Chapter 17
Rating the Web . . . PICS, the Platform for Internet Content Selection
In response to governmental and parental concerns regarding the amount and quality of content on the Internet, many of the leaders in the Internet and computer industry joined W3C (the World Wide Web Consortium) to create PICS (the
Platform for Internet Content Selection). The members of PICS are: America Online, Inc. (AOL), Apple Computer, Inc. , AT&T, The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), CompuServe, IBM Corporation, Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), Interactive Services Association (ISA), INRIA, MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science and W3C, MCI, Microsoft, Netscape Communications Corporation, NewView, Inc., Open Market, Prodigy Services Company, Progressive Networks, Providence Systems/Parental Guidance, SafeSurf, Spyglass, SurfWatch Software, Time-Warner's Pathfinder and Viacom's Nickelodeon.
PICS is a couple of computer code specifications that allow content to be both self-labeled and labeled by third parties. But PICS is not a rating service. PICS just governs the format of the rating code and how the codes are transmitted. Think of it as a food product label law, which specifies how big the lettering has to be, where on the product it has to appear and what color the label has to be. Otherwise, the food product manufacturer labels its own product, just like the rating companies do.
Many of us are betting on PICS to help ease the pressure on governmental groups to censor the Internet. The hardest part about getting the rating concept to work, as promised, is getting the sites rated.
Familyguidebook.com has a special e-mail that can be sent from the site to website operators asking them to rate their sites. Hopefully the search engines, as President Clinton requested, will help too. I suggest that Web hosting companies commit their help as well
Many rating companies are already using the PICS standard to come up with new products and services to address the needs of special interest groups.
The Recreational Software Advisory Council's Labeling System for the Internet (RSACi)
The Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC) runs RSACi ("RSAC on the Internet"), a content rating labeling
system that rates sites on the Web (www.rsac.org). RSAC is the non-profit organization that developed a content-rating system for the level of violence contained in computer games. They have taken their extensive experience and applied it now to the Internet. RSACi uses a rating system similar to the one used to rate computer game violence to rate Internet sites for nudity, sexual content, violence and vulgarities.
Parents can select the types of content and levels of ratings appropriate for their children. As with movie ratings or food labels . . . parents become the informed decision-makers. Using content ratings allows you, not the software blockers or government censors, to decide what and how much your children should see.
The RSACi rating system has been available since April 1, 1996, and has rated approximately 40,000 web sites. There is no charge for getting rated, and any website operator can submit a questionnaire at RSAC's website to obtain a rating label. The questionnaire asks a series of highly specific questions about the level, nature and intensity of the offensive language and graphic content used on the site. (Although currently based on the honor system, RSACi reserves the right to confirm the accuracy of the rating.)
The RSAC server processes the questionnaire and produces HTML advisory tags, which the website operator codes into the site. Your web browser then reads these tags, allowing or blocking access to sites with specified ratings.
Cyber Patrol, Surf Watch, Net Shepherd, Microsoft's Internet Explorer 3.0 and Microsoft Plus! for Kids currently support the RSACi ratings system, and RSACi's ratings are the default standard for their browser. Netscape reports that it will be adding PICS support to its next version of Netscape Navigator.
RSACi rates sites using the following categories and levels.
Violence Rating Nudity Rating Sex Rating Language Rating
Descriptor Descriptor Descriptor Descriptor
Level 0: None or None None or None
only sports innocent
related kissing;
romance
Level 1: Injury to Revealing Passionate Mild expletives
human being attire kissing
Level 2: Destruction Partial nudity Clothed Moderate
of realistic Sexual expletives or
objects touching profanity
Level 3: Aggressive Frontal nudity Non-explicit Strong
violence or sexual acts language or
death hate speech
Level 4: Rape or Frontal nudity Explicit Crude, vulgar
wanton, (qualifying as sexual language or
gratuitous provocative acts or sex extreme hate
violence display) crimes speech
RSACi provides help in determining which rating level applies to the content of the site. When website operators complete the questionnaire, they are given a definition of the terms used in the form. For example, "frontal nudity" includes "any portrayal of a nude being which shows public hair or genitalia, excluding known animals in their natural state of undress." That means that nude female human breasts do not qualify as "frontal nudity." Nude breasts qualify instead as "partial nudity."
Unless you are familiar with the definitions, you won't be able to intelligently choose permitted rating levels. You can find the RSACi definitions at http://register.rsac.org/def.
SafeSurf's Labeling and Rating System.
