Why is My Website Banned By Public Libraries
Why has access to my website been banned by public libraries ?
Yes folks, the notoriety of your host goes from strength to strength
Regular readers will remember that one of my international spies, Our Man in the Middle East, reported to me that this site is Banned by the State of Qatar
Well, now add to that this report from a roving reporter who tried to access this innocent little site via a public lending library terminal, here is a quote from the telex I received …
 Tried to get onto RodCollins. com but apparently the site is blocked because of ‘nudity’;what have you been up to? 
|
Awesome \m/
I don’t know why I find this so amusing, especially since I do all I can to gain traffic, presumably being banned by entire nation states, public access terminals and Google with safe search enabled is not a good thing 
There is also the delicious double irony that I am a book dealer 
I thought I was being picked on before but now I’m sure of it.
What’s more - it’s all the fault of women !
Before any of you start laughing remember you are now looking at a banned site - what would people think of you if they knew the sort of thing you look at on the internet 
The questions are:
Am I right to feel strangely proud of my track record ?
Should I take steps to try and remedy the situation ?
Should I continue in the same vein or see the error of my ways ?
Regards
Rod - Public Enemy Number One
the dinosaur said,
March 23, 2008 @ 9:42 am
Rod, it seems to me the questions you’ve put are ones only you can answer, a matter of personal conscience or practicality, I have no idea how many people rely on computer access at public libraries, not a big percentage of your “readers” I wouldn’t have thought, they won’t be looking at this now for example anyway it being sunday! I think the more pertinent question for everyone is “should public libraries be wasting a large part of their budget, that is- public money, on providing internet access that is seemingly heavily and politically censored?”
Anyone who knows this website would have to agree, in all fairness and joking apart, that there is no more nudity here than in the average British daily newspaper, in fact a lot less than some, are newspapers banned from libraries? Are the books likewise censored, are books on art unacceptable, what about artistic photography, medical books etc. etc. Even if the computers in the libraries are automatically set to bar what they suspect could be nudity, someone somewhere has made a judgement on the public’s behalf, possibly influenced by their own religious and political view, can that ever be right? Does the decision in each library depend on the local ethnic balance or what political party controls the county council?
A generation ago we had a famous trial here in Britain that established D.H.Lawrence’s book “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” should not be banned from public sale, it seems like the introduction of the internet (as far as the public libraries are concerned) is a step back to state control of the individual’s choice.
Rod said,
March 23, 2008 @ 10:25 am
Dino
what a great comment - it’s actually made this post much more worthwhile - many thanks
Censorship
Carrying on with your point, and without wishing to get too technical, this kind of censorship is theoretically worse than most !
Why ?
Because it is done by a ‘computer program’ not by a human being.
This is potentially a massive flaw, because obviously computers cannot ’see’ or ‘understand’ content or pictures.
As a point, there is NO NUDITY at all on the site, also, very unusually for an interactive site, there is no bad language allowed.
I’m innocent Guv
I think the facility of internet access in public libraries is sound and in many ways follows the traditional idea of public libraries - that being free access to information those who might otherwise be unable to get it.
Internet access is still not cheap when looked at as a whole package, computer, subscription, phone-line etc.
The internet is fast becoming the most powerful thing in the world but most who use it simply do not understand it.
I’ve mentioned before how huge the power of Google is. They are effectively massive censors - don’t forget their ‘computer program’ decides what you see and what you don’t when you ’search the internet’
That may or may not matter to most but what happens when people search for something like
‘what caused the Palestinian situation’ ?
As you can imagine there are bound to be countless sites with wildly different views and opinions but the majority of searchers take what they see at Google’s #1 result.
I’m against censorship completely !
Warn people yes but don’t stop them seeing what they are looking for.
A tax payer who funded the library facility and wanted to look at this site was banned from doing so - they would not ban a book without actually looking at it !
