Friday, September 10, 2010

Finding a Problem Where None Exists...

You have to love the kooks over at Bilerico.  They tend to be one of the worst sites for censorship, but now they have a whiney article about how Google Instant is censoring certain words...

  • Bilerico - Allowed (damn right)
  • Gay - Allowed
  • Homosexual - Allowed
  • Queer - Allowed
  • Dyke - Allowed
  • Lesbian - blocked from Google Instant
  • Transexual - blocked from Google Instant
  • Transvestite - Allowed
  • Tranny - blocked from Google Instant
  • Faggot - blocked from Google Instant
  • Fag - Allowed
  • Bisexual - blocked from Google Instant
The problem is, none of those words are actually censored.  They may not show up as an "instant result," but you can still search for them.

Now, for those who don't understand how Google Instant works, it "suggests" terms you might be searching for.  For example, if you type in a T, the first word that is suggested, at least when I tried, was "target."  Add an R, and it goes to another list, etc.  The closer you get to the word you actually want, the greater the chance it will show up.  If you are searching for "tranny," it won't suggest that word, but it will allow you to search for it.  So, it is not remotely censored, it is just not a suggested word.

I mean really, are the people at Bilerico really that stupid?  There is no actual censorship at all.  Unlike, of course, Bilerico

Oh, and by the way, "transexual" is an incorrect spelling, used by some for political purposes, but technically incorrect.  You can search for it, but you mostly get links to articles on transsexualism, and a few where that particular spelling is used.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would chalk this post over at bilerico to an attempt at raising the sagging ratings. The freshness of bilerico and PHB is wearing off. So many people who make thought provoking posts have been banned from both places they can't get anything remotely close to dialogue going on ether place.

Just Jennifer said...

Well, the last thing places like Bilerico and PHB want is for their readers to actually think for themselves. These blogs seem to demand blind acceptance.