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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 |