NationStates Jolt Archive

Well, basically:

U.S. senator: It's time to ban Wikipedia in schools, libraries

Here's the newest from Sen. Ted Stevens, the man who described the Internet as a series of tubes: It's time for the federal government to ban access to Wikipedia, MySpace, and social networking sites from schools and libraries.

Early in January, Stevens introduced Senate bill 49, which among other things, would require that any school or library that gets federal Internet subsidies would have to block access to interactive Web sites, including social networking sites, and possibly blogs as well. It appears that the definition of those sites is so vague that it could include sites such as Wikipedia, according to commentators. It would certainly ban MySpace.

The bill is, in part, a rehash of a similar bill introduced last year, the Deleting Online Predators Act, also called DOPA. That bill passed the house, but got bogged down in the Senate.

Many people are calling this year's bill "Son of DOPA" because of its similarity to last year's bill.

There are so many things wrong with this bill, it's hard to count them all. But its greatest irony would be banning Wikipedia -- perhaps the most widely used reference resource in the world -- from libraries and schools. I have plenty of problems with Wikipedia, including how easily it can be manipulated, and the way that student rely on it far too heavily. But ban an educational resource merely because it's interactive? If true, it's bizarre beyond comprehension.

It's easy to characterize Stevens as little more than a buffoon. He's certainly a buffoon, but he's a dangerous one. A law like his passed the House of Representatives last year. We're coming up to a presidential election, which always unleashes a kind of madness among candidates, especially when it concerns anything to do with children. So don't count this law out.

http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/node/4598

When nothing else fails, just censor.:mad:

But if we ban wiki in schools where will kids learn about how Stephen Colbert saved Elephants from extinction?

But if we ban wiki in schools where will kids learn about how Stephen Colbert saved Elephants from extinction?

And how paramedics tried reviving Anna Nicole Smith by putting bees in her mouth.

And how paramedics tried reviving Anna Nicole Smith by putting bees in her mouth.

is that what they called them?

And how paramedics tried reviving Anna Nicole Smith by putting bees in her mouth.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS

is that what they called them?

I guess that's what they did "while pumping her chest".

CENSORSHIP!!!111 :mad:

I guess that's what they did "while pumping her chest".

yeah, I wonder why she couldnt get any oxygen from the "air tube"

The worst part of this is that explaining the problems to Senator Stevens is essentially a suicide mission, I mean, after ten, fifteen minutes tops your brain would literally explode.

So.. is this guy from Kansas or the Bible Belt? ;)

Why on earth can't schools and libraries simply be given the freedom to make up their own minds. Are they that irresponsible? Why are people sending their children there then. Just ban schools and libraries and be done with it if they can't be trusted to make a decision..

If at first you don't succeed, then you're still probably not going to succeed.

Well those skiving kids will just have to use Uncyclopedia like everyone else.

*harrumphs*

So.. is this guy from Kansas or the Bible Belt? ;)

He's from fucking Alaska! ALASKA! Of all places!

BTW: Ted Stevens can suck my balls.

Social networking sites are pretty much all barred from schools anyway. Interactive is an incredibly loose term and most educational websites are interactive in some way

So.. is this guy from Kansas or the Bible Belt? ;)

I think he's from Alaska.

I'll Wiki it. ;)

Why on earth can't schools and libraries simply be given the freedom to make up their own minds. Are they that irresponsible? Why are people sending their children there then. Just ban schools and libraries and be done with it if they can't be trusted to make a decision..Why all these halfassed initiatives? Just done with it & ban people altohether.

I think he's from Alaska.

I'll Wiki it. ;)

Wiki... open source ain't it? *evil smirk* Methinks as ought to 'fix' this Mr Stevens' profile... j/k! :p

Social networking sites are pretty much all barred from schools anyway. Interactive is an incredibly loose term and most educational websites are interactive in some way
The filters at most schools are so strong most educational sites won't get through.

