Re: School Has Started

[walkera1@aol.com (Walker A1)]

In article <36mi1d$92m@news.bu.edu>, bbry@bu.edu (Bryony Bechtold) writes:

> I know of no children stupid enough to be "harmed" by the free
expression
> of any opinion on the net.  If you do, my condolences. 

Whether you know of any children stupid enough to be "harmed" by the free
expression of any opinion the net is irrelevant.  Whether children can
actually BE "harmed" by the free expression of any opinion on the net is,
also, irrelevant.

What IS relevant is that PARENTS certainly do not want their kids exposed
to those kinds of material.  Perhaps you are not aware that some school
districts have actually been involved in lawsuits when a student was
inadvertently exposed to "inappropriate" material.  (To date the Internet
no such cases have involved the Internet, but the possibility of such
lawsuits is the primary reason why most K-12 schools don't allow students
direct Internet access.)  The definition of what is "inappropriate"
varies, but most parents would certainly consider the four-letter word
beginning with "F" which relates to sexual intercourse to qualify.

The issue at hand is not freedom of speech, but limitation of liability.

I firmly believe that the solution is not to limit freedom of expression
on the net.  A better solution is for schools to "filter out" material
"inappropriate" for children before allowing kids access to the net. 

Every Usenet poster has the right to post whatever they want (although, of
course, if you spam or post off-topic you will get flamed -- but nobody
can STOP you from doing such stupid things if you're truly bent on doing
it).  Every Usenet reader has the right to filter out things they are
uninterested in or finds offensive (kill files, etc.).

Coincidentally, our new online service, which we'll be offering to schools
soon, will provide just such a screening feature (among other services)
for Usenet newsgroups.  So you guys can post all the profanity you want,
and teachers can be sure their kids will never be exposed to it.

Jerry@QC