And here I was thinking that this idea had about as much traction as an angry cat at an ice rink. See background on this issue, such seems, so, well, 1997: http://www.politechbot.com/cgi-bin/politech.cgi?name=rating http://www.politechbot.com/p-01601.html Michael Krantz, Bruce van Voorst and I had a article in Time magazine in 1997 talking about the problems of blocking software: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/dom/970811/business.censors_sensi.html On the facing page was another piece by Josh Quittner, talking about the perils of self-rating schemes for news sites: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/dom/970811/business.the_pres_muzl.html -Declan --- http://www.ottawacitizen.com/letters/010502/5014455.html Wednesday 2 May 2001 Children's Web experience improved by right software Al MacKay The Ottawa Citizen Your April 26 City editorial, "Patrolling the Internet," resonated on several levels. Anyone with a passing acquaintance with current filtering technology appreciates that the systems being used by the various commercial programs available today are fraught with difficulties. Programs built to catch key words often stumble badly, blocking out, for example, anything to do with breasts, including recipes on how to cook ones made of chicken. There is a new initiative being undertaken by an international, non-profit organization that is developing a different type of filtering tool, one that involves assessing the content of a site, then providing an appropriate rating. The Web site's content is also put in context, so that nudity such as that contained in the Rubens canvas The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus won't be screened out, while the charms of the Hollywood Hooters girls, on display at some sites, will. ICRA, the Internet Content Rating Association (www.icra.org), has free, downloadable software available now, and is working to have Web content creators around the world voluntarily rate their sites to keep children from accessing inappropriate content. This type of filtering being developed by ICRA is very useful. However, as with most complex social issues today, there is no simple "one-size-fits-all" solution. Any parents interested in making sure their children's consumption of media -- in all its forms -- is a worthwhile experience, will have to be involved in teaching their children about interpreting the messages contained within the various media. Canada is a world leader in this new and growing field of media literacy. The Media Awareness Network (www.media-awareness.ca), which began as a modest clearinghouse for information on the issue of television violence, has evolved into an internationally acclaimed and award-winning Web-based resource on media literacy. Its comprehensive program on children and the Internet, Web Awareness Canada, is a rich source of useful information for parents, as well as for teachers who are now being asked to include media literacy in their course curricula. There is all kinds of stuff on the Web we would rather not have come into our homes. As parents, the easiest way to deal with it would be to adopt a turtle strategy and keep our kids off-line. But that's an approach that, in the long run, will cheat our children and keep them isolated from a new and exciting world of communications and culture. The challenge is to employ the practical tools that are now available, and make the Internet experience an enriching one for everyone in the family. Al MacKay, Ottawa Editor's note: Mr. MacKay is a policy and communications consultant. He is chair of the board of the Media Awareness Network, and a member of the Advisory Council of the Internet Content Rating Association. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if it remains intact. To subscribe, visit http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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