congress _could_ write the law so vendors would certify themselves as complying with the law and the Constitution, notify each blocked site that they were doing so, and stand exposed to lawsuits from anyone they blocked wrongly. "Blocked wrongly" meaning that the blockage violates either the 1st Amendment or standards published by the vendor. Let's set the penalty at a minimum of $10,000/day + legal fees and court costs, or actual damages if higher.

      I don't think it would be a good idea to allow lawsuits for mistakes the other way, because it seems to be utterly beyond anyone's capability to even come close to identifying all the porn sites. Well, maybe there could be a suit if redhotsluts.xxx stayed unblocked for over six months... I'd suggest just putting in a truth in advertising provision; if the vendor's sales materials clearly say the filter will allow much but not all porn through, and it does block _some_ porn, then you can't sue because it didn't block everything, but if their ads claim the filter is effective, then they get sued for every bare tittie that gets through the PG setting...

      Don't you just love giving businessmen a choice like that: tell the truth ("this don't work") and get no sales, or lie and get sued into bankruptcy. 8-)

      And finally, of course the libraries cannot be required to install a filter until at least three competing companies have self-certified their filters as both non-infringing on free speech and effective, and are selling them low enough to be within the library budgets. Maybe in 50 years, AI will have advanced to the point that someone can actually make that certification and not lose about a $million per copy sold to lawsuits. (HAL can visit 9,000 sites a second, and if he gets a virtual erection, on the list it goes...)

    9. Re:NOT their money by sdowney · · Score: 1
      From the article:
      The judges expressed empathy for communities that want to protect children from an aggressive commercial pornography industry intent on luring young customers. However, they also recognized the constitutional dangers of leaving censorship decisions to the local majority opinion.

      The majority does NOT decide First Amendment issues.

      Communities can decide to have a library, museum, etc. But once they decide to have one, they can not decide what goes into it or stays out of it. That is up to the library, museum, etc.

  13. A fool's errand by FurryFeet · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Trying to protect children from pornography on the net is futile, for two reasons.
    First, it's stupid to target the net when you can get more/better porno in cable. Even mainstream channels like Cinemax are now offering softcore, and nobody is talking about banning it. And, yes, I'm pretty sure more kids have access to cable TV than to internet.
    Two, there isn't that much porn out there. Yes, there are plenty of teasers, but it's REALLY hard these days to get to actual porn wothout paying for it. Porn sites are businesses, and kids don't get in without paying (and paying is pretty hard for a kid).
    So, I say all these people need to chill out a bit. Try to be a good parent, and get used to the idea that your kid WILL actually see some porn, somewhere, somehow. I did. You probably did too. Did it cause us any harm? Of course not.
    "We were so busy trying to give our children all the things we never had, we forgot to give them all the things we did have".- Someone, I don't remember who. But he was right.

    1. Re:A fool's errand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
      it's REALLY hard these days to get to actual porn wothout paying for it.

      You obviously haven't gone looking for free porn lately then. There are literally dozens of thumbnail sites that link to "teaser" porn, most of which is uncensored. And there are still gigs & gigs of it out there. Do a google search for "thumbnail gallery" sometime and you'll realize how easy it is to get actual porn without paying for it.

    2. Re:A fool's errand by gewalker · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'm a conservative Christian (Church of Christ, conservative), I'm also well known as the local computer guy at the church.

      I've been asked the question re: protecting children from porn, etc. by several church members. Answer is always the same

      1) be involved
      2) lay day the rules
      3) put the PC in a public area, or require leaving the door open
      4) install tracking software, not censorware
      5) Small kids get a different rule, censorware is ok

      Why point 4? It's a feedback loop, see #1

      And yes, a clever young person can download more porn than the parents would like, for free, w/o a credit card check. Parents would like no porn for the 10 yr old son, not "just a little"

      Constitutionally, free speech does not trump rights of parents to raise their children. It says the government can not suppress free speech, not that the government has to publish speech for free.

      I believe strongly in free speech, including porn (because it should not be up to government to decide the limits). But parents should have the right to control access to their children. They can exercise this right by going with their kids to the library, but maybe libraries could apply censorware to minor children without applying it to adults. Free speech would be preserved, as would parental control.

    3. Re:A fool's errand by rackhamh · · Score: 1

      "...it's REALLY hard these days to get to actual porn wothout paying for it. Porn sites are businesses, and kids don't get in without paying..."

      Utterly false. There are THOUSANDS of free sites out there, many of them neatly categorized by Yahoo. Consider all of the thumbnail galleries out there. If you don't consider that material porn, I shudder to think what you consider "actual porn".

      That said, I favor free speech. I just think we should be honest with ourselves.

    4. Re:A fool's errand by Kintanon · · Score: 2

      www.ninenine.com

      I got that site off of someones .sig at slashdot, all of the free porn you could ever need. Heh, amazing isn't it?

      Kintanon

      --
      Check out JoshJitsu.info for Brazilian Ji
    5. Re:A fool's errand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Could you post me a few links, I don;t have a credit card "to prove I'm over 18" ;-)

      PS Given that the age of consent is 16 in the UK, could I be a paedophile in the US, but not in the UK?

      If so, what happens with "name and shame" campaigns?

    6. Re:A fool's errand by cpeterso · · Score: 2


      First, it's stupid to target the net when you can get more/better porno in cable. Even mainstream channels like Cinemax are now offering softcore, and nobody is talking about banning it. And, yes, I'm pretty sure more kids have access to cable TV than to internet.


      Last time I checked, my local public library did not have free Cinemax so this point is moot. :)

    7. Re:A fool's errand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Two, there isn't that much porn out there. Yes, there are plenty of teasers, but it's REALLY hard these days to get to actual porn wothout paying for it. Porn sites are businesses, and kids don't get in without paying (and paying is pretty hard for a kid).

      Uh, Usenet? All the hamster pr0n you could ever want.

    8. Re:A fool's errand by sketerpot · · Score: 1

      That looks like a practical system. While I am neither conservative nor Christian, I agree with you--to a point. You say that parents should have the right to control their children's access to information. If my parents had done this, I probably would have been a lot different than I am now. I saw a lot of stuff, read a lot of books, looked at a lot of web sites that my parents wouldn't want me to see. And it has done good things for me. My worldview is quite different from what it once was. And I like it better this way. I just hope that other kids can do what I did and form their own opinions, not just be copies of their parents.

