Aardvark Daily

Please visit the sponsor!

Beware the Aardvark!

While up in Auckland at one of the daughter-childs' weddings last week, I thought I'd take a moment to drop in on the Aardvark website and see that it was still ticking over nicely.

The Auckland City Oaks apartments, where we stayed, offered in-room broadband as well as a PC in the lobby that guests were entitled to use for free.

While waiting for my wife (why do women always take so long to get dressed and ready for such events?), I wandered down to the lobby and typed the URL of this website into the browser bar of the Net-connected PC.

[ What?

It seems that this site (aardvark.co.nz) was not able to be accessed because it was deemed to have unsuitable content.

What on earth is going on here?

I'm at a loss to understand what has ever been published on this site that would cause it to be added to a black-list of sites deemed too offensive for public viewing.

Of course the apartment management didn't know -- they just use a service that has been widely adopted by the hospitality industry.

Quite frankly, I feel a little insulted that this site is deemed to contain content that must be offensive (to someone).

Unlike many "blog" sites, I don't resort to profanity and I like to think that nothing I publish contains stuff that you wouldn't allow your kids to read.

Is it my subversive rants about the inadequacy of our politicians and the systems they operate under?

Is it the fact that I call a spade a spade?

Just what is it that makes this site so "offensive" to those who compile the black-list associated with this system?

Unfortunately, just as I was hunting for a pen to write down the name of the software/service that was being used, the wife rolled out of the lift and suddenly "we have to go" so I didn't get to make a note of the name.

However, this whole thing shows the very significant dangers associated with *any* kind of internet filtering system.

Why is Aardvark on a black-list? I don't know, the management of the establishment where I was staying didn't know and chances are that even the people who provide the service don't know.

Maybe there was a website called "AardvarkPorn.xxx" that was deemed unsuitable and as a result, someone entered "aardvark*" into the blacklist.

So, next time you're staying at a hotel or using a public-access internet service of any kind, please check to see if Aardvark.co.nz has been blocked and if so, please complain to the operators of the service and also drop me a line with the name/URL of the service provider so I can have a go at them.

In the meantime, remember this when the government or your ISP decides it'll be a great idea to protect *you* from the nasty internet by implementing filtering on your feed.

Remember the word "aardvarkrox" when you go to sign up for the new forums (yeah, I know I haven't customised it yet but bear with me ;-)

Please visit the sponsor!

Have your say on this...

PERMALINK to this column

Oh, and don't forget today's sci/tech news headlines

Rank This Aardvark Page

Change Font