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BUT IT'S NOT JUST PAGANS, AND IT'S NOT JUST RELIGIONS
UPDATE ON 23 FEBRUARY 1998
I have been extremely busy at work and at home, so I have not had much time for updating my site. My trial version of this product expired yesterday, so I will give the results of newer developments. To view the results of my original testing of this product, on 13 February, scroll down to the section titled "POSTED 13 FEBRUARY 1998".
I was getting updated filter files from the company on a daily basis, to see if there would be any changes in their practices. On 19 February, I was surprised to see an update that stated they had added an additional, separate filter for "Cult/Occult" categories. This category could be optionally disabled, for viewing of sites that they had decided fit into the "Cult/Occult" categories.
The new filter, when enabled, did not seem to filter anything, when I tested it on that day. On the 20th, after I had downloaded the updated filter files, I discovered that the fact that none of the Pagan and Wiccan sites were filtered must have been a programming "error" that the company "fixed". On the 20th, many Pagan and Wiccan sites were once again blocked, with the filter enabled. The keywords such as "Pagan" and "Wiccan" no longer seemed to be blocked, though. Only specific sites, including this one (HEY! They found me! :o)). I am not sure whether the lack of keyword blocking was due to another programming "error", or if they have decided to use that filter only on a site-by-site basis. In any event, feel free to browse around my site, and many of the other blocked sites, and try to figure out what is "harmful" to people. Most of the blocked sites are filled with messages of love, understanding, tolerance, equality for all, encouragement of individual learning and self-development, etc. (HMMMM...Perhaps the fact that none of those listed attributes seems to fit in with the apparent thought processes of the company, is the reason they have decided to block these sites :o)).
I must say this for them: The fact that they have created a separate filter, to enable viewing of sites related to our religions, does show that they have made some sort of an attempt at a compromise. They have at least shown some semblance of having the ability to reason.
However, the fact still remains that they have violated our Constitutionsl rights, by targeting our specific religions. As far as the legal aspects, you may reference the case of "Dettmer vs. Landon" (District Court of Virginia, 1985). The judge ruled that Witchcraft is a legally recognized religion, and is entitled to all of the same protections afforded other religions, by the U.S. Constitution. This decision was upheld by the Federal Appeals Court (Fourth Circuit) in 1986. Witchcraft has actually been tested and deemed a recognizable religion by a Federal Court. Speaking purely from a legal aspect, religions dealing with Witchcraft have MORE of a right to Constitutional protection than many others (remember, that is only from a LEGAL aspect, I personally do not believe ANY religion is more important than another). After all, how many other religions have case law to back them up? How many other religions have actually been tried in Federal Court, and held to be valid religions by the Court?
Herne, at "The Celtic Connection", in cooperation with other sites, has created a special on-line form, that ANY concerned netizens may fill out. I ask that all of you who are concerned about the religious discrimination that has been shown by this company, or any of you concerned about the U.S. Constitution, please fill out this form. Please, show your support for your fellow Pagans, if you are one. Please, show your support for your fellow Americans, if you care about the sanctity of our Constitution. Please, show your support for others, even if you are visiting this site from a country outside the United States.
Here is the graphic link. Please, if you have a web-page of your own, go to "The Celtic Connection", download this graphic from there, and link it to:
http://www.wicca.com/celtic/cybersit/support.htm
POSTED 13 FEBRUARY 1998
These are the results of the testing I have done, with this product.
I tested this product using only 5 (five) keywords. Those words are "adult", "suicide", "witch", "wiccan", and "pagan".
I tested this product for a grand total of only about 7 (seven) hours on-line. I visited only a few sites (which are listed and linked). Don't worry, if you go to any of the linked sites you will probably not find anything offensive.
I found that not only is the Wiccan and Pagan community targeted, due only to their religious affiliations, but many other areas of the internet are affected. These are areas that a normal person would never suspect would be affected by such a product.
As you read these results consider a few things:
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These results show the ramifications of only 5 (five) keywords being tested. The database of the product has many more keywords, which could also be having a very negative effect.
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I spent a very short time on-line. Imagine the possibilities, if someone were to research this over a long period of time.