Some sites get blocked at my school for having "ideology, religion" and hell even sites about the revolutionary war were blocked because of "guns."

That's like sites on breast cancer being blocked because of the word "breast."

Some sites get blocked at my school for having "ideology, religion" and hell even sites about the revolutionary war were blocked because of "guns."

But its greatest irony would be banning Wikipedia -- perhaps the most widely used reference resource in the world -- from libraries and schools.
Which is ironically not used in libraries or schools for anything because it isn't allowed in 95+% of schools as a source.

Wiki... open source ain't it? *evil smirk* Methinks as ought to 'fix' this Mr Stevens' profile... j/k! :p

We should.

because it isn't allowed in 95+% of schools as a source.

You don't need to use Wikipedia as a source for it to be useful.

The sources the articles provide for what they say, and the stuff in the External Links section, are extremely helpful.

What's his next initiative? Censoring real life? Oh wait, don't tell him I said that or he might get an idea...

j/k! :p

I wasn't...

So... he's from Bumfuck, Alberta, correct?

I wasn't...

So... he's from Bumfuck, Alberta, correct?

Afraid not, according to wikipedia.
Although he is the winner of a Loser award for Unachievement.

That's like sites on breast cancer being blocked because of the word "breast."

I remember being told to do a research paper in High School on WWI, we were to use the schools computers to find sources on the interbuttz.

The schools computer blocked pages with the words 'gun, poison, death, explosive, artillery, grenade, kill, pogrom' and, much to my amusement, 'communism/ist'.
As you can imagine, that limited what we could research quite a bit, since the only way to get past the blocks was to contact the company that made the software and have them unblock specific sites for people, and as our teachers were, as usual, lazy as hell, nobody got their sites unblocked.

I think that was the day I went home and started printing off pages of Swearasaurus and posting them around the school.
Trust me, theres no feeling like hearing students calling each other 'cheap trainstation whore' in Russian.

Trust me, theres no feeling like hearing students calling each other 'cheap trainstation whore' in Russian.

You win.

*bows down*

Trust me, theres no feeling like hearing students calling each other 'cheap trainstation whore' in Russian.

Moorzilka!!!

Trust me, theres no feeling like hearing students calling each other 'cheap trainstation whore' in Russian.

Its educational and fun!

Its educational and fun!

And results in teachers getting paranoid about students speaking in other languages!
Of course, the teachers who actually spoke another language thought the whole thing was a riot. One of them got ahold of one of the sheets from another kid, corrected the grammar in the French section, and handed it back.

http://www.arsdivina.com/CraigRosenberg/tubes.jpg

/sorry

Wouldn't this site (http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3A+interactive&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) come under the definition of interactive? After all the user inputs data and the site responds directly...

And results in teachers getting paranoid about students speaking in other languages!
Of course, the teachers who actually spoke another language thought the whole thing was a riot. One of them got ahold of one of the sheets from another kid, corrected the grammar in the French section, and handed it back.

That is hilarious. I learned my first German swear words in high school while at a movie night. We were all eating at a table with our Spanish teacher, who was originally from Germany, and we got on the subject of Spanish swear words, which we mostly knew. Someone mentioned a German swear word and the next half hour was spent being instructed in the proper prounciation of "shithead" in German.

For a period of about thirty seconds, our school's filters had Microsoft's Windows troubleshooting blocked under the category "Pornography"

Well, basically:

http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/node/4598

This guy should just go die in a hole. Preferably a foxhole in Iraq.

..

Isn't MySpace already blocked in schools? And if wiki is banned, there will be less plagiarizing.

People shouldn't be allowed to force laws onto people when they don't have the slightest idea what the hell they are trying to make a law on to begin with. This guy knows nothing about the internet but what he obviously does understand is censorship with a wide brush. Really now, from the guy who called the internet a "series of tubes" politicians are going to pay attention when this joker talks about internet matters?

