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Oversensitive Censorware Strikes Again

Sherril Babcock recently tried to register for free membership with BlackPlanet.com, a Web site that deals with African-American topics. When the application did not go through, Babcock thought she was doing something wrong.

"After the third attempt, I finally realized that it was saying that my name was 'inappropriate,'" said Babcock. "I wondered if they were referring to the last four letters of my last name."

Indeed they were.

Babcock sent what she felt was a humorous e-mail to BlackPlanet.com, explaining that, "Babcock is my father's name as well, and I am very fond of him."

To her surprise, she was told politely, but firmly, she says, by Crystal Martin, moderator of member services for the site, that her name was not allowed because it contains the letters that spell "cock," and was therefore "unacceptable."

"It reminded me of the time America Online banned the word 'breast,' but had to change the policy because breast cancer survivor groups complained," said Babcock. "I forwarded the e-mail to Feminists Against Censorship, and they told me to ask if I could use the word 'period.' "

Told the only way to register for membership was to change her name, Babcock flashed resourcefulness and wit. "I tried the name 'Babpenis' and it worked. I wondered if other variations would work, so I tried 'Babdildo,' and that went through as well," she said, laughing.

"I find it very funny that I am registered as 'Babpenis' and 'Babdildo,' but my real name was rejected."

Others are not as amused. The Digital Freedom Network (DFN), a New Jersey-based organization that fights censorship on the Internet and human rights violations around the world, made Babcock's experience the top news item on its Web site Friday.

Alan Brown, the Internet development director for DFN, writes that he contacted BlackPlanet.com to ask if people whose names were rejected for similar reasons could be manually entered, but was told that BlackPlanet.com felt such action was not possible.

Brown says that Omar Wasow, executive director of BlackPlanet.com, told him that if the censorware made bad decisions even only one percent of the time, it would have meant over 8,000 manual entries given the current population of the online community. The only way for people to get around the censorware is to change their names as Babcock did.

Brown takes issue with the use of such programs by any site. "Censorware is a non-solution for a non-problem. It does not block what it intends to, most of which doesn't hurt anyone, and it blocks far too much of what it shouldn't," he writes. "It's a failure and it's scary that some want public libraries to adopt this junk."

DFN's Web site noted that Peacefire, another cyber-rights organization, has recorded instances where censorware has blocked access to such sights as the Vatican, the National Organization for Women, Time Magazine, the Heritage Foundation and even sites about dogs.

Bobson Wong, executive director of DFN, wondered on DFN's Web site if St. Francis of Assisi or Emily Dickinson would be banned from registering with BlackPlanet.com because of certain letter combinations in their names.

BlackPlanet.com can be found on the Web, at www.blackplanet.com.

The Digital Freedom network is at www.dfn.org. Peacefire is at www.peacefire.org.

Reported by Newsbytes, www.newsbytes.com.

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