4 ms·

>What if you run library computers or an internet cafe, and don't want customers browsing kittens on your machines? (ethics be damned, they are your machines, y

>What if you run library computers or an internet cafe, and don't want customers browsing kittens on your machines? (ethics be damned, they are your machines, you make the rules!) I'm not seeing either statement as more legitimate than the other. We all know porn is being singled about because of an absurd prudish attitude the west has towards nudity.

pbhjpbhj 16y ago
>We all know porn is being singled about because of an absurd prudish attitude the west has towards nudity. So you don't mind people jerking off whilst you're trying to enjoy a coffee and a cake or get a book in the library with your kids? I mind, call that absurd if you like. It's not nudity that is the problem in public spaces like libraries it's use of pornography. A simple way to avoid most masturbatory use of such spaces is to prevent people from being able to view pictures of other people who are naked. Even if it were prudishness, then what right do you have to dictate to the "prudish" what their attitude to nudity or sexual imagery in public spaces should be?
- burgerbrain 16y ago
  >So you don't mind people jerking off whilst you're trying to enjoy a coffee and a cake or get a book in the library with your kids? We have public indecency laws to cover that. There's no reason to place further restrictions.
  - brc 16y ago
    That's ridiculous. Stopping the images being viewed is much, much easier than calling the police on a public nuisance. There are laws against car theft as well, but it's much easier to lock the car and set an alarm.
    - burgerbrain 16y ago
      The threat of having the police called and getting added to sex offender lists is more than enough to prevent all but the mentally ill from masturbating in public. People can already access pornography at just about any coffee shop (or for that matter, wherever there is cellular phone access...), but somehow we don't see outbreaks of uncontrolled public wanking. You seem to be operating under the assumption that systems like this are already widely deployed. They are not. And as for the mentally ill? Well if walking down the street of your average sized city is anything to go by, lack of pornographic material isn't much of an inhibitor.
      - awakeasleep 16y ago
        I don't know if it's endemic to America or what, but people jerk off in libraries all the time -- it is a real problem. Maybe because the homeless or impoverished get internet in libraries and nowhere else, but regardless of the cause, something should be done. The last time I used a computer in a library, I reached down to grab the side of the chair to scoot it under the desk, and received a handful of ejaculate for my trouble. It was a nice library too. One of my best friends works in a different, nicer library, and constantly complains about people jerking off in there. They catch them and kick them out, but it doesn't stop the problem any more than swatting mosquitoes stops that problem. You may say mental illness because of your particular environment or upbringing, but I feel below a certain level of society it's the natural state of people-- if they're able to see a naked picture they pursue the pleasurable sensations it produces until that process completes itself. Altering the environment seems like a damn fine idea to me.
        d2viant 16y ago
        That story is crazy. How did you react to it? What did you do to him?
        awakeasleep 16y ago
        There was no one around to confront. All I had was a goopy hand and a dirty chair. I looked at my hand as awareness set in, and then I stood up and walked to the bathroom. Then I told the librarian, and she gave me some paper towels to clean the chair. I couldn't think of how getting angry would benefit me so I didn't bother.
sliverstorm 16y ago
If they are your machines, then by all means block kittens if you want. I will totally support you on that. Side note, there really are more valid reasons to block pornography than kittens. Preventing access to pornographic materials on a group of managed machines is just good security policy, for many reasons.
- scythe 16y ago
  Name one.
  - sliverstorm 16y ago
    1) Pornography is often accompanied by attack sites with viruses etc. Your machines should be kept up to date and secure, it's true, but why invite attacks? 2) Child pornography. Sure, there may be laws that protect you if it's discovered on a hard drive of a machine you manage, but I'd much rather avoid that mess all together.
    - scythe 16y ago
      1) An image-blocker script isn't going to prevent the viruses from working. It's also certainly not going to keep people from trying -- further, if they can't visit known, safe sites, they'll keep looking and find their way to the dangerous ones. 2) If someone is crazy enough to download child pornography onto a public machine, they're almost surely good enough to bypass whatever protection mechanisms you may have in place.
      - sliverstorm 16y ago
        1) No, it won't, but at least it's a deterrent. 2) What does crazy have to do with skilled?
        scythe 16y ago
        >What does crazy have to do with skilled? That's a really good question -- the short answer is it's a really great motivator. Some random pedophile, who wants to obtain child porn, first must learn how, and in the process they would have to learn some basic computer skills, as well as learning to bypass the mechanisms we (rightly) have in place to prevent such material from being distributed, and to catch those who download it. This is why malcontent teenagers who would want to do something like DDoS tumblr are far more likely to know how to do that than well-adjusted teenagers who don't care.

