Alex: I agree with you. What you said, only less wordy. "Please use consideration for fellow library patrons and view only websites that are suitable for public viewing." Or something. LOL
It was the WORDING of the sign, NOT the fact that the library deemed it inappropriate to view certain sites. On the other side of that coin, if someone WAS viewing porn at the library, in the presence of children, I'd be VERY upset with that person.
I think I was upset with a). The WORDING of the sign, which gave the library (in theory, if not in practice) carte blanche to censor my viewing and b). the fact that human nature and our country's declining values, lack of consideration for others, etc. deemed it necessary that there BE a sign stating to me what should be obvious.
I'm not knocking libraries. I just don't like them. Which is really really strange considering I'm a writer.
But they're great for other people--especially people doing research. Using a library is a lot better than going into Barnes & Noble without plans to buy anything and using the booksellers as reference librarians, taking notes from our books, all the while spilling frappucino on them. There are no beverages allowed in the library--there's a REASON for that!! (And a damn good one!)
Just wanted to reply--lest anyone think I spend the entire day looking at porn on the web! Not at all. But that was my point--the fact that someone, this faceless authority figure (Big brother is watching) was telling me that I couldn't made me want to. Which is, of course, utterly ridiculous. Moreover, it made me wonder what OTHER content they might "deem inappropriate?" Bill O'Reilly's website? Libertarian e zines? It COULD happen.
I agree with you. What you said, only less wordy. "Please use consideration for fellow library patrons and view only websites that are suitable for public viewing." Or something. LOL
It was the WORDING of the sign, NOT the fact that the library deemed it inappropriate to view certain sites. On the other side of that coin, if someone WAS viewing porn at the library, in the presence of children, I'd be VERY upset with that person.
I think I was upset with a). The WORDING of the sign, which gave the library (in theory, if not in practice) carte blanche to censor my viewing and b). the fact that human nature and our country's declining values, lack of consideration for others, etc. deemed it necessary that there BE a sign stating to me what should be obvious.
I'm not knocking libraries. I just don't like them. Which is really really strange considering I'm a writer.
But they're great for other people--especially people doing research. Using a library is a lot better than going into Barnes & Noble without plans to buy anything and using the booksellers as reference librarians, taking notes from our books, all the while spilling frappucino on them. There are no beverages allowed in the library--there's a REASON for that!! (And a damn good one!)
Just wanted to reply--lest anyone think I spend the entire day looking at porn on the web! Not at all. But that was my point--the fact that someone, this faceless authority figure (Big brother is watching) was telling me that I couldn't made me want to. Which is, of course, utterly ridiculous. Moreover, it made me wonder what OTHER content they might "deem inappropriate?" Bill O'Reilly's website? Libertarian e zines? It COULD happen.
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