What Made you Smile/What Ticked you off Today?

[dsheinem]

Parts of Racketboy are blocked at my university. I think certain key words (the naughty ones) get "flagged" or whatever. PMs are weird too, sometimes I can read what I get but can't respond. When I read threads I sometimes have to jump around and skip pages.

Thats just how websense works. Random crap gets blocked. Heck at my office CNN is blocked for "social networking."

In an office environment that's the call of the people who run the business. A university should be about making as much information as accessible as possible, not clamping down on topics that some filter or some person deems is "non-educational" or something.

[Ack]

Parts of Racketboy are blocked at my university. I think certain key words (the naughty ones) get "flagged" or whatever. PMs are weird too, sometimes I can read what I get but can't respond. When I read threads I sometimes have to jump around and skip pages.

Universities have no business blocking anything for content. I can see, on computer lab or classroom computers, blocking software from installing, blocking access to sites that feature a ton of malware and viruses, etc., but otherwise they shouldn't be restricting access to anything. Are you suggesting Steam is blocked because "games"?!?! It's akin to the library having a blacklist of topics on which they won't order books or some such.

You mean like racism and homosexuality? Because that happens in some libraries...

Also yes, some universities block Steam to prevent people from playing games in class. Others just throttle Internet speeds to such low traffic rates that it's pretty much unusable.

[KalessinDB]

Parts of Racketboy are blocked at my university. I think certain key words (the naughty ones) get "flagged" or whatever. PMs are weird too, sometimes I can read what I get but can't respond. When I read threads I sometimes have to jump around and skip pages.

At my workplace, I can't type "http://www.racketboy.com/forums" into my web browser, it'll be blocked. BUT, I can type "racketboy forum" into Google and follow the first link just fine. I have no idea why, and that workaround doesn't work for any other site that I've found, but I'm glad it works here.

[flex wood]

Steam is blocked where and why?

At my school. I thought I was just putting in my password wrong but after doing it twice I decided to go ask in the IT department. The guy out front said it wasn't but then asked some other guy in back if they blocked it and he yelled up yea we're blocking it, it's complicated, sorry. I don't mind. I found it pretty funny that the answer I got to why was just "it's complicated."

[dsheinem]

Steam is blocked where and why?

At my school. I thought I was just putting in my password wrong but after doing it twice I decided to go ask in the IT department. The guy out front said it wasn't but then asked some other guy in back if they blocked it and he yelled up yea we're blocking it, it's complicated, sorry. I don't mind. I found it pretty funny that the answer I got to why was just "it's complicated."

is this just in the classroom or on a university pc? that would make some sense since it involves installing software on a lab computer.

[fastbilly1]

Parts of Racketboy are blocked at my university. I think certain key words (the naughty ones) get "flagged" or whatever. PMs are weird too, sometimes I can read what I get but can't respond. When I read threads I sometimes have to jump around and skip pages.

Thats just how websense works. Random crap gets blocked. Heck at my office CNN is blocked for "social networking."

In an office environment that's the call of the people who run the business. A university should be about making as much information as accessible as possible, not clamping down on topics that some filter or some person deems is "non-educational" or something.

Ofcourse it is. But many university's do not believe gaming is educational at all. Heck my University blocked all online gaming except Gamespy Arcade.

[Jmustang1968]

That stuff was blocked even in the dorms?

[samsonlonghair]

My university blocks ports 6881-6999.

[KalessinDB]

My university blocks ports 6881-6999.

Veeeeery common.

Good thing most private trackers do too at this point

[BoneSnapDeez]

Parts of Racketboy are blocked at my university. I think certain key words (the naughty ones) get "flagged" or whatever. PMs are weird too, sometimes I can read what I get but can't respond. When I read threads I sometimes have to jump around and skip pages.

Universities have no business blocking anything for content. I can see, on computer lab or classroom computers, blocking software from installing, blocking access to sites that feature a ton of malware and viruses, etc., but otherwise they shouldn't be restricting access to anything. Are you suggesting Steam is blocked because "games"?!?! It's akin to the library having a blacklist of topics on which they won't order books or some such.

I should clarify I mean library and computer lab computers.

My university doesn't have dorms and if they did I (obviously) wouldn't be living in one.

But yeah, when I attended the University of Maine I do recall blocking software set up in the labs/libraries but no restrictions for dorm connections.

Anyhow, I find it incredibly annoying. Tons of legitimate educational content gets blocked and hell, sometimes I just need a break from working to goof off a bit but I can't.