pbhjpbhj 16y ago

>We all know porn is being singled about because of an absurd prudish attitude the west has towards nudity. So you don't mind people jerking off whilst you're trying to enjoy a coffee and a cake or get a book in the library with your kids? I mind, call that absurd if you like. It's not nudity that is the problem in public spaces like libraries it's use of pornography. A simple way to avoid most masturbatory use of such spaces is to prevent people from being able to view pictures of other people who are naked. Even if it were prudishness, then what right do you have to dictate to the "prudish" what their attitude to nudity or sexual imagery in public spaces should be?

burgerbrain 16y ago
>So you don't mind people jerking off whilst you're trying to enjoy a coffee and a cake or get a book in the library with your kids? We have public indecency laws to cover that. There's no reason to place further restrictions.
- brc 16y ago
  That's ridiculous. Stopping the images being viewed is much, much easier than calling the police on a public nuisance. There are laws against car theft as well, but it's much easier to lock the car and set an alarm.
  - burgerbrain 16y ago
    The threat of having the police called and getting added to sex offender lists is more than enough to prevent all but the mentally ill from masturbating in public. People can already access pornography at just about any coffee shop (or for that matter, wherever there is cellular phone access...), but somehow we don't see outbreaks of uncontrolled public wanking. You seem to be operating under the assumption that systems like this are already widely deployed. They are not. And as for the mentally ill? Well if walking down the street of your average sized city is anything to go by, lack of pornographic material isn't much of an inhibitor.
    - awakeasleep 16y ago
      I don't know if it's endemic to America or what, but people jerk off in libraries all the time -- it is a real problem. Maybe because the homeless or impoverished get internet in libraries and nowhere else, but regardless of the cause, something should be done. The last time I used a computer in a library, I reached down to grab the side of the chair to scoot it under the desk, and received a handful of ejaculate for my trouble. It was a nice library too. One of my best friends works in a different, nicer library, and constantly complains about people jerking off in there. They catch them and kick them out, but it doesn't stop the problem any more than swatting mosquitoes stops that problem. You may say mental illness because of your particular environment or upbringing, but I feel below a certain level of society it's the natural state of people-- if they're able to see a naked picture they pursue the pleasurable sensations it produces until that process completes itself. Altering the environment seems like a damn fine idea to me.
      - d2viant 16y ago
        That story is crazy. How did you react to it? What did you do to him?
        awakeasleep 16y ago
        There was no one around to confront. All I had was a goopy hand and a dirty chair. I looked at my hand as awareness set in, and then I stood up and walked to the bathroom. Then I told the librarian, and she gave me some paper towels to clean the chair. I couldn't think of how getting angry would benefit me so I didn't bother.

sliverstorm 16y ago

If they are your machines, then by all means block kittens if you want. I will totally support you on that. Side note, there really are more valid reasons to block pornography than kittens. Preventing access to pornographic materials on a group of managed machines is just good security policy, for many reasons.

scythe 16y ago
Name one.
- sliverstorm 16y ago
  1) Pornography is often accompanied by attack sites with viruses etc. Your machines should be kept up to date and secure, it's true, but why invite attacks? 2) Child pornography. Sure, there may be laws that protect you if it's discovered on a hard drive of a machine you manage, but I'd much rather avoid that mess all together.
  - scythe 16y ago
    1) An image-blocker script isn't going to prevent the viruses from working. It's also certainly not going to keep people from trying -- further, if they can't visit known, safe sites, they'll keep looking and find their way to the dangerous ones. 2) If someone is crazy enough to download child pornography onto a public machine, they're almost surely good enough to bypass whatever protection mechanisms you may have in place.
    - sliverstorm 16y ago
      1) No, it won't, but at least it's a deterrent. 2) What does crazy have to do with skilled?
      - scythe 16y ago
        >What does crazy have to do with skilled? That's a really good question -- the short answer is it's a really great motivator. Some random pedophile, who wants to obtain child porn, first must learn how, and in the process they would have to learn some basic computer skills, as well as learning to bypass the mechanisms we (rightly) have in place to prevent such material from being distributed, and to catch those who download it. This is why malcontent teenagers who would want to do something like DDoS tumblr are far more likely to know how to do that than well-adjusted teenagers who don't care.