  14. Re:My proposal to Slashdot for CIPA article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hey Seth, here's a thought. Your comment is huge and really hard to wade through. Next time, if you want to cite letters you've written, commit the letters to your journal, and link to the journal entry. That way your comment would have been like, a paragraph, tops.

  15. So by loraksus · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Senators going to try and put another protection act next week? What a victory.

    --
    1q2w3e4r5t6y7u8i9o0pqawsedrftgthyjukilo;p'azsxdcfv gbhnjmk,l.;/
  16. Finally! by lysurgon · · Score: 2

    A ruling that makes sense from the judiciary! Pop the champaigne! With all the legislation that's been introduced (CBDTPA) and passed (DMCA), I'm starting to loose a little faith in the legislative process. Whoop whoop: checks and balances.

    Seriously, I've not read about anyone looking to challange the DMCA in court. I've heard about defences being mounted against it, but no one has (to my knowledge) challanged the law, even though it seems that there could be a constitutional claim against it, if only under the area of copyright. I assume the EFF, ACLU, etc have looked into this? Is anyone planning on mounting a challange in the courts? If not, does anyone have any pointers to reasons why?

    To borrow from some post I read yesterday: if we're serious about Online Rights, we need to start taking up the political tactics of other more successful movements (e.g. the gun lobby), and cast the debate in our terms. For instance, we're not technology advocates or content pirates, we're Pro-Information Liberty, or some such thing. The Online Rights movement needs some better branding.

    We also need to be more active (e.g. on the offensive) in the judiciary realm of the government so as to get more rulings like this one.

    1. Re:Finally! by Amazing+Quantum+Man · · Score: 2

      Seriously, I've not read about anyone looking to challange the DMCA in court.

      Perhaps you've heard of US v. Elcomsoft?

      --
      Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
    2. Re:Finally! by Boomer2 · · Score: 1

      It wasn't a ruling. It was the personal opinion of an individual jurist.

      Your statement is almost as specious as when people say a given attorney general 'rules' on a matter.

      Are people totally clueless about courts and the law, or just living in their own dream world?

  17. I've said it before and I'll say it again by hey! · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The right to free speech is meaningless without the freedom to hear speech.

    What the first amendment is really about is enabling communication that may be unpopular with government authorities.

    Government authorities are always trying to get around this by taking the absurd position that the freedom to hear has nothing to do with the freedom to speak:


    "There is no constitutional right to immediate, anonymous access to speech, for free, in a public library," Justice Department Attorney Rupa Bhattacharyya said in a spirited defense



    Of course there is no constitutional right to free public Internet access. But once it is there, it is not up to a government official to decide what kind of content is acceptable in communications between individuals. The analogy to selecting books is flawed. The government in this case must spend public funds to obtain the books, and of course should be selective. A better analogy would be a requirement that books have pages ripped out of them that might contain information that might be offensive to some people.

    --
    Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    1. Re:I've said it before and I'll say it again by clarkgoble · · Score: 1

      However the government is not saying what communication is acceptable. It is saying what kind of communication can be done in public before children. The government is not saying that you can't read goatsex.com or whatever drops your socks on your own computers. Just that in a public government funded facility with children you can't do this.

      (Personally I'm not convinced that libraries ought to be offering Internet connections at all, but that's me. It seems too much like offering free cable TV at a library)

    2. Re:I've said it before and I'll say it again by Boomer2 · · Score: 1

      "The analogy to selecting books is flawed."

      No...it's an almost perfect analogy.

      Libraries make value decisions all the time about what content to provide. They consciously censor on whatever criteria it is they use.

      Your argument about the meaning of the 1st Amendment is totally wrong. People do not have a right to have content communicated to them. If it were true, every library would be REQUIRED to provide EVERY piece of literature/video/etc ever created to ensure it was all communicated without exception. But that is NOT what the 1st Amendment is about.

      The 1st Amendment says that you can create content. It doesn't require anyone to take it, or even provide the means to take it.

    3. Re:I've said it before and I'll say it again by norton_I · · Score: 2

      This is exactly what the first amendment is about. This is not about giving libraries the right to choose what books the buy, it is about people with heads stuck up their asses trying to get the government to tell libraries that they must not distribute certain kinds of material to patrons, in the name of protecting the children.

    4. Re:I've said it before and I'll say it again by Stonehand · · Score: 2

      First, there is no constitutional right to "hear" speech, as that would constitute a right to a service -- of which there are very few. The right to an attorney and the right to vote are among the primary service rights. But the government is practically never Constitutionally obligated either to provide means for speaking, such as funding your attempts to get the word out, nor to fund your attempts to hear, such as by buying you newspaper subscriptions or a radio. You have no constitutional right to a subsidized subscription to Pravda; nor is there such a right to an e-rate discount for network connectivity.

      Would you rather that the NSF assign research grants by lottery? Or, likewise, the NEA (the arts endowment, not the educator's association)? Or, for that matter, highway grants?

      If not, then you'll have to agree that the Government is entitled to make subjective judgements about how to dole out its funds. Libraries are quite free to reject the e-rate restrictions. In fact, subject to obscenity ordinances, a community-funded library could have all-porn-all-the-time network access, if no Federal e-rate funds are involved. Even if the restriction is impossible to meet, meeting the restriction is not mandatory since accepting the e-rate is not. The law could be revised to require merely best-effort, perhaps, without invalidating the main intent that the Federal government has no intention of allowing e-rate funding to be used for providing pornography.

      Nor is it particularly prejudicial, since it's covering a specific type of content -- and one that is not a significant method of conveying a message, so it avoids various issues that would occur with, say, banning political content. And it certainly is not arbitrary; the government has long maintained that pornography for children is a bad idea.

      --
      Only the dead have seen the end of war.
    5. Re:I've said it before and I'll say it again by pogen · · Score: 2
      Libraries make value decisions all the time about what content to provide.

      That's because there is a practical limit to how much of the available content it is possible to acquire. This is not the case with the internet. Once you acquire the connection, you instantly acquire access to all of the content, for no additional cost. If librarians could do this with books, they would jump at the chance.

