Concerned

9 posts / 0 new

Sat, 12/27/2008 - 23:10

nineteenthly

Concerned

There was a news story today in the UK about introducing a rating system like the film licencing one for websites. This sounds to me very like censorship and i am worried that this sort of site would be affected. The story is here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7800846.stm

The reason i worry is similar to why i was unhappy about the Wikipedia article being deleted. Two things, basically:

* If the WWW had been around when i was a teenager, finding something like this on the web would have been a huge boost to my self-esteem and i wouldn't have felt there was something horribly wrong with me and maybe would've got a girlfriend before i was twenty-one. As it is, people who are hung up about this stuff can find this and other places and realise that they aren't alone.

* I'm one of the small minority which practices actual inflation, and as it stands we don't know if it's dangerous, do we? If it did turn out to be dangerous, surely it would help people to come across advice or discussion about that possibility, maybe including how to make it safer? I put loads of stuff about that on the Wikipedia article for that precise reason, before it got deleted.

I'm just really concerned that this is a huge oppressive step and i think something has to be done about it.

What do the rest of you think? Am i being paranoid?

http://www.youtube.com/user/nineteenthly

Sun, 12/28/2008 - 01:14

klaeresource

There are sites now that practice age restriction, but this site is an example of a properly "self-disciplined" site that can be helpful in the manner suggested by nineteenthly without undue worry that minors will see something they "shouldn't." I put that last in quotes because kids are always curious and will dig up whatever it is they want to indulge in, if they want it badly enough. I've never agreed with the notion of "protective censorship," like the Nazi book burning, or even banning books in our own libraries today. (Try Googling the story of the parents who wanted to ban FAHRENHEIT 451. Oh, the irony!) People must be exposed to "evil" so they will recognize it. If a child is brought up well and able to think clearly on his own, he will form and follow a set of ethics of which the parents will approve. Respect is better than coercion, just as there is no bravery without fear. We grow strong by trial.

Sun, 12/28/2008 - 11:37

Anonymous

Quite how they'll police it is another matter. Especially if sites are on non-uk servers.

Sun, 12/28/2008 - 18:41

deleted_20091014

Well I think what the article is aiming at, and is the only realistic option for them seeing as how no-one controls the internet. Is that some organisation award certificates to 'child-safe' websites and then parents have the option to block websites without a rating. I don't think even the most fanatical of censors could seriously envision a situation where they could just ban all websites which aren't child friendly.

It would be down to the parents as to whether a teenager might be able stumble upon a site like this, this is something that exists anyway to an extent with existing parental controls. And in any case, lets not forget that this site is technically PG so who says we would be banised by some uberpower ;)

Sun, 12/28/2008 - 22:56

kuumuzu

klaeresource wrote:

If a child is brought up well and able to think clearly on his own, he will form and follow a set of ethics of which the parents will approve. Respect is better than coercion, just as there is no bravery without fear. We grow strong by trial.

Well apparently they're taking 'The Holocaust' off the school curriculum because Muslim people are offended by it. They believe it never happened. 0_o;

Everybody is entitled to the own beliefs, morals, opinions, &c... but seriously the holocaust is something EVERYBODY should taught about and be made to remember.

Mon, 12/29/2008 - 01:29

bluespell

it is completely absurd, and completely pointless. lots of parents let thier 8 year ods watch 12 rated dvds, i myself had a friend who was allowed to watch little britain [usually a 15] at the age of 11. in schools kids swear more everyday than on an 18 rated film. i remember the holigans from my year 7 class [11-12 yr olds] chatting every 5 seconds about some pornographic film or another they had watched whilst knocking down a pint.

if the film ratings dont work, why bother with it? i say follow the japanese, they used to let women breast feed in public and kids wouldnt bat an eyelid [this is seen as worse now because they've picked up us westener's bad habbits of classifying that as bad.] things like ecchi and hentai are a part of daily life in japan. why do you think there are so many anime expansion clips? i say sod it all, sexual activity becomes so common in later life, why not start thier knowledge young? [maybe it would encourage less of that 'hahah, he said cum' attitude and more of a 'thats as funnyas a brick wall' attitude. also,if kids are taught its bad to talk about it, they will find it harder to accept it in later life.
it like if you start talking about bowel movements, people give you funny looks that make you want to yell 'for etes sake its only crap im talking about, everybody does it so why's it so bad?!!!'

i rest my case, and shot it to make sure.

Humans are weird yet facinate me so.

Mon, 12/29/2008 - 02:23

Bacn

I can't stand censorship. Jimmy isn't going to grow up to become a rapist just because he saw a boob when he was 7. Leave us alone.

Mon, 12/29/2008 - 07:07

darth_clone19

There's problems associated with a child that has access to pornography and indulges too much in it. Its not that they shouldnt cuz "SEX BAD", its because there are things you just should not be exposed to at an early age. It can really fuck up the way you see sex, women, and can have influence on self control.

Its not because its bad, its because kids are fucked up.

- Read my stories: darth-clone19.deviantart.com

Tue, 12/30/2008 - 02:20

bluespell

they are anyway, the japanese never hd problems. there were no problems in caveman times. i dont see how it can affect children, as long as parents do thier job to teach a child right from wrong [they certainly hadnt done a good job with the kids in my year 7 class] then i dont see how it can cause problems. children get exposed to peoplewho smoke, and see stuff about gun crime, and some american parents own guns and show them to thier kids. the same with swearing, most parents let their kids hear them swear, i remember a 6 year old telling me to fuck off once when i was 10 or something. so if they get exposed to that and come out 'ok' what difference will stuff like this make?

the government is just power hungry and controlling. like most corporate fat cats, just love to control and be rich.

Humans are weird yet facinate me so.

Concerned

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