Witches of Eastwick said,
March 23, 2008 @ 11:41 am
Rod and Dino,
The library near us is always full of kids queuing up for internet access, outside of school hours obviously…. they are usually on their own, no doubt parents are either shopping or elsewhere in the building. We wouldn’t be comfortable knowing that youngish children were viewing this site… it’s an adult site and we aren’t surprised that it has been banned but we are surprised that people in libraries are tuning in. We take Dino’s point about censorship but suspect this has everything to do with unsupervised youngsters.
To the questions then…
Am I right to feel strangely proud of my track record ? No, you are right to feel proud but strangely proud points to wickedness
Should I take steps to try and remedy the situation ? Can a leopard change its spots?
Should I continue in the same vein or see the error of my ways ? We think you should continue in the same error but are pleased to hear you are admitting to the vanity of your ways
As to taking part in a banned site and what will people think…. people already think of us as a bunch of ridiculous, eccentric old witches with a tendency to babble. Without us mind you, would the site sink further into depravity, that is the question. It must be difficult being a site host… on the one hand you need traffic, on the other …… just a cotton pickin’ minute, why do you need so much traffic, surely your notoriety is already established…. couldn’t you just ride that wave with subjects less likely to be banned? John Lewis always appears at the top and when we last checked there was no mention of hot chicks/guys… perhaps if you incorporated a section on bathroom fittings it would cement your popularity
WoE - Mother Superior
p.s. we might have been banned after writing the word ‘bum’ in the dust on the underside of a glass dining table at a party
the dinosaur said,
March 23, 2008 @ 1:58 pm
WoE, I take your point about unsupervised children and the need to protect them from aspects of the internet, however the obvious answer to that surely has to be seperate computers in public libraries for adults and children (with different settings) plus some degree of supervision by the library staff as a matter of course. You wouldn’t expect the librarians to stack the shelves with D.H.Lawrence alongside C.S.Lewis, Anais Nin next to Edith Nesbit, or Belle du Jour beside Enid Blyton, the answer isn’t to ban adult literature from libraries but to categorize them intelligently. I haven’t visited a public library for a long time, so I made my comments assuming common sense had been applied with respect to the use of it’s public access computers? Well librarians are basically civil servants I suppose
Witches of Eastwick said,
March 23, 2008 @ 3:04 pm
Dino,
Good idea but have the smaller libraries enough space or resources for separation? Adult literature … but we’re talking about Rod’s blog
which after careful consideration should probably have a category all to itself, let’s face it if Rod was a book who would you place him next to? What we can say with some degree of certainty is that his shelf would have to be dusted regularly, he’d be cross to think he’d been left on the shelf gathering dust 
WoE
p.s. you don’t suppose this has anything to do with Rod’s naked torso shot… some librarians might find that offensive
the dinosaur said,
March 23, 2008 @ 4:29 pm
WoE, Lets not get into the politics of public library funding and resources, I suspect it’s a local issue anyway, I told a librarian about 3 years ago that I thought hosting a play group for toddlers, installing computers, lending DVDs, videos, CDs, tapes, jigsaws, was all at the expense of book readers, I was scoffed at but I think time has proven me right. Jack of all trades master of none -I believe the saying is?
As for the question of who would I place Rod alongside if he were a book, how about P.G.Wodehouse -Jeeves and Wooster? Work it out for yourself
Dino
p.s. spot on!
Rod said,
March 23, 2008 @ 5:47 pm
WoE
underage access to the internet is something that needs to be checked though in reality few do.
How many parents out there are aware of what their kids are up to on their Bebo, Facebook and MySpace sites ?
I think it is clear to anybody ‘normal’ that there are plenty of things on the internet that are not right for viewing in libraries but in reality it is largely ungovernable.
I can build pages with anything on and get them to show for all sorts of innocent terms, I can send people to different pages etc etc.
It’s much like free speech, if you accept the principal you also have to accept that you may not like what some people say.