    6. Re:I've said it before and I'll say it again by Jeremi · · Score: 2
      No...it's an almost perfect analogy.


      Libraries make value decisions all the time about what content to provide. They consciously censor on
      whatever criteria it is they use.


      No, it's different, because the library must pay (in money and shelf space) for each book it buys. Because the library has a finite amount of book-buying funds, such value decisions are necessary. With the Internet, all content is equally available by default, and it costs the library more to make some of it unavailable than it does to just leave it all available.


      A more accurate analogy would be if Congress agreed to fund a bulk book-of-the-month club subscription on the library's behalf, but only if the library agreed to hire someone to go through the received books each month and throw away the books that he considered 'offensive'.

      --


      I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
    7. Re:I've said it before and I'll say it again by smyle · · Score: 1
      Libraries are quite free to reject the e-rate restrictions.

      Sure. But, as soon as you reject 60% to 90% of your paycheck, what happens?

      Just because it's works well in theory doesn't make it at all feasible.

      --

      Sleep is just a poor substitute for caffeine, anyway. -Bob Lehmann

    8. Re:I've said it before and I'll say it again by Stonehand · · Score: 2

      Confrontation.

      I think it might be quite interesting if the Federal government provokes the public by extending legislative blackmail to other areas, as well. By legislative blackmail, I mean the "we'll tax you, then give you some of your money back -- on conditions -- in order to impose regulations on areas that normally we wouldn't be allowed to do so". The cardinal example is the blood-alcohol content limit, where the Feds blackmail the states into maintaining 0.10 or lower BAC thresholds, on non-Federal roads, in exchange for receiving Federal highway funds.

      That may be acceptable to people in the name of public safety, but extend the policy to other methods, raise the tax brackets, and sooner or later there'll be people sufficiently irritated to question this circumvention of the 10th amendment. If it brings about greater awareness of Constitutional issues and discussions of Federal power, it might be beneficial in the long term to actually work towards such a moment...

      --
      Only the dead have seen the end of war.
    9. Re:I've said it before and I'll say it again by Boomer2 · · Score: 1

      Sure. But, as soon as you reject 60% to 90% of your paycheck, what happens?

      So people/orgs should hold their moral/ethical position only if it has no consequences?

      If getting a wad of money is more important than some set of values they supposedly aspire to, then they're not very important values, are they?

      A bunch of whiners who don't want to make a stand if it has consequences. Typical.

    10. Re:I've said it before and I'll say it again by elmegil · · Score: 2
      They consciously censor on whatever criteria it is they use.

      You obviously haven't spent much time talking to librarians lately, have you?

      I think if you do, you'll find that the word "censor" is on their list of baaad words we don't say around here, as is the action of censorship. They make value judgements, but they are based on positive values (based on all these things, what would be the best value for the money to add to our collection), not negative censorship (will this offend some patron).

      --
      7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
  18. Re:My proposal to Slashdot for CIPA article by FortKnox · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    I honestly think that /. should put michael on the criticising block, and let the community have at him. Maybe an interview with him.

    That way we can ask him about censorware.
    Ask him about the truth behind the rumors of him being a "moderating gustapo".
    And ask him about his insulting to various slashdot readers.


    Quickest way to kill rumors/conspiracy theories?
    Get it out in the open.

    --
    Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
  19. Misnomer by muck1969 · · Score: 1
    It should be called the Children's Internet Restriction Act ... because that's basically what it's doing. It seems that parents are refusing to accept their roles in managing (restricting) their children and relying on Congress (and our federal money) to do the parenting job.

    If the "holier than thou" crowd continues to have their way, our freedoms will slowly be eroded away to the point where we live in an oppressive and tyrannical society.

    --
    m.mmm..myyy ... sssissxxxtthh bbboottle offf mmmmmoouunnnttain ddeeewww.. in thhe pppassst ffffif
    1. Re:Misnomer by Boomer2 · · Score: 1

      The "holier than thou" crowd has been in control for eons; and your freedoms have constantly increased.

      Want to view pr0n? Get off your lazy butt and buy your own computer and access. Don't demand to use my money to access it, ya leech.

      If all these arguments against censoring pr0n were true, I'd see the stupid mags on shelves at the library. Hmmm...never seen a library that had them. Guess the library saying "no" is OK. And if the library can say "no", the group giving them money can certainly tell them to say "no" if they want money.

  20. Re:My proposal to Slashdot for CIPA article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Score:4 How long befor this gets modded down into oblivion by the editors?

  21. to k5 with it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    post the article to k5 like you have a few other essays/articles. i'll vote it up :)

  22. Yep, we all know that by MSBob · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    We all know that CIPA means 'cunt' in Polish, okay?

    --
    Your pizza just the way you ought to have it.
    1. Re:Yep, we all know that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Funny how we both posted the same exact thing less than a minute apart, but mine is -1 Offtopic!!!

    2. Re:Yep, we all know that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      how the fsck did this get modded to a 2 ?!?!

    3. Re:Yep, we all know that by GigsVT · · Score: 1

      Because it's "fscking" funny, not offtopic.

      --
      I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
  23. Obvious Solution? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I think a much better solution than this legislation is for libraries to not allow children access to the internet at all without parental supervision. It should be the parents' responsibility to decide what is and isn't appropriate for their child to see, not the libraries' or the federal government's. Stop blaming the libraries, asking for impossible legislation, etc., and take the time to supervise your children.

    Libraries could still provide computers for use by unsupervised children that are not connected to the internet, or that are firewalled to only provide limited set of services such as e-mail.

    -- jason

    1. Re:Obvious Solution? by Silver+Rose · · Score: 1

      Define child. While I would agree that especially young children should be required to have parental supervision, what about kids in high school? I used to use the 'net at the library for high school research projects. I had to get myself there and back, because my parents said they didn't have time to drive me there. I wouldn't have been able to do research at all under your solution, since I was still a child (a relatively mature 14 at the time) and my parents didn't have time to supervise my 'net usage. Requiring parental supervision might also forbid children from looking up non-approved (by parents) information that they desparetly need -- two obvious cases, how to contact social services if your parents are abusive, and information about the Gay/Lesbian community. While I would agree that parental supervision is a good solution to the problem of kids looking at porn, it creates a lot of other problems that a library is there to solve -- free and anonymous access to information. If your parents know you're looking at it, that may defeat the purpose of the information.

