Federal Gov' Censorship

[Waldo]

G'day,

Last night on the news some bloke from the new Federal Government has declared that they are going to censorship what we can and can't see on the net.

Now I'm not saying that child pawn is something I'd ever want to look at, but it has me concerned where in the sand do you draw the line? I'll give an example, several years ago working in an design studio the studio manager decided to put a filter on a set of words (she was very evangelical) to the extent that when I wanted to search an online photolibrary for shots for use in an ad for a client i was hamstrung as to what i could view. Photo libriaries like getty Images work on a set of descriptive words that apply to and aid a search for a particular image. If that image had one of the words that was banned under the filter then I couldn't view that image, even if if was something as trivial as a beach, because it might have the words "bikini" or "woman" within the search words associated with it. I eventually got the filter lifted because it was restrictive in what we could or could not search for.

Travel in time to this morning, I opened up Azureus with Vuse to continue some downloads and I can't see the content in it anymore (see attached screenshot) and I got the message "Access to the specified resource () has been forbidden." Why is it all of a sudden forbidden? I could view the programme in it's entireity yesterday and since last nights announcement I can't. The area now blocked off had the words " mature content", "bath" and other stuff so :: ! Now in the programme I had the choice to close off the section if I wanted to, the same as I would if I wanted to set up a filter on my browsers.

So why should I or you be told what you can and cannot have access to? And once you start shutting access off, where do you draw a line in the sand as to how far you go? The first example I gave is a perfect example of this - the intent was good, but the effect was restrictive beyond sensibility.

[ss_11000]

sounds like a dictatership. they're telling you what you can look up. lucky i dont use the net much.

[wheelinround]

Waldo the guy was the now Prime Minister on the News I saw along with the Communications Minister.

It also takes in scene's of violence etc so will historical pages of battles and war also be blotted out, accidents will we have to be careful of how we word what we put in the forum.

Such topic's as The Naked Chef, come to mind, National Geographic and the like, will it expand to what we see in Theaters, Art galleries, TV, Movies and on the streets in parades.

One of my e-mail contacts work did the same thing during the year and discovered that 80% of their work e-mails were being discarded due to one word which it picked up.:doh:


Funny many of my in bound e-mails have all been through government departments :o with content in them which :no::doh: ok that was this year.

[astrid]

Gee,
have you blokes had a "road to damascus" conversion on civil liberty since NOV 23?.

Happy New year!

Astrid:U:U

[Waldo]

Gee,
have you blokes had a "road to damascus" conversion on civil liberty since NOV 23?.

Happy New year!

Astrid:U:U

:?

[Barry_White]

Gee,
have you blokes had a "road to damascus" conversion on civil liberty since NOV 23?.

Happy New year!

Astrid:U:U
Talking in riddles again Astrid.

[Andy Mac]

Maybe Kev is moving into line with the Chinese model of Internet!! Was it Google recently having to modify their search engine in order to gain market share over there? Lets call it Halfanet.
I can imagine there is a satisfactory justification, like battling pedophilia online, but as raised already, where does that filter stop? Even the simplest and presumably safest search will turn up some disturbing results, like tool for instance. Anyone who searches for tool user, shaving horse(:oo:) or anything similar may be blocked, or at worst, attract investigation...who knows where it will stop. It should be open access with no censorship in my view, with self censorship or personal filters applied. Maybe there could be a system for reporting untoward/illegal websites to a central desk, like there is on Youtube for questionable content? Maybe an Open Slather default from your computer that enables access to registered websites with adult content?? Sort of censorship by choice, a bit like going to see an R rated movie.
This censorship doesn't bode well, esp. on top of the Govt decree that all press releases be vetted by the top office...like scientific/climate change ones from CSIRO!:(


Cheers,

[DavidG]

If you read the fine print, the idea is for a site blocker based on a list provided by the gov. Not a word filter.

It also has an opt out option.

Another bldy useless scheme brought to you by the PS.

Site blockers are useless as the bad sites just hop server to server leaving a trail of blocked servers behind.

Unmanageable.

[bitingmidge]

Let's just say that all those who voted simply for a change, are getting it!

Censorship is fine. If you are a parent and don't want your children to see something, you censor it.

If you are a government, and want your kids to think in a particular way, you filter stuff they see. It's been going on since forever.

Get used to it kiddies!

