Bloggers Speak Up - Please, Password Protect Children from X-Rated Content Sites

Once upon a time, I started blogging at a site my hubby set up for me (OhDawno.org). I moved here to Blogger because I wanted to leave a comment at Jill Miller Zimon's blog "Writes Like She Talks" and at the time, it was set up so only Blogger users could comment (she changed that right quick but I'd already set up this one).

I've been happy enough to keep my blog here since then, and it certainly gets more traffic than my old one did. Why do I mention this? Well it's my round about way to give credit to Jill for bringing me further into the blogosphere and provides the opportunity to segue into why I'm blogging today.

Jill was tagged on her blog to help perpetuate a movement by bloggers wishing to speak out against the easy access children have, sometimes even accidentally*, to pornography on the internet. It's from a group calling themselves Blogger Power and they're asking bloggers to help get the word out. The link above is from their "open letter to bloggers," the one below is to the main page on their site.

*Anyone who has accidently typed in whitehouse.com instead of .gov knows how easy that is.

The request from Blogger Power is simple and their cause is not an attempt to stop pornography on the internet or interfere with an adult's rights. Simply put it's :

"Please require a password-protected login before allowing even free access to explicit adult content. We understand that selling porn is your business and we respect your right to make a legal living. But understand our legitimate concerns and work with us. You already have the “warning adult content” on your websites. Yet kids, who are not legal customers of your product, ignore the warning. So to prevent them from having direct access to explicit images, texts and sounds, the simplest way is to have a password-protected login. No more 'free tours' before a visitor supplies basic information."

I like this because it's not a petition to try and get the government to "do something". I'm convinced that the deeper the government gets into something, the higher the likelihood of them creating a monstrosity of legislation that does nothing to help the problem, and makes the rest of our lives even more difficult. It's grass roots, politely worded, and common sensical. Will it make a difference? I guess I'll have to leave that to the fates.

Apparently this meme comes with a request to tag 20 more bloggers