The Dink Network

All Aussies, (and anyone else who cares) lets have a discussion on the upcoming internet filter.

I don't think it's a good idea, it won't stop online crime, or prottect children from anything. It will only slow the internet down and cause more hassle.

Everybody knows this. Real crime rates will rise. I think i'll emigrate if it happens. I would probably rather live in Eastern Europe.
I'm voting Greens next election. You should too.

I'm not at the voting age yet, but if I was I wouldn't vote for this!

The Greens?

Heh, I honestly don't care. My old man has the best filter you've ever seen in place already, so it won't change anything for me.

The idea of internet control to increase bias-I mean "fairness" is gonna be a big problem if it gets into place. The U.S. idea probably is gonna crash and burn like Health Care and Cap-and-Trade if it's tried as Obama has alienated himself from everyone and the Massechusettes election is a big blow to the momentum of any bill he tries to pass now.

And let's not forget that the documentary, "Live Free . . . or Die", which shows the real truth behind the ever-so-popular Mao, Stalin and Che is gonna really be a buzzkill for political power of radicals.

DD95, I'm converned that here in Tassie we don't exactly have the fastest internet down here, and I wouldn't really like it getting any slower. Sure, the filter would probably be an efficient proxy, but how long will it take for them to fine tune it? If they are doing it now, they couldn't have tested it fully yet, so don't say they already have fine-tuned it.

Also, the Clean Feed isn't a good filter, average sites will be blocked for no reason with no way of anyone requesting it to be removed from the blacklist.

DD95, if they blocked a website that wasn't already blocked by your filter, and you thought it souldn't be blocked... too bad. Learn to use a proxy, if they arn't already blocked.

Which raises another issue. Pedophiles and pirates will still find ways of communicating, sharing, and gathering content. There will always be a way for them to get it, most school kids already know how to use proxies.

Wow, you guys are getting a national filter? Like China? Wow, that's... terrible. The free flow of information we're getting with Internet is one of the most beneficial things we have going on right now.

I think it will probably end up being worse than China. Seeing as Oz is basically run by a bunch of idiot conservatives (and racists like Wilson Tuckey), who think they know best for everyone. Soon more and more content will be added to the filter by whichever group of soccer moms sees fit to bìtch about, and then it will slowly become the new pay tv service. It'll be people who know nothing about the internet trying to impose their narrow-mindedness on people they have nothing to do with.

A sample of the blocklist is available online (Search for ACMA blocklist, it's a txt doc).
Considering the absolute garbage that appears on our television already that gets through unhindered. This makes me sick.

We already can't play video games deemed too "extreme". And regularly it seems, television shows are being made to apologize for their actions by people who don't even watch them. Most people who complained about "The Chaser" didn't even watch it. Then the Prime Minister made them apologise.

Then, it will be a case of, "if it's filtered on the internet, it's filtered in the press". Then journalists who speak out about the restrictions of freedom will be silenced.

Oz doesn't have a Bill of Rights like you Americans do (no free speech etc). Count yourselves lucky. Of course if this does become the norm, I believe the UK will follow suit using Australia as a prime example.

We'll see.

I believe the UK will follow suit using Australia as a prime example

Not only the UK. I believe Sweden will take Australia as a prime example and establish a similar law... Our government has already established a few new dumb laws the past two years that are really threatening the democracy.

Ever heard about IPRED (Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive)?

Sweden is generally viewed as quite a liberal and unrestricted country. I have read about the whole piratebay lawsuits and their distaste for IPRED. This comes as a surprise for me.

I think the only reason several countries aren't doing this already is because it may be seen as a form of "communism spreading from the east".

You should vote for The Pirate Party next election.

One of the best laughs I ever had was reading the Pirate Bay's legal section... My favourite quote goes something like "Our lawer is passed out in an alleyway..." and I forget the rest.

Their legal notices section was pretty good. They were the only pirate site with enough balls to tell the "copyright owners" to shut up. Unlike Torrentspy, Mininova etc. which have since all folded.

You should vote for The Pirate Party next election

I did. The Pirate Party got an amazing support by the Swedish youth. I don't stand for everything The Pirate Party says; I picked it as a mere demonstration. I'm sure I wasn't the only one.

For some reason I can't access the legal threats anymore... I can get on the main site but whenever I click on an email it comes back with an error. Might have something to do with the subdomain it takes me to.

Hopefully more will vote for alternate political parties if injustices like this become prevalent. The closest thing we have in Oz, is the Australian Sex Party, the Pirate Party over here is barely off the ground.

Fireball, it works fine for me, try clearing your DNS cache.

here in raro they make a mess, elect some random white guy to be pm to clean it up, boot him, and the cycle goes on.

It's amazing what propaganda and misinformation can do to people. Progressives in the U.S. love to make shaky claims.