Cheers,
P
:no:

[Brickie]

Waldo its for your own good, you know that.!!!!:roll:

[Waldo]

G'day Al,

maybe I should take that initial sketch for your gate and knock one up with my 200amp soldering iron. See if that get's censored, I know the neighbour across the road would get a laugh from it.

:censored2:

(:aro-u: see I'm getting censored already :D ) Whatyerthinkin Gra?

[snowyskiesau]

ISP's have always had the technology to do this i.e. supply a 'clean' internet feed.
The reason they haven't is that there was no call for it. No one willing to pay an extra few dollars a month to filter out sites that fall into some particular category. (, sex talk, violence etc)

[Brickie]

G'day Al,

maybe I should take that initial sketch for your gate and knock one up with my 200amp soldering iron. See if that get's censored, I know the neighbour across the road would get a laugh from it.

:censored2:

(:aro-u: see I'm getting censored already :D ) Whatyerthinkin Gra?

I may still make it but as just a panel to stick somewhere...:U

[bitingmidge]

ISP's have always had the technology to do this i.e. supply a 'clean' internet feed.
The reason they haven't is that there was no call for it. No one willing to pay an extra few dollars a month to filter out sites that fall into some particular category. (, sex talk, violence etc)
I reckon the reason they haven't is that the technology isn't good enough, see Andy's post above.

If it could be done reliably, you wouldn't need access to your spam mail filter, because you'd know that 100% of it's contents were spam, not innocent notes from your friend Debbie from Dallas.

I had emails from a large law firm go astray at random a year ago. In their footer they have their phone number which had four sixes in it. The stupid spam filter thought it was three sixes and that was probably not what I wanted to hear. That's what happens when you let a machine do the censoring.


Cheers,

P
:cool:

[Brickie]

That's what happens when you let a machine do the censoring.


Cheers,

P
:cool:

Thats why the Daleks failed in their conquest of the world..:doh:

[Gra]

Whatyerthinkin Gra?

Ya gonna need a gate post to hang it off..

they are blocking sites. Now are they going to use the IP address or the HTTP address... as most of the sites they want to block don't have a HTTP Address only an IP that way they can move quicker... it will probably fail...

[wheelinround]

excerpt from SMH

"In March 2006, the then communications minister, Helen Coonan, said she rejected filtering because it would slow speeds for all users without effectively protecting children. A national system could cost $45 million to set up and $33 million a year to maintain, she said."

Money for mates and jobs too

[Brickie]

sites that fall into some particular category. (, sex talk, violence etc)

Sooooo?
Do you have any addresses, purely for research purposes only of course..:roll:

[bitingmidge]

Thats why the Daleks failed in their conquest of the world..:doh:

Have you heard Julia Gillard's voice?

P
:oo::oo::oo:

[Brickie]

Have you heard Julia Gillard's voice?

P
:oo::oo::oo:

Mate, she can exterminate me anytime.......:D

[wheelinround]

Mate, she can exterminate me anytime.......:D


:puke:

[Waldo]

Ya gonna need a gate post to hang it off..


:yes: it's in the pipeline of things to do. promise one thing though, it won't take as long as the r/table. :U

[tea lady]

Gee Wheelin! You've got that thing about us all being the same on the inside on your signature, but your criticizing Julia G's voice? Maybe you should change your tag if you don't really believe it !!! I'm a bit disappointed in you.:(

[tea lady]

Oh! and on the actual subject- We could all just miss spell everything. That would fix em. Faaaaaaaark!

[wheelinround]

Gee Wheelin! You've got that thing about us all being the same on the inside on your signature, but your criticizing Julia G's voice? Maybe you should change your tag if you don't really believe it !!! I'm a bit disappointed in you.:(


I stand by my quote :2tsup:

it was Brickies reference I was commenting on it could be construed as offensive or violent statement

[tea lady]

OK- Bitting Midge and Brickie - and wheelin'- You've all been very naughty boys.

[q9]

Hate to interfere on a good rant...:rolleyes:

But that message looks exactly like a misconfiguration of an installed web application - I saw that message heaps of times at work the last couple of weeks while I was trying to get an app installed and running in Apache Tomcat. (Have a close look at where your message is coming from).

It is quite normal for such reconfigurations and updates to be scheduled at times when most people are away from the office, such as public holidays/the Christmas break.

