There's a lively discussion (20 comments and counting) at isthatlegal.org about a blog that's been blocked by the Seminole (Fla) County Public Library:
IsThatLegal? Why, No. It's Not.
A reader informs me that this blog has been blocked by the Seminole(Fla.) County Public Library.
It's hard to know what got me on the banned blogs list. Perhaps the librarian is a big fan of Duran Duran. Or of Siegfried and Roy.
Or maybe it's the dog.
Seriously, this seems like an odd censorship policy to me. There could be a story here. Drop by your public library and see whether you can reach the blogs you like to read. (Unless they're, uh, you know, not safe for work.) If you can't reach some of them, ask your librarian why not, and leave a comment here.
Sounds like a good idea -- and maybe it turns out that some off-the-shelf filtering software blocks some blogs, which suggests that messages to the filter producer (once it's identified) might help get them unblocked wholesale.
Much of the discussion of this censorship via Web filtering has been lost. But it is still a signicant issue to keep in mind and discuss.
Posted by: Boiling Mad | April 10, 2006 at 09:35 AM