WEB SITES YOU DON'T LIKE

Topic area	Freedom of Speech/Censorship
Target audience	General
Activity type	Discussion, team decision making, writing
Time required	One class period
Attachments	Pre- and post-class surveys, in-class scenario and activity
Additional materials	None
Background needed to complete the assignment	Freedom of Speech Class Notes
References	Bibliography on Freedom of Speech
Last modified	99/04/01

Abstract:
A study of the possibility that some Web sites, while meeting legal guidelines, may be objectionable in the sight of some people. A discussion of this phenomenon, in the light of a university's obligations to be open to diverse viewpoints.

Goals for the activity:
To better understand and appreciate the rights of individuals to freely access information, and the need to protect those rights in the face of bureaucratic objections.

Knowledge / skills / attitudes to be developed (behavioral objectives):
To understand the freedom of speech rights as they apply to a particular situation and to be able to express those rights in a meanginful and appropriate manner.

Procedure:
Select four web sites that you would believe that students would have reservations about their suitability for viewing by (say) underage youths. It is suggested that these be selected from the following categories:

Pornography (for a "selection" see The Hun's Yellow Pages)
Cyberhate (see The Hate Directory)

NOTE: There is some question whether it is legal within the Commonwealth of Virginia for a state employee or anyone using state equipment to access the sites that are linked from the above sites. See the report from the ACLU. Thus it may be inappropriate for students and faculty at Virginia state institutions to follow these links.

Depending on your own institution's policies and interpretation of "appropriate use guidleines" either provide students with the URLs of the sites they should visit from their own personal machines, or create a web page for direct linkage.

This activity can be accomplished in three ways.

As a totally in-class activity where the materials are prepared on paper in advance,
As an in-class activity with the surveys being conducted as pre- and post-class activities (still under development), or
As a homework writing assignment.

For the totally in-class activity, copy the following three pages as hand-outs for the class activity. Fill in the "Codename" for each survey with some arbitrary (random) indentifier so that you can compare pre- and post-class responses, but without identifying the respondent.

The code name written here will be used to match the "before" survey you fill out with the "after" survey you fill out. We don't use your real name because we want to preserve confidentiality.

Codename:

"WEB SITES YOU DON'T LIKE"

Survey BEFORE the Class:

Please answer the following questions at the start of the class.

Before this class did you look at the web sites suggested by the instructor?"
Please circle one: YES NO
If you answered "YES" to question 1, how many of the four sites would you call objectionable?
Please circle Count: 0 1 2 3 4
If you answered "NO to question 1, did you do this because:
Please circle one: I forgot I did not have time I did not want to look
Do you think that certain kinds of content should be banned from the World Wide Web?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_Know
If you think there are Web sites that should be banned, who do you think should decide which sites should be banned? _
Do you think there is a technically feasible way to enforce a ban on a Web site?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_know
Do you think there is a politically feasible way to enforce a ban on Web sites globally?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_know
Do you use any software that restricts access to Web sites, such as Net Nanny?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_know
Optional: Please Please circle your gender: MALE FEMALE
Optional: Please give your age:

Please read the following SCENARIO:

Pat is the systems administrator of an academic computing facility at a small public university. A state senator has asked to visit the campus and she requests a meeting with Pat and the Provost at Pat's office. After exchanging a few pleasantries, the senator asks Pat to show her how a student at the university can access the World Wide Web.

Pat configures a desktop computer as if it was a machine in the open lab and invites the senator to sit at the desk and sign in as "student." She does so, and proceeds to bring up a site advertising "CyberPorn." The senator tums to Pat and says, "This is why I requested this meeting. Several of my constituents have told me about how tax dollars are used to bring such filth into this university." She turns back to the keyboard and brings up a white supremacist hate page. "Is this the sort of thing we want to promote with state funds?" she asks rhetorically. Again she types in a Web address, this time bringing up instructions, laced with obscenities, for building a potentially lethal bomb.

The senator stands up and announces, "I have just told your provost that your university has two options: keep these kinds of Web sites off university machines or lose funding for your Internet connection. Tax payers wili not be forced to pay for this kind of material." As the senator strides from Pat's office, the Provost hurries after her and says, "I want a memo from you about this situation. Bring it to my office at 9 a.m. tomorrow, and we'll discuss your recommendations."

Pat needs some help. Pat jumps to the keyboard and writes a quick email to several trusted friends. Pat explains the situation and invites them to a meeting to discuss options. Here are the people who are at the meeting:

ROLE 1: Pat, the system administrator.

ROLE 2: A computer science graduate student who has a job as a lab assistant. This student knows the technical difficulties of blocking Web sites, and is leery of being asked to censor students in the lab.

ROLE 3: A librarian who is an advocate of free speech on the Web (and elsewhere). The librarian is opposed to any effort to curtail Web content.

