From: Alan Olsen <alano@teleport.com>
Date: Sat, 27 Jan 1996 06:42:36 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: [rant] A thought on filters and the V-Chip
Message-ID: <2.2.32.19960126195651.008e5558@mail.teleport.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


[Not Perry(tm) approved -- Skip of this offends you]

I am waiting for someone to come out with a product that will modify the
v-ship (or the various internet "protection" tools) in such a way that it
scans *FOR* pornography.

Porn is big business.  You would think that people would pay for a way to
sort through all of that non-smuttiness and just "get to the good stuff".  I
also imagine that as soon as such a product appears, the censors will scream
bloody murder.

The purpose of all the ratings, and the filters and all the other stuff is
not to "protect kids".  It is to protect the prejudices of the adults.  They
do not want to see it anywhere in the world, not just inflicting some sort
of imaginary harm on their children.  I expect the first people to use the
"reversed filters" will be the kids themselves.  (Behind the parents back,
of course.)

I have known too many adults that believe that by restricting their kids
access to information, they can prevent them from growing up.  In these
parent's minds, such information is what makes them want to hump their
little brains out.  Biology has nothing to do with it in their limited way
of thinking.  Cluelessness does not just cover computers with these people.
It also covers any other topic that required more than two brain cells to
understand.

But censorship alone will not solve the problems that these people see in
the world.  They are afraid that somone, somewhere, is commiting "sin".
They will do what it takes to stamp out all this immorality, no matter who
gets hurt or what it takes.

A good description of what is next is at http://www.cum.net/cnextstep.html .

You have to realize that these people are busybodies who believe that they
have the right to define what is right and what is wrong.  In order to
enforce these beliefs, they will need access to every means of communication
in existance.  Anything that prevents this enforcement will be seen as a
threat and thus must be banned.  Encryption will be one of the first things
to go.  Double entendres, sarcasm, and wordplay will be next.  Fiction
dealing with anything that would offend an eight year old (because that is
where they stopped their intelectual growth) must be stamped out as well.
More will follow as the demons appear in more and more forms.

And they will never succeed...  No matter how hard the censors have tried in
the past to outlaw "smut", it has always existed in one form or another.
All they do is drive it underground.  If they stamp out crypto, they will
just drive it underground.  And in the process they will have stamped any
freedoms you or I have underground as well...

    
Alan Olsen -- alano@teleport.com -- Contract Web Design & Instruction
        `finger -l alano@teleport.com` for PGP 2.6.2 key 
              http://www.teleport.com/~alano/ 
               National Security uber alles!