Publication Date: Wednesday July 9, 1997
OP-ED; Page A22
Copyright 1997, The Washington Post Co. All Rights Reserved
Considering that adult-themed pages are currently the most popular (and
profitable) pages on the Internet, it seems inevitable that they will
continue to flourish, regardless of any legislation restricting their
existence. Web pages easily can be moved offshore and out of U. S.
jurisdiction, yet still be accessed from anywhere in the world -- including
the United States.
I produce adult-oriented Web pages. I respect and acknowledge that parents
have a legitimate concern about what their children can access on the
Internet, and I have a solution Post readers may not be aware of:
A very effective content-restriction method, developed in 1994, does not
involve legislation and is slowly making its way into the public's
awareness. "RSACI" (Recreational Software Advisory Council on the
Internet), an independent, nonprofit organization, developed an objective
content rating system. The system provides accurate and nonjudgmental
information about the content of a Web page and allows consumers to make
decisions based on personal evaluations of that information.
Web content producers rate pages using four criteria: violence, sex, nudity
and language. Parents can then adjust and, using a password, program their
Web browser to display only pages that fall below a certain rating and not
to display unrated pages.
More than 33,000 pages have been rated to date. I have rated all of the
pages I have produced and have persuaded other Web producers to follow
suit. Microsoft now supports the rating system in its Internet Explorer
browser, and other Web browsers soon will support the system as well.
ALEXIS KASPERAVICIUS
Los Angeles
--- Rohit Khare /// MCI Internet Architecture (BOS) /// khare@mci.net Voice+Pager: (617) 960-5131 VNet: 370-5131 Fax: (617) 960-1009