A COUPLE OF READERS REPORT that Websense is now blocking InstaPundit as an MP3 site, I guess because of the Glenn and Helen Show. That seems pretty dumb to me. iTunes, it’s not.
UPDATE: A reader emails:
It’s inaccurate to say WebSense is blocking you. More accurately, they have classified you as a site with MP3s. You are probably also classified as a political discussion website.
By default WebSense doesn’t block anything. It just categorizes. They decision to block certain categories is made by the end user selecting that category to be blocked. It’s also entirely possible to configure it so that ONLY InstaPundit can be viewed and the rest of the Internet is blocked. Totally a policy of the company using the software, not the software itself.
As a NRA fan (member since 1983) “Software doesn’t filter people. People filter people.”
Not a Websense employee–a competitor, in fact. Just prefer to see the truth.
Well, here’s what WebSense says:
Category: MP3 and Audio Download Services
Database version: 92672
Database date: 20 Nov 2006
Product used: Websense Enterprise® v6.2
It’s true that InstaPundit has MP3s occasionally. But the NY Times has videos. Does that make it a video-download site? Anyway, I don’t think companies put much thought into these decisions; my own thoughts on the subject can be found here.