Thursday 09 Nov
(14:24:44) : The topic for #egs is:
http://www.egscomics.com/ ||
http://forums.keenspot.com/viewtopic.php?t=87071
(14:24:47) ErikMesoy: I'm ho-ome!
(14:25:00) ErikMesoy: And I am officially at Sniggle War with the school sysops.
(14:25:06) Tricia[t-2] is now known as Tricia[snoozybunny]
(14:28:05) kitsuneofdoom: sniggle?
(14:28:16) ErikMesoy:
www.sniggle.net
(14:30:27) ***EvilSchemingLord tackles Erik.
(14:30:35) ***ErikMesoy falls over.
(14:31:12) ErikMesoy: First year, I signed a "contract" allowing me to use the school's computers and internet access. Second year, I get wireless access from my wireless. Third year, the sysops violate the contract, local law, and UN Human Rights Article 12 by instituting WebSense as a filter on the internet at school, without warning, without change to the contract, without negotiation, and without even telling the other teachers.
(14:31:44) kitsuneofdoom: eep
(14:31:48) ErikMesoy: I submit a one-page complaint to my contact teacher, maybe it reaches the sysops, no clue, the censorship filter disappears. Everybody happy. One week later, it's back up again.
(14:31:58) kitsuneofdoom: gaaaaah
(14:32:16) EvilSchemingLord: What the heck? That's just asking for trouble by the sysops.
(14:32:25) ErikMesoy: Exactly. That was when the sniggling began.
(14:32:45) EvilSchemingLord: What does sniggling entail actually? Going to sniggle.net?
(14:33:08) Agape`: barney, three scenes in this one robot chicken I'm rewatching ;p "I love you, you love me!" his gf turns to him and says, "I love you, but I'm not in love with you." later, "I love you, you love me!" the hooker says, "Either way, it'll be fifty bucks." then finally, done up in makeup and in a prison, shaking, "I love you, *whimper* you love me..." a guy from the top bunk hops down, "Damn straight!"
(14:33:24) ErikMesoy: My friends started boasting "They put up a filter today and it only took me one minute to get around it". I put up a sarcastic notice in the computer room saying "If your site is blocked, use
www.stupidcensorship.com. It is unfortunate that this has hindered legitimate school activities".
(14:33:52) Joan: Erik, sue the sysops
(14:33:57) ErikMesoy: @E(D/S)L: Sniggling means, sort of: Culture jamming, activism, constructive anarchism, teenage rebellion, general disagreement, sticking it to The Man.
(14:34:06) ErikMesoy: Joan, this isn't America.
(14:34:11) ErikMesoy: afk
(14:34:23) kitsuneofdoom: oh, wait, what is it, Erik?
(14:34:34) Joan: But they did violate something big
(14:34:34) Joan: Third year, the sysops violate the contract, local law, and UN Human Rights Article 12
(14:34:42) kitsuneofdoom: where do you live again, I forget, I knew it wasn't America
(14:34:59) kitsuneofdoom: but I forget exactly where...somewhere in Europe I thought...perhaps Scandinavia?
(14:35:10) Joan: norway
(14:35:16) ErikMesoy: Back. Norway. Anyway, a freaking *month* later, the sysops wise up to my note and the fact that everybody is using the address.
(14:35:33) ErikMesoy: They remove it and replace it with an angry note.
(14:35:44) EvilSchemingLord: So why haven't the sysops been fired?
(14:35:54) kitsuneofdoom: oh Norway. Yeah, that's probably a constitutional violation knowing Scandinavians and their internet
(14:36:05) ErikMesoy: Because they're independent, the headmaster hasn't got a clue about this, and my teacher doesn't want to talk to the sysops.
(14:36:22) ErikMesoy: There are still funny bits to come.
(14:36:27) EvilSchemingLord: Oh good.
(14:37:43) ErikMesoy: The angry note says, among other things: "In an ideal world, such a filter would not be necessary." and "must prevent intellectual property violations". It also says that they will refuse requests by the students to unban sites because they don't want to listen to 900 students. (Not like more than twenty would bother to complain, but...)
(14:38:33) ErikMesoy: Students must go by way of the teacher, and like I said above, my teacher doesn't know much about IT, thinks it's regrettable that the Social Contract I tried to call up during Social Studies was censored, but doesn't want to talk to the sysops because he's sure they know lots and he's ignorant.
(14:39:36) ErikMesoy: The angry note from the sysadmins, which has four copies in a single room, also says "We are required by law to log activity" while at the same time stating that they are forbidden from monitoring your activity.
(14:40:01) EvilSchemingLord: Oh yes, I've seen this where I work actually.
(14:40:07) kitsuneofdoom: wow
(14:40:12) EvilSchemingLord: Keeping logs for two years but never touching them.
(14:40:19) ErikMesoy: Indeed. Logs for police.
