Re: LYNX-DEV Chatting with Lynx

[Greg Barniskis]

Alan Hart said:

>patrons are using our terminals to "chat" rather than searching.  Sometimes
>they'll chat with the person at the next terminal.
>
>My question is, can we disable the chat feature, and if so, how do I do it.

As a fellow library Lynx user, I must sympathize. There are many 
web-based "chat" services, and these are only some of the "hybrid" web 
services that patrons enjoy, including web-based email systems like 
hotmail and mailexcite. All are reached through typical http:// URLs and 
thus indistinguishable from more typical web services, except by their 
names.

Here, we mostly tolerate patrons using these hybrid chat/mail/web 
services -- providing popular services tends to up community support for 
info technology in libraries. Some of our libraries place a time limit on 
terminal users, some tap patrons on the shoulder to remind them that 
non-educational services are frowned on by our systemwide acceptable use 
policy (and/or by the local library's policy, which may be stricter).

David Woolley's response that you can filter these out using a locally 
controlled proxy service is correct, and possibly the only way to _force_ 
your patrons out of "undesired" web services. But you then take on PR 
problems, ongoing responsibility for filter maintenance, and forever 
after you'll be in a race condition with your patrons, who will continue 
to seek (and find) ways to get around/over/under any hurdles you place. 
There is also the delicate issue of censorship, which doesn't belong on 
this list...


-----------------------------------------------------
Greg Barniskis                   address@hidden
Network Administrator                  (608) 266-6394
Library Interchange NetworK (LINK)      fax: 266-6068
South Central Library System (SCLS)       Madison, WI

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