ROLE 4: The university's legal counsel. This lawyer is worried that if the university does nothing about this issue that it will be successfully sued by taxpayers who object to the material, by groups offended by different sites, and by students or staff who interpret the presence of such material as workplace harassment.

ROLE 5: A faculty member who studies Web sites as part of an NSF funded research effort on communities in cyberspace.

Stop HERE until the instructor breaks you up into groups....

After discussing this situation for about 10 minutes, have one member of your discussion group act as a recorder. The recorder should draft a memo to the Provost. You'll have another 10 minutes to draft the memo. Try to reach consensus about the memo, but vote on a draft if not everyone can agree. Deliver your memo to the instructor.

Codename:

"WEB SITES YOU DON'T LIKE"

Survey AFTER the Class

Please answer the following questions at the end of the class.

Do you think that certain kinds of content should be banned from the World Wide Web?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_Know
If you think there are Web sites that should be banned, who do you think should decide which sites should be banned?
Do you think there is a technically feasible way to enforce a ban on a Web site?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_know
Do you think there is a politically feasible way to enforce a ban on Web sites globally?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_know
Did you think visiting the Web sites before class was useful to your learning experience?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_know
Did you think doing the role playing exercise helped you think about the issues of Web censorship?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_know
Please give suggestions for improvement, comments, or criticisms for the instructor regarding this class. Please use the back of this sheet if necessary.

As a group homework assignment print off the off the following pages and assign random numbers to each pre-activity survey :

Your assignment is to take place as a group activity (assigned by the instructor). Prior to any group meeting, each person should view the assigned web pages, fill in the pre-activity survey, and bring that to the group meeting. In the group meeting discuss the letter that is to be written to the senator and then appoint one member to compose the letter. Review and discuss the letter, and make any necessary changes. When agreement has been reached on the content of the letter, each person should individually fill in the post-activity survey carefully filling in the Codenumber from the pre-activity survey. Assign one group member to assess the results of pre-activity survey and another the results of the post-activity survey. Discuss the results and any changes that have taken place as a result of your discussions and letter writing activity. Write a one-page evaluation of your findings, your group attitudes towards potentially objectionable web sites, and any "political correctness" concerns that you had in writing the letter to the senator.

The hand-ins should consist of the collection of anonymous surveys (pre- and post-activity), the letter to the state senator and a one page report that encapsulates the feelings of the group based on the surveys, and the background to the writing of the letter.

Codename:

"WEB SITES YOU DON'T LIKE"

Survey BEFORE the group activity:

Before this meeting did you look at the web site suggested by the instructor?"
Please circle one: YES NO
If you answered "YES" to question 1, how many of the four sites would you call objectionable?
Please circle Count: 0 1 2 3 4
If you answered "NO to question 1, did you do this because:
Please circle one: I forgot I did not have time I did not want to look
Do you think that certain kinds of content should be banned from the World Wide Web?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_Know
If you think there are Web sites that should be banned, who do you think should decide which sites should be banned? _
Do you think there is a technically feasible way to enforce a ban on a Web site?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_know
Do you think there is a politically feasible way to enforce a ban on Web sites globally?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_know
Do you use any software that restricts access to Web sites, such as Net Nanny?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_know

Please read the following SCENARIO:

ROLE 1: Pat, the system administrator.

ROLE 3: A librarian who is an advocate of free speech on the Web (and elsewhere). The librarian is opposed to any effort to curtail Web content.

ROLE 5: A faculty member who studies Web sites as part of an NSF funded research effort on communities in cyberspace.

By some democratic means (such as pulling names of of a hat) assign a ROLE to each grouo member. If the group has less than 5 persons then some will have to assume two roles. If the group has more than 5 members then two may share a ROLE.

Discuss the siutation, prepare a letter to the senator, review the surveys, and assess your activities as described above.

Codename:

"WEB SITES YOU DON'T LIKE"

Survey AFTER the activity

Please answer the following questions after your group has written the letter to the senator.

Do you think that certain kinds of content should be banned from the World Wide Web?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_Know
If you think there are Web sites that should be banned, who do you think should decide which sites should be banned?
Do you think there is a technically feasible way to enforce a ban on a Web site?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_know
Do you think there is a politically feasible way to enforce a ban on Web sites globally?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_know
Did you think visiting the Web sites before class was useful to your learning experience?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_know
Did you think doing the role playing exercise helped you think about the issues of Web censorship?
Please circle one: YES NO Don't_know

Assessing outcomes:
The use of pre- and post-class surveys will be a tremendous help in assessing the outcomes of this project.

Additional remarks:
This activity was developed by Keith Miller, and put on-line by J.A.N. Lee.

Author contact information:
Keith Miller
Dept. of Computer Science, HSB 137
University of Illinois at Springfield
P.O. Box 19243
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9243
Phone: (217) 206-7327; Fax: (217) 206-7188
email: miller.keith@uis.edu

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