SafeSurf, formed by concerned parents in 1995, uses its own rating standards, as well as the PICS standard. It rates the type of content and its level of intensity. It has many locations mirrored around the Web where website operators can fill out the questionnaire for a rating. If you have your own site, and support SafeSurf, you can request to be a mirror site yourself. That would allow other website operators to rate their sites using SafeSurf right at your site. It's an interesting grassroots concept, and may help get sites rated. It will also certainly raise the rating consciousness on the Web for all your website visitors.
SafeSurf can be licensed by ISPs for server level blocking as well. Web browsers that support the PICS standard will support SafeSurf.
SafeSurf has become the second most popular rating system. Most programs which use RSACi as a default, make SafeSurf a rating choice.
SafeSurf uses more rating categories than RSACi. The categories and levels used by SafeSurf are set forth below, and are more subjective than RSACi.
For each category—profanity, heterosexual themes, homosexual themes, nudity, violence, intolerances, glorifying drug use, other adult themes, and gambling—SafeSurf ranks the content into one of nine levels. The nine levels are strictly age-based. I've set them out below.
Age Range:
1) All Ages 6) Adults
2) Older Children 7) Limited to Adults
3) Teens 8) Adults Only
4) Older Teens 9) Explicitly for Adults
5) Adult Supervision Recommended
Profanity:
1) Subtle Innuendo 6) Graphic
Subtly Implied through the Limited use of expletives and
use of Slang obscene gestures
2) Explicit Innuendo 7) Detailed Graphic
Explicitly implied through the use Casual use of expletives and
of Slang and obscene gestures.
3) Technical Reference 8) Explicit Vulgarity
Dictionary, encyclopedic, news, Heavy use of vulgar language
technical references obscene gestures.
4) Non-Graphic-Artistic Unsupervised Chat Rooms.
Limited non-sexual expletives 9) Explicit and Crude
used in a artistic fashion Saturated with crude sexual
5) Graphic-Artistic references and gestures.
Non-sexual expletives used in Unsupervised Chat Rooms.
a artistic fashion
Heterosexual Themes:
1) Subtle Innuendo 8) Explicitly Graphic or Inviting
Subtly Implied through the use Participation
of metaphor Explicit Descriptions of
2) Explicit Innuendo intimate details of sexual acts
Explicitly implied (not described) designed to arouse.
through the use of metaphor Inviting interactive sexual
3) Technical Reference participation. Unsupervised
Dictionary, encyclopedic, news, Sexual Chat Rooms
medical references or Newsgroups.
4) Non-Graphic-Artistic 9) Explicit and Crude or
Limited metaphoric descriptions Explicitly Inviting Participation
used in an artistic fashion Profane Graphic Descriptions
5) Graphic-Artistic of intimate details of sexual acts
Metaphoric descriptions used in an designed to arouse. Inviting
artistic fashion interactive sexual participation.
6) Graphic Unsupervised Sexual
Descriptions of intimate sexual acts Chat Rooms or Newsgroups.
7) Detailed Graphic
Descriptions of intimate
details of sexual acts
Gambling:
1) Subtle Innuendo 7) Real Life Gambling without
2) Explicit Innuendo Stakes
3) Technical Discussion 8) Encouraging Interactive Real
4) Non-Graphic-Artistic, Advertising Life Participation with Stakes
5) Graphic-Artistic, Advertising 9) Providing Means with Stakes
6) Simulated Gambling
Homosexual Themes:
1) Subtle Innuendo 7) Detailed Graphic
Subtly Implied through the use Descriptions of intimate details
of metaphor of sexual acts
2) Explicit Innuendo 8) Explicitly Graphic or Inviting
Explicitly implied (not described) Participation
through the use of metaphor Explicit descriptions of intimate
3) Technical Reference details of sexual acts designed to
Dictionary, encyclopedic, news, arouse. Inviting interactive sexual
medical references participation. Unsupervised
4) Non-Graphic-Artistic Sexual Chat Rooms or
Limited metaphoric descriptions Newsgroups.
used in an artistic fashion 9) Explicit and Crude or Explicitly
5) Graphic-Artistic Inviting Participation
Metaphoric descriptions used Profane Graphic Descriptions of
in an artistic fashion intimate details of sexual acts
6) Graphic designed to arouse. Inviting
Descriptions of intimate sexual acts interactive sexual participation.
Unsupervised Sexual
Chat Rooms or Newsgroups.
