General discussion
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Topic
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Text and pics content filtering
LockedIt seems that web-editor Keith Walker, at UK ‘IPC Press’, is currently on ‘gardening leave’ after introducing to the YBW.com forum ‘The Lounge’ a part-developed text-filtering software app that purportedly screened out ‘rude words and language’. This also promised to filter out ‘girlie pics’ based apparently on pixel-colour counts and context. Others involved were freelancer Brendan Spillane and ‘Hounds and Hare’ mag social journalist Sarah Harwood. Rumours of ‘April Fool’ joke have been discounted, as this happened in March.
Naturally, there was a lot of interest from both forum users and IT-savvy ‘lurkers’ – and a huge increase in marginally-acceptable postings of Chaucer, Shakespeare, D H Lawrence, James Joyce, and some lesser others. Similarly, scores of scurrilous ‘girlie pics’ lifted from copyright sources were posted in protest – as well as pics of well-known classic paintings and sculpture, such as Michaelangelo’s ‘David’. A number of complaints – both from offended users and from copyright holders ensued. Many users, outraged at the threat to their ‘right of free speech’, canceled their subscriptions to the group’s mags while info’ing the Marketing Managers and posting same on the ‘Lounge Forum’.
The UK has different laws relating to Freedom of Speech from those in the US, and several users insisted that the best and only effective censorship is self-censorship.
Thoughts?
