THE US Congress has finally passed the Telecommunications Bill, rewriting the rules of electronic information. And as all free speech activists feared, it includes stringent legislation governing the publication of 鈥渋ndecent鈥� material on the Net.
Whether the legislation will really strangle the Net remains to be seen. But some Netizens are already plotting ways around it.
Netropolitan particularly liked the scheme hatched by Adam Back, which you can find on the Usenet at comp.org.eff.talk and alt.censorship, or on the Web at .
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He has written a Perl program that will turn 鈥減lain鈥� language into an 鈥渆xonised鈥� version 鈥� named after Senator James Exon, the self-styled champion of decency on the Net. Using Back鈥檚 bilingual dictionary, you can formulate a message that could not possibly cause offence while whizzing its way around the Net. But his program will allow the intended recipient to find out what you really mean.
You鈥檒l have to take a look yourself if you want to find out how to translate Back鈥檚 message to Exon. He begins: 鈥淪enator Exon, may I express my annoyance that you鈥檙e a person who is overly sensitive to vulgar speech 鈥︹��
Be warned, however, that the 鈥渦nexonised鈥� version is a great deal less polite than this.
STILL talking rubbish, Netropolitan has been browsing around in recycling bins.
A good place to start is PRISM, the online service of a British charity called the World Resource Foundation at . The site offers an excellent range of recycling information, with an extensive electronic database and an opportunity to ask questions or start a discussion.
The site鈥檚 World Wide Waste Web page has links all over the place, with the waste management plans of everywhere from Seattle to Cheshire.
For a wider perspective you can jump from there to the Global Futures Foundation, for example, or the Global Recycling Network.
The Compost Resource page at is Netropolitan鈥檚 favourite. There you can find out how to make loads of rich compost in the smallest garden without any nasty smells. Mmmm, lovely.
NETROPOLITAN is at edit@news.newsci.ipc.co.uk. And don鈥檛 forget to visit our New 杏吧原创 Planet Science Web pages at .
