Hi all,
This is about the much discussed (and often fiery) topic of how to make sure the users don’t associate the network mainly with objectionable content. My suggestion is to look at how Reddit Masstagger manages to deal with a lot of content flagging while keeping the user in control, but with a few additional features.
URI hash lists
A collection of hashes of URIs for use in filters.
URI hash list subscription
A process that allows users to subscribe or unsubscribe from automatically checking a public hash list for updates. The URI hash lists from these subscriptions would then be copied to the user’s computer and assigned an action based on the user’s preferences for that subscription.
What would happen
When the browser views a site, it would hash any URIs present and check them against the user’s list of hashes. If any matches are found, the browser then looks up the hash’s associated rule and takes action. This rule could be anything from displaying a green tick (to indicate trustworthiness) to completely disabling and blacking out the link.
Snuff example
Say the UK government wants to stop its citizens from viewing snuff. They accept that technology has advanced to the point where it’s impossible to enforce a law against it, but they still have an obligation to try.
They store as much snuff as they can on a URI hash list, then make this list publicly available. As they are storing hashed links rather than direct links, it can’t be said that they are promoting snuff.
Every computer sold with Safe preinstalled in the UK must now by law be subscribed to this hash list. The subscription must be configured such that every link produces an error message, and every embedded video is censored.
This provides the government with a satisfactory level of parental control, while still letting the user alter the subscription if they wish. Users from other countries could also opt in to this list to protect themselves from viewing snuff. Everyone wins.
:)
Thoughts? I could write more hypothetical use cases? I haven’t thought this out in detail, but since Masstagger is so good, I felt it worth posting.