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Old April 8th, 2002
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Default Re: Search based blocking and network clustering

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Give the user a control so they can drop searches they want to by policy. This will make people happy who object to some content on Gnutella, and who knows, might even have some impact on the more objectionable content.

I don't believe that default policies should be provided - that would be a form of censorship imposed by the developers. But if each user can choose exactly what terms they want to drop if any, then this is democracy (or mob rule
While GNet is indeed ridden with things that don't belong there (or shouldn't be in anyone's posession in the first place), blocking the actual traffic is not a good idea.

First, and foremost, it'll give anyone "control" over the content seen by others - this is one of the things that's been bugging many developers: if you can control, you can also be asked to do control specific files. One can endlessly discuss that particular issue, but basically, a "hands-off" approach is the most appropriate in this case.

Second, the network isn't meant to block certain traffic - it's an open and free protocol. Blocking certain traffic is vendor specific, and that can lead into the great debates you've seen elsewhere on this forum (commercial vs. non-commercial, et al.)

It is better to let the end-user decide what he/she is willing to see, for example the "Family Filters" seen in some clients. Obviously, some developers should make that a password protected. Thing of GnutellaNet as an Internet atop of the Internet. The Internet is an ungoverned place - things you find on GnutellaNet can also be found on the Internet itself, how distasteful that content may be. But as with the Internet, it is at your sole discretion to block/avoid these things, not the maker of an Internet browser.

-- Mike

PS: Mods!! (Morgwen, Cyclo) - for some reason my account is "disabled", I was unable to post with my actual account and had to go as Unregistered. I couldn't even PM you two - wassup?
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