Warning Sounded on Web’s Future

Blue Marble Climate ^ | September 17, 2008 | John Nicklin

[yazoo]

Ok, fair point. I was referring to a world wide type of regulation that kept things from even being posted on the web, not specific countries blocking what they don’t want their citizens to see.

Speaking of, I lived in Kuwait for a few years and they censor the web for porn, gambling, anti-islamic or pro christian references, and references to pork and alcohol products. It is amazing what gets censored. If you googled breast cancer you could get no information because the word breast was in the search term. Sometimes it was laughable, but was most infuriating was that a US company was providing them daily lists of web sites they could feed into their database to help them censor the web.

[Cacique]

Control of the web will happen sooner or later. The ruling elites cannot afford an independent source of information. They will do it by stealth or by any other means. The web as we know it and have enjoyed it for the last ten years has a limited life span. Once they figure out how to shut down sites like this one they will do it.

[TrevorSnowsrap]

Yahoo already classifies websites to some extent but google does not. Google’s search algorithm has been broken for a while now and it’s one reason why they push Wiki entries to the top.

The Yahoo effort is not exhaustive but I would trust it mroe then any google results.

[singfreedom]

Being a librarian, I have to ask, how many books are denied publication based solely on whether some group or other dislikes the content? How many people would it offend? I venture to say, not many books are denied publication because someone would find them offensive.

Why would we do to web sites what we won't/don't do in the publishing industry? Just because those ideas/books are out there does not mean anyone is required to view/read that material. I'm not much of a fan of censorship and I rather enjoy the idea that everything is available on the world wide web—even though I'll never seek most of it out.

[singfreedom]

Delacon, I wonder how they would see FreeRepublic? How would they rate us? Rating all those webs would be a hell of a job, dontcha know? Who, ultimately, would do the rating?

[Delacon]

You might recall about two years ago the UN tried to rest control of the internet from ICANN(jointly with the World Wide Web Consortium control the net) and are still trying to. Thats how it will happen. Willingly or maybe not, the W3C and ICANN may submit to UN authority then all those countries such as China and Kuwait will have a say on what should or should not be allowed on the web. Berners-Lee may find it more expedient to go that route.

[Straight Vermonter]

Watts Up With That is one of my sites to visit every single day.

[mlocher]

Being a librarian, I have to ask, how many books are denied publication based solely on whether some group or other dislikes the content?

Extremely well stated! The Web is like your TV. Nobody forces you to sit there and watch shows you do not enjoy. You simply can change channels. (You are a librarian, I am a couch potato.)