Nevin,
This is something I have never understood about Hollywood. Even the staunch and unfogiving RIAA has allowed for edited versions of CDs to be sold without the explicit lyrics of the original versions. And I don't think the art of music has suffered much from this. But, if I remember correctly and corect me if I'm wrong because I was very young when that all occured, but it seems to me that the change was brought on by the government. And that wasn't the only thing of the sorts that the government pushed through. Remember TV ratings? Remember the video game ratings legislation? So it seems to me we need to push this the same way all of the previously mentioned changes were made and get the government on our side. And while were at it, lets get them to act on laws for the internet similar to city "red light districting" to put all of the smut where it belongs: off of .com (which stands for commercial) domains and onto domains that deal with their particular type of "business." This would be similar to how cities are allowed to restrict certain type of businesses to specific parts of the city. And if people say that this somehow violates any bill of rights, lets consider the fact that "time, place, and manner" restrictions are part of government power.
As well, let also remember that when you go to a library, you wouldn't expect to find a book entitled "The History of America" in the 500 section, because that is the Sciences section. You would find that book in the 900's. So why sould we expect anything from the interet? Afterall, isn't it just a massive collection (collection (of books) in latin "librarium, or in greek "bibloteca") and therefore, a massive library of information? So lets get it categorizd further. Just as in a library, as it stands on the interent you would not expect to see a university at www.university.com, rather, it would be www.university.edu . This is the same with government, non-profits, etc.
And lastly, while I am speaking on the subjects of libraries and the like, there is something that most collections of any type of information have. And that is an index. So, what is the problem with allowing DVD players to be programed via an index to skip certain parts of the movie, wether it be profanity or video content? Each DVD has an embedded time stamp for each frame, and thus DVD players could easily be programmed for example to skip over the frames with time stamps between 1:23:33 and 1:33;55, as ane xample. So what I'm saying is that Hollywood wouldn't even have to cut their movies up! All they would have to do is release an index pertaining to the movie and where mature content might be. Simple. And they could make extra money doing it! As well as could the manufacturers of electronic equipment. This would become the "V-chip" of this decade.
But, it will take government action as far as I can tell.
2 comments:
To the Honorary Senator (fill in with your senator),
If I remember correctly, and correct me if I'm wrong because I was very young when it all occurred, it seems to me that many content related changes for media (whether video, videogames, TV, or music) were brought on by the government during the 90's. Remember TV ratings? Remember the video game ratings legislation? Remember the "explicit Lyrics" legislation? If so, then it seems to me we need to push the same way all of the previously mentioned changes were made and get the government on our side to make it illegal to host sexually explicit content on normal Internet domains such as .com , .net , etc. I see this as simply enacting Internet related laws similar to to city "red light districting" to put all of the smut where it belongs: off of .com (which stands for commercial) domains and onto domains that deal with their particular type of "business" such as has been suggested with .xxx domains. This would be similar to how cities are allowed to restrict certain type of businesses to specific parts of the city. And if people say that this somehow violates any bill of rights, lets consider the fact that "time, place, and manner" restrictions are part of government power.
The ICANN board has evaluated this and has decided not to do it. See http://www.icann.org/tlds/stld-apps-19mar04/stld-status-report.pdf
This is appalling, and now I think that government action ought to force this to happen, making any sort of explicit material hosted on sites other than .xxx or .porn etc. illegal, and subject to major fines. Remember, as ICANN said in the above mentioned statement: "
"Another three sTLDs are engaged in negotiations with ICANN concerning a Registry Agreement (POST, TEL-Telnic, XXX);"
So it is still up for debate and further decision-making. It is time that the Government step in and help such negotiations to be made, and for the American Public to know that this debate is even occurring as we speak. I venture that over 70% of all Americans would be for this type of action.
The reason for my belief in this idea is simple. I am a scholarly person, and have always enjoyed organized information. Let us remember that when you go to a library, you wouldn't expect to find a book entitled "The History of America" in the 500 section, because that is the Sciences section. You would find that book in the 900's. So why should we expect anything from the interest? After all, isn't it just a massive collection (collection (of books) in Latin "librarium, or in Greek "bibloteca") and therefore, a massive library of information? So lets get it categorized further. Just as in a library, as it stands on the Internet you would not expect to see a university at www.university.com, rather, it would be www.university.edu . This is the same with government, non-profits, etc. and should be similar for porn sites.
Think of the implications of this. There would be no way that you could come across such sites on accident. You would only knowingly have to type in .xxx or .porn. As well, Internet software could then easily block all related content with ease. All you would have to do as a parent is tell your browser or firewall software to disallow access to sites with these extensions.
I also argue that this would increase the organization of the Internet, decrease unwanted traffic, and increase business for parties on both sides. This is due to the fact that pornographers would then be able save money on false hits and the data costs that go with them ( I assume this is in the tens of millions of dollars a year, just from watching false hits on website services I manage, and the associated cost) therefore increasing the bottom line. It would also increase Internet traffic ability for all users of the Internet, and would make more people who currently do not have Internet at their homes (who do not order such services for fear of unwanted content being viewed by minors, and as such rely on public access) thus increasing business for Internet Service Providers.
It would also help to alleviate another difficulty that you and I fell very strongly about, Senator. And that is child predators and child pornography problems across the country. Because pornography would become more regulated like it's related businesses who operate brick and mortar locations in city red light districts, pedophiles and sex offenders could more easily be kept by government officials and probation officers from accessing content online. I even argue that it would help keep newcomers to the lists out by keeping them away from this addictive material unless they choose it. No more excuses that someone got hooked because they came across a page by accident, and could not help themselves.
I hope that through yours and my own personal efforts, the Internet can become more a place or organized content than just a peculiar vault of random knowledge, and that the world can be a more responsible place for us all.
ICANN voted this type of regulation down for now; hopefully, you will see the need to push for further and more meaningful government action.
Yours in politics,
The Van Limburg blog team (fill in with your name)
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Dear Tijs:
Thank you for your e-mail to the Office of the Governor regarding your concerns about the content on the Internet. I have been asked to respond on behalf of the Governor.
Your comments and opinion regarding this issue have been noted by members of the Governor's staff. We believe this to be an important issue.
Thank you for writing and expressing your views.
Sincerely,
Gloria C. Hunt
Constituent Services Coordinator
Office of the Governor
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