Policy Central Enterprise blocking too many websites.

[benjaminstevens93]

Our school has had Policy Central for a few years now but I've only recently had time to get it working properly. The issue we are having is that if I select the categories that I think should be blocked, like pornography and games etc, it seems to block other things too. I had a teacher email me earlier saying his class couldn't get on BBC Good Food, for some reason this was blocked and I had to manually add to this the allowed list.

 

Is there a website or anyone that has a CSV list which all the websites that should be blocked, and that gets updated frequently that I could import into PCE, rather than using the categories?

 

Hopefully someone can help!

[laserblazer]

couldn't get on BBC Good Food

Probably something to do with Nigella

[Michael]

I think PCE is more appropriate for blocking specific sites rather than categories as such (as you have found). The default Link2ICT filtering is good and should block most unwanted content.

[benjaminstevens93]

Yeah it's mainly things like games, youtube etc. Things that cause a hassle for ICT teachers.

[benjaminstevens93]

Probably something to do with Nigella

 

Lol too right...

[laserblazer]

Does the BBC site allow comments? I find sites can get blocked because of inappropriate language in the comments.

[benjaminstevens93]

Yeah most likely that, half of the reports I go through are comments being picked up on a website, rather than the kid typing the word itself.

[Michael]

That's why the likes of PCE isn't that intelligent. There are filtering solutions out there that will remove the youtube comments which 99.9% of the time involve someone swearing at someone else. You then have a database full of false positives which just clog up the server and are of use to no one.

 

Never quite understood why Google (at the very least) don't star out such words for all users from the start.

[laserblazer]

Never quite understood why Google (at the very least) don't star out such words for all users from the start.

 

Better still, if the uncouth morons didn't type them in the first place!

[Michael]

Better still, if the uncouth morons didn't type them in the first place!

 

Yes quite, but some people feel the need to swear as a form of expression. Most of the time though, I think people feel pretty big and happy with themselves insulting someone over the internet. I very much doubt they'd do the same thing down their local pub!

[mpe]

Does the BBC site allow comments? I find sites can get blocked because of inappropriate language in the comments.

 

It may even be down to the simple fact of allowing user comments.

[mpe]

That's why the likes of PCE isn't that intelligent. There are filtering solutions out there that will remove the youtube comments which 99.9% of the time involve someone swearing at someone else. You then have a database full of false positives which just clog up the server and are of use to no one.

 

None of these programs are "intelligent" in any meaningful sense. No matter what the advertising might claim.

 

Never quite understood why Google (at the very least) don't star out such words for all users from the start.

 

This would be pointless. On seeing a "starred out" word most people will assume the most offensive thing possible by the context.