Thank goodness I have "administrator priveledges" on this particular computer, or I wouldn't be writing this.

I was unable to access the site last week, on a computer at work that is shared by others, because our new filtering service "WebSense" says that AVSForum.com is a "SEX SITE".

I figured it was just a fluke with their listings.

Then, while waiting for my car to be serviced on Thursday, I tried to show someone my favorite site for info on Digital TV, by bringing up AVS Forum on the dealership's "courtesy" computer. Their filter, in huge letters for all to see, proclaimed I was attempting to "ACCESS PORNOGRAPHY".

So, is AVS Forum being banned from schools, public libraries, and publicly-accessible computers, as well as the workplace?

Why?

First I've heard of it and I can't find any past reports of it happening. :confused:

Same here. Not heard of it at all. Nothing on the site that would make it flag it as such. My guess, bad filtering software that really looks at this and "thinks" it see what it sees. Like spam filters, they can be very wrong. And in this case, very much so.

I would love to know that it was that flagged it though. Does the software you run have any reports or logs to see why it was blocked?

I'll have to check with our IT guys. The one here at work also seems to flag trade journals....maybe it's those "mating" connectors?

I'm kind of curious to see what it was flagged for too. Off the top of my head a couple of keyword flag trips would be HD Porn (the word porn itself/the number of occurrences of the word or the media list), the phrase "Gold Club" which is also the name of a strip club franchise or a combination. Most of the content filters are too broad (one of them was filtering out a Breast Cancer Awareness/Support site a few years back).

...Like spam filters, they can be very wrong. And in this case, very much so....

Yep. I worked on one a few years back at my old job and wasn't careful enough with the keywording. Anyone responding back to our "Political Analysis" newsletter got their email rerouted into the spam holding bin and their email accounts flagged. Oops.

I don't know how they select the "good" and the "bad", but, here's their submission form:

http://url.fortinet.net/rate/submit.php

There have quite a few threads about HD Porn in the HD-DVD Software forum and, to a lesser extent, in the BD Software forum.
There have also been HD Porn threads in the HDTV Programming forum.
Some of those threads have links to external sites like porn companies/publishers/movies/reviews/etc.
There were also a couple of controversial threads about a web site called Adam&Eve that were selling HD-DVD Players and there were links to their web site.
So, maybe AVS has accumulated too many references to porn, keywords (that crawlers and bots will pick up on), links, etc.

Could be, but it really again would be a wrong call % of content wise. I thought usually those filters look at the content of the page when it hits the page. Looking for keywords. So unless they are hitting that thread, it would not be an issue. But it seems that the site could be flagged, but again wrongly.

Sounds like a pre April sick fools joke to me.

However I couldn’t seem to get the page to resistor for the site last Friday 9th 2007, I guess someone had the boiler suit on and was cleaning the site up?

I don't think it is a joke

do a Google of HD Porn and AVS comes up in the top 10

That would be because not so much of the content here on that topic, but of the reach the site has as that is part of the calc Google does when it brings up results.

Got this e-mail back this morning:

"Dear Fortinet customer,

The websites you submitted recently have been reviewed and updated:

Submission Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2007 13:31:57 -0800
URL: http://avsforum.com/
Suggested Category:
Comment: Why is this site filtered? There is nothing wrong with it, yet it is labelled Pornographic by your server. It is a site for information on video and audio technology, and one of the best sites available for info on the US transition to HDTV and Digital
URL Rated: http://avsforum.com
Analyst Comment:
Updated Category: Internet Communication
Update Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2007 16:36:50 -0800


The rating update may not be effective immediately on your network
because of the Web filtering cache. If you would like to have
the update effective immediately or have any other questions,
please contact your network administrator.

Note that FortiGuard Web Filtering Service categorizes websites, but it
is your IT manager who decides what categories to block or allow. Please
contact your IT manager to allow you to visit the site.