(14:40:49) ErikMesoy: I point it out to my friends, they laugh, I point-wink-nudge, and later on the same day as it comes up, one of my friends has listed not one, but FIVE circumvention sites on a piece of paper and pinned it onto the angry note.
(14:41:42) kitsuneofdoom: and they're all blocked the next day?
(14:41:51) ErikMesoy: This was today, so no idea.
(14:42:01) kitsuneofdoom: ah
(14:42:07) kitsuneofdoom: tell me tomorrow
(14:42:08) ErikMesoy: The librarian removed it later stating that the angry note was official and the additional note was illegal. I tell her in detail why this is incorrect, and she ignores me because I'm a student and the sysops are, well, the staff.
(14:42:15) kitsuneofdoom: oh wait, you're hom
(14:42:19) ErikMesoy: Indeed
(14:43:41) ErikMesoy: So, being now royally annoyed at the librarian who conforms mindlessly to authority, the sysops who are in an ivory tower and don't take complaints, the teacher who doesn't want to confront the sysops, and the headmaster who hasn't got a clue, I spend the rest of the breaks that day telling a dozen people how to circumvent the filter, and how fun it would be to sniggle footnotes on the angry notes.
(14:44:03) kitsuneofdoom: heh
(14:44:24) ErikMesoy: Like EDL said: (14:32:16) EvilSchemingLord: What the heck? That's just asking for trouble by the sysops.
(14:44:44) ErikMesoy:
(14:45:47) Joan: Well Erik
(14:46:03) Joan: I think you have a good case int he court
(14:46:29) Joan: You had a contract with them and not only did they violate it, which is a violation of law in itself, it also broke a couple of laws in the censorship
(14:46:50) ErikMesoy: Ahem. Norway. In America, you sue. In Norway, you let the other side start the lawsuit so that they have the burden of proof and they look tyrannical in the media.
(14:47:18) Joan: Ahh
(14:47:26) ErikMesoy: Meanwhile, I'm going to continue circumventing the filter, since I'm subscribed to Peacefire's newsletter which puts out a new circumventor every week.
(14:47:39) EvilSchemingLord: ...snrrrk.
(14:47:59) Joan: I'm trying to say that there's a difference between being a litigous *******, and taking *******s to the court in oder to drive home the meaniong of "Don't **** with me!"
(14:48:37) Joan: well bbl
(14:48:59) Joan left the room (quit: Connection reset by peer).
(14:49:25) ErikMesoy: By Norwegian standards, a student would probably be a "litigous *******" if he sues his school for internet access...
(14:49:32) ErikMesoy: and yes, snrrrk.
(14:50:01) Darryl[halfawake]: Have you tried talking to the school board, Erik?
(14:50:21) ErikMesoy: Not extant.
Mon Nov 20 (today)
(18:02:34) The topic for #egs is:
http://www.egscomics.com/ ||
http://forums.keenspot.com/viewtopic.php?t=87071
(18:02:43) ErikMesoy: Sweet, uncensored internet access.
(18:03:56) BtEtta: I'm going to wonder what you needed uncensored, and assume the worst.
(18:04:03) BtEtta: You sicken me.
(18:04:13) ErikMesoy: Well, #egs, for example.
(18:04:15) ErikMesoy:
(18:04:25) BtEtta: Exactly!
(18:04:30) ErikMesoy: And every type of IM.
(18:04:35) ErikMesoy: Not to mention just about every forum.
(18:04:57) BtEtta: The censored internet would be at work no doubt?
(18:05:20) ErikMesoy: School.
(18:05:23) ErikMesoy: Illegally.
(18:05:27) ErikMesoy: I ranted about it a week or two ago.
(18:05:45) BtEtta: Ahh, see work I'd have no problem.
(18:06:01) BtEtta: I've never understood the I can't visit forums at work type complaints.
(18:06:01) ErikMesoy: I wouldn't have a problem either, if only they had had a policy on it.
(18:06:38) ErikMesoy: What they have is "oh noes, bad stuff on teh intarwebs" and a sudden ban, no warning, no notification, no policy change, no option to complain, teachers not notified by sysops.
(18:07:16) ErikMesoy: Also, the filter sucks like something very sucky which I can't be creative enough to think of.
(18:07:42) ErikMesoy: Plenty of Nazi orgs such as Vigrid are uncensored; the Social Contract I wanted to pull up for my Social Studies teacher was blocked under "Games".
(18:08:04) EternalTwilight: I remember when my high school blocked altavista for a week because the admin was a moron.
(18:08:23) ErikMesoy: So, I picked up a bunch of proxies and started an underground movement at the school.
(18:08:42) BtEtta: I remember my school blocked Yahoo! mail, but not Hotmail.
(18:08:45) ErikMesoy: Putting up a notice saying "It is regrettable that the filter has hindered legitimate scholastic activity" and so on.