We wouldn’t be comfortable knowing that youngish children were viewing this site… it’s an adult site and we aren’t surprised that it has been banned
I would dispute this with respect. I do target an adult audience but none of this content is adult rated. As mentioned there is no bad language etc and there is not a picture on the site that is any different to those found in Mail Order shopping catalogues etc.
.
Indeed national newspapers are stronger as I don’t have anybody topless on the site, except myself of course
I also know people who are happy to let their children look at the site
This is very interesting and I would welcome and encourage any opinions from other viewers on this subject - please leave a comment and let us know what you think - especially if you don’t normally do so
Regards
Rod - purveyor of smut
Witches of Eastwick said,
March 23, 2008 @ 9:08 pm
Rod,
You admit to targeting an adult audience but think the content is acceptable for children…. the fact that there is no swearing (presumably we’re in the clear with ‘bum’?) does not make this site suitable for young children in our opinion. Adult things are for adults, kids things are for kids but like everything else it is up to the individual to decide. There are some things we will never understand like a parent we know who will freely discuss subjects of an intimate nature in front of her daughter and yet won’t let her have pierced ears because she’s too young! We respect the boundaries of this site and wish more people would comment, wonder why so many tens of thousands view this site but do not comment? As to free speech, we do believe in that but some things about humanity are best dealt with sensitively and at the right time as far as children are concerned, or at least that’s what we think. By the way Rod haven’t you been heard to say on many occasions that you don’t like to hear women swear? Freedom of speech?… and while we’re having a rant we should point out that a nude painted by an old master for example, is not the same as an image of Pammie twanging her thong… one is sexually provocative the other is the human form artistically interpreted. Young people need to know all about the power of sexuality and how to use it wisely when the time is right, that is the teaching of the Coven.
WoE… always right children and don’t you forget it
Witches of Eastwick said,
March 23, 2008 @ 9:24 pm
Dino,
Me must admit that we were just saying the other day, how marvellous it is to be able to borrow talking books from the library because they cost so much to buy. When ones children are young, the arranged toddler gatherings at the library are such a good introduction to reading in a fun way. Some parents don’t ever read to their kids and for them this may be the first time they hear a story… sad but true. So officially we are flying the flag for libraries to have CDs, DVDs, computers etc because these things may be out of reach for some in our society. Most any book can be ordered can’t it?
On a personal note, there is something to be said for an organisation that is happy to deal with the question …’I'd like a book’… ‘yes madam, what sort?’… ‘I’ve no idea, can you suggest something?’… and they did and they smiled too, great customer service
WoE
Craig Knighton said,
March 24, 2008 @ 2:12 am
Ha ha ha ha.
How stupid a world we live in. I can only assume that you are blocked on the grounds of the semi-naked women you keep posting, but as has been said, it is actually less than can be seen in UK tabloids. What if someone wanted to shop for underwear via the Library internet.
The craziest thing is that libraries all carry fiction books that describe in explicit detail various criminal acts, but these are routinely allowed onto the shelves. Many horror novels have explicit sexual content, some of which is grotesque (The Slugs by Shaun Hutson springs to mind). Anyone that has read Richard Laymon’s novels would say that this website belongs in a library before those books do.
I’m sure many would agree that explicit description is probably far worse than a static image. Words force people to use their imaginations to conjure up the scene, whereas an image is just that, an image.
It’s my belief that we now live in a society where fear of being held responsible for the actions of others, is becoming more prevalent than fear of committing an actual crime!
Rod said,
March 24, 2008 @ 8:53 am
WoE
You admit to targeting an adult audience but think the content is acceptable for children>
Saga Magazine - Country Life - Lincolnshire Today etc are all targeted at an adult audience but contain no ‘adult rated’ content, I think you’ve missed the point !
You may want to take a look at teeenage magazines etc, those aimed at 12-14 girls contains lots of things I would not put on this site. The post that attracted the most comments that I had to delete was the earthquake one, loads of ‘kids’ found it on the net and left comments, virtually all had to be deleted to to language etc !