This is an automatically generated notification of rating update.
Please do not reply to this email.

Thank you for using FortiGuard Web Filtering Service.

Regards,

FortiGuard Web Filtering Service
Fortinet Technologies Inc."

But is it a filter or a filtering service? I think that should be the first question. Even though some places have full control, others use an external service and then have an additional override function (i.e. even though XYZ has it black listed, it is OK or even though XYZ does not have it black listed it is not OK). Not many places have autofilters

I guess I have my answer. My guess both your company and the garage just happened to use the same one

Thanks for sending that request to them. I love it how their is not Analyst comment given. ;) But I mast say, they are very responsive for they handled the request in 3 hours.

I don't think it is a joke

do a Google of HD Porn and AVS comes up in the top 10

Wouldn't a search like that also come up with Family Research Council, MAD Dads, and others, who rant about porn? :)

I think that these sites (I know one of them said so) have a server for "ratings", and your firewall blocks certain levels.

The computer at work had a setting for everything from "block sites with adult content" to "block sites that might hurt a person's feelings".

"block sites that might hurt a person's feelings"

LOL I actually chuckled on that one.

Thank you for writing to Websense.

The site you submitted has been reviewed. We have made an update to the following URL(s) in our master database to address this issue:

http://www.avsforum.com/ - Message Boards and Clubs



Categorization updates should be available in the next scheduled publication of the database. A new database is published every business day, five days a week, Pacific Standard Time. You should notice any updates referred to in this message within 72 hours.

Thank you for your assistance,

The Websense Database Services Staff
S.G.
Monday, February 12, 2007 6:07:28 AM



-------------------Original Email---------------------------------------
From: ken.english@ksl.com
Sent: 2/10/2007 5:39:37 AM
To: Websense DB Update
Subject: Suggest a Change to the Websense URL Database
Name: Ken W. English
Company: KSL-TV
Email: ken.english@ksl.com
Phone:
Websense Version:
DB Version:

URL 1: http://www.avsforum.com
Action 1:
Recommended Category 1: Should not be categorized
Current Category 1: Adult Material: Sex
Reason 1: This site is the most informative forum I know of, for audio and video systems and equipment. It is used by many hundreds of thousands of people around the world for informational purposes, and is the premiere site for info on the US transition to digital and HDTV. It is not a sex site.

Thanks again Ken.

Maybe it was the CES Booth Babes thread :)

Sure, like these nice girls from the AVS Forum party.

It was all about the "show us your rack thread".

Not quite the same thing, but now my Trend Micro PC-cillin software is giving me a warning that I have attempted to open a dangerous web site. It's giving an address as: http://ads.adbrite.com/mb/tex
Every time I open a new page from this site it pops up. It's not happening on any of the other forums I go to, but I think I'll do a scan and see if I picked up some spyware. I just did a scan this morning and was clean.

that link is the ad server for AVS

I responded to you via your e-mail to the help desk.

That is not the AVS Ads server, that it is AdBrite ad servers and is not a dangerous website. We have been using i for almost two years now.

Thanks

Our service doesn't block this site , and all that we block is porn.

safefromsites com

Glad to see it got cleared up!

I'm almost certain it was the HD-p*rn threads in the HD-DVD and BD forums that sent the filters scrambling. We use WebMarshal at work and I was blocked for a few days from AVSforum. When I checked from home, sure enough, the top threads in HD-DVD were about the potential new discs from the p*rn companies. In addition, I believe there was a front page article on one day from Julie J at CEPro on one of the p*rn companies stating their support of HD-DVD. I wonder if simply using the term "adult" instead of p*rn would have alleviated a lot of this mess?

I started to email you guys to complain, but frankly, it was a catch 22--I didn't want censorship of the threads, but I also needed to get into AVSForum for my daily fix!!!

See, it's really easy to put the * in there and keep everyone happy and the filters clueless. Just wish all the posters followed that convention.