A Load of Old Blocks
There's an interesting bunch of comments going on on secretdubai. That well-known commenter 'anonymous' has been having a go at SD and hopes she has 'learned her lesson' after being blocked and unblocked by Etisalat.
What I cannot get my head round is why Etisalat is still trying to act as some kind of 'moral guardian'. Being blocked by them is not the big deal they seem to think it is. Anyone in TECOM/Emaar/Nakheel properties gets unrestricted interweb, as do companies with leased lines. Nobody in the rest of the world knows nor cares what Etisalat is. People who really want to see 'bad stuff' can find ways around the proxy. It will be interesting to see whether 'Etisalat2' feels obliged to implement a proxy.
I think the UAE is grown-up enough to be able live without Etisalat's random and frequently inappropriate censorship. But I also understand that more conservative families feel the proxy is beneficial. So as a first step towards normality, Etisalat could make the proxy optional. As a second step, if you really want a cut-down version of the interweb, you could pay a small monthly fee to Etisalat for the privilege. Or, given that most subscribers would probably opt for a proxy-free life, maybe they should pay for that privilege (joking).
This is all a bit bizarre, though. Here in the UK, you can get unlimited, high-speed ADSL for about 16 pounds a month (Dhs 103), compared to the Dhs 250 / month that Etisalat charges. Regrettably there is no option to have your interweb experience messed up by random censorship.
What I cannot get my head round is why Etisalat is still trying to act as some kind of 'moral guardian'. Being blocked by them is not the big deal they seem to think it is. Anyone in TECOM/Emaar/Nakheel properties gets unrestricted interweb, as do companies with leased lines. Nobody in the rest of the world knows nor cares what Etisalat is. People who really want to see 'bad stuff' can find ways around the proxy. It will be interesting to see whether 'Etisalat2' feels obliged to implement a proxy.
I think the UAE is grown-up enough to be able live without Etisalat's random and frequently inappropriate censorship. But I also understand that more conservative families feel the proxy is beneficial. So as a first step towards normality, Etisalat could make the proxy optional. As a second step, if you really want a cut-down version of the interweb, you could pay a small monthly fee to Etisalat for the privilege. Or, given that most subscribers would probably opt for a proxy-free life, maybe they should pay for that privilege (joking).
This is all a bit bizarre, though. Here in the UK, you can get unlimited, high-speed ADSL for about 16 pounds a month (Dhs 103), compared to the Dhs 250 / month that Etisalat charges. Regrettably there is no option to have your interweb experience messed up by random censorship.
posted by Keef at
5:41 pm
<< Home