  24. Re:My proposal to Slashdot for CIPA article by cavemanf16 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Haha! This comment just got bitchslapped, me thinks. Went from +4 to 0 within about 1 minute, all of them 'Troll' mods. Not to mention the fact that it keeps getting modded up. I doubt a community as one sided as slashdot is has a problem deciding whether Seth is spouting FUD or not... especially considering even the "MS Windows is great" trolls hate michael when they're writing non-trolling posts. Let's see if this one goes down in history as the +1000 mods post... ;)

  25. and for a follow-up on my above comment: by cavemanf16 · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    From the stalkedbyseth.com website:

    As it turned out, there was no group support for doing such a site [anti-censorware website] - no one wanted to take such a radical free-speech position except me [Michael Sims]. But getting a domain name and a dedicated site was still a good idea. So in Feb. 1998, I registered censorware.org for the exorbitant fee of $100 and set up a hosting account, for (I think) $50/month. Then it was on to develop the site. (Bold emphasis added)

    It is readily apparent that someone other than Seth F has a vendetta here. Such harsh language michael. I don't recall reading such inflammatory comments on Seth's account of said story. Hmmmm...

    And as FortKnox will attest, this isn't just your reaction to one man's 'obsession', as we've seen you do it here on this site too, bashing those of us who use and frequent Slashdot the most - i.e., we have, at least in the past, found it a great source of info, enjoyment, etc.

    1. Re:and for a follow-up on my above comment: by GigsVT · · Score: 1

      I have an idea, why don't you all let it drop. No one is forcing you to hang out on Slashdot. I'm sick of hearing about this whole Michael/Seth/Censorware thing. It's over, get over it. I think it's just sour grapes because Slashdot hired Michael, otherwise you all would let it drop.

      Yes, it sucked, but it's over. Quit wasting your time and your lives.

      --
      I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
    2. Re:and for a follow-up on my above comment: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yah, I for one would be happy to see this whole goddamn thread smacked down to -1 so I don't have to take part in some other people's flamewars. Build a bridge and get over it! Go outside! It's Opening Day, go to a ballgame!

    3. Re:and for a follow-up on my above comment: by cavemanf16 · · Score: 1
      Well, between posting flamebait and acting intelligent, I've found it's usually more enjoyable to start flame wars here on slashdot. It certainly gets more responses than actual intelligent posts. Besides, as one troll has in his .sig: "Reading Slashdot is like picking peanuts out of sh*t." And I tend to agree at this point. Once in a while you find a great link to something you've been looking for on the Internet forever, but usually it's 17yr olds trying to appear intelligent, or old farts like myself crapflooding just for laughs while waiting for that developer to send you the damn specs already! ;)

      Slashdot is a good daily "revolving favorite links" website for me, but not much else. Besides, nothing can be more fun than annoying someone who gets more annoyed and grumpy with every silly flame you throw at them.

    4. Re:and for a follow-up on my above comment: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It would be fine to consider it ancient history if censorware.org were fixed. As of now, it's Michael's personal vendetta site. That's not right.

  26. Same problem, different location. by Streuner · · Score: 0
    There is a somewhat similar case in Germany, but it's not against pr0n, but against neo-nazi sites.

    [Quote]
    On the 8th of February, 2002 the district authority of Düsseldorf have issued blocking decrees against more than 80 access providers. The district authority refer to their function as regional supervision authority for legal protection of young people and "punishment of infringement of the regulations" according to the German Interstate Media Treaty.

    As a result customers of access providers in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia who have given way to this measure of censorship now face a filtered internet ...

    There is no doubt that the websites filtered by the district authority are offences against basic democratic rights. Yet, filtering out those sites actually prevents net citizens from accessing relevant information and making up their own mind about complex social problems in order to better understand and fight them.
    [/Quote]

    While this is in practice a different situation (I don't think anyone out there believes that pr0n is a danger to democracy), it's the same problem.

    More info about it can be found here.
    --

    --
    I have no karma and I must post.
  27. Censorware - changing the debate from "filtering" by Seth+Finkelstein · · Score: 2
    Readers might be interested in my essay posted at another site:

    Censorware - changing the debate from "filtering" (Technology)
    By Seth Finkelstein
    http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2002/3/25/8925/06088

    "As already mentioned in another story a Federal censorware law is now being challenged in court. For the past months, I've been focusing on trying to change some of the ways people think about censorware. Censorware is not a "filter", it's a blinder-box."

    New sig for today: My proposal to Slashdot for CIPA article

  28. the censor icon guy... by digitalsushi · · Score: 2, Interesting

    who is the guy that is in the slashdot censor icon?

    --
    slashdot: where everyone yells sarcastic metaphors to themselves to understand the issue
    1. Re:the censor icon guy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think it might be Seth. I understand Michael censored him.

  29. Almost right by fractalus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    As a conservative Christian myself, I'd say you're right on the money, except that even censorware for small children isn't terribly effective. There's an awful lot of stuff that isn't necessarily porn that is still inappropriate for small children; rather than installing censorware and hoping that does the job, I'd just say that the younger the children are, the more important parental involvement is. That means more than just glancing over their shoulders every few minutes; it means actually spending time with them while they use the net.

    The net is NOT like existing sources of information. If you take your kids to the video store, you can see what part of the video store they're in. If you take your kids to the library, you can see where they're at. When your kids surf the net, you can't necessarily see what part of the net they're using. The net puts all the information of the world right there in your PC. All of it, good, bad, and ugly. This is convenient but requires a lot more vigilance on the part of parents.

    I think in a generation we'll have a much better handle on this, but right now it's so new parents are struggling to adapt.

    --
    People are never as simple as their stereotypes. This applies equally to Christians, Muslims, and Emacs-lovers.
    1. Re:Almost right by gewalker · · Score: 1

      Absolutely agreed, I should have been clear that censorware was an optional extra for younger kids.

      Many slashdotters remember the "Fuck USA Government" website defacing that hit a lot of web sites. I would not ike to explain that to a 6-six yr old.

      Nothing wrong with sex -- "Marriage is honorable, and the bed undefiled". Sex is and should be an enjoyable part of marriage. If an adult prefers to have sex outside of marriage, that's his right. God's law give adults the right to choose to sin (penalties may apply).

