Proposal for A Safe, Clean Internet
Before I disclose the concept proposed I will preclude a Big Brother Internet
Censorship that prevents people from exercising free choice. That is, the
concept does not intend to prohibit content in the public domain which is
controversial and or considered in poor taste by some. No censorship
enforcement is proposed- that is, no restriction on what people display on
their websites is discussed. What is proposed is a world standard recognising
the right to choose a clean Internet experience- ie, what is displayed (by
choice) in a web browser. At the moment, this is left to the computer owner to
determine, by means, if so desired, of Net Nanny software or similar. This
works, but it is not as responsible as it could be.
The Concept
An internet site registrar is declared, where owners of existing web sites or
new web sites can apply to have their web site registered : the owner submits
their site's URL, and the registrar reviews the site and it is admitted to the
registrar if it contains anything but any of the following:
Pornography of any form
Gambling
Sex-driven sites (excluding dating sites which require reasonable decorum)
Racist sites
Inflammatory sites
Sites promoting or discussing illegal activity (as a general theme- the intent
is never to prohibit open discussion: free speech is what makes laws so strong-
they can stand examination)
Sites which promote consumption of conciousness-altering substances, including
caffeine, nicotine and ethanol
{please add to list}
....
Sites which are permitted:
Personal Home pages, provided the content is not offensive, or derisive
News sites
Internet Search engines
Wikipedia
Selected YouTube content
{please add to list}
....
Anything you would not be alarmed by if your children were reading, for example.
The concept is like Net Nanny, but the onus, motivation, and benefit is with
(1) the content owners/authors and providers, (2) governments, to embrace that
the Internet is an international forum which deserves sensitive attention so as
to cultivate sound content to make a sound web experience, for (3) the people
who live in the world.
How does it Work?
The segregation is implemented at the Domain Name System (DNS) level (the level
where the protocol and technology which converts a Uniform Resource Locator
such as www.entyzero.net to it's Internet Protocol (IP) address is). The IP
address is what is used to locate the computer hosting the content one wishes
to browse.
There are two steps:
[1] DNS is revised to support acknowlegment of web sites that are registered. A
new entry in a DNS lookup response which flags for those entries that are for
registered sites is implemented.
[2] Web browsers are revised to support a feature which selects whether to
access only registered content. This feature incorporates sending web servers
such as those hosting search engines a message which indicates only registered
content should be displayed in search results if the browser feature is
accordingly configured.
When a web browser requests a name resolution for a web site, and the web
browser is configured to only display registered content, the return from the
DNS server includes a indicator which informs the web browser whether the
requested address is registered or not registered. If the browser is configured
to show registered content and the DNS server response indicates non-registered
content, the browser displays an appropriate informational message along the
lines of "Content is not registered." Also suggested is a prompt by the web
browser asking whether to display the content anyway. In this case, should the
operator of the computer elect to display the content anyway, NetNanny or
equivalent softwares can still determine whether content is ultimately
displayed.
It is great that Net Nanny exists, and there is likely to be a difference of
opinions about what is acceptable so to fine tune selection to cater for this
Net Nanny and other content restriction software continue to serve an essential
purpose. There can even be web sites which are registered but at the computer
owner's or operator's discretion should still be restricted by Net Nanny or
equivalent software.
WHY?
The point is more to draw attention of the world to actively participate in
creating a by-choice clean Internet. The world should be ready to accept
responsibility and enjoy the benefit of actively promoting the freedom to
choose a clean Internet experience. Net Nanny and equivalent softwares are
still essential where a computer owner's discretion deems (some) site(s) that
are not registered be nonetheless permitted. Further reason why Net Nanny and
equivalent softwares are valuable is apparent if you look further down the
horizon of this proposal, where Internet Ratings are implemented, similar to
the Film Industry's Rating System: there can be difference of opinion about
what is PG and what is M and what M rated content should be permitted.
The technology which houses and provides the Internet is mature. The
organisations which accept standards of that technology are well established
and also mature. Mature enough, I think, to implement provisions to support
higher quality choice. I invite governments of the world to discuss this and
collaberate their interests, so that we live in a world where we don't just
leave it to someone else, but instead actively promote a clean Internet
experience implemented at a technology level- at a protocol level. In other
words, a safer Internet by design.
Giridhri