TFL banned at work, what to do?

B

Bam Bam

New member
The hospital where I work in Buffalo, NY. Has put up a filter that bans TFL. The computers are in the library of the hospital. No login is needed. This happened in the last week. As a test I tried Remington.com and it too was filtered out, and ka-bar.com. The sites are screened out as "weapons" category. I did not try any other manufacturers, but may tomorrow. The three Pro-RKBA sites that I tried did go through, NRA, SCOPENY, and NYFO.org.

What do you think? Write a letter to the hospital IT Dept? Make a list of the banned manufacturers of the LEGAL and lawful products being banned and write to them? Voices of wisdom, speak up.
 
The bottom line....

...probably is that their ownership of the computers gives them the right to limit access. If you could establish that they were discriminating against you because of gender, ethnicity, race, color, creed or national origin etc. you might have a chance.
 
Is there anyway you could get there through another site? Like, maybe put a link directly to the message boards on another site that you maintain through your ISP account and label the link something different?
 
Make a stink and be identified as a gun nut. Is that a good idea nowadays? Just being pragmatic here. You can fight it if you want but you will lose.
 
Amazing, internet filters were designed to stop children from accessing hard-core/illegal pornography. Of course the success rate of anti porn net filters is ridiculous, children can easily bypass the restrictions.

And of course if a law abiding citizen wants to express his right to all things RKBA then he's denied his right to do so.
As an Australian you'll have to help me here- TFL isn't illegal (yet) so would this situation fall into the freedom of speech category?
 
If you know someone with a frames based website who could make an internal frame link to TFL, you should be able to get around the filter. This way would only show the main URL and the subframes would be hidden. Make sure to get Rich's permission to do this first as it is legally a copywrite violation without prior consent.
 
The computers are owned by the Hospital, and there for controlled entirely by them. They have the right to decide how they are used, and who uses them. I don't agree with the course they chose to take with them, but in the end it is still there choice.
 
Enoch, that is one thing that bugs me about protesting the decision. Although I have not committed a crime worse than speeding, if I ask about this policy then the "gun NUT" label will automatically stick and horrified ninnies will be wetting their pants that I will "Rambo-ize" the hospital because I can't surf some sites to look at guns that I would like to own someday. Its so ridiculous that I could cry. Frankly, I am not inclined to draw unwelcome attention. But look, is REMINGTON selling anything illegal? What if Mossberg is blocked, or Marlin, or Ruger? Or Spyderco? Are these companies using the Net to sell guns to criminals? Are they running ads like this: "Attention criminals, using the new XXX-ster II with MORE bullets and less weight you can now rob 20% more people per day..." No. That's what gets me. There is nothing wrong, illegal, harmful, detrimental, or whatever being contemplated or plotted by me or by Remington, or Pietro Beretta, etc, etc. Society is becoming sissified to the max and its depressing.

Well, if SCOPE, GOA, JPFO, NRA, NYFO, etc get blocked then I will write to them as an FYI and let them handle it. This is just too stupid. I am also grinding my teeth because I highly suspect there is some MMM in the administration or IT Dept. behind this. Maybe if Kaleida is publicly traded I can buy some stock and protest as an aggrieved shareholder. This is just too stupid.
 
Dennis Olson is right - thats the only thing to do.
Dont make a stink of it - take the high road on the issue and let others see you in a good light on this... then once you have some local support on your side - then you can talk to the hospital's network admin and make a case for these to be allowed as you feel you are being classified with pornographers and child molesters and you find that is a personal insult and would like this to be reversed.
 
Try to access Abortion Rights web sites . If you can get on them you can simply ask what the diff is . If they have a problem with things that kill why don't they take a stand on people that kill ? I don't want to turn this into an abortion issue . I just use since many people will consider it just as objectionable . You need not say that you "yearn" to visit those web sites where weapons are the main focal point . You can say you were just surfing and got locked out . Gee , I wonder why . Then see what they say . Push gently and it's an equality thing . Push hard and it's a gun thing . They may try to answer your question with another question " What's so important about gun sites for you ?" You simply thank them for their time and excuse yourself . At the slightest attempt on their part to elicit an answer you reply " You are answering a question with a question . This is rude and I have no idea why I should be insulted ." Make them answer your question or end it right there . If they give you a hem and haw answer give them one in return .
 
I work in information technology. Filtering policy is part of my job. A company can allow or block anything it pleases because they pay for the hardware, software and connection. It's a business asset intended for business use. Nobody has any right to protest the filtering decisions. It's a matter of executive policy. The stock answer is if you want to access those sites, get your own computer and do it at home.

Some companies (including mine) are pretty open about it. We set CyberPatrol to block sexually oriented sites (to avoid "hostile environment" Title VII lawsuits), gambling sites and sites known to promote illegal activities like growing marijuana, hacking or blowing up government buildings. Other companies are extremely tight, some to the extent that if you want to access ANY site you must request in advance that it be allowed. Internet access at work is not a "right".

IMHO, Bam Bam, raising this issue with management will get you nowhere, and could draw unwanted attention.
 
As a suggestion you should politely ask if the owners of the equipment have a written policy on internet access using their equipment.
If questioned you can say that you appreciate their allowing you to use their equipment to improve your mind but you would like to see what their guidelines are so that you can browse the web responsibly.
Sounds like nonsense but it commits them in writing and then you can make informed decisions on what your actions should be.
Worked for company that has vast internal web site and all outside web cruises were monitored by dedicated computer. Makes for paranoia when you do a search for outside info and you get tied to various porn sites by search engine.
 
Since you are an employee at the hospital and they own the computers, they had total control over what is done with them and they have say-so over what you are doing. I know that a lot of people don't like the last statement, but that comes with being an employee. Employees agree to prostitute their time and talents for financial considerations. During that time, you are under their thumb.
 
Its real simple. Their equipment; their rules. Doesnt mean you cant circumvent them, but they have the right to do as they whish. Try anonymizer.com or the safe web place. These may be blocked as they are pretty commom ways of circumventing firewalls. They are blocked here at work. You can also look to see where the firewall is installed. If its local see if you can disable it while youre surfing and then turn it back on when youre done. If you are on a network and using some sort of proxy see if you can still get out without using the proxy server. Here at work for a while after they installed the proxy we could still get out without it. Aside from that, bring in a laptop and dial out using their phones, unless they are ISDN phones. NetZero and Juno offer free service that is not bad in a pinch. Don know what to do if they have ISDN phones set up. I guess just wait till you get home to do your surfing.
 
Find out what other "less noxious" sites it blocks. If it blocks Bill or Rights sites, or even Handgun Control Inc (hee hee), then tell them this is unacceptable and that all such sites should be allowed in since you are an adult.

You are an employee. You have a right to advise them. If you hide, you are doing exactly what they want you to do: fear them.

It could be that they are unaware that a counter view is held be a respected employee such as yourself ;)

When I began pushing a freedom essay contest at local schools ( see http://www.freedomessay.com ) which essentially bribes school kid with money to research the concept and threats to American freedom, I was very aware that these filters would be a problem. Ya kinda think they were designed for that purpose?

Rick
 
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