TopPENISh
According to http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-06-30-toppenish-porn_x.htm: (note that interesting URL!):
Library filtering software rejects Toppenish as porn
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - Don't bother trying to find Toppenish on the Internet using filtered computers in Yakima Valley Regional Library System - even at the library in Toppenish.
"Bess," a widely used anti-pornography filter installed on some of the regional library's terminals, zeros in on the fourth through eighth letters and blocks any site mentioning the lower Yakima Valley town as inappropriate for children.
I think the problem is more an issue of "Toppenish" being a term which can't be searched, rather than a URL-based ban. I verified it as a search-ban, But N2H2 doesn't let me have demos anymore, so I can't really test the claim as extensively as I'd like. So it may be that article is garbled, confusing search-bans with URL-bans. But there's some truth in it.
Credit to lisnews.com for further publicizing the story.
By Seth Finkelstein | posted in censorware | on July 01, 2003 11:58 PM (Infothought permalink) | Followups