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I visited only a few sites. Considering the millions of web sites out there, how many other sites are affected? The sites I list below are sites that do not meet the manufacturer's criteria for blocking.
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If sites such as these are being blocked and edited, how many other unsuspecting sites are also being blocked and edited, but don't even know it, because they have no reason to believe their site should be censored?
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The product also edits or blocks any sites that contain any words with "inappropriate" keywords included in them.
Just a few examples of other words blocked:
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"Pagan" also blocks such terms as "Paganini" (an Italian violinist) and "propaganda".
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"Witch" also blocks such terms as "switch", "Witch Elm", "Witch Grass", "Witch Hazel", and "Witch Moth".
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"Suicide" also blocks such terms as "suicide watch" and "suicide prevention".
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"Adult" also blocks such terms as "adultery".
You can either scroll through the results, in their entirety, or use the hyper-links below to jump to a particular section that interests you.
Any terms that the product deems "inappropriate" causes sites that include those terms to be edited or blocked. This includes sites that speak out AGAINST anything involving any of those terms.
The King James Bible is edited by the product.
Areas of on-line news services are edited or blocked.
Many on-line businesses are edited or blocked.
Areas of the Library of Congress are edited or blocked.
Areas of the National Institute for Mental Health are edited or blocked.
Areas of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention are edited or blocked.
Some works of literary art are edited or blocked.
How YOU can verify all of my test results, yourself
The King James Bible is edited by the product
The product causes any "inappropriate" words to not appear on a web page, IF it allows access to that page. The eigth commandment (from Exodus 20:14) normally reads "Thou shalt not commit adultery". When viewed through this product, it reads "Thou shalt not commit ery". This is because the term "adult" is deemed "inappropriate" by the product. Considering the liberal use of such terms as "pagan" and "witch" throughout the bible, how much more of it is edited? Remember, I only used 5 (five) keywords for this test. How many other words may be edited from the bible? The product automatically blocks ANY URL that contains an "inappropriate" term. If any webmaster has used any of the above terms (or any other deemed "inappropriate" by the product), in one of his file names, that URL is automatically blocked entirely. This means a webmaster (unaware of the LONG list of keywords employed by the product) may accidentally get his URL blocked, simply because of the file name chosen. Any search, on a search engine, that involves any "inappropriat" term will not allow the user access to ANY results of that search. Any person attempting to see what the bible says about "adultery" will not be able to use that word to find any information.
I conducted the test that showed the edited eigth commandment at http://207.96.105.201/biblehtm/02_exod.htm.
Areas of on-line news services are edited or blocked
The product causes any "inappropriate" words to not appear on a web page, IF it allows access to that page. A quick check of the CNN site showed that certain news articles are either edited or blocked. The following URL is totally inaccessible http://cnn.com/US/9703/27/suicide/index.html. It was the news story covering the mass suicide of people in California, who believed their spirits would board a UFO that was alledgedly hiding behind a comet. Since the web master used the term "suicide" in his file name, the entire page is blocked. The following URL is also totally inaccessible. http://cnn.com/TECH/9703/27/techno.pagans/index.html. It is a news article discussing the dangers of young people spending too much time on computers, and not having enough human interaction. Even though the article had nothing to do with pagans, the web master used the term "pagan" in his file name, so the entire page is blocked. Any news article that can be accessed, but contains the term "pagan" will show up as if the word is not in the article. That also means that any news article that contains the term "propaganda" now contains the term "proda", instead. If the URL of a news article contains the term "propaganda", it is blocked entirely. How many other words may be edited from public news services? The product automatically blocks ANY URL that contains an "inappropriate" term. If any webmaster has used any of the above terms (or any other deemed "inappropriate" by the product), in one of his file names, that URL is automatically blocked entirely. This means a webmaster (unaware of the LONG list of keywords employed by the product) may accidentally get his URL blocked, simply because of the file name chosen. Any search, on a search engine, that involves any "inappropriat" term will not allow the user access to ANY results of that search. Any person attempting to find any news articles about "propaganda", "suicide", etc. will not be able to use that word to find any information.