      But it's not appropriate for a 6-yr old to learn the F-Word. Historical note: The F-Word was added to English as a clean, clinical word to replace the dirty word equivalent of the day (from a German verb meaning "to penetrate"), it tooks generations for it to become the dirty word. Bastard, Barbarian, bitch, and others have similar histories. So, what's wrong with knowning/using the F-word, answer -- depends on context. But, I don't expect or want a 6-yr old to understand the context. I can and do go for years without swearing and never in my life in front of children. And, I don't want them learning otherwise at tax sponsored libraries.

      Since the language you would have you children to avoid can occur in surprising contexts, censorware is just a aid to the parent. When they are 14, they have heard all of the bad words, but hopefully have enough sense not to ask what they mean when company is visiting.

    2. Re:Almost right by sketerpot · · Score: 1
      I can explain that message. "Somebody doesn't like the US government and they wrote this to say so. 'Fuck' is a very impolite way of saying that you don't like something or someone."

      Really, what is wrong with it?

  30. Take the computers out by steelrecluse · · Score: 1

    Seems we have two choices:

    Traditional libraries with no internet access, and therefore no access to porn for children.

    Libraries with internet access thereby making it very easy for porn to be seen by children (search queries turning up wrong, porn spam, etc)

    Obvious solution would be to throw filtering software on the computers and prevent porn from being viewed. But this is problematic, it doesn't work 100% and it runs into free speech issues.

    So, we have two options to weigh, is it more important to provide internet access in a library, or is it more important to maintain obscenity standards in a public place (and prevent children from being subjected to porn).

    I say we take away the internet connection. Sure people will bitch and moan and start sounding like Jon Katz, but lets face it, the internet isn't that important, if there is any information the children need to receive then that is what those aisles and aisles of books are for.

    1. Re:Take the computers out by Yunzil · · Score: 1

      So, we have two options to weigh, is it more important to provide internet access in a library, or is it more important to maintain obscenity standards in a public place (and prevent children from being subjected to porn).

      Or, as a third option, have the damn parents come with their kids for a change.

    2. Re:Take the computers out by steelrecluse · · Score: 1

      And keep them on a 3 foot leash the entire time they are there too right?

      Seriously though, it's obvious that parents should be going with their young kids to the library, but I don't think we should have to accompany 12 year olds...and I don't believe that the benefits provided by having internet access in libraries are great enough to justify the negative effects of un-filtered porn.

      So basically, we either need to come up with a filtering mechanism that works, or just get rid of the access in public places altogether. That's where my vote is going.

    3. Re:Take the computers out by JimmytheGeek · · Score: 1

      The purpose of a library is to provide access to information. It used to be that providing access to books was the way to do that. These days, that means the web.

      The internet is a much more efficient publishing medium of information than print. It takes months to print and distribute and catalog hardcopy. As an example, when was the last time you found an up-to-date technical reference in your library? In my town, you can be assured of finding COBOL references in the stacks, but nothing from this century.

      Dead trees are expensive, heavy, and present all the burdens of inventory. The web allows you to get anything not slashdotted, and the library doesn't have to pay for the title, track who has it at the moment, fine them if they don't return it on time, etc.

      If libraries are to be more relevant than museums, they need the web.

    4. Re:Take the computers out by seanachais · · Score: 1

      Okay, so because you are too lazy to watch your 12 y/o child on the computer, everyone who comes to the library for internet access (not everyone can afford it at home) is penalized. Why not just tell your child and the library staff that he/she isn't allowed on the computer at the library?

    5. Re:Take the computers out by DoubleReed · · Score: 1

      Speaking as a child, aisels and aisles of books are a nightmare. Think about having to reboot your machine, sign on to your ISP, etc every time you want to click on a link.

  31. Again with the wrong initial predicate by Weasel+Boy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "There is no constitutional right to immediate, anonymous access to speech, for free, in a public library," Justice Department Attorney Rupa Bhattacharyya said...

    As wiser /. readers than I have pointed out recently, something doesn't need to be in the Constitution to make it a right. The Constitution explicitly says that the Bill of Rights is an incomplete list, and that any and all rights and powers not explicitly enumerated in the Constitution are reserved for the jurisdiction of the States.

    Note how it begins, "All legislative powers herein granted..." That means anything not explicitly mentioned is not granted to the federal government. Again, those wiser than myself also cite the 9th and 10th Amendments:

    Article [IX.]

    The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

    Article [X.]

    The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

    Therefore, our Constitutional rights, by construction, include rights not named in the Constitution. :-)

    1. Re:Again with the wrong initial predicate by Boomer2 · · Score: 1

      That's correct. Where you go wrong is by thinking it forces the govt to do anything for you.

      What Article X in effect says is "get your own computer and ISP, you lazy pr0n-loving slug".

      By your reasoning, the govt would be required to wipe your butt for you.

  32. Let's try a different approach by bihoy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've become involved in setting up a media center in the library of an elementary school. The school has internet access but does not provide said access to the student population. There is some desire, however, to allow access to specific sites that the teachers feel complement topics being presented in the classroom.

    What I have proposed is to block *ALL* general access to the internet except for those site that the teachers have added to an Access Control List. These lists may be dynamically updated and may be limited to very specific durations.

    The idea is that the students will not have unfettered access to the internet. They will only be *shown* content that the teacher feels is relevant to what is being taught.

    While this approach may not be appropriate for a public library we feel that it is for a public school setting. We feel that it sidesteps the issue of the 1st amendment because we are not limiting the general publics access. Furthermore the school has no obligation to provide students access to the internet. In fact the access is being provided to the teachers.

    1. Re:Let's try a different approach by JimmytheGeek · · Score: 2, Interesting

      This resonates with me.

      I am definitely against censorware in public libraries and schools, on pragmatic and ideological grounds. It's been shown too often that the products block inappropriately (breast cancer sites), malevolently, (sites critical of censorware, catagorized as raunchy sex, for example), and ineffectively. I also think that the censors pretty much have their heads up their asses, for all the usual ideological 1st amendment reasons.

      But I do think that unfettered access to the net is a poor use of educational resources. I run the net at a community college with wide-open access in the library, and people do waste a lot of time in there. While the net can be educational, (even the pr0n could teach a few things) using it a tool to reach specific information for specific purposes strikes me as a more efficient use of human and network bandwidth. Otherwise, I believe it will interfere with, not further, education. It would be like having kids watch t.v. and not specifying the program. You probably shouldn't expect that much useful education would occur. You might have some difficulty when the students have to use the net for research, but that could be done under close supervision.