If that application is at your work, be sure to inform the relevant IT department/team - I am sure they will be glad to hear from someone else that didn't read the email they probably sent 2 or 3 times advising of the possible outage/disruption to service...

[Gra]

Hate to interfere on a good rant...:rolleyes:

But that message looks exactly like a misconfiguration of an installed web application - I saw that message heaps of times at work the last couple of weeks while I was trying to get an app installed and running in Apache Tomcat. (Have a close look at where your message is coming from).

It is quite normal for such reconfigurations and updates to be scheduled at times when most people are away from the office, such as public holidays/the Christmas break.

If that application is at your work, be sure to inform the relevant IT department/team - I am sure they will be glad to hear from someone else that didn't read the email they probably sent 2 or 3 times advising of the possible outage/disruption to service...

He is the IT dept at his work.. Hell he is the cleaner as well and the CEO.....

[Brickie]

OK- Bitting Midge and Brickie - and wheelin'- You've all been very naughty boys.

They made me do it miss.....:D

[tea lady]

Go and stand in the corner. And you're all cleaning up the shed after school.

[ptc]

I voted for Pauline !

[astrid]

As I Think Ive said before
Go Julia
And tea lady:2tsup:

Astrid:U

[echnidna]

whacko MORE SHED TIME

[Waldo]

He is the IT dept at his work.. Hell he is the cleaner as well and the CEO.....

Not that he knows much about anything. And he has a horrible boss to boot. :D :; Someone should do something about him.

[DJ’s Timber]

Not that he knows much about anything. And he has a horrible boss to boot. :D :; Someone should do something about him.

I could come around and give him a boot if you like Waldo :;

[Waldo]

I could come around and give him a boot if you like Waldo :;

Thanks Dj, give him what for from me too. :boxing:

[ernknot]

By July 1, we will all be looking at government bulletins....only. They are not censored and you can choose whichever one you want to look at or down load. I mean, why do you want to look at sites ( wink wink), violence and such when you can spend your time with Kevin07 and his merry band of control freaks. Probably will not be long before this forum gets reviewed and censored some more. Democracy and free speech is stuffed.

[MICKYG]

Hi all I did have a lot to contribute but I have








censored it.

Regards Mike

[astrid]

Nah,
you were right groggy,
put it back:U

Astrid

[Gra]

thanks Groggy:2tsup:

[Groggy]

Two separate issues here, Waldos problem is software related, not censorship by Govt. We can say that with certainty because the Government has not had time to do anything yet.

On the Govt censorship issue, it depends how they 'censor' items and what they mean. If they somehow stop kids from inadvertently getting on their PCs - great! If they stop spam - great! If they blank ads and pop-ups from unrelated sites - great!

However, if they stop access from people who are deliberately trying to access that sort of stuff then not so great, and I really don't think they could achieve it anyway.

[Gra]

On the Govt censorship issue, it depends how they 'censor' items

This was my point. these guys are going to be trying to nail jelly if they think they can keep a list of all the site and all the violent websites. Hell are they going to ban youtube because people have posted video of them bashing other people?

sounds to me like a very badly thought out policy that was written by a non technical person....

[dazzler]

However, if they stop access from people who are deliberately trying to access that sort of stuff then not so great, and I really don't think they could achieve it anyway.

Spot on Groggy,

The media always mix up Pornography and Child Pornography. True child pornography is something that is not normally stumbled across and is very much a hidden/dark/secret world that is very difficult to break into. The sickos cover thier tracks well.

[Groggy]

Nah,
you were right groggy,
put it back:U

AstridIt wasn't moved by me, though I can see why it was, there are more than 20 off topic posts making this look like a drivel candidate - I believe that was why it was moved. I have left the posts there so you can see for yourselves.

Please stay on topic.

[echnidna]

is the govt going to block the never-ending flow of advertising emails selling ways for getting a bigger willy or viagra and all that associated muck?

[Groggy]

is the govt going to block the never-ending flow of advertising emails selling ways for getting a bigger willy or viagra and all that associated muck?They are not sure yet what they can do. Here are some comments from home (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22997239-5007146,00.html), some comparisons from abroad (http://www.efa.org.au/Issues/Censor/cens3.html), and this is what China is up to (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China).

Whatever it is they decide to do they will be attacked by someone.

