Comments on: A WP plugin to get around censorship http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/07/26/a-wp-plugin-to-get-around-censorship/ The no-nonsense China expat and traveller community. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:47:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Ryan http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/07/26/a-wp-plugin-to-get-around-censorship/#comment-6643 Ryan Tue, 07 Aug 2007 05:31:29 +0000 http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/07/26/a-wp-plugin-to-get-around-censorship/#comment-6643 Hey Forro, this plugin isn't meant to be a fail-safe solution (as the disclaimer on the plugin's site indicates). It is meant to stop mass blocking at the automated level. I've had my sites blocked a number of times due to use of keywords. Once the keywords were deleted, the site was unblocked. It is very unlikely that the site would be "cleaned up" by a human censor and permanently blocked at the IP level. Army or not, there are just too many sites to monitor and too little reason to block a site like this. ISP level censorship, whereby HTML is scanned for the keywords and bounced if it is shown to contain a high enough concentration (or right keyword combination) is what this plugin will help bloggers get around. Hey Forro, this plugin isn’t meant to be a fail-safe solution (as the disclaimer on the plugin’s site indicates). It is meant to stop mass blocking at the automated level.

I’ve had my sites blocked a number of times due to use of keywords. Once the keywords were deleted, the site was unblocked. It is very unlikely that the site would be “cleaned up” by a human censor and permanently blocked at the IP level. Army or not, there are just too many sites to monitor and too little reason to block a site like this.

ISP level censorship, whereby HTML is scanned for the keywords and bounced if it is shown to contain a high enough concentration (or right keyword combination) is what this plugin will help bloggers get around.

]]> By: Forro http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/07/26/a-wp-plugin-to-get-around-censorship/#comment-6640 Forro Tue, 07 Aug 2007 04:04:31 +0000 http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/07/26/a-wp-plugin-to-get-around-censorship/#comment-6640 I would like to send you a picture of this text, but here goes: Unfortunately there is in fact a whole army of GongAn manual web deleters who "clean up" the stuff which gets passed the machine filtering. The only 100% solution is client-side anonymizer software, such as tor, which gets around all blocking and filtering by removing http headers I would like to send you a picture of this text, but here goes: Unfortunately there is in fact a whole army of GongAn manual web deleters who “clean up” the stuff which gets passed the machine filtering.
The only 100% solution is client-side anonymizer software, such as tor, which gets around all blocking and filtering by removing http headers

]]> By: Global Voices Online » China: WordPress plugin subverts keyword filters http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/07/26/a-wp-plugin-to-get-around-censorship/#comment-6545 Global Voices Online » China: WordPress plugin subverts keyword filters Mon, 30 Jul 2007 04:36:19 +0000 http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/07/26/a-wp-plugin-to-get-around-censorship/#comment-6545 [...] blogger and long-term resident of China has just released Censortive, a WordPress plugin which converts words into images which fit seamlessly into your blog post, allowing it to subvert keyword filtering. Chinese [...] [...] blogger and long-term resident of China has just released Censortive, a WordPress plugin which converts words into images which fit seamlessly into your blog post, allowing it to subvert keyword filtering. Chinese [...]

]]> By: Lauren http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/07/26/a-wp-plugin-to-get-around-censorship/#comment-6541 Lauren Sun, 29 Jul 2007 03:31:24 +0000 http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/07/26/a-wp-plugin-to-get-around-censorship/#comment-6541 This is a amazing! In the way that BLDGBLOG fantasizes information to new proportions, I am just imagining the ramifications of this plugin on expression in China. I hope people make use of it. This is a amazing! In the way that BLDGBLOG fantasizes information to new proportions, I am just imagining the ramifications of this plugin on expression in China. I hope people make use of it.

]]> By: Ryan http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/07/26/a-wp-plugin-to-get-around-censorship/#comment-6532 Ryan Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:12:57 +0000 http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/07/26/a-wp-plugin-to-get-around-censorship/#comment-6532 I'm going to go on a limb and say that most countries whom block English language content do so with the use of automated filtering systems, mostly at the ISP or local level. This is certainly the case with most every time I've had a problem of being blocked. Delete the offensive word and no problem. I'm sure there's no guy sitting there hitting refresh on his browser waiting to see if I clean things up. Incidentally, Lonnie at OneManBandwidth found an added creative use for it - displaying his e-mail without fear that spambots will grab it. I’m going to go on a limb and say that most countries whom block English language content do so with the use of automated filtering systems, mostly at the ISP or local level.

This is certainly the case with most every time I’ve had a problem of being blocked. Delete the offensive word and no problem. I’m sure there’s no guy sitting there hitting refresh on his browser waiting to see if I clean things up.

Incidentally, Lonnie at OneManBandwidth found an added creative use for it - displaying his e-mail without fear that spambots will grab it.

]]> By: Jeremy http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/07/26/a-wp-plugin-to-get-around-censorship/#comment-6531 Jeremy Thu, 26 Jul 2007 14:42:43 +0000 http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/07/26/a-wp-plugin-to-get-around-censorship/#comment-6531 Ryan, Like the idea for the plugin - but you don't really think a country like China with such an abundance in 'natural' human resources would not be able to read pictures as well, do you? Months ago a disproportionate amount of traffic was coming from Beijing - and then it kind of died out... maybe they stopped carrying. Thanks for the hard work and useful plugin, it should keep most bad stuff away. Ryan,

Like the idea for the plugin - but you don’t really think a country like China with such an abundance in ‘natural’ human resources would not be able to read pictures as well, do you?

Months ago a disproportionate amount of traffic was coming from Beijing - and then it kind of died out… maybe they stopped carrying. Thanks for the hard work and useful plugin, it should keep most bad stuff away.

]]>