      This won't work in my situation, but in an elementary school it sounds good.

    2. Re:Let's try a different approach by ratboy666 · · Score: 1

      Better not give the students email, or they
      may discover a web/email gateway.

      Better stay on top of the sites with banner
      ads... the students may be able to click
      offsite.

      Better disable everything...

      Oh, hell, just don't provide the internet as
      a resource at all. The kids are smarter than
      we are, and will find a way. We'ed better
      cut off everything.

      Now for a good book-burning.

      Ratboy.

      --
      Just another "Cubible(sic) Joe" 2 17 3061
    3. Re:Let's try a different approach by cpeterso · · Score: 2


      Better stay on top of the sites with banner
      ads... the students may be able to click
      offsite.


      How can a student browse offsite with a banner ad when the school computer lab would be blocking that ad's destination (and probably the ad itself)? Imagine the school computer lab using a limited DNS server that does not understand any other addresses.

      of course, URLs with IP addresses (or those DWORD IP addresses that are not dotted quads) pose a slightly more interesting challenge.

    4. Re:Let's try a different approach by sketerpot · · Score: 2

      I think there was a discussion on Slashdot a while ago about how many clicks on links it takes to get from a site like disney.com to porn. It wasn't very many. Does anyone have a link?

  33. No 1st Amendment problem by Boomer2 · · Score: 1

    The First Amendment prevents the government from allowing you to publish, speak, etc., what you want to say. It does not require the govt to provide means for people to hear/read/etc it. By placing pages on a webserver you own/lease, you've published and received your 1st Amendment right. Beyond that you're on your own.

    This law is right on. The problem is activist judges looking to further their freak causes rather than genuinely interpret the Constitution.

  34. No information is harmful by A55M0NKEY · · Score: 3, Insightful


    No information is harmful to it's consumers in and of itself. If someone, even a child seeks out information, even pr0n, they want to view the info. If a kid who is not interested in sex sees a nekkid lady/dude, they will giggle that they are nekkid and move on - they probably clicked the wrong button to get there anyway. If a teenager who is interested in pr0n for sex why not let them see what there is to see! ( I remember bbs's were my sole source of nekkid ladies when I was 13-15 and now that I'm in my mid 20s I know it didn't hurt me at all )

    Anyone who has seen Dances with Wolves knows that in the olden days the natives used to boink in the same TeePee with the rest of their family. Kids couldn't avoid seeing sex going on! And as glad as I am that I never had to see my old man and maw going at it, sex is just a fact of life like eating working dying and being born.

    Of course it would suck if every site I wanted to look at, like google for instance had graphic advertizements for Gay Pr0n, and children shouldn't have pr0n shoved in their face either. On the other hand, how much more obscenely annoying is an advertizement for pr0n than an advertizement for Coca-Cola in the middle of your favorite TV show?

    --

    Eat at Joe's.

    1. Re:No information is harmful by GigsVT · · Score: 1, Troll

      Man, You don't understand American culture very well.

      1) You don't tell your kids Santa isn't real until they are at least 7 or 8.

      2) Same with tooth fariy.

      3) You generally don't tell them what's up with sex, until after they are 12 or 13 and already figure it out.

      4) You also generally don't tell them that God isn't real either, but most people figure that one out too.

      --
      I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
    2. Re:No information is harmful by Stonehand · · Score: 2

      Hm. Some "information" that could be lethal to the user -- for instance, detailed information on the construction of improvised explosives with household materials, but missing any data on safety precautions. The temptation to implement it would probably result in the occasional maiming.

      No, that doesn't hold for porn -- I don't know of any study that shows conclusive causative relationships between pornography and, say, rape or molestation, but then I'm not a sociologist and I don't spend my time looking for such studies -- but information need not always be benign.

      --
      Only the dead have seen the end of war.
    3. Re:No information is harmful by A55M0NKEY · · Score: 1

      I see what you mean, but ppl who try out the recipes in The Terrorist's Handbook and blow themselves up ( available off http://www.textfiles.com by the way ) were gonna do something stupid anyway doncha think? And then there are fraudulent advertisements, but unless there is someone to take your money the actual ad isn't harmful.

      --

      Eat at Joe's.

  35. There are more important ways to spend money by A55M0NKEY · · Score: 1

    If the libraries had infinite money I would say yes they should. But I would rather see it spent on books of which most libraries have too few. Internet access to pr0n costs the library nothing, in fact, filtering out the porn costs more than not filtering since the filtering software itself cost money.

    --

    Eat at Joe's.

  36. WIPO treaty overrides usa constitution free speech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    The WIPO treaty overrides usa constitution free speech.

    As you know Champagne is a WIPO restricted word (trademark)

    And now many cheeses are becoming trademarks under WIPO law.

    The problem?

    many words (such as Tobasco) are large geographical land masses or had earlier meanings.

    If you owned Champagne.com WIPO treaty allows it to be stolen from you and given to france.

    USA joined the WIPO treaty of 1996.

    Americans can lose their domains with no recourse if a european is angry.

    same thing could happen if you had a site called GermansAreStillNazis.com or FrenchPeopleStink.com and a phoney dispute by a foreigner was created to shut you up.

    American courts have no jusridiction anymore over treaty on internet.

    There are many internet treaties proposed in play... speech, cybercrime, anonymity, copyright, dmca reverse engineering, hanti-hate-speech, money laundering (banking in gold notes), etc.

    All these treaties take away our rights.

  37. dude by sulli · · Score: 1

    just put it in your journal and your signature and enable comments. then people will discuss all they want. if the Editors don't want to discuss, fuck 'em! It works for FortKnox, sllort, and many other prolific commentators here on slashdot.

    --

    sulli
    RTFJ.
  38. Yes and no by Weasel+Boy · · Score: 1

    I agree that the federal government is not obligated to give financial support to public libraries. It definitely should, as "the right thing to do", but is not obligated.

    However.

    Once the government undertakes to give financial support to an institution, it should do so without any strings attached. As long as the recipient uses the funds for their intended purpose, that should suffice.

