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The Great Firewall of China - Samples of Filtered Sites

Loligo writes "Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society has released a study listing some of the sites filtered by Chinese internet connections. Sites about Taiwan are maybe understandable, but Red Lobster?" We've mentioned the ongoing Berkman study before; one of their interesting findings is that the list of blocked sites is a moving target, and some sites are blocked only intermittently. Here are summaries from The New York Times and MSNBC, by way of The Censorware Project. Update: 12/04 21:03 GMT by T : Seth Finkelstein points to his report "Searching Through the Great Firewall of China," which "describes a simple technique which can be used with some search engines to bypass censorware bans on searching for forbidden words. Particular emphasis is placed on the situation of the Great Firewall Of China."

18 of 343 comments (clear)

  1. OF COURSE Red Lobster is blocked! by Jaeger- · · Score: 2, Funny

    The Chinese govt doesn't want to embarass their citizens... so they are blocking sites like RedLobster.com to keep them from trying to say words like Wed Wobstew!

    --
    E V E R Y T H I N G I W R I T E I S F A L S E
  2. is goatse.cx blocked? by chez69 · · Score: 2, Funny

    well is it?

    --
    PHP is the solution of choice for relaying mysql errors to web users.
    1. Re:is goatse.cx blocked? by spakka · · Score: 5, Funny

      No visible obstructions last time I looked

  3. The Great FIREwall? by dethl · · Score: 2, Funny

    I don't think the Mongolians will be able to get through this wall anytime soon....

    --
    "Some fight for law. Some fight for justice. What will you fight for? One day, you will see."
  4. Red Lobster is obvious... by Nameles · · Score: 5, Funny

    They don't want their children seeing prawn.

  5. big deal by cshor · · Score: 2, Funny

    Tons of sites get 'filtered' by Slashdot every day.. for instance, thanks to the slashdotting (after 10 whole comments!), the Berkman Center for Internet and Society is also inaccessible to me..

  6. Re:my site is blocked as well by L.+VeGas · · Score: 4, Funny

    Probably because of your secret connections to Red Lobster.

  7. Re:Red Lobster is banned by Tackhead · · Score: 2, Funny
    > Because they're red. You know, those Red Lobsters just don't have the right philosophical attitude, waving their lobster claws around and generally raising a fuss.

    The day I see a red lobster waving its claws is the day I start oiling my chainsaw garlic butter: "Evil Dead IV: Undead Lobster Grooviness!"

  8. Good work if you can get it by RealSurreal · · Score: 3, Funny

    From the report : "He generated this list by collecting all 797 results from Google in response to an October 2001 web search using the search criteria "free adult sex," less two pages removed because they were found not to include sexually explicit images" Wow, poor man had to check 797 sites to make sure they had pr0n. Where do you sign up to help?

  9. Re:Red Lobster? by RoboOp · · Score: 4, Funny
    maybe they think it is an attack on their communist government

    And why wouldn't they?

    Lobsters are commonly found in cold waters. This is symbolic of the cold war that the communists lost. Communism was founded by Marx in Vienna. Notice that Vienna is the same shape as a lobster's claw. Turn the first letter of the founder of communism's name upside down and you get a W - two V's. Just like a lobster.

    In addition, when a lobster is boiled they turn red, and then are consumed - by western capitalists.

    It's obvious that the communists saw through the thinly veiled allegory to the slanderous attack on their party and beliefs. The Red Lobster site is the western equivalent of 'We will bury you - in butter and lemon'.

    You would have to be a fool not to see it...

    --
    "First you get the Linux, then you get the power, THEN you get the women"
  10. Summoning by sdjunky · · Score: 3, Funny

    "...whoever is moderator of Slashdot, please post an article comparing China and the USA's censorship ..."

    Oh no. He has summoned the moderator John Katz.

    RUN!

  11. Re:Thats nice of you guys... by stratjakt · · Score: 2, Funny

    >> they must have good hosting =)

    one of the nice side effects of running a for-profit business.

    --
    I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
  12. Red Lobster by grannyknot · · Score: 2, Funny

    Perhaps the advertisements for "All You Can Eat Shrimp" are, in the eyes of the censors, indicative of Western excess... :)

    1. Re:Red Lobster by compass46 · · Score: 2, Funny

      What's the problem with a government acting in the interests of it's people? They're just helping to protect national health. I mean when was the last time you ate at Red Lobster and weren't sick afterwards?

      Tom

  13. Re:Left this off. by Thud457 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Even the most powerful despot is helpless against the power of mockery!

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  14. Re:Huh? by dagg · · Score: 4, Funny

    His response made sense seeing as the original poster took the word "understandable" out of context. As a response, the word "filtering" was taken out of context. Get it? Somebody should now take something I said out of context.

    --
    Sex - Find It
  15. Re:Huh? by Mr+Guy · · Score: 3, Funny

    His response...made ...the original poster..Yer Sex Gateway

    My Sex Gateway is private, and in no way is it "understandable" for the that guy to offer himself to me like that.

  16. Re:Huh? by kwerle · · Score: 3, Funny

    You sure do excel at taking things out of context!

    OK, help me put a little context on the statement
    "Filtering is bad, PERIOD."

    I thought I'd covered just about all the angles. I guess the only one I left out is
    "China filtering outgoing web request is bad, PERIOD"
    , but I got the feeling that was not what the original author meant. Maybe I'm wrong.

    It turns out that I think our speech is a little too unfettered, as well, so I'd probably disagree with that assertion too. See also cases of the French government banning/blocking/whatever Nazi sites...

    Are you in politics?

    No; I tend to state my mind. It also bothered me that TE's 2 line post with no seeming thought to the content was rated "Insightful".