You know, as I read the title of your article, the words 'don't let them have access to the 'net' popped up in my head. 

It's really that simple. 

Very True Dharma.  Having dealt with these filters, I can tell you they are not 100%.  And block some valid sites that should not be (looking for medical information on breast Cancer?  Oops!  Bad word - site blocked!)

We set one up for a local school division, and it blocked access to another school division in the state!  The other school division?  Middlesex (that is below Essex, and north of Sussex).

It's really that simple.

The person in the forums couldn't seem to figure it out though.

Its not THAT simple. I mean, after all I want my kids to be well versed on using the internet. I mean, how many decent jobs are there where they WON'T be using computers. I don't mean like young kids, but teens ARE gonna use computers! Take my youngest brother Travis (13) for example... A few days ago my parents get a call from school. The subject of this call was about computer lab. Guess what he was lookin up on Google? The reality is, if kids are gonna be prepared for the real world, keeping them from using computers is not the answer. Talking to them, doing what you can to prevent it, and being there to answer their questions about sexuality is the answer. Not tyranically following them around the internet with the proverbial "hammer".

You could always blind them. That might help.

Poor K. Guess I'll tell her I won't set her up like I've been promising...I agree with some of what Hazylunarrain said. I had been considering NetNanny and other such programs, but I guess according to you they're bullshit. Hmmm. I did tell her the other day that she needed to go to her library in school rather than try to find a poem to memorize on the internet. I had helped her surf a little bit for poetry but there's just too much crap. Anyway. No net, no email, no nothing? Yeah, ok. That's what she's got now, and you think we should keep it that way? I'll tell her to take the issue up with you.

No net, no email, no nothing? Yeah, ok. That's what she's got now, and you think we should keep it that way? I'll tell her to take the issue up with you.

I think that what Greywar is trying to say is that no program can do the job of an attentive parent.

attentive parent.

Ok, I get what he's saying. I'm going to have to leave this one alone though, since we're in such a public forum. It is too bad though that this is the only forum we have.

(looking for medical information on breast Cancer? Oops! Bad word - site blocked!)

Or that essay I was writing titled "End Prohibition on Cannabis" in English. Damn crappy school computers and their damn crappy censorship and their...

I think filters are fine if your kid isn't actively searching the stuff out. Weblocker is a free one, and works well for us. Also if you want to go hardcore and not trust the brains behind the filters, you can make a white list of the sites that will be allowed through. Everything else gets blocked. ... until they ftp in a different browser. ... anyhow....
Our rule is that if the kid wants to be on the internet, it has to be in a "public" part of the house... living room, kitchen table, etc. We're trying to foster an atmosphere of openness with online activities.

You could always blind them

they'll be blind soon anyways, the hairy palmed bastards.................

Some people on the net may not appreciate your simple common sense. Something so simple, so easy to understand often confuses people.

I think filters are fine if your kid isn't actively searching the stuff out.

Thats exactly the point. If your kid doesn't want porn a filter is fine. Heck after they have used the net for a while and are proficient at it no filter is even necessary. I surf the Net here all the time and never come across accidental porn.

On the other hand if your kid is looking for porn they will have it. If you are concernced that they are looking at it on the Net the only way to stop them is to keep them off the net.

If your kid doesn't want porn a filter is fine. Heck after they have used the net for a while and are proficient at it no filter is even necessary.

I didn't want porn or anything and the school blocked me from researching a paper on the legalization of cannabis. Damn, that pissed me off.

It doesn't matter what software you use. It doesn't matter whether you sit at your kid's elbow every time they touch a keyboard. It doesn't matter if you throw out the TV, the DVD, the VCR. It wouldn't matter if you sewed their eyelids shut, burst their eardreams, and cut out their tongues.

They will still discover everything you don't want them to know, see everything you don't want them to see, learn everything you, in your infinite adult wisdom, deem unfit for them to encounter.

And in the process of trying to keep their virginal eyes and ears from being contaminated by the world, you'll make them hate you. Meanwhile, they'll be surfing the net at a friend's. Or watching the porn collection of some less conscientious adult who hasn't made the same effort to keep the kid's 'safe'. Or they'll be fucking in your basement.

I guarantee it - whatever you think they don't know they already know. Whatever you think they can't possibly do they're doing on a regular basis.

And there isn't a damn thing you can do to stop them.