Banned in Boston

[Carl-E]

OK, I had a weird experiance recently. 

My daughter was hospitalized, and while at the hospital (Children's hospital in Pittsburgh), we were online (they have Wifi).  I could get to all the stuff I usually do, except one webcomic.  Yu+Me Dream was blocked - probably something to do with the subtitle, "A surreal lesbian webcomic".  I'm guessing it was the word lesbian in the title, since several other lesbian themed and just plain dirty webcomics (Simply Sarah, Curvy, even Oglaf) could be accessed fine.  I didn't think to try Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space at the time...

She's in a rehab center now, and I can access everything from there (including Yu+Me), with one exception...

Questionable Content. 

There's a page that says it's been restricted due to "mature themes and content".  To be honest, I haven't tried Oglaf or Curvy from there yet, but I was wondering -

What kinds of restrictions have you run across when trying to access something harmless?  I'm not talking the usual workplace firewalls, I mean relatively public access sites that just didn't let you go somewhere you're used to going! 

Like these forums...

[syrupykeyboard]

OK, I had a weird experiance recently. 

My daughter was hospitalized, and while at the hospital (Children's hospital in Pittsburgh), we were online (they have Wifi).  I could get to all the stuff I usually do, except one webcomic.  Yu+Me Dream was blocked - probably something to do with the subtitle, "A surreal lesbian webcomic".  I'm guessing it was the word lesbian in the title, since several other lesbian themed and just plain dirty webcomics (Simply Sarah, Curvy, even Oglaf) could be accessed fine.  I didn't think to try Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space at the time...

She's in a rehab center now, and I can access everything from there (including Yu+Me), with one exception...

Questionable Content. 

There's a page that says it's been restricted due to "mature themes and content".  To be honest, I haven't tried Oglaf or Curvy from there yet, but I was wondering -

What kinds of restrictions have you run across when trying to access something harmless?  I'm not talking the usual workplace firewalls, I mean relatively public access sites that just didn't let you go somewhere you're used to going! 

Like these forums...

Sorry to hear about your daughter, Carl-E. I hope she gets to feeling better. 

Huh, that's weird.
Never had that problem. Well, except on school computers. Not in school anymore. Never really use the library internet access. Usually just to look up something about a book.

No problems with it at home though, right?

[Zombiedude]

I can access QC fine on my school computer. also anders love maria.

[ThePrettyMonster]

I can access QC fine on my school computer. also anders love maria.

I wish my school was cool enough to not block QC and Anders Loves Maria (not to mention Bear Nuts as well)
The only webcomic my school has yet to restrict is Eerie Cuties.

[Zombiedude]

I live in canada, home of the free internet.

[kraemandrummer]

I live in canada, home of the free internet.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHA

you must be living in a different Canada then me
our ISP's are legendary for throttling and controlling traffic

[Thorbard]

Using a university computer I once clicked a link a friend of mine had sent to some photoshopped world war II photos.

It was blocked as "pornographic content".

Go figure.

[Carl-E]

^That one's weird. 

Home's not a problem, neither is the school I teach at (though I do tend to avoid the clearly NSFW stuff).  But that's a collegee/university.  High schools tend to be a lot more prudish and controlling. 

I was wondering more about libraries, starbucks, and other public access places rather than the people we expect to restrict you (like your local school board). 

And thanks, syrupykeyboard.  Unfortunately, it's one of those things where only time will tell. 

[Dliessmgg]

Using a university computer I once clicked a link a friend of mine had sent to some photoshopped world war II photos.

It was blocked as "pornographic content".

Go figure.

Rule 34.

[Surgoshan]

As George Carlin pointed out, the bullets and bombs and guns all look like dicks.

[smack that isaiah]

At my highschool I had a lot of trouble writing a paper on music I liked because the word "hardcore" set off many alarms

I couldn't access the Wikipedia pages for "Hardcore Punk", "Melodic Hardcore", and so on and so forth.  The same with Google searches.  It was quite annoying.

[The Duke]

Dr. McNinja and Schlock Mercenary are fine at my school, but basically any others are blocked, including QC.

[Zombiedude]

Ok yeah I don't think there is a filter at my skool. Hoorah

[Blackjoker]

As a theory, maybe the ban has to do with the pintsize twitter connection, those links would probably be considered NSFA (Not Safe For Anywhere)

[Akima]

I suppose it reveals me as a hopeless nerd, but this thread immediately brought this song to mind.

