Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: On receipt of a not-so-nastygram

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  • Ben Austin,

    Actually at the local library I used while growing up there was a whole heap of erotic stuff right next to the young adult section, specifically the sci fi part.

    I'm not 100% sure the library knew the literature was in anyway erotic though. The erotic stuff was all of a specific genre - which I'll call sexy westerns, and it was all lumped in with normal westerns, the latter of which I used to read which is how I found the other stuff. There was a lot of it.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report Reply

  • James Green,

    Seriously I don't quite understand how Germany (90 mln people) manages with a single level .de but we need multi level domains for 4 million?

    Argh!!!! I think that's a horrible horrible idea. Oftentimes, being able to search second level domains is hugely helpful. I frequently do google searches with "site:.govt.nz" appended to them, rather than using the govt's own search engine. Simiarly with educational institutions. If you're hunting for something academic, or a person with a common name (like mine), and you can search only edu or ac, that's a really tidy way to narrow down your search.

    And as to aliasing, it still really pisses me off when places arbitrarily don't configure the non-WWW versions of their domain name. Would it really hurt to have otago.ac.nz point to a webpage?

    NEWS FLASH: Unfreakingbelievable. The University of Otago has finally configured otago.ac.nz to point somewhere. That's so good. I should really send a thankyou note. I'm pretty sure that this has only occurred in the last month.

    Limerick, Ireland • Since Nov 2006 • 703 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Andrew,

    I recall finding one or two distinctly R rated sci fi novels in my old school library. Or more specifically, some sci fi novels with some distinctly r-rated content that wasn't apparent to someone reading the dust jacket. As a parent I'm not sure what the appropriate age is for my kids to become aware of the uses of anal beads, but as a kid it was certainly educational.

    Hamiltron - City of the F… • Since Nov 2006 • 900 posts Report Reply

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    Seriously I don't quite understand how Germany (90 mln people) manages with a single level .de but we need multi level domains for 4 million?

    I really like the strictly allocated .au domains.

    For example, looks how neatly organised this local council web address is:

    www.richmondvalley.nsw.gov.au

    And not to mention that .com.au domains are only available to registered Australian companies.

    This order pleases me greatly, but I still like the free-for-allness of .coms and other TLDs.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    To use a phrase I've used a few times before here, cheers David. My children can walk right through the adults' library, browse it, and with parental permission, borrow books from it. Controlling my children's reading is MY responsibility. Same with controlling their internet access. I don't expect to control the net, I expect to control my child.

    And I dunno about your library, but mine doesn't HAVE an erotic lit section. There's erotic lit in all the sections. Not the children's library, no, but my kids are well past picture books. And I DO want them to be able to access art books, biology books, and at my son's age, novels with mild sexual content. What's suitable for him is MY decision.

    And yes. I'm not actually terribly horrified by my kids seeing a rude picture. My main concern is their exposure to bile-filled lie-stuffed bigotry. Perhaps we could come up with a special domain for that?

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    .x
    .xx
    .xxx
    .xxx_but_ugly_chicks
    .xxx_gay_blokes
    .xxx_but_arguably_arty
    .xxxx_frankly_puke_inducing

    That should drive up our mistaken Google search counts quite nicely.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • andrew llewellyn,

    .xxx_jason_gunn

    and that.... will have no effect whatsoever.

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    Well, except I threw up in my mouth just a little bit...

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    I really like the strictly allocated .au domains.

    For example, looks how neatly organised this local council web address is:

    www.richmondvalley.nsw.gov.au

    And not to mention that .com.au domains are only available to registered Australian companies.

    This order pleases me greatly, but I still like the free-for-allness of .coms and other TLDs.

    Aarrggh! No! Australia's domain name policy has been a study in pointless little-Hitlerism.

    Fortunately, in 2002 they relinquished some of the more absurd restrictions, like only allowing one domain name per entity per year, and ruling that a domain name had to contain exactly the same words (or letters in the case of an acronym) as the name of the legal entity registering it. So Australians can now do something as basic as registering domains for their individual brands.

    But you still have to be a legally registered entity to get a goddamn domain name, and there are various other restrictions - you can't register a name containing any place name that has a postcode, FFS.

    I much prefer the NZ approach of being agnostic about the major domains, and having individual moderators for the .govt, .mil, .cri and .iwi 2LDs.

    Maybe someone should start the .gen revival.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Deborah,

    I'm not sure what the appropriate age is for my kids to become aware of the uses of anal beads, but as a kid it was certainly educational.

    Riiiiight.......

    You know what, I really don't want my 8-years-old-but-reading-age-around-12plus-years daughter happening upon those books.

    But I'm with Emma on this one. It's up to me to be aware of what she's reading, censor it as needed (for her emotional age), and be ready to talk about anything that she gets to before I veto it.

    New Lynn • Since Nov 2006 • 1447 posts Report Reply

  • Che Tibby,

    well... you know... i'm not going to search it, but i am going to ask.

    what in the hell is an anal bead?

    is it like being fixated on someone's buttocks, or more serious?

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Deborah,

    That's so sweet of you, Che. Clearly there are still some innocents left.

    New Lynn • Since Nov 2006 • 1447 posts Report Reply

  • Hamish,

    To jump back to the whole, 'are you liable for an embedded clip containing infringing material':

    I'm not a lawyer but the practical difference over whether you host the actual clip, or YouTube does, is none-at-all to the user. If you were paying YouTube to host the clip, surely you become liable? So what why does that change if you embed the content?

