Problems with public wifi preventing access to Mumsnet

[RebeccaMumsnet]

Hi all,

We have recently had an email regarding a public library blocking access to Mumsnet as it contains 'pornography content'.

We do know we are a site for adults and can be rather sweary and we know that some filters can be rather sensitive to this.

We have heard of other issues involving Mumsnet being blocked from sports centres and college sites.

So, we were wondering if anyone else had this problem?

Have you ever had difficulty accessing Mumsnet from a public place via their wifi and if so, were you given a reason?

Thank you in advance blames bumsex friday

Never. And I've used it all over the place with all sorts of Wifi. Including the public library.

If anyone has that problem, switch to 3/4G!

Nope, but I don't use public wifi very often.

I was blocked in my local public library on one account, but my partners account wasn't blocked at the same time.

Haven't tried anywhere else.

Yep I did when DD3 was in hospital. However, I spoke to and emailed the wifi provider (St George's London if that helps), and they lifted the block. Handy really as she was in for 10 days and I'd have suffered...

My work wifi won't let me on when I try to use the phone (forcing me to use the pc on my desk ). It is a college.

Yes, I can't access it on free underground wi-fi. A weird error message comes and it's the only place I get it.

Not the whole site but both Tesco and McDonald's have a tendency to block threads it deems unsuitable. Not quite sure where the.line is drawn though.

Ditto maillotjaune

How do you know it's blocked? I mean, as opposed to the site just going down?

I find it very hard to access it at DD1's school. I often have to go on to mobile data rather than wifi. If I do manage to get on, it's an unformatted site - just list form.

Yes! Makes sense now. At the mot garage today, library too. Lunacy!

Jacquesle when the site is down, there is a message from HQ. When it's blocked you'll get a different message.

I would imagine it's 'breast', 'vagina', etc that's getting the site blocked. That's the problem with filters.

Yes, this happened to me this morning, free O2 wifi at Waitrose. I think it was a thread I'd already had open (so not sure if some parts of MN were blocked and others not as I didn't go any further).

This happens in my local library. Can't remember exactly what the message is but is along the lines of pornography I think. Will try and remember to check tomorrow.

I had assumed it was the site being down but now I'm thinking it was probably blocked.
Bastards.

I sometimes look in during my lunch time at work ( local authority) and any sweary or sex words block access.

Yes, this happens at Greater Anglia railway stations when using their wifi which they call "the cloud". I get a message about pornographic content too!

No never had a problem and I use Wifi a lot of different places and often use The cloud.

I've used The Cloud on both my phone and my tablet to access MN and never had an issue so far (mainly in Cafe Nero and sitting at bus stops outside various obliging public houses...) Was also Mning with no problem using IKEA's wifi whilst waiting for a friend this morning

Yes ive had problems in mcdonalds

I think filters are a good thing. If it means children cannot readily access porn and that you can lift the filter for individual websites (as someone indicated up thread) then what's the big deal?

Not getting MN vs porn everywhere.....? Tough choice

Filters are draconian and ridiculous.

Keep an eye on what your children are doing on the web. Don't expect the ISP to do it for you.

If the library's filter is anything like our school one, it will have various lists
blocking certain categories of site. Ours has lists for:
IWF Child Abuse Images database
Pornography and illegal or age-restricted activity
Drugs and substance abuse
Violence
Intolerance
Web-based chat
Web-based Social Networking
Proxy Bypass
Web-based mail services
Mobile Phones/SMS/Ring Tones
Non-educational games
.MP3 and .exe files

We can choose which lists to apply, or make specific exceptions for individual sites, except for the IWF Child abuse list, or individual sites on it, which always applies.

When Mumsnet is blocked at school, it is usually a specific page, sometimes on the pornography list, because it includes words which it sees as 'textual descriptions' of pornography, but more often it trips the system's 'Active-Adapt Content Filtering technology', which "dynamically scans individual web pages for inappropriate content as they are requested" and checks pages that have not yet been added to a filter list. It tends to be a bit heavy-handed, which is fine in a school - and presumably a public library needs to think of the needs of its youngest users.

The filters in a library are probably set by the local authority, I'm not sure whether the library itself would have the ability that individual schools do to make changes, so if you want to see Mumsnet you would probably need to ask the LA to add the site to the 'allowed' list. Whether they would actually do this I'm not sure - possibly not if they actually looked at Active Convos at certain times....