Re: Washington Post -- "Block but Verify"

[Duncan Frissell <frissell@panix.com>]

At 05:33 PM 7/16/96 -0400, Rabid Wombat wrote:
>
>A user-selectable menu would be, umm, interesting ... just how could one 
>describe, in terms offensive to absolutely no one, what one's product is 
>offering to block?

Quite easily.  The PICS standard has categories and software like CytberPatrol 
lets parents select by category.  There is a granularity problem of course.  


          57.  The CyberNOT list contains approximately 7000
sites in twelve categories.  The software is designed to enable
parents to selectively block access to any or all of the twelve
CyberNOT categories simply by checking boxes in the Cyber Patrol
Headquarters (the Cyber Patrol program manager).  These
categories are:
          Violence/Profanity:  Extreme cruelty, physical or
          emotional acts against any animal or person which are
          primarily intended to hurt or inflict pain.  Obscene
          words, phrases, and profanity defined as text that uses
          George Carlin's seven censored words more often than
          once every fifty messages or pages.

          Partial Nudity:  Full or partial exposure of the human
          anatomy except when exposing genitalia.

          Nudity:  Any exposure of the human genitalia.

          Sexual Acts (graphic or text):  Pictures or text
          exposing anyone or anything involved in explicit sexual
          acts and lewd and lascivious behavior, including
          masturbation, copulation, pedophilia, intimacy and
          involving nude or partially nude people in
          heterosexual, bisexual, lesbian or homosexual
          encounters.  Also includes phone sex ads, dating
          services, adult personals, CD-ROM and videos.

          Gross Depictions (graphic or text):  Pictures or
          descriptive text of anyone or anything which are
          crudely vulgar, deficient in civility or behavior, or
          showing scatological impropriety.  Includes such
          depictions as maiming, bloody figures, indecent
          depiction of bodily functions.

          Racism/Ethnic Impropriety:  Prejudice or discrimination
          against any race or ethnic culture.  Ethnic or racist
          jokes and slurs.  Any text that elevates one race over
          another.

          Satanic/Cult:  Worship of the devil; affinity for evil,
          wickedness.  Sects or groups that potentially coerce
          individuals to grow, and keep, membership.

          Drugs/Drug Culture:  Topics dealing with the use of
          illegal drugs for entertainment.  This would exclude
          current illegal drugs used for medicinal purposes
          (e.g., drugs used to treat victims of AIDS).  Includes
          substances used for other than their primary purpose to
          alter the individual's state of mind such as glue
          sniffing.

          Militant/Extremist:  Extremely aggressive and combative
          behaviors, radicalism, advocacy of extreme political
          measures.  Topics include extreme political groups that
          advocate violence as a means to achieve their goal.

          Gambling:  Of or relating to lotteries, casinos,
          betting, numbers games, on-line sports or financial
          betting including non-monetary dares.

          Questionable/Illegal:  Material or activities of a
          dubious nature which may be illegal in any or all
          jurisdictions, such as illegal business schemes, chain
          letters, software piracy, and copyright infringement.

          Alcohol, Beer & Wine:  Material pertaining to the sale
          or consumption of alcoholic beverages.  Also includes
          sites and information relating to tobacco products.


Homosexual sites were excluded under "Sexual Acts" because many have links
to personal ads or more explicit sites and the gun sites were excluded under
"Militant/extremist."
  
There will always be interpretation problems obviously.  Actally, the
individual is the best at filtering his own stuff.

DCF