If the web address of your blog contains the term "blog" (like blogs.nytimes.com or *.blogspot.com), men and women working for the United States Air Force will not be able to access your blogs.
In a strange move, the US Air Force has cut off access to all external websites that contain the term "blog" in the URL. The official argument is that blogs aren’t legitimate media outlets and therefore, shouldn’t be read at work.
Wired has the whole story - "Air Force has imposed bans on all sites with "blog" in their URLs, thus cutting off any sites hosted by Blogspot. The idea isn’t to keep airmen in the dark — they can still access news sources that are "primary, official-use sources."
Google owned blogspot will be the worst affected blog network while WordPress or Russia based LiveJournal will remain accessible.
Related: How to Access Blocked Sites
Find this article at: http://www.labnol.org/internet/blogging/air-force-bans-blogspot-blogs/2440/
web: http://www.labnol.org/ email: amit@labnol.org
Reader Comments
Good Grief, this story or the issue of Air Force blocking blogs just made it to the Coast Guard end of the blogosphere. At our end of internet, we have not all been blocked as of yet, but rumblings inside Coast Guard Headquarters point in that direction. We have uncovered what has been labeled the “ugly underbelly” of the Coast Guard and report on issues they sooner not have discussed. Of the three main blogs, CoastGuardReport.org, and two others we take on issues that otherwise would not be discussed at the level and with the sources inside the Coast Guard we use.
As the Coast Guard tries to come to grips with its new and increased missions since 911, along with its increased funding, we have much to report on. From the failed 27 billion dollar acquisition portfolio to upgrade the Coast Guard’s aged and deteriorating fleet of ships and aircraft, to a base infrastructure that is largely made up of base hand-me-downs from the other services, they have much to do. Coast Guards 27 billion dollar acquisition portfolio is still being managed today by an Admiral with ZERO professional acquisition training, qualifications or certifications. Why the congress let alone the Commandant of the Coast Guard don’t tackle that easy fix is beyond anything anyone outside the Coast Guard can fathom.
Good Luck Bloggers!
Written by Thomas Jackson on 03.01.08
if you were to purchase a short URL and then re-direct it to your blogspot address, would this work to be viewable by the armed forces?
Written by Julie Phineas on 03.17.08
The Air Force is tightening restrictions on which blogs its troops can read, cutting off access to just about any independent site with the word “blog” in its web address.
Written by MyMilitaryYears on 12.13.08