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Sunday, July 25, 2004Software meets hard-core: It's a startTHE ROANOKE TIMES ann read. pls edit, chif and send to EXTRA Software meets hard-core: It's a start The Back Pew See LOWE, 3 LOWE: Xxxchurch.com founders are two Christian ministers FROM PAGE 1 It's pretty easy to get people to agree that it's a good idea to keep kids away from online pornography. It's not so easy to figure out a good way to do that. The Supreme Court keeps telling Congress that it hasn't done it right yet; and schools and libraries quickly find out that kids are natural innovators who seemingly instantaneously find their way around blocking software. Who knows the best way to take care of that problem? But for kids who are willing to buy into the premise that they shouldn't indulge in viewing pornography online there's another approach to avoiding temptation. A Christian music label, Flicker Records, has released a CD compilation featuring songs by several of its contemporary-Christian artists. The CD has 17 songs for $6.99 - plus a bonus track, a copy of the free computer software program called X3 Watch, designed to discourage surfing for pornography on the Web. Called "accountability software," it's also available free from xxxchurch.com. It all depends on voluntary participation. The software, available for PCs and Macs, essentially keeps a list of all the Web sites the user visits. Every couple of weeks, it sends a copy of the names of those sites to an accountability partner. So, one cannot skulk about furtively online without someone - presumably a trusted confidant - knowing about it. He or she then reminds the porn surfer of his or her determination not to spend time with online porn. Some disagree with the premise The software would work the same way for adults, of course, but the record label's campaign is aimed at minors. Xxxchurch.com would like to see everyone avoid pornography of all kinds, but it particularly targets online users. Its founders are two young Christian ministers who are taking a controversial road to tackling what they see as a huge problem. They attend porn conventions and even befriended one of the industry's big directors, who produced a TV public-service announcement for them targeted at discouraging kids from looking at pornographic materials. But not everyone is happy. The "Pete the Porn Puppet" commercial offends some Christians, who also question the ministers' close connections with the porn industry. Looking at their Web site, though, it's hard to question their motivations. The site, written in a frank and funny style targeted to the young, also discourages masturbation. It has sections for men and women, kids and adults. The title was chosen deliberately so that people who simply search for "xxx" material will find it among the selections their search engines pop up. The unintended consequence, however, is that some of the sites xxxchurch links to for examples of the harm done by porn actually can direct the user to porn. Not everyone will agree with the site's contentions about the harm of porn to adults, or its contention that masturbation is always bad. It's hard to argue, however, with its goal of keeping underage viewers away from images (and sounds and words) that are not appropriate for them. Software such as X3 Watch may really help only a small percentage of youngsters who should use it, but it is a start. |
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