As a mother of two (soon to be three, as I just found out a
couple of days ago), I have some ideas about this. At home,
my kids have unrestricted access via our network, but I supervise
them and do all the things that most anti-filtering supporters
advocate.
Personally though, I don't think filtering solves the problem, and
instead creates new ones. First of all, someone has to designate
what's acceptable and what's not. That's a judgement that I prefer
to make as a parent, rather than assign to someone else (While I
disagree with Mary on her political and religious points, I totally
agree with her that it's important to have access to both sides of an
issue. How can my kids ever effectively learn to defend and refine
their views if they are never exposed to any kind of oppositional
viewpoint?) Secondly, the software is imperfect, and can filter out useful
information simply because it may contain a word that triggers the filter.
The problem, in my opinion, is not totally that kids have access to
pornography in public libraries. I think there is an issue of whether
or not adults should have access to pornography in public libraries.
There had been a couple of arrests at a nearby library where adults
had been engaging in lewd conduct while viewing pornography on
public computers. Our library recently moved most of the computers
to a position where the screens are all viewable by the main library
desk, making it difficult for anyone to view pornographic material
without being seen, and getting around the need for filtering. People
can still look up information on whatever they want, but putting the
machines in such a public place is a deterrent to children or adults
who would want to access genuinely pornographic material.
I wouldn't object to an "adults only" computer lab if they felt the
need to make one either. 18 and over only, like the porno section of
the video store or my local comic book store. Anyway, my point is
that I think that it's too easy to just say "Let the parents worry about
it", and neglect the other issues. It's not just about kids. But I also
don't think that filtering is the answer. There are plenty of other solutions
to enable people to get the information they need while minimizing
problems encountered by pornography.
Oh well... Sorry about this. Chalk up my long windedness to me being
pregnant. :)
-sharon
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