    The A.K. • Since Nov 2006 • 155 posts Report Reply

  • Riddley Walker,

    what in the hell is an anal bead

    a very special kind of YouTube embedded content

    AKL • Since Feb 2007 • 890 posts Report Reply

  • rodgerd,

    I think the line is easily drawn: would you want a 10 year old child to access this site?

    Well, apparently a fair few people think Mel Gibson's gorefest Passion of the Christ was suitable for 13 year olds, but a porn flick of guys sucking each other's dicks shouldn't be available to adults. Personally, I'm inclined to think the other way around is healther.

    So no, it isn't "so clear cut."

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 512 posts Report Reply

  • rodgerd,

    I recall finding one or two distinctly R rated sci fi novels in my old school library.

    And who can forget the rush to get copies of the Clan of the Cave Bear series as they were plonked into the school library for the delectation of 13 year old boys and girls?

    Ahh, nostalgia.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 512 posts Report Reply

  • Zippy Gonzales,

    The link is on the blink. "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Air New Zealand Limited." You gotta love Air NZ's Teutonic sense of humour.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 186 posts Report Reply

  • Ben Austin,

    I suspect youtube has a policy of removing anything that anyone complains about automatically, so long as it looks like it's official.

    Pretty reasonable given their huge size and global reach, there is no way they could take the necessary time to research this properly.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report Reply

  • DPF,

    .nz was delegated in January 1987 to John Houlker who was then at Waikato University.

    .uk had started up two years earlier in July 1985. .com a bit before that in Jan 1985. Incidentally .uk should be .gb

    As I understand it John, probably consulting with some colleagues, chose to use the .uk second level domains such as co.uk and ac.uk as the basis for our 2lds rather than what .au did which is follow the gTLDs and have com.au and edu.au. The unique iwi.nz 2ld was also set up in the early days. I don't know why UK was chosen as the model but guess it was because most of our systems come from the UK over the US.

    ISOCNZ (now InternetNZ) took over management of .nz in 1996 and started the process of formalising policies. The pre-existing 2LDs were co.nz, net.nz, org.nz, school,nz, ge,.nz, govt.nz, ac.nz, iwi.nz, cri.nz and mil.nz

    Since then maori.nz, geek.nz and parliament.nz have also been created. Plus bank.nz has been applied for.

    A couple of years ago the concept of allowing direct registrations at the second level (ie farrar.nz) was investigated but not seen as desirable (mainly due to transition issues).

    As more and more gTLDs are added, similiarities between TLDs and 2LDS will become less and less. That is unless someone really thinks we need an aero.nz, pro.nz, tel.nz etc.

    Wellington, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 78 posts Report Reply

  • slarty,

    I deal with lots of lawyers - my own firm has several... and AirNZ's are pretty typical. The best lawyers keep ther clients out of court... but not the richest ones. You should read Justice John Hansen in The Otago Law Review last month. Sounds like he's as sick of his profession as I am. We simply train too many lawyers in this country, and because we don't allow personal injury claims they have to make work some other way.

    Unfortunately none too bright most of them. It's the same with accountants; they expand to fill the available space. Now that the airline (btw if you ever work there you just call it "the airline") has drawn my attention to it, I shall ensure it spreads amongst as many people as I can get it to. I would imagine their 9000 (?) staff would be a good start. Can anyone spell Torrent?

    When will they learn...

    Since Nov 2006 • 290 posts Report Reply

  • slarty,

    BTW, any idea why they aren't wanting the unedited ones pulled? Surely that's a greater infringement...?

    Since Nov 2006 • 290 posts Report Reply

  • slarty,

    Let's see if it has the same effect as this did to the MoD's servers in the UK.. :)

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4554083.stm

    Since Nov 2006 • 290 posts Report Reply

  • Nobody Important,

    ME: I think the line is easily drawn: would you want a 10 year old child to access this site?
    ROGERD: Well, apparently a fair few people think Mel Gibson's gorefest Passion of the Christ was suitable for 13 year olds, but a porn flick of guys sucking each other's dicks shouldn't be available to adults. Personally, I'm inclined to think the other way around is healther.
    So no, it isn't "so clear cut."

    Your answer isn't so clear cut either. Are you suggesting it would be healthier for 13 year olds to watch a porn flick of guys sucking each other's dicks than Passion of the Christ?

    Whilst "a fair few people [may have thought] Mel Gibson's gorefest Passion of the Christ was suitable for 13 year olds" but the Film Censor didn't agree. They gave it an R16 (reduced on appeal to R15, I believe) rating. To my knowledge the Film Censor doesn't think porn flicks of guys sucking each other's dicks shouldn't be available to adults - they regularly recieve an R18 rating and are widely available in NZ.

    If you want them available to 13 year olds then maybe you could try this

    expat • Since Mar 2007 • 319 posts Report Reply

  • Ben Austin,

    hmm, i wonder if spreading this video could fit s307A of the Crimes Act - Threats of harm to people or property!

    Oh noes!

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Reeves,

    Incidentally .uk should be .gb

    Why is that?

    For example, Queens' Uni, Belfast is in .uk, as it should be since the UK is "the United Kindom of Great Britian and Northern Ireland", so if .uk should be .gb and ireland is .ie then Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, would have to have its own designation, but it isn't a different country (well, no more than England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man.... are).

    Near Donny Park, Hamilton… • Since Apr 2007 • 94 posts Report Reply

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