So, I have been working on a blog entry about Cynthia Enloe and curiosity over the past few days (yes, it usually takes me a few days to finish an entry). I happened to be in Rochester, MN today and thought that I would finish it up at a local Pantera (or, what many of you might call Panera) since they have free wifi. Anyway, I clicked on the bookmark for Trouble and got a message indicating that my blog was blocked. Here is the explanation they gave me:
Really? According to what definition is this blog pornography? Who determined it to be such–(or what keyword/topic triggered the block)? Why are any sites being blocked? There are many, many reasons being blocked bothers me (not the least of which is the fact that I wasn’t able to finish my blog entry and have to work on it tomorrow). Sigh….so, what do you think? What bothers you about certain blogs/websites being blocked at restaurants? Or coffee shops–Caribou, I am talking to you.
?! This is ridiculous – seriously, why would your blog be categorized as pornography? It just seems so arbitrary, maybe it was the combination of “trouble” and “room34” I guess that could provide an interesting backstory for an adult flick but, your blog is not pornography! I would be majorly frustrated too!
ps: I love that you call Panera, Pantera.
It would be interesting to do a little more research on the company that did the block. STA said that while my blog was most likely blocked because of some random algorithm, it could also have been that someone read it and then submitted it as pornography (which seems even more disturbing). Here is another random instance of site blocking that I have encountered: I am pretty sure that a few years ago, when I was at the Caribou on Cedar and the Parkway, I tried to access the GWSS site and it was blocked. Whaa?
Update: When they blocked my site, I was given the option of resubmitting it for review. I resubmitted it as an education blog and explained how I used it for my reading, writing, teaching projects. I just received a response: my blog has officially been reclassified (from pornography) to education. I am still curious about the process…
Pornography/Education just so happens to be a very current question around online photos of bare trans-masculine chests (which are, I should add, presumably “legally female”):
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=103926052984712&ref=ts
And, not that you have the time, but if you check out the organizing happening on Facebook you’ll see I’ve stirred up some trouble in the group’s discussion. I hope to tell you all about it some time.