Logan Daily News

Net Watch
by Bob Green

Several weeks ago, I pointed readers to a wonderful Internet site created by David Swain and titled Hocking Hills Internet guide (http://www.hockinghills.com/). The other day, I decided to use it myself to see if any new activities were listed. Much to my surprise, I found a brand new golf course that has just opened up several miles from my home. I couldn't believe that a course had opened up in a town as tiny and as far off the beaten path as Gibesonville (check spelling on this). It's a neat experience to go into the World Wide Web to find out what's going on in my own back yard so to speak. I was driving through Gibesonville on Friday afternoon and saw a small sign for The Ridge at Laurel Golf Course, so I pulled into the driveway. It's right across the street from the town's only store and single pump gas station. The store is a relic in and of itself. The drive curved around a house and ended in a gravel parking lot. A small building serves as the clubhouse and a couple of sheds held some rather impressive greenskeeping equipment. The sun was actually out when I stopped and the view beyond the parking lot elicited a feeling of joy to this golfer's heart. There, tucked away in the rolling hills, was a brand spanking new golf course and it's not even crowded with a bunch of people yet. There's nothing that can mess up a good game of golf like having to wait forever to tee off and then having to move at a snail's pace the whole time you're out there. If you feel the same way about it, this might just be the golf course for you. Sure, it takes a little more effort to get there, but a challenging and comfortably moving game is worth it. The cost is significantly less than other similar courses which is good news for a cheapskate like myself. It's apparently a tough and challenging par 35 course. I've been warned to bring extra golf balls the first couple times I play it. There's plenty of hills, so it can serve as a great form of exercise, or for the lazy golfers, electric carts are available. If this sounds a little like an advertisement, I apologize. My personal interest in this is that I would like to see this endeavor succeed so I can have a convenient place to play a game of golf. At any rate, go try it out and E-mail me about your experience.

The big news on the Internet this past week was the overturning of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) by a panel of federal judges. This law had been enacted earlier this year and it made it possible to impose penalties on anyone who "knowingly. . .makes, creates, or solicits" and "initiates the transmission" of "any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image or other communication which is obscene or indecent, knowing that the recipient of the communication is under 18 years of age." Those found guilty under the law could be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison. There has been much debate over this controversial legislation and it appears that for now, it is an unenforceable law.

The Internet for years has played host to much objectionable information and pictures. With more and more schools using the Internet and younger and younger users, there has been a groundswell of support for some type of legislation to "make the superhighway a safe place for kids." For many parents and educators, the defeat of the CDA comes as a disheartening blow. Even with this garbage allowed to flow through the Net, it is still possible to block it with programs like Cyber Patrol. Cyber Patrol is a free program that parents and educators can get at (http://www.charm.net/charm/cyberpatrol/). This program is virtually impossible for even an expert to crack without the password and it is extremely effective. It should be noted that pornography is not going to automatically pop out as you are casually searching the Internet. A person has to specifically look for it and even then a warning screen generally precedes any extremely explicit material so uninterested viewers can bypass it.

If only it were so simple to block lewd or offensive material elsewhere, concerned parents' jobs would be much easier. Actually there are many pathways in today's society where children can be exposed to offensive material in words and pictures. Network programming on regular TV offers much that is offensive and detrimental to impressionable young minds. Books at the public library that are freely accessible to our children would have led many of us older adults to the woodshed had our parents caught us with them. Cable TV programming provides all but the sickest pornography and a trip to many video stores can make that available as well. Spin the dial across the radio to reveal raw and explicit lyrics. Even if parents closely monitor all of these media to limit the flow of negativity, they can't control what other kids are allowed to view. Chances are real good that if you allow your children to visit other kids, it won't be long before they are exposed to smut. In light of all the sexually transmitted diseases that can maim and kill, one would think more parents and society in general would be more concerned about the type of media content kids can watch. To cradle a baby in your arms can be a real joy. To cradle that same child as a teenager or young adult with AIDS won't be such a happy occasion. We really do need to do a much better job of protecting our children from this type of stuff.

Please say it ain't so. Last week, I happened to go into the middle school where our sixth, seventh, and eighth graders go to become educated. It's a beautiful school and one that our community can be proud of. Passing by the library, I was shocked to see a book by an author who is known to write very explicitly about adult subjects. The author that I'm talking about is Danielle Steele and the book title was "The Promise". Now maybe I'm jumping to conclusions because I've never read the book, but please tell me they are not allowing sexually explicit novels to be made available to such young children in our school system. I would be very happy to be set straight on this issue so E-mail me and I will include your comments in a future column. If indeed these types of books are being allowed, I would encourage the administrators to strongly rethink their decision.

One last comment for those who care more about free speech than the future of our children. Think about yourself. If the kids don't survive, who's going to pay into social security? Surf safe, have fun, and we'll meet again next week.