on most internet filters it only takes a handful of customers to complain to get a site blocked worldwide– part of the software licensing structure is that the customers help them build up their blacklist database by referring “inappropriate” sites.

Many western wb monitoring companies also willingly work with countries like China and Singapore who limit web access at ISP level 😡

SJ has been blocked at my work for some months now.

One thing a lot of people may not realise is that if you use the image tags to link the URL of an image to make a rude picture appear on the screen it comes up on the traffic logs that all the people who read that thread were accessing the naughty site; they do not even need to click on any link, the moment they access the thread with the embedded image this will happen!

didn’t realise that different filtering software firms now share info on which sites to block; this is worrying!

this is why we try not to have the links to anything not “work-friendly” on here – that gets sites blocked; I have that on good authority from friends who have worked in companies which sell IT security software.

On one filter each dodgy site is given a “points” score and this is associated with the “referring” site (the one which linked it, for instance SJ). (and no, before anyone asks, I CANNOT get the lists 😉 – they are encrypted.)

If the total points of the referring site are over a certain amount, the site is blocked. You’d be amazed at what people use for avatars (or maybe not 🙂 – remember thats also a hit on another site..

Thats how you can still read stuff like the Guardian (which does have swearing, and stuff about sex in it!)

Psy-forum also appears to have been blocked in some places because of this.

At one point PV was blocked in some places; but dr bunsen managed to get this reversed. OTOH I’ve met people at raves who say PV is blocked from their work whilst SJ isn’t, and apparently colleges sometimes block PV for the drugs content; I guess they’d rather see their students fuck up from overdoses 😡

if anyone reading finds PV is blocked please let us know if possible from your home account which filter software it is!

yes, something has been sorted in the short term for funding but we could still do with a donation towards the longer-term hosting fees.

That’s as much up to you (and all the other hundreds or lurkers here) as it is to me! I’d so love to see loads of others communicating and contributing something positive… If you have photos IM Site for a userID to get into the gallery. IIRC it works in much the same way as SJ