RE: school filtering of student e-mail

[Julian L.B. Cardarelli]

Barry,   What you are asking about is as much a moral question as it is technical.  Maybe this will sound a little sappy and you probably didn't ask for this but hell I'm bored so why not? Being that QMAIL is a product of a free software movement, I find it curious that you would ask your questions here.  Free Software movements stem from the basic principle that people are entitled to certain rights and privileges - also known as personal freedoms.    It is not legal to filter the contents of an email in a public organization much like it is not legal to filter the contents of regular mail.  No matter what an email might say, a person is entitled to say whatever they want in an email without fear of punishment.  The situation may be different, say, if you were a member of a private organization.  Even still, a private organization can not restrict the rights of private individuals as much as they would like, as much is still up for legal/moral debate in this area. The law could not be more clear (or maybe it could, depending on the eyes of the beholder) when public organizations are involved.  I think you Americans call it the 1st amendment.  Students are entitled to it too, ya know.   I can't think of how many times I used to tell friends at school that Mr. Smith, as an example, was a f*cking retard.  I wouldn't want to think that Mr.Smith could possibly have been fully aware of my comments.  Think about the repercussions.  A lowered mark here, more homework there. Don't think for a second you could control such leaks of information. You can't.  People talk.    To be honest, I would rather not put up an email service if it meant the sacrifice of personal freedoms.  In your organization's case, it is most likely illegal for you to do so.  Sure you won't be stopped immediately, but sooner rather than later, someone will come around enforce the law.  Does your organization want to deal with that?   Just my thought on the situation :)   Julian -----Original Message----- From: Barry Smoke [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2000 6:38 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: school filtering of student e-mail I work for Bryant Public Schools, Bryant  AR.  We have been using qmail fo a while now, and love it!  We are contemplating adding student e-mail accounts to our mail server. We are going to use the courier imap, with a web based e-mail system.  We have several issues come up with this.  Here's a couple for the list.... 1. how do we filter content, and what do we filter?(is there a program....are there rules for words, catch phrases, content, url's, attachments...) 2. notification of abuse. ( How do we forward the bad stuff to the appropriate administrator?)   Any input is greatly appreciated.   Thanks, Barry Smoke Network Administrator Bryant Public Schools