[Gra]

is the govt going to block the never-ending flow of advertising emails selling ways for getting a bigger willy or viagra and all that associated muck?

no, they cant, and that is the problem, show me a system that can filter all of them out. It doesn't exist yet, and as soon as it does the scum will find a way around it:~. Large corporates spend hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to filter this stuff from their own email systems and it still gets through, what hope has the govt of stopping it getting through everyones systems.

[astrid]

Hi Groggy
I know it wasnt you that moved it, I was using "you" in the plural sense.

cheers
Astrid

[MICKYG]

You would think that the goverment could enlist some of the HACKERS who could / would be able to cause some of the more undesireble sites to self destruct. If only they could stop all the spam that unfortunately come to you via the internet. Ultimately you are the CENSOR of all you peruse. Dont expect goverments to sort it out for you, as it will never happen.

I have been on the net for about eight years now and it never ceases to amaze me the crap that still exists and turns up in you emails etc. There is an article / opinion in Todays Telegraph (NSW) on page 21 regarding the proposed censorship. This does not shed much light on the problem for any net user.

Regards Mike.

[astrid]

Re the unwanted spam
I've never had them, i think thats because i never open anything leading with 'HI'.and I'm very carfull with what I download.
HWMNBO says its because he's installed a firewall using an old computer as a filter(or some such technical stuff)
However i notice that he gets his fair share:roll:

Astrid:)

[jmk89]

I am afraid that this decision is a typical reaction of a new government - especially one with what the French call "dirigiste" tendancies.

Say it quickly enough and the idea of stopping the web being cluttered with crap that only sick people would want to look at, and which any parent would prefer not to be available to their children, sounds like a good one. But think about how it is to be done and it is clearly silly - something that even Helen Coonan was able to work out.

One of the major tricks in governing is to realise that there are limits to what you can actually achieve and that legislating to make everyone support Mum's apple pie is just one of the most futile things that you can try to do. I actually think that the current system of leaving the web free from interference and concentrating on using it to catch the strange people who create and distribute this nauseating garbage and dealing with them as criminals is better than trying to put a prophylactic barrier around the sites that these people set up. It focuses attention on the problem - bad people - rather than the product, and leaves the rest of the community to enjoy a free life on the web.

[astrid]

Not FRENCH dirigiste tendencies:oo::oo:
Watch it or this'll be back in the blue room!

Astrid:)

[Waldo]

G'day,

I wholeheartedly agree with what Jmk89 said :aro-u:. Kev07 is great at wide sweeping things he's going to do with little thought of how he'll do them. :no:

Groggy is right too with saying that I've mixed up the new Gov' censorship and that Azureus is playing funny buggers with me.

[Sebastiaan56]

One of the major tricks in governing is to realise that there are limits to what you can actually achieve and that legislating to make everyone support Mum's apple pie is just one of the most futile things that you can try to do.


Quite agree but I cant see them waking up, the nanny state will try and look after us, probably so they can scare us into voting for them. Their is a history of prohibition, drugs, alcohol, homosexuality, heck.... sexuality full stop. Still to come, low doc loans, take away foods and free speech. I reckon they wont do it as there is belt tightening coming this year.

[DavidG]

In The Beginning was The Censorship Plan.

And then came the Assumptions And the Assumptions were without form.

And the Plan was completely without substance and the darkness wasupon the face of the workers and they spoke among themselves,saying...
"It is a crock of ????, and it stinketh."

And the workers went unto their Supervisors and sayeth, "It is a pile of dung and none may abide the odor thereof."

And the Supervisors went unto their Managers and sayeth unto them, "It is a container of excrement and it is very strong, such that none may abide by it."

And the Managers went unto their Directors and sayeth, "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength."

And the Directors spoke amongst themselves, saying one to another, "It contains that which aids plant growth, and it is very strong."

And the Directors went unto the Vice Presidents and sayeth unto them, "It promotes growth and is very powerful."

And the Vice Presidents went unto the President and sayeth unto him, "This new Plan will actively promote the growth and efficiency of this Company, and in these areas in particular."

And the President looked upon the Plan, and saw that it was good, and the Plan became Policy.

This Is How ???? Happens.

[Gra]

Still to come, low doc loans

They will disappear on their own right, when they start coming back and biting the lenders where the sun don't shine (Or the tax office starts requesting the details given in the load applications:U)