[Arancaytar]

I've seen my own website blocked as pornographic content. That was odd.

[Carl-E]

Soooo

late one night I was checking a couple of the less safe websites at the hospital out of curiosity. 

Oglaf wasn't blocked.  Maybe they thought the gag of a security page was good enough? 

Chester 5000 wasn't blocked, either.  That one's almost pure porn, too, but the strip itself has no words - maybe they can't tell what the content is? 

I was talking to a friend of ours who's the new IT department (yes, he's the entire department) at our local public library.  Apparantly most blocking software is a subscription service, and although some blocking is done automatically with trigger phrases, most is done by a staff of people checking websites by hand

Could you imagine that job?  1,000 monkeys sitting at 1,000 keyboards dictating what our children can see...

[epoch]

At my highschool I had a lot of trouble writing a paper on music I liked because the word "hardcore" set off many alarms

I couldn't access the Wikipedia pages for "Hardcore Punk", "Melodic Hardcore", and so on and so forth.  The same with Google searches.  It was quite annoying.

Oh, I see the problem here. You listen to shitty music.

[smack that isaiah]

What the fuck, dude? 
There's nothing wrong with hardcore music, and nothing wrong with enjoying it, either.  Just because you can't enjoy or identify with the raw power of strong Black Flag or Sick of It All or Comback Kid, or numerous other bands doesn't mean it's shitty music.  It's just not for you.  It is good to other people.
And, so what if you don't like the sound?  I do.  Do you have to criticize me for it?  There are people with a wide range of musical tastes on this forum, so why would you bother singling out one genre in a thread which is unrelated to music to pick on someone? 
I wouldn't butt into a thread on baking where someone off-handedly stated they love gangsta rap to state a thought that all gangsta rap is complete crap because it isn't.  I just don't prefer to listen to it and wouldn't search it out for listening purposes.

[sarcasticsmoothie]

I've only tried QC and pictures for sad children at school and both of them worked.

[Carl-E]

At my highschool I had a lot of trouble writing a paper on music I liked because the word "hardcore" set off many alarms

I couldn't access the Wikipedia pages for "Hardcore Punk", "Melodic Hardcore", and so on and so forth.  The same with Google searches.  It was quite annoying.

Oh, I see the problem here. You listen to shitty music.

What the fuck, dude? 
...

Now children, play nice!  Don't make me pull over...

[Zombiedude]

Yes how dare they disagree on something.

[epoch]

What the fuck, dude? 
There's nothing wrong with hardcore music, and nothing wrong with enjoying it, either.  Just because you can't enjoy or identify with the raw power of strong Black Flag or Sick of It All or Comback Kid, or numerous other bands doesn't mean it's shitty music.  It's just not for you.  It is good to other people.
And, so what if you don't like the sound?  I do.  Do you have to criticize me for it?  There are people with a wide range of musical tastes on this forum, so why would you bother singling out one genre in a thread which is unrelated to music to pick on someone? 
I wouldn't butt into a thread on baking where someone off-handedly stated they love gangsta rap to state a thought that all gangsta rap is complete crap because it isn't.  I just don't prefer to listen to it and wouldn't search it out for listening purposes.

Dude, sorry. I forgot my <sarcasm> tags. I was just kidding.

[scarred]

I go to art school. They barely bother to block non-students from walking in the door.

[rattus_rattus]

My school's filters filtered: the Romanovs, ikea
It did not filter: the wikipedia pages for swear words, pictures involving cartoon (as in drawn comic, but serious) gore and gratuitous swearing (in pictures), info on torture (reason I failed IT  )

[raoullefere]

I suppose it reveals me as a hopeless nerd, but this thread immediately brought this song to mind.

I really thought you were going to link to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTM5oGv8hvM
Or some other variant.

Hope your daughter is doing better, Carl.

[Carl-E]

Where's House when you really need him? 

[syrupykeyboard]

Where's House when you really need him? 

Yes?
I'm usually OK with the witty, condescending vitriol thing; not so much with medical diagnoses.
I also hope your daughter is feeling better.

[Zingoleb]

Is the title a reference to Rusty Warren?

Oh god I hope so

[ysth]

Dude, sorry. I forgot my <sarcasm> tags. I was just kidding.

“Some people can be funny without being vulgar, and some can be both funny and vulgar.  I should recommend you to be either the one or the other."

(Corrected the wording; thanks, google books.)

[Surgoshan]

Nice.  Very nice.

