4 ms·

Microsoft has been doing this for decades. Ever try to collaborate on a web project using MSN Messenger? Every message you sent that contained 'index.php' was m

by cryptoz 14y ago

Microsoft has been doing this for decades. Ever try to collaborate on a web project using MSN Messenger? Every message you sent that contained 'index.php' was mysteriously dropped. It IS Orwellian, but you should not be surprised. The big communication services all seem to have their own little moral or technical hacks they use to keep your discussion limited and away from certain topics / words.

scott_s 14y ago
That's so surprising I tried to find evidence of it online, but I couldn't. Partly because "index.php" is such a common thing that Google won't use it for a search term, which is ironic. Can you point to anything corroborating that?
- cryptoz 14y ago
  There are a whole bunch of banned words. There used to be a whole slew of sites that indexed all of the things Microsoft wouldn't let you talk about. Here's an article about it in the Inquirer: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1041509/microsofts-banned-words-in-msn-messenger http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1041509/microsofts-... Edit: that article appears to be mostly user names. Here's a forum thread to get you started: http://www.amsn-project.net/forums/index.php?topic=157.0 http://www.amsn-project.net/forums/index.php?topic=157.0
  - StavrosK 14y ago
    > Four letter words of a naughty nature are also banned, as well as contentious areas of the world like Scunthorpe. That is hilarious.
  - scott_s 14y ago
    Thanks, interesting - all I found in my searches where the user name bans, which are standard. This is different from what Apple is doing, as it seems to be file-name based, to avoid phishing. I still think it's completely misguided.
  - seabee 14y ago
    MSN has also banned messages containing certain TLDs e.g. '.info' and '.cx'. http://yoast.com/microsoft-censoring-info-domains-in-msn-messenger/ http://yoast.com/microsoft-censoring-info-domains-in-msn-mes...
- MatthewPhillips 14y ago
  https://www.google.com/search?q=msn+messenger+censor&aq=f&oq=msn+messenger+censor&aqs=chrome.0.57j0.7341j0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 https://www.google.com/search?q=msn+messenger+censor&aq=...
- Too 14y ago
  I think that's supposed to be download.php, not index.php. At least that's what I've experienced. (this was several years ago btw)
  - cryptoz 14y ago
    Hm, maybe it was download.php. Now I'm not sure.
  - devcpp 14y ago
    Both work for me.
    - cryptoz 14y ago
      Well, yes. I think this particular censorship was in place over a decade ago and I doubt it's still active.
signed0 14y ago
That makes me want to use Skype (owned by Microsoft) even less now.
- StavrosK 14y ago
  Nobody seems to say it: There were phishing/malware scams that propagated by sending links to all your friends, and banning common page names was Microsoft's way of combatting that.
derekp7 14y ago
It is even worse than that -- it also seems to automatically insert graphical smilies whenever it sees what it thinks is a text smiley. Makes it very hard to cut-n-paste a code fragment. Of course you can turn this off, but only on the receiving side -- if you are sending someone a command or piece of code (that contains parentheses and colons), you have know idea if their end will convert to the graphic smilies, and you end up sounding strange to them.
- JeremyBanks 14y ago
  That is not "even worse", that is relatively insignificant. An IM client converting text to smilies by default is standard and easily disabled, or avoided by a different using client. On the other hand, the issue above represents a horrible failing on the part of MSN as a network/protocol. Silently dropping messages without giving error to either party is insanely stupid behaviour, and MSN's done it frequently for as long as I can remember.
  - derekp7 14y ago
    Actually, any mangling of the text is bad. It is bad to drop text, and it is bad to change a line of code to have cartoon graphic images randomly scattered (which you, the sender, don't see but only the receiver does), which makes you look stupid in the eyes of the person receiving it. At least dropping a message makes it look like a network error, the other can make the message sender look like an ignorant fool. (I'm very sensitive to having what I write get changed by something, which is why I absolutely hate auto-correct in a word processor). Both cases have the effect that our corporate-mandated IM client is utterly useless for IT work where you have to send commands or code snippets to others on the team.
    - FireBeyond 14y ago
      No, MSN Messenger did change it for the sender, too. The receiver of a message's settings determined whether they saw the image. You could turn it off in the Text Formatting options, just a simple checkbox. So I'd disagree with the 'utterly useless' aspect.
bdcravens 14y ago
Proprietary IM networks are just that. Email is based on standards, with RFC's defining behavior. Moreover, proprietary IM is based on a some level of membership in that network. Email is open and often involves individuals outside of Apple's iCloud network, users who haven't agreed with Apple to any terms of service or the like.
- skeletonjelly 14y ago
  Sure email is but spam isn't in the RFC is it? That doesn't get delivered straight to your email inbox, or emails from domains that are on blocklists.

