Posted by: Anonymous Coward
on May 20, 2006 03:01 AM
I've been in the military for 10 years. I haven't been to a base yet that blocks Slashdot or Sorceforge. I also have had at least 5 years of system administration experience and have an insight as how the Network Communications Centers (NCC) work on military bases. Since it appears that the sites are only blocked in San Antonio, it's a local policy there. It's possible that there is a valid reason why the sites are blocked. I know from personal experience that certain projects are blocked from Sourceforge because they have been classified as games, chat, or other related topics. Since, by regulation, anyone utilizing a military system may not download or install unauthorized software many sites are blocked in an effort to avoid that very thing from happening. This must not be seen as a free speach violation or some other conspiracy by the government, but as an attempt to maintain some semblance of security. In the past, the military has had numerous problems with virus outbreaks because of unauthorized software being downloaded and installed. I'm positive that many companies also block many websites because of their potential to cause problems on their respective networks, or simply because it clashes with that company's acceptable use policy. The military does provide a process to allow websites to be unblocked if a valid reason exists. Some websites are also blocked just because the rule set of proxy server filter system keys on particular words and/or phrases, such as vulgarities (which Slashdot is occasionally guilty of - almost entirely from comment posts). A website can also be blocked because bandwidth is used by traffic from that site. I would imagine that traffic from Slashdot wouldn't take up any noticeable traffic, but Sourceforge certainly has the potential for a lot of bandwidth. I'll positively state that Slashdot and Sourceforge are not the targets of any kind of military or government blocks. I'm sure that other sites have been blocked either intentionally or unintentionally by different bases for different reasons. Each NCC has a certain amount of autonomy in that respect. Each NCC will act in a manner that they perceive as appropriate for their military installation. I also must point out that the government and the military use open source projects. I can attest to this since I work on the best known open source project in my job - linux. Hopefully this story won't be spun into something that slights the military just because one military installation has Slashdot and Sourceforge blocked. It is indeed unfortunate that those two sites are blocked at all. I love reading Slashdot and I routinely download software from Sourceforge.
Learn about Linux
Download Linux
Get Linux help
Military View Point
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on May 20, 2006 03:01 AMI haven't been to a base yet that blocks Slashdot or Sorceforge. I also have had at least 5 years of system administration experience and have an insight as how the Network Communications Centers (NCC) work on military bases. Since it appears that the sites are only blocked in San Antonio, it's a local policy there. It's possible that there is a valid reason why the sites are blocked. I know from personal experience that certain projects are blocked from Sourceforge because they have been classified as games, chat, or other related topics. Since, by regulation, anyone utilizing a military system may not download or install unauthorized software many sites are blocked in an effort to avoid that very thing from happening.
This must not be seen as a free speach violation or some other conspiracy by the government, but as an attempt to maintain some semblance of security. In the past, the military has had numerous problems with virus outbreaks because of unauthorized software being downloaded and installed. I'm positive that many companies also block many websites because of their potential to cause problems on their respective networks, or simply because it clashes with that company's acceptable use policy.
The military does provide a process to allow websites to be unblocked if a valid reason exists. Some websites are also blocked just because the rule set of proxy server filter system keys on particular words and/or phrases, such as vulgarities (which Slashdot is occasionally guilty of - almost entirely from comment posts). A website can also be blocked because bandwidth is used by traffic from that site. I would imagine that traffic from Slashdot wouldn't take up any noticeable traffic, but Sourceforge certainly has the potential for a lot of bandwidth.
I'll positively state that Slashdot and Sourceforge are not the targets of any kind of military or government blocks. I'm sure that other sites have been blocked either intentionally or unintentionally by different bases for different reasons. Each NCC has a certain amount of autonomy in that respect. Each NCC will act in a manner that they perceive as appropriate for their military installation.
I also must point out that the government and the military use open source projects. I can attest to this since I work on the best known open source project in my job - linux.
Hopefully this story won't be spun into something that slights the military just because one military installation has Slashdot and Sourceforge blocked. It is indeed unfortunate that those two sites are blocked at all. I love reading Slashdot and I routinely download software from Sourceforge.
#