[Carl-E]

Is the title a reference to Rusty Warren?

Oh god I hope so

No, it's not.  back in the last century or two, Boston was an extrmely conservative, prudish city.  To have your book (or movie) "banned in Boston" was a recommendation to some people, since it would be a little risque - not enough to get it banned anywhere else, mind you. 

At least, that's how I meant it. 

Who's this Rusty Warren guy? 

[Zingoleb]

Well, for starters, she doesn't have a penis.

She was from back in the...40's? 50's? The records I have of her actually don't have the year on them (even in roman numerals). She was the Madonna of her day, going so far as to even say on the record sleeves something along the lines of, "I'll sleep with anyone, but only one at a time, please" or something to that effect. Her biggest song was called "Bounce Your Boobies".

Anyways, she had an album called "Banned in Boston!" so I was just hoping. Didn't know about that, though.

[Carl-E]

Well, I guess now you know why she was banned in Boston! 

Seems she's still at it, too.  And she'll autograph her most recent CD for you! 

[LizziL]

Here in good ol' Ontario, my high school blocked the website for Nipissing University, because it had the word 'piss' in it. This was quite a few years ago now, but it got really, really irritating when we were looking up post-secondary institutions.

[Kugai]

At my Course, I can access QC, but not Facebook and Youtube - Odd.

[raoullefere]

Well, Facebook I can understand blocking. It's a hotbed of sedition, perversity and general naughtiness, all presented in a damn near unbreakable code. I mean, "It's been a long day, I'm going to bed now," surely can't mean what it says, can it?

Besides that, the pictures—people holding glasses that might contain alcohol while sitting in places where it's perfectly legal to drink—are simply far too suggestive. (I even heard they had a fan club for Chlorox. Chlorox !)

On the other hand, blocking YouTube is a waste of time; they'll do it for you. Over half of what I try to see there has already been removed. Maybe it's based in Boston.

The sad thing is, if I put up a site that read: Reading this page will obliterate your morals, destroy your faith in man and divinity alike, and cause you to rain destruction down upon all and sundry, I'm 90% sure everybody could see it from everywhere. Probably because I wouldn't put pissing anywhere on the page.

[Carl-E]

According to a friend who is the IT department for our public library, Youtube is usually blocked because of bandwidth issues.  Same with a lot of chat sites, including Facebook.  It's just too much for your school's poor little network to handle! 

So they shut you out of some parts of the innernets so that everyone can still have partial access without it all crashing around their ears...

[raoullefere]

Your reasoning is doubtlessly sound. But I think my wild, unsubstatiated speculation is more fun.

Anyway, unless Nipissing University has a freaking awesome splash page, with fireworks, marching bands, bonfires, and half-naked, exploding porpoises*, it doesn't cover them being blocked.


*Bloom County ref. It is not our intent to promote harm to any actual porpoises, living or dead, in this post.

[ysth]

The sad thing is, if I put up a site that read: Reading this page will obliterate your morals, destroy your faith in man and divinity alike, and cause you to rain destruction down upon all and sundry, I'm 90% sure everybody could see it from everywhere.

Sounds like Gene Ray's http://timecube.com.  But it seems he does get blocked at least from some places.

[syrupykeyboard]

Gene Ray's http://timecube.com.

[Carl-E]

Yeah, I thought the same thing.  Why would anyone ban something so thoroughly impenetrable? 

Not to mention unintelligible.  I mean, what's there to ban if you can't make heads or tails of any of it? 

[raoullefere]

Well, for the squeamish, that line about killing Jesus when he returns might do it.

Part of me actually understands banning this. If Manson could post a web page, I suspect it would be similar. Especially the all caps part. People may have forgotten the various economic collapses (in a can't-happen-to-us sort of way) but, for better or worse, they still remember Charlie. And suspect it can.

Gadzooks, he's got me doing it. Ban it, ban it high, ban it low, ban it deep, ban it long.

[ysth]

Yeah, I thought the same thing.  Why would anyone ban something so thoroughly impenetrable? 

Not to mention unintelligible.  I mean, what's there to ban if you can't make heads or tails of any of it? 

You can always go to one of his seminars and get it in person

It's actually less impenetrable these days; he used to have more of his front page devoted to actually explaining his time cube theory.  Now he seems more focused on people's reaction to him.  I guess 12 years of the world just not getting it can do that to you.

[Carl-E]

I guess if you're already off the deep end, it doesn't really matter how much deeper it gets!