From: Tim May <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 1998 07:24:28 +0800
To: declan@well.com
Subject: Re: rec.guns et.al. blocked by censorware
In-Reply-To: <6bla0o$4ad@xring.cs.umd.edu>
Message-ID: <v03102801b103ed5a2019@[207.167.93.63]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



At 3:02 PM -0800 2/8/98, Igor Chudov @ home wrote:
>In rec.guns, Dan <ywq@wco.com> wrote:
>* I guess I should not be surprised but blocking software Cyber Patrol
>apparently
>* blocks rec.guns and rec.hunting because we are militant extremists, advocate
>* violence and swear.   The whole story starts at:
>* http://www.spectacle.org/cwp/index.html
>* You have to keep going until you get to newsgroups.

>Examples of HUNDREDS of blocked newsgroups:
>
>rec.games.mecha Giant robot games. (Moderated) Quest/Illegal/Gamble
>Violence/Profanity Intol
>news.groups             Discussions and lists of newsgroups. Intol
>news.groups.questions   Where can I find talk about topic X? Intol
>rec.guns Discussions about firearms. (Moderated) Militant/Extreme
>Violence/Profanity


Interestingly, rec.guns is moderated (not that I like that), and there is
virtually no profanity or discussion of anything remotely of a sexual
nature. The discussion is on-topic, about revolvers, rifles, ammunition,
target shooting, defense methods, etc.

That the "cyber nannies" are blocking it (and other similarly nonsexual,
nonprofane newsgroups) is exactly what was expected. These cyber nannies
become tools for political correctness.

Perhaps the strategy should be to post material to other newsgroups to get
them blocked as well. (Though I expect the blocking is not being done using
robots to monitor for illegal words, as rec.guns would not have been
blocked this way. Rather, the cyber nannies are probably using their "PC
judgment" to block groups they don't like.

--Tim May

Just Say No to "Big Brother Inside"
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Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
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Higher Power: 2^3,021,377   | black markets, collapse of governments.