By the way Rod haven’t you been heard to say on many occasions that you don’t like to hear women swear? Freedom of speech?…
:
Once again I’m a little confused
No I don’t personally like like to hear ladies swear, but that has nothing to do with free speech - indeed I quote from the comment I mentioned free speech in
It’s much like free speech, if you accept the principal you also have to accept that you may not like what some people say
I suspect much may depend on the definition of ‘kids’
I can understand the desire for a sheltered world but it’s not realistic and the fact is anyone one with 11-12-13-14 year children have ‘kids’ seeing things all over and hearing far worse things in the playground than ever seen on here.
I wonder how many people don’t take their children into Asda’s supermarket because there is the same picture of Jordan in there that is on this site for example ??
Great Debate
Regards
Rod
Rod said,
March 24, 2008 @ 9:03 am
Craig,
exactly !
If they want to control access, which I think is fair enough, then they simply need separate logins for adults and children.
As to content in libraries, look at all the books in the US library system that are/were monitored by the CIA or FBI, such is their content they were/are tracking and recording the people who borrowed the books !
There is also a point to make, a well known saying that has existed for many many years in the book trade.
Librarian - Enemy of the Book !
Best
Rod
Femme Fatale said,
March 24, 2008 @ 10:03 am
Rod,
I cannot believe this site is taken seriously by so many.
My family and I read it often and find it very informative (at times), but mostly, amusing
My teenage daughter and her friends are always reading the new blog posts and find them very entertaining.
Lighten up everyone, its the 21st century, children learn worse things in the playground, than from this site!!!!!
FF
xx
Witches of Eastwick said,
March 24, 2008 @ 12:25 pm
FF,
The fact that your children tune into this site means that we women are duty bound to comment in case they get the warped idea that what men have to say is gospel
As a matter of interest, do your children read other blogs as well? We tell the teenagers involved with the Coven that blogging is debate, entertainment and improves speed of typing, so overall it’s a good thing…. but unless Rod debates who is the better looking, Orlando Bloom or Jonny Depp on a daily basis, the teens here aren’t interested
WoE
Witches of Eastwick said,
March 24, 2008 @ 12:33 pm
Rod,
The subversive library RC bloggers have been driven underground… we understand their new lair is the basement of the Early Learning Centre
WoE
Little Brother said,
March 24, 2008 @ 2:38 pm
Rod,
Looks like you’re banned on AOL too, I can’t get any of your pages via their browser. Communists, the lot of them.
LB
Rod said,
March 24, 2008 @ 4:02 pm
FF
I cannot believe this site is taken seriously by so many.
That makes me think of another point, insulting the intelligence of youngsters.
I know of 14 year olds who have laughed their heads off at this for example …
http://www.rodcollins.com/wordpress/the-coxeman-removed-from-flight-and-arrested
Yet I have had ‘adults’ email who think Rod Damon is real !!
Who needs protecting ?
Regards
Rod
Rod said,
March 24, 2008 @ 4:06 pm
WoE & LB
Maybe there will be an underground network created for those who want to view the site free from state control
Perhaps I’ll be a political martyr !
LB
Just tried AOL
the blog comes up but the homepage is 505 timed out, not sure why that would be.
There are age restrictive filters on AOL so you can check your options to ensure you can see all sites
Rod
Jordan said,
March 25, 2008 @ 9:22 am
Golly, what do we know call you now?
Rod Hefner
Jordan
Rod said,
March 25, 2008 @ 9:26 am
Jordan,
I’m just misunderstood
Rgds
RC
Lindi Lou said,
March 25, 2008 @ 12:30 pm
Well it appears your site is not blocked by the Council. Looks like we are permitted to access ‘ valuable’ information and sarcastic wit.
Still can’t spend all day on e-Bay though
Rod said,
March 25, 2008 @ 3:09 pm
Hi Lindi Lou
thanks for the comment and welcome to the site !
Pleased you have access to this cornucopia of quality content
Regards
Rod