    You may argue that the intended purpose of the funds be to obey the law, and the law requires using Internet censorware. Well, that's a stupid law. That's what this whole imbroglio is about.

    The law violates civil rights two ways. One, because perfect compliance is impossible. Two, because it is not within the purview of Congress to legislate moral standards. The Constitution does not grant Congress that power.

    It's not that the government is required to pay for my free pr0n, it's that it should not waste our tax dollars in an impossible effort to block it, nor should it attempt to usurp the prerogatives of local government. Not even as a condition for receiving federal funds.

  39. Libraries already do by grahamsz · · Score: 2

    to some extent. Go look for books on the work of Mapplethorpe (a fairly well renowned photographer). Much of what you see in tho could be considered porn but could also be considered art.

    There was a big fuss in the UK since at one point the police decided this was an obscene work and raided libraries to confiscate it.

    I trust libraries to make material that has some value available, regardless of some blanket regulation on how much flesh they can show.

  40. MOD THIS UP! by statusbar · · Score: 2

    ABSOLUTELY!!!

    In fact I have noticed that school libraries have gone downhill since net access was added to them. The internet is NOT a library!

    Librarians CHOOSE which books to put on the shelf. Is that censorship?

    Librarians also keep track of the books you borrow. Is that a privacy violation?

    --Jeff

    --
    ipv6 is my vpn
  41. Wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    It's not "it's" money, it's its money.

    it's = it is
    its = belongs to it

    Moron.

  42. What libraries keep on their shelves by Old+time+hacker · · Score: 1

    A number of correspondents have said 'Why should libraries provide access to pr0n over the Internet when they don't stock it on their shelves?' This is an interesting question. The answer is simple -- large libraries do stock pr0n on their shelves.

    Check out the entries for Playboy at the LOC or Playboy at the Cambridge U library. It would appear that the LOC has a better collection going back to the 50s, while Cambridge only goes back to 89 (and then not all issues).

    The only difference between keeping back issues of Playboy on the shelf and permitting access to www.playboy.com is that you probably need to ask to find the paper copy, but on the upside, you can study the articles in a corner of the stacks somewhere!

    1. Re:What libraries keep on their shelves by Boomer2 · · Score: 1

      Check out the entries for Playboy at the LOC [loc.gov] or Playboy at the Cambridge U library [cam.ac.uk].

      Not a valid argument.
      (1) We're talking about the United States.
      (2) The mission of the LOC is to pretty much keep EVERYTHING that was ever printed. The average library has no such mission or desire to have that mission.

      Never seen a local library that has pr0n. And if you find one, it's probably because it's a big library where the locals don't generally know about it. Advertise that the library is stocking pr0n; and that will change very quickly....

      Advocating the conveyance of pr0n is just another case where freaks are trying to make others (i.e. taxpayers) pay for their habit. It only works if they keep it a deep, dark secret from the taxpayers who are unwillingly and unknowingly forced to pay for it.

  43. Rights? lol, how about box owner's rights by SmurfButcher+Bob · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's strange, this should be so straighforward - and it isn't. IMO, the judges may have missed the point. Or, maybe I did. I dunno.

    I have about 50 boxes in this company. We own them; we decide, without question, what will and will not happen on each. No user has the right to do anything but what we intend... after all, they're our boxes, not the user's.

    I don't see libraries as being any different. If they wish to provide a box for people to use, the library is well within it's scope of authority to attach any TOS it wants. Period. After all, the library owns the box, it's THEIRS. "The Arbitrary Public" has about as much authority over the use of these boxes as they do a police car. God help the idiot who thinks he's entitled to drive one of those somewhere, he'd get a Darwin award for sure, and noone would disagree.

    I have real difficulty arguing otherwise... I have a couple machines at home, and they are MINE. Not my wife's, not my kids, not some jerk walking in off the street, and NOT the property of some anonymous, arbitrary vendor. I am a strong defender of curtilage regarding my boxes; they are mine, they exist to suit my purposes exclusively, and only I will dictate what they do. What some people call UCE, I'm the type of guy who calls it a packet stream that results in an unwanted impact on the state of my systems; in other words, it's theft of service and intrusion. Meanwhile, all of these "3rd party rights" do nothing but dilute my scope of authority over those boxes.

    --

    help me i've cloned myself and can't remember which one I am

  44. You're forgetting something... by almightyjustin · · Score: 1

    You're forgetting about goatse.cx...;)

    --

    Omnes arx vestrum sunt adiuncta nobis.

  45. Arguments flawed? by GadgetMountainMan · · Score: 1

    So I see the argument 'If porn is available on the internet supplied by the library, should porn magazines and videos not also be availabe?' in one form or another repeated in this forum.

    Now the way I see the issue the first problem (porn on the internet) is that the libraries have to expend resources to limit the availabe content. My library doesn't expend it resources to limit the content of other media (I can still see topless women in National Geographic for example).

    On the other hand my local library doesn't expend its resources to supply explicit porn for its patrons either (well, they do have madonna's book). However there is a "romance novel" section (not terribly explicit sex, but sex none the less in text form) that is rather popular with the teenage girls.

    My personal opinion is that if internet computers are available, they should be in a public place (and in public view), and children under a certain age should be supervised (this is a library not a daycare). Part of being a parent is taking responsibility for the things your child has access to, I belive it is called parenting!

    For those people that think the whole of society should have restrictions placed upon it because they don't want to take responsibility for their children, perhapse those people would be better off with silk plants than kids.

    /me dons his nomex

  46. OH NO SEX! by Mashiki · · Score: 1

    Am I the only one who sees that this is just stupid? I mean, sex is natrual for most people. Some people ofcouse it doesn't apply to but, I digress...should *we* protect kids from something that they should learn in school, that is important to learn about. I mean, come on...in my home county(no country) we have the largest number of teen pregancies and highest number of STD's in teens then anywhere around. The majority are catholic school girls, where the schools don't teach sex-ed. But...this also blocks other importan sites like medical information, information on sex ed, breast cancer ect.

    This may be modded off-topic and this would be fair, but it still falls in line. That if someone sees something...their more likly to ask "who what when where why and how", then to get knocked up and screwed over with some STD. Or wonder out into the "great big world", like a doe in headlights.

