FSX68
August 21st, 2012, 13:22
At my government work computer, I use to be able to access SOH at the .com address but as of late I was blocked due to the Websence program they use had picked up on the word "sim" as a filter to block. I had to go through some hoops and fill out a form and explain the "Operational Requirement" for it to be unblocked. I couldn't explain other then they allow us to look at CNN and I can go to the FLIGHTSIM.com site with no problems. Well, I filled out the form and emailed it in to this Navy LT who use to be a pilot in training in the VAW community(Think he either washed out or quit) and he was nice enough to mitigate the restoration and unblock it. Only problem was it that I use the .net extension and that was the one they unblocked.
I told them I made a mistake and should of use the .com extension. Well, That didn't matter as now I have to go thru the yak squeeze again with the request form and It has to go thru
every tom dick and harry on the form. Here is a portion of the email that the young LT sent me and notice how he questions the name of SOH: I underlined the strange part.
(Quote)
In all probability, the site in question: www.sim-outhouse.net (http://www.sim-outhouse.net), was blocked because of how it is named. There's a popular brand of "Simulation" games (Sim-city, Sim-life, etc...) and so, when making the block list for different game sites a blanket block on anything starting with "sim" was probably put into effect. I can't, for the life of me, think of a single reason why any sane person would want to make a simulation game where you would manage an outhouse. Unfortunately, it also wouldn't surprise me if such a game exists.
The policies in place concerning blocked sites might seem excessive, but I must point out that blocks exist for many reasons, the most pertinent being: network safety, resource utilization, and good order and discipline. I must also point out that this is on a government owned and operated enterprise network and, as such, use is a privilege. Every time someone does a google search on a NMCI computer, they're using limited network resources, and, depending on what they're searching for or attempt to access, potentially creating an opening for an attack. Those attacks generally take the form of malware. The rules and policies in place serve to provide as much protection as possible while still allowing for use of the internet.
I am not saying that your site is infected, or a game site, I'm merely explaining why blocks are necessary. (UNQUOTE)
Glad I am retiring in a few months too much chicken squeeze and too PC. If I had of used the correct URL in the first place all would of been taken care of.
I told them I made a mistake and should of use the .com extension. Well, That didn't matter as now I have to go thru the yak squeeze again with the request form and It has to go thru
every tom dick and harry on the form. Here is a portion of the email that the young LT sent me and notice how he questions the name of SOH: I underlined the strange part.
(Quote)
In all probability, the site in question: www.sim-outhouse.net (http://www.sim-outhouse.net), was blocked because of how it is named. There's a popular brand of "Simulation" games (Sim-city, Sim-life, etc...) and so, when making the block list for different game sites a blanket block on anything starting with "sim" was probably put into effect. I can't, for the life of me, think of a single reason why any sane person would want to make a simulation game where you would manage an outhouse. Unfortunately, it also wouldn't surprise me if such a game exists.
The policies in place concerning blocked sites might seem excessive, but I must point out that blocks exist for many reasons, the most pertinent being: network safety, resource utilization, and good order and discipline. I must also point out that this is on a government owned and operated enterprise network and, as such, use is a privilege. Every time someone does a google search on a NMCI computer, they're using limited network resources, and, depending on what they're searching for or attempt to access, potentially creating an opening for an attack. Those attacks generally take the form of malware. The rules and policies in place serve to provide as much protection as possible while still allowing for use of the internet.
I am not saying that your site is infected, or a game site, I'm merely explaining why blocks are necessary. (UNQUOTE)
Glad I am retiring in a few months too much chicken squeeze and too PC. If I had of used the correct URL in the first place all would of been taken care of.