This guy should just go die in a hole. Preferably a foxhole in Iraq.

So you wish death to soldiers in Iraq?

So you wish death to soldiers in Iraq?

I'm praying that's a joke.

I think what he meant is that maybe we could get a bit of use outta Stevens before we off him.

So you wish death to soldiers in Iraq?

No, I'm wishing that this guy (Ted Stevens) would die getting his head blown off in a war. Iraq just came to mind as an example.

He wants Stevens to die in Iraq. There is a difference.

What Utracia said.

So you wish death to soldiers in Iraq?

He wants Stevens to die in Iraq. There is a difference.

He wants Stevens to die in Iraq. There is a difference.

He wants him to die in a war.

What a retard. Censorsip is wrong. Even if it can solve a problems, so what. Then it's the wrong solution. Also, why are American schools having such a big problem with students communicating with the outside world?

He wants him to die in a war.

Well, I don't. I think we should stick him in front of a computer and not let him get up again until he knows how to use the internet. Only fair. He should know what the hell he is talking about.

Well, I don't. I think we should stick him in front of a computer and not let him get up again until he knows how to use the internet. Only fair. He should know what the hell he is talking about.

But what if he googles himself and finds bad comments about himself?? :eek: :(

But what if he googles himself and finds bad comments about himself?? :eek: :(

Maybe he will realize what an ass he has been and will change his ways? :p

Maybe he will realize what an ass he has been and will change his ways? :p

WWHD?

WWHD?

Homer? He knows even less about the internet then Stevens. I'm confused...

Homer? He knows even less about the internet then Stevens.

Hitler.

Hitler.

Hitler would change his Wikipedia page and then then start a MySpace account and try to "re-educate" the world on how he wasn't so bad as history has made him out to be.

Really now, from the guy who called the internet a "series of tubes" politicians are going to pay attention when this joker talks about internet matters?
How is calling it a system of tubes any stupider than calling it a "web" or "net"? Tubes are actually a much better analogy than the more commonly used ones, and someday we really will reach the upper capacity of the Internet Backbone, but I guess that a factual analysis of our information infrastructure doesn't make very good one-liners.
Other than that, yes, Ted Stevens is crazy, but not quite crazy enough for the House of Representatives.

Hitler would change his Wikipedia page and then then start a MySpace account and try to "re-educate" the world on how he wasn't so bad as history has made him out to be.

Aha. Well I think that Ted would fuck it up. *nods*

Wikipedia is already Blocked by many school Filters.

The reason?

"Porn"

wikipedia was not around when i went to school i wish was i could of use it,now some dick in the US want to ban it what a dickhead

Aha. Well I think that Ted would fuck it up. *nods*

Well, he'd screw just about anything up so there is no arguement from me.

Hitler would change his Wikipedia page and then then start a MySpace account and try to "re-educate" the world on how he wasn't so bad as history has made him out to be.

Accompanied by clips from his shitty German Hair Band.

Hitler would change his Wikipedia page and then then start a MySpace account and try to "re-educate" the world on how he wasn't so bad as history has made him out to be.

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Emo-Hitler

He's from fucking Alaska! ALASKA! Of all places!...and what of it? Igloo jokes?

BTW: Ted Stevens can suck my balls.Or, perhaps, he can extract sperm the same way that Cartman did on tonight's episode.

He's from fucking Alaska! ALASKA! Of all places!

BTW: Ted Stevens can suck my balls.

He makes me ashamed to be an Alaskan. I hadn't realized he was from Alaska. I will have to write him a nasty letter now.

He makes me ashamed to be an Alaskan. I hadn't realized he was from Alaska. I will have to write him a nasty letter now.

He might not have time to read. He might be too busy bitching and screaming about "clinical depression" and twisting his Hulk tie wistfully. And attacking the Anchorage Daily News.
And getting $ to friends. And helping his son get more business in direct conflict of interest.