Many on-line businesses are edited or blocked
The product causes any "inappropriate" words to not appear on a web page, IF it allows access to that page. A quick check of Barnes and Noble Bookstore, located at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ showed that their search engine could not be used, if your search words contained any of the "inappropriate" terms. Anyone looking for books concerning "Suicide Watch", "Suicide Prevention", etc. is not allowed to view ANY results of that search, because it contains the term "suicide". If you were to access the page that does contain the types of books you are looking for (without use of the search engine), such titles as "Adolescent Suicide" would appear simply as "Adolescent", because the product removes any "inappropriate" terms from any web page being viewed. Even a term such as "switch" can not be used, because it contains the term "witch". Anyone looking at a business site, for products such as light switches, or any other types of switches, would not see the word and could not use a search engine to look for it. How many other words may be edited from legitimate business sites? The product automatically blocks ANY URL that contains an "inappropriate" term. If any webmaster has used any of the above terms (or any other deemed "inappropriate" by the product), in one of his file names, that URL is automatically blocked entirely. This means a webmaster (unaware of the LONG list of keywords employed by the product) may accidentally get his URL blocked, simply because of the file name chosen. Any search, on a search engine, that involves any "inappropriat" term will not allow the user access to ANY results of that search. Any person attempting to find certain products, that contain an "inappropriate" word, will not be able to use that word to search for the product.
Areas of the Library of Congress are edited or blocked
The product causes any "inappropriate" words to not appear on a web page, IF it allows access to that page. A quick check of the Library of Congress, located at http://leweb.loc.gov/harvest/query-lc.html showed that they are also affected. Their search engine (like any other one) becomes useless, with the product enabled, if you wish to find any information concerning "suicide", "propaganda", or any other term deemed "inappropriate" by the product. If you do find an article you need, for a school research project or whatever, anything written with any "inappropriate" terms in it is automatically edited. How many other words may be edited from the Library of Congress? The product automatically blocks ANY URL that contains an "inappropriate" term. If the Library of Congress has used any of the above terms (or any other deemed "inappropriate" by the product), in one of their file names, that URL is automatically blocked entirely. This means the Library of Congress (unaware of the LONG list of keywords employed by the product) may accidentally get their URL blocked, simply because of the file name chosen. Any search, on their search engine, that involves any "inappropriate" term will not allow the user access to ANY results of that search. Any person attempting to see what the Library of Congress has concerning "propaganda", etc. will not be able to use that word to find any information.
Areas of the National Institute for Mental Health are edited or blocked
The product causes any "inappropriate" words to not appear on a web page, IF it allows access to that page. A quick visit to the National Institute for Mental Health, located at http://www.nimh.nih.gov/ showed that they were also affected. The following URL is completely inaccessible: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/research/suicide.htm. This page is for the "NIMH Suicide Research Consortium". The web master used the term "suicide" in the file name, so the entire page is automatically blocked. Any pages that are accessible, but contain the term "suicide" may appear nonsensical, because the page appears as though that term does not exist on the page. It is a bit difficult for a student doing research, through NIMH, to be able to compile much information on suicide if that term is not shown, and certain pages concerning the subject are blocked entirely. How many other words may be edited from the National Institute for Mental Health? The product automatically blocks ANY URL that contains an "inappropriate" term. If the National Institute for Mental Health has used any of the above terms (or any other deemed "inappropriate" by the product), in one of their file names, that URL is automatically blocked entirely. This means the National Institute for Mental Health (unaware of the LONG list of keywords employed by the product) may accidentally get their URL blocked, simply because of the file name chosen. Any search, on their search engine, that involves any "inappropriate" term will not allow the user access to ANY results of that search. Any person attempting to see what the National Institute for Mental Health has to say concerning "suicide", etc. will not be able to use that word to find any information.