    --
    Om, nomnomnom...
  47. Re:No information is harmful????????? by JonKatzIsAnIdiot · · Score: 1

    Really? I challenge you to put your money where your mouth is and post:

    - your name, address, age, weight, eye colour, and phone number(s)
    - your place of employment, title, immediate supervisor and salary
    - all of your email addresses
    - all of your bank accounts, with account numbers
    - all of your credit cards, with numbers and expiry dates
    - all systems you currently access, with login id's and passwords
    - all passphrases to any encryption systems you currently use

    The notion that 'information in and of itself cannot be dangerous' is ridiculous. Someone else already mentioned bomb-making info, how about names and locations of undercover police officers? The exact formula of the ink used to print money?

    Saying that 'information itself is not dangerous' is like saying 'guns themselves aren't dangerous'. Sure - until an unsuitable person picks it up and starts using it inappropriately. Being careless with dangerous information is just like being careless with a loaded gun. You don't leave either laying around.

  48. The way I see it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    To hell with the children, they don't pay taxes. They should have a parent by them ALLWAYS when use'n the internet. These are MY tax dollars, period. The constitution covers MY rights, not my privliges, my RIGHTS. They are not to censor something I pay for, as it is mine, as it is yours. You can have your opinion that children should have free access to the net without the worry of running accross porn. Fine, I agree, I don't want my kid looking at porn either. The female body might scare the lil bastard and he'll go gay (if he is gay naturally, thats ok). However the internet wasn't made for children, it was made for college students and the military, for research. This is a TOOL not a fsck'n toy!

    Its nice to see judges understanding this. All too often our rights are shafted in the name of 'new technology'.

    Example: Like SigInt and Echlon, just becuase new technology makes their job difficult, and they can now use it to snoop on everyone, it does not mean our privacy rights need to be removed. Its time for them to step up and do the job we paid them for. To protect us without violating our rights. Something they seem unable, and unwilling to do. This is our country, we paid for it (with our blood, sweat, tears and hard earned cash), and its high time we get at least decent service!

  49. CIPA comes to a close? Why not Voyager? by Voyager+Sucks+Ass · · Score: 0

    Why the fuck can't Star Trek: Voyager come to a close? Sure, that spandex slut Seven of Nine has giant fucking tits, but what the fuck/!?! we have to put up with all those other useless wastes-of-space. Especially that mexican piece shit, Chakotay. I want to draw on my cock with a magic marker and shove it in his tattoed eye socket.

    Voyager sucks ass. Make it stop.

  50. CIPA means PUSSY in Polish by Shiny+Metal+S. · · Score: 3, Funny

    The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which supporters view as the government's best shot yet at reining in online smut, requires public libraries to install filtering software on all computers or lose federal technology funding.

    Kinda ironic acronym for Children's Internet Protection Act, fighting for censorship of porn. I mean, if I had something like this in Poland, I wouldn't be able to read about CIPA!

    I think that if you want to censor offensive informations, you shouldn't choose a name which is itself offensive in different language, unless you want to be censored as well...

    Children's Internet Protection Act - it's the funniest thing I read today! Thank you CIPA, you made my day!

    --

    ~shiny
    WILL HACK FOR $$$

    1. Re:CIPA means PUSSY in Polish by AnotherBlackHat · · Score: 2
      if you want to censor offensive informations, you shouldn't choose a name which is itself offensive


      It won't be long before CIPA is a dirty word in the US too.

      -- this is not a .sig
  51. Re:WIPO treaty overrides usa constitution free spe by rmohr02 · · Score: 1

    American courts have no jusridiction anymore over treaty on internet.

    Can't American courts can declare a treaty unconstitutional?

  52. it must be a benevolent donation, then... by xantho · · Score: 2, Interesting
    "Even if you assume that libraries have a right to provide unfettered access to the Internet, they don't have a right to do so with a federal subsidy," she added. "The crux of this matter is whether or not Congress has the power to decide how to use its money."


    Wait, whose money? Perhaps I have the wrong idea about government, but every other quote I've seen like this one at least calls it the taxpayer's money. Or maybe I've had my head in the sand for a while.

  53. Re:WIPO treaty overrides usa constitution free spe by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 1

    "FrenchPeopleStink.com and a phoney dispute by a foreigner was created to shut you up."

    So it's really true..."in a time of universal lies, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."

  54. corrections by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    still haven't made a choice should be still have made a choice, although the lyrics printed on the album say "cannot have made a choice", thats what Geddy sings.


    You can't pray for a place should be "You can pray for a place"


    other than that, cool! A single Rush lyric is worth about 100 lyrics by lesser bands. Keep 'em coming.

  55. Wrong definition of "library" ? by rocnar · · Score: 1

    I think you're being somewhat narrow in the vision of what libraries are for.

    The Internet is a source of *information*... just like books, periodicals, etc. Sure, it may not always be the true, and it may not always be unbiased... but, hell, how is this different from hardcopy?

    I agree with you that these institutions have better things to spend their money on than license fees (we IT people should be better about volunteering Linux support ;-) but that aside, I think completely ignoring the Internet as a legitmate (or at least alternative) information source would be a mistake. Esp. in areas where the average income prohibits households from gettings access themselves.

  56. Re:No information is harmful????????? by A55M0NKEY · · Score: 1

    If you read my post I carfully qualified the statement. I said that no information is inherently harmful to it's CONSUMERS. Now would it really hurt you to know all that stuff?

    --

    Eat at Joe's.

  57. Re:My proposal to Slashdot for CIPA article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've never spammed Slashdot, or sent "hundreds of letters", or similar.

    I don't know man, you seem to be short on the evidence side here. From the few postings on /. I've read you fit the wacko profile pretty neatly.

    He derailed my planned anticensorware work to coincide with the CIPA trial, by his actions. He's goatse'ing people looking for material from censorware.org, motivated by the CIPA trial. It's absolutely shameful.

    It seems to me that he took the site down quite a while before CIPA. It also seems like you love to associate him with anything vile like goatsex.

    Here is a hint: He doesn't flame *you* on /. or anywhere else. Try leaving him alone and maybe this paranoid delusional fantasy you've been living in will go away.

  58. Re:World War III by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    offtropic, but realy important.

  59. Re:My proposal to Slashdot for CIPA article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Im pretty sure this is the kind of controversial stuff that adequacy.org would be interested in.