..Couple of things that came to my mind when
I was reading "stop cyber cafe bashing...", this morning..
Firstly, this step should not come as a surprise since we, speaking in
general terms, seem to do something extreme or do nothing at all. I see it
as yet another case against imposing a "thought police" by the ones who
are out to cleanse or purify our motherland. One continues to hear
statements like "save the Indian youth from the assault of the Western
civilization.." This certainly does not reflect progressive thinking on
the parts of our leaders. On the one hand, they have gone about
globalizing the economy (which is a good thing) and on the other, they
expect the society to remain unaffected in some respects. Unrealistic
expectations.
This argument might seem like going off on a tangent while we have the
issue of pornography on hand. But that's not the case because the
underlying mentality/motivation behind such steps is a "us
vs. them" philosophy.
I do not mean to imply that one should condone viewing pornography. Far
from it.. The point is that our thinking about the issue is wrong. Now,
how do we stop people watching porn in cyber cafés?
Really, it seems to be
quite an simple task.
1. Place the computers so that no one is hidden from the view of the
manager/fellow net surfers i.e. no partitions/cubicles. The moral of the
story? If you want privacy when you send your mails or whatever, well, do
it at home. The loss of privacy would be a small price to pay.
2. Put up prominent notices scaring the customers saying "Don't even
try.. I'll call the cops!" or something to that effect..
3. On a lighter note, institute a reservation for women among the cyber
cafe owners. It would certainly be very embarrassing for a guy if a woman
catches him watching porn!
4. Put up a couple of cameras (which are quite cheap these
days) in the cafe. And make sure the customers know that they are being
watched all the time.
5. Don't build big cyber cafes. Build two cyber cafes
instead of one. That way its easier for the manager to keep a tab on things.
Your idea of a "good practices" is a good one. But that
certainly is a time-taking task.
C.P.Naresh
USA
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