Areas of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention are edited or blocked
The product causes any "inappropriate" words to not appear on a web page, IF it allows access to that page. A quick trip to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, located at http://www.afsp.org/, showed that they are also affected. It is easy to imagine what ANY page of this institution looks like with every instance of the word "suicide" deleted. In fact, their entire section on "Suicide Facts", located at http://www.afsp.org/suicide/suicide.html, is completely blocked. This is because the term "suicide" appears in the URL. All sub-folders of the suicide folder are also completely inaccessible, including a section titled "What do I do if a loved one may be contemplating suicide". Even if the URL of the page were changed, and someone were able to access it, they would see a link to a page titled "What do I do if a loved one may be contemplating". This is because the product automatically deletes any "inappropriate" term from a web page that it allows you to view. How many other words may be edited from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention? The product automatically blocks ANY URL that contains an "inappropriate" term. If the AFSP has used any of the above terms (or any other deemed "inappropriate" by the product), in one of their file names, that URL is automatically blocked entirely. This means the AFSP (unaware of the LONG list of keywords employed by the product) may accidentally get their URL blocked, simply because of the file name chosen. Any person attempting to see what the AFSP has to say concerning "suicide", etc. will not be able to view that information.
Some works of literary art are edited or blocked
The product causes any "inappropriate" words to not appear on a web page, IF it allows access to that page. You can search through all of William Shakespeare's works at http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/search.html. If you look at Romeo and Juliet act II scene IV, a line from Romeo should read "switch and spurs, switch and spurs; or I'll cry a match". When viewed through the product, it is instantly edited to read "s and spurs, s and spurs; or I'll cry a match", because the word "switch" contains "witch". If you are familiar with Shakespeare, consider what the deletion of the term "witch" would do to many of his plays (especially MacBeth). If you are not familiar with Shakespeare, a quick search through some of his plays (as long as you aren't using the product) will show you how much editing is instantly done to just this ONE author, considering only ONE keyword. How many other great works of literary art are being edited before our very eyes? The product automatically blocks ANY URL that contains an "inappropriate" term. If any of the web pages showing works of literature have any of the above terms (or any other deemed "inappropriate" by the product), in one of their file names, that URL is automatically blocked entirely. This means any web master (unaware of the LONG list of keywords employed by the product) may accidentally get their URL blocked, simply because of the file name chosen. Any search, on their search engine, that involves any "inappropriate" term will not allow the user access to ANY results of that search. Any person attempting to access certain works of literature may easily find that they can not access it, or may end up reading an edited version of it.
Of course, this one has me ESPECIALLY upset. The product has terms such as "Pagan", "Wiccan", and "Witch" as being "inappropriate". The Wiccan and Pagan religions are federally recognized religions, but this product singles ALL of us out, based SOLELY upon our religious affiliations. ANY and ALL web sites that contain the terms "pagan", "wiccan", or "witch" in the URL are AUTOMATICALLY BLOCKED BY THE PRODUCT, SOLELY BECAUSE OF THE RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION OF THE WEB MASTER. The terms "pagan", "wiccan", and "witch" are automatically deleted from the web pages that you can access. I viewed my own main entrance page, located at http://members.aol.com/mjolnir13/index.html. The page no longer made any sense at all. Our right to study our own religion is automatically blocked and edited by the product. Anyone doing any type of research, for a school project or whatever, is automatically blocked, or is not able to make sense of the text, because the product does not seem to agree with these particular religions. If any of the web pages showing informations about the Pagan or Wiccan religions have any of the above terms (or any other deemed "inappropriate" by the product), in one of their file names, that URL is automatically blocked entirely. This means any web master (unaware of the LONG list of keywords employed by the product) may accidentally get their URL blocked, simply because of the file name chosen. Any search, on a search engine, that involves any "inappropriate" term will not allow the user access to ANY results of that search. Any person attempting to access ANYTHING concerning these religions may easily find that they can not access it, or may end up reading an edited and nonsensical version of it.
I started these tests, originally, because I was shocked that anyone could have such a blatant disregard for freedoms of religion. I thought, at first, that this was simply another act of discrimination against the Pagan and Wiccan religions, by a person who is completely unaware of the true nature and legitimacy of these religions. I quickly discovered that this went much further than that. I soon realized that this product affects practically every aspect of the web, in it's over-broad and generic filtering techniques. Instead of blocking individual sites that parents may feel innapropriate to view, this product does the following:
Denies freedom of religion. It blocks and edits sites from practically any religion. Religious texts are edited, or blocked, due to certain words that may have absolutely no harful intent, depending upon the context in which they are used. It even SPECIFICALLY TARGETS certain sites, based SOLELY UPON THEIR RELIGION.
