I'm Feeling Stifled

I thought I would be able to at least use Google Reader and look at my RSS feeds and keep up with possibilities for a New 23 Things program the multitypes are developing for this fall/winter. Well, I can look at my RSS feeds all right, but anything that is a Web2.0 application is completely blocked by the hospital filtering process. Every one of the things that I wanted to look at has brought up this nasty, intimidating message: You Are in Violation of Hospital Policy

100-006
and/or other network access agreements.

Read the policy below very carefully.

NOTE: This Site is being blocked by content filtering software according to standards set by Hospital Administration. A third-party vendor maintains this database. MGH makes no claim on it's validity.

Apparently, if you chose to interact with a screen and use some brain power, instead of sitting passively with your hands in your lap and your brain disengaged, you must be doing something wrong.

I now so do understand the frustrations of the many school media center employees who are similarly crippled by filtering policies that are not well thought out and who were unable to do so many of the first 23 Things on a Stick.

At least in libraries, you can ask to have the filter turned off if you are an adult. I see no easy way to do this with the hospital connection. It' s quite frightening, if you think about it, to have some outside entity have that much control over what you are allowed to see or not.