Other Adult Themes:
1) Subtle Innuendo 6) Graphic
2) Explicit Innuendo 7) Detailed Graphic
3) Technical Reference 8) Explicit Vulgarity
4) Non-Graphic-Artistic 9) Explicit and Crude
5) Graphic-Artistic
Nudity:
1) Subtle Innuendo 5) Graphic-Artistic
Subtly Implied through the use of Artistically presented without
composition, lighting, shaping, full frontal nudity
revealing clothing, etc. 6) Graphic
2) Explicit Innuendo Artistically presented with
Explicitly implied (not shown) frontal nudity
through the use of composition, 7) Detailed Graphic
lighting, shaping or revealing clothing Erotic frontal nudity
3) Technical Reference 8) Explicit Vulgarity
Dictionary, encyclopedic, news, Pornographic presentation,
medical references designed to appeal to prurient
4) Non-Graphic-Artistic interests.
Classic works of art presented in 9) Explicit and Crude
public museums for family viewing Explicit pornographic
presentation
Violence:
1) Subtle Innuendo 7) Detailed Graphic
2) Explicit Innuendo 8) Inviting Participation in
3) Technical Reference Graphic Interactive Format
4) Non-Graphic-Artistic 9) Encouraging Personal
5) Graphic-Artistic Participation,Weapon Making
6) Graphic
Sex, Violence, and Profanity:
1) Subtle Innuendo 6) Graphic
2) Explicit Innuendo 7) Detailed Graphic
3) Technical Reference 8) Explicit Vulgarity
4) Non-Graphic-Artistic 9) Explicit and Crude
5) Graphic-Artistic
Intolerance - (Intolerance of another
person's racial, religious, or gender
background):
1) Subtle Innuendo 6) Graphic Discussions
2) Explicit Innuendo 7) Endorsing Hatred
3) Technical Reference 8) Endorsing Violent or Hateful
4) Non-Graphic-Literary Action
5) Graphic-Literary 9) Advocating Violent or Hateful
Action
Glorifying Drug Use:
1) Subtle Innuendo 6) Graphic
2) Explicit Innuendo 7) Detailed Graphic
3) Technical Reference 8) Simulated Interactive
4) Non-Graphic-Artistic Participation
5) Graphic-Artistic 9) Soliciting Personal Participation
Net Shepherd Rating System and Software
Net Shepherd isn't either fish or fowl. It's a rating system that complies with the PICS standard, but parents have to download it and install it on their computer to use it. I think that it works best as a server level blocker, where an ISP licenses the product, and parents can turn it on or off, and set the controls for various levels of content and classifications of content.
The beauty of Net Shepherd is that it has more rated sites than anyone else. They've managed to do this by working from AltaVista's site registry, and hiring people to rate sites. Their site ratings are based on maturity (the maturity levels of the persons who should be viewing the site. Note, that doesn't mean understanding the site, it only means viewing it. A site describing a nuclear reaction experiment would be okay (although understandably boring) for most people, and would get a more general viewing rating.)
Their Maturity definition system is set forth below.
Rating Definition
General Content appropriate for all ages
Child Content appropriate for ages 6-9 yrs.
Pre-Teen Content appropriate for ages 10-12 yrs.
Teen Content appropriate for ages 13-17 yrs.
Adult Content appropriate for ages 18 yrs and over
Objectionable Content may be objectionable for any age group
They also rate on quality of the site, using a star system the way a restaurant would be rated.(One star is "poor" and five stars "excellent.")
Breaking away from the pack, Net Shepherd has gotten into the topical directory business. All sites, in addition to the maturity and quality ratings, receive a topical classification.The topics range from "Arts & Literature," "Sports & Recreation" and "Business" to "News," "Kids & Family" and "Personal Websites" (among others). Using these topical classifications, you can limit your searches to those Net Shepherd topics. That way, it becomes a directory-type search engine for Net Shepherd users.
Taking this feature one step further, Net Shepherd has announced that it will join forces with AltaVista (the largest indexing search engine) to create special interest search engines for special interest groups, on a case-by-case basis. For example, if a religious group wants to commission a special search engine for its members, where only preapproved sites would be listed, Net Shepherd, together with AltaVista, would prepare a special interest search engine just for that group.
Even more relevant is the fact that Net Shepherd can prepare a special family-friendly search engine of prescreened sites. That way a parent can limit their children's surfing to sites referenced by that search engine, each of which would have been rated by Net Shepherd as safe for all ages.
Microsoft Internet Explorer and PICS
Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 3.0 and higher work with PICS. I've set out some screen shots which show you how easy it is to setup the PICS controls on Microsoft's Internet Explorer. It uses RSACi as the default, but can be configured to use SafeSurf, instead.