At 9:58 PM 1/25/96, Bill Frantz wrote:

goal. The big problem is how are the labels attached to the programs. I agree with Tim that it is probably imposible for individual Usenet postings. However is should be possible for TV programs, and whole newsgroups.

Coincidentally, after writing my post this morning, I saw a report on CNN or CNBC about how broadcasters, networks, and producers are strongly opposed to the mandatory V-chip. Not news, but some of there reasons were: not enough time. The movie business produces about 600 hours of product per year, and the ~weeks it takes for the MPAA to view the final product and rate it (and then negotiate with the director about cutting out scenes to make an R-rated film into a PG, etc.) is marginally tolerable. Such is not the case with television, with many shows in a final version only hours before broadcast (and obviously some with even less or no advance time available). And remember that the MPAA rating is most definitely NOT a "self-rating." I see self-ratings of Usenet and mailing list posts as possible, just nearly worthless. And the reall contoversial stuff, this kind of goddamned fucking shit, will not get screened out. After all, I voluntarily rated this thread "G," and look what got through! (And it's only the tit of the iceberg, so to speak.) A meaningful "parental filter" cannot be done on-the-fly with self-ratings. Some minor steps can be taken, but not all worth the expense and hassle of a mandatory system. --Tim Boycott espionage-enabled software! We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^756839 - 1 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."