Tuesday, January 27, 2004

Censorship at AOL

WSJ Best of the Web | The Politics of Dancing
If you're an America Online user and didn't get our Friday column, here's why: AOL blocks e-mails containing a link to the Dancing Hillary Web page, which we cited in an item on Howard Dean scream remixes. Try sending the Dancing Hillay URL to an AOL account, and your e-mail will bounce with the following message: "The URL contained in your email to AOL members has generated a high volume of complaints."

But never fear, there is a way around this. We've set up a shortcut URL that AOL's filters shouldn't recognize: http://tinyurl.com/252rk.
Considering all the junk AOL put in my mailbox, I find it astounding that this should be the thing they choose to ban. (AOL scans e-mail for content when it crosses its servers?)

The same site hosts Dancing Bush, which apparently satisfies AOL's sensibilities. I sent two separate e-mails to myself, to my AOL address, one containing Dancing Bush, one containing Dancing Hilary. The Bush e-mail got through: The Hilary message bounced.

So it's not the Miniclip domain itself, it's Dancing Hilary specifically that's being targeted.

In fact, Dancing Hilary is just Cheri 'Disco' Blair (wife of Tony Blair) with a different head on the same body. Of all things to be offended by...? Why not this dancing Hilary, which offends me?

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