by cryptoz 14y ago

scott_s 14y ago

That's so surprising I tried to find evidence of it online, but I couldn't. Partly because "index.php" is such a common thing that Google won't use it for a search term, which is ironic. Can you point to anything corroborating that?

cryptoz 14y ago
There are a whole bunch of banned words. There used to be a whole slew of sites that indexed all of the things Microsoft wouldn't let you talk about. Here's an article about it in the Inquirer: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1041509/microsofts-banned-words-in-msn-messenger http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1041509/microsofts-... Edit: that article appears to be mostly user names. Here's a forum thread to get you started: http://www.amsn-project.net/forums/index.php?topic=157.0 http://www.amsn-project.net/forums/index.php?topic=157.0
- StavrosK 14y ago
  > Four letter words of a naughty nature are also banned, as well as contentious areas of the world like Scunthorpe. That is hilarious.
- scott_s 14y ago
  Thanks, interesting - all I found in my searches where the user name bans, which are standard. This is different from what Apple is doing, as it seems to be file-name based, to avoid phishing. I still think it's completely misguided.
- seabee 14y ago
  MSN has also banned messages containing certain TLDs e.g. '.info' and '.cx'. http://yoast.com/microsoft-censoring-info-domains-in-msn-messenger/ http://yoast.com/microsoft-censoring-info-domains-in-msn-mes...
MatthewPhillips 14y ago
https://www.google.com/search?q=msn+messenger+censor&aq=f&oq=msn+messenger+censor&aqs=chrome.0.57j0.7341j0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 https://www.google.com/search?q=msn+messenger+censor&aq=...
Too 14y ago
I think that's supposed to be download.php, not index.php. At least that's what I've experienced. (this was several years ago btw)
- cryptoz 14y ago
  Hm, maybe it was download.php. Now I'm not sure.
- devcpp 14y ago
  Both work for me.
  - cryptoz 14y ago
    Well, yes. I think this particular censorship was in place over a decade ago and I doubt it's still active.

signed0 14y ago

That makes me want to use Skype (owned by Microsoft) even less now.

StavrosK 14y ago
Nobody seems to say it: There were phishing/malware scams that propagated by sending links to all your friends, and banning common page names was Microsoft's way of combatting that.

derekp7 14y ago

It is even worse than that -- it also seems to automatically insert graphical smilies whenever it sees what it thinks is a text smiley. Makes it very hard to cut-n-paste a code fragment. Of course you can turn this off, but only on the receiving side -- if you are sending someone a command or piece of code (that contains parentheses and colons), you have know idea if their end will convert to the graphic smilies, and you end up sounding strange to them.

JeremyBanks 14y ago
That is not "even worse", that is relatively insignificant. An IM client converting text to smilies by default is standard and easily disabled, or avoided by a different using client. On the other hand, the issue above represents a horrible failing on the part of MSN as a network/protocol. Silently dropping messages without giving error to either party is insanely stupid behaviour, and MSN's done it frequently for as long as I can remember.
- derekp7 14y ago
  Actually, any mangling of the text is bad. It is bad to drop text, and it is bad to change a line of code to have cartoon graphic images randomly scattered (which you, the sender, don't see but only the receiver does), which makes you look stupid in the eyes of the person receiving it. At least dropping a message makes it look like a network error, the other can make the message sender look like an ignorant fool. (I'm very sensitive to having what I write get changed by something, which is why I absolutely hate auto-correct in a word processor). Both cases have the effect that our corporate-mandated IM client is utterly useless for IT work where you have to send commands or code snippets to others on the team.
  - FireBeyond 14y ago
    No, MSN Messenger did change it for the sender, too. The receiver of a message's settings determined whether they saw the image. You could turn it off in the Text Formatting options, just a simple checkbox. So I'd disagree with the 'utterly useless' aspect.

bdcravens 14y ago

Proprietary IM networks are just that. Email is based on standards, with RFC's defining behavior. Moreover, proprietary IM is based on a some level of membership in that network. Email is open and often involves individuals outside of Apple's iCloud network, users who haven't agreed with Apple to any terms of service or the like.

skeletonjelly 14y ago
Sure email is but spam isn't in the RFC is it? That doesn't get delivered straight to your email inbox, or emails from domains that are on blocklists.