Web Filters are Stupid

[andysocial]

Originally published at BunkBlog. You can comment here or there.

The base where I work uses some of the most arbitrary web-blocking filters I’ve ever seen. Yesterday, I could get to ScienceBlogs, today they’re listed as forbidden because they are “Reference/Education” pages. Yes, we wouldn’t want anyone here at the Air Education and Training Command to get to any sort of reference or education page.

My personal website has been blocked today (but not yesterday), listed as a “Forum/Bulletin Board.” Strangely, I can still get to Rush Limbaugh; I’m sure that’s official government use there. Al Franken’s campaign page is blocked for being a “Personal Page” - no political slant at all there, is there?

The web filtering they’ve had in place has gotten ever-more draconian over the years, to the point that I’m actually surprised if a hyperlink does not end in an “Access Denied” page. Science Blogs has got to be the top of the WTF list, though.

Comments

[dantheserene.livejournal.com]

Looking at it from the outside, blocking acces to ScienceBlogs is so stupid it's funny. From the inside, probably not as amusing.

[andysocial]

It's truly bizarre.

I'm convinced that the system administrators get an award for every site they block that anyone on base wants to use. It is the Air Farce, so they like medals.

We produce interactive multimedia instruction, so modeling and simulation are important research areas for us. We can't go to most modeling & sim sites because they're marked as games. This even includes the sims which are in use by the Marine Corps and Army. *sigh*

We produce military training, yet many foreign military sites are blocked, because they're about weapons. Um, yeah. That's kind of the point.

[cappy.livejournal.com]

I keep expecting them to do this at DPS, but so far they haven't. They say, Don't go anywhere on line that isn't work related....

But COME ON. A bunch of bored, LE types with 'net access?

So I keep expecting all kinds of things to be blocked & all we'll be able to do is stare at the DPS site or the TX DOT site all day, or maybe Wunderground. But not yet. But if GF is doing it, it can't be far off, now.

[andysocial]

Goodbuddy has been filtering content for years. It just ebbs and flows as to how sane it is.

[compostwormbin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that makes no sense.