Denies freedom of the press, due to arbitrary editing and blocking by the product. Many articles are edited or blocked, even if the text would not be anything harmful to a child or teenager.
Hinders internet commerce. Depending upon the product or service, some products or services automatically become blocked or edited. This is true, even though some of those products may not be offensive. With the current amount of internet commerce, and the projected increases in the next few years, this could amount to a lot of money being lost by merchants.
Denies young people access to facilities that could be beneficial, or even life-saving, to them. With a place like the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention being blocked and edited, where does a distraught teenager turn for information? If this product is in use, there is apparently no parent or guardian available at that time. With an area like "What do I do if a loved one may be contemplating suicide" blocked, where can a child or teenager look for help for a family member or friend? They certainly can't use a search engine to look for information on "suicide prevention" or "signs and symptoms of suicide". They would be blocked from viewing any results of the search.
Denies access to valuable sources of education and information. With areas of the Library of Congress and the National Institute for Mental Health edited and blocked, how many other educational resources are denied to young people, because of this product?
Remember, this test was done using ONLY 5 (five) keywords. It is easy to see that those 5 (five) words quickly became more, because other unrelated words contain those same combinations of letters. How many more words, which are totally harmless and considered appropriate by most people, are affected?
I spent only a few hours on-line and found examples of religious texts, legitimate businesses, works of litarary art, federal institutions, valuable research and learning resources, sources of help for troubled people, and news areas that were ALL edited and/or blocked by the product. Not to mention the fact that they are targeting certain religions specifically.
What, exactly, are we protecting young people from? I have two children, and I certainly would not be shocked or offended to see them reading Shakespeare, gathering resources for a school project from the Library of Congress, trying to find help for a friend through the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (or gathering resources for school from there), reading about current events in the newspaper, or reading a King James Bible (I may be Pagan, but they and their mother are Christians and I would NEVER attempt to force them into any particular religion - it's THEIR choice). The one thing that WOULD shock and offend me would be if I were to ever catch them discriminating against anyone else, based solely upon the religion that individual has chosen to practice.
How many resources must our children be denied, for us to feel that our children are surfing safely? How many avenues of help do we need to close them from? How much do we have to trample on freedoms of religion, speech, and the press before we feel we have done a good thing? How badly must the works of the great literary masters be torn apart, before we decide it is OK for a child to look at them? How badly do we need to tread on an already downtrodden economy before we think we have made this a better place?
How you can verify all of this information yourself, for free
You can click on any of the hyperlinks that I have provided in the body of this text. You will be able to search and view the same areas I did. Once you have seen what is written there, what areas you can access, etc., you can download a free trial version of the product at http://www.solidoak.com/. Once you have installed and activated the product, try to access those same areas. You will see that all of the editing I have mentioned, and all of the blocks are in effect. There is no need to take my word for the results of my test. You can do the same test yourself. Once you have verified my results, feel free to do your own tests. Check the works of your favorite author, read through texts from your religion, check some government institutions to find out how much of it you are not allowed to access. See how many other words you find that end up blocking you from sites you would never consider to be "inappropriate".
The government is currently trying to pass legislation that will make these types of filtering devices MANDATORY in ALL public libraries. A student going to a library, in the hopes of being able to access resource materials, may be in for quite a shock.
Please, visit Asherah's site at http://www.thewitches.com/censor/blocked.htm (just make sure you aren't using the product, her site is blocked). From her site, you will be able to read about the EMail bombing she received from the company that makes this product. You will also find links to sites that will teach you about the current legislation in progress, and will tell you how you can help fight it. You will also see a list of some of the major on-line Pagan and Wiccan domains that are blocked, because of their URLs. Asherah has a special message board set up, for this cause. Please, stop by and put your message on the board. Pick up one of her graphics, and place it on your own web site. If you want, create your own graphic, to help support this cause. Link it to http://www.thewitches.com/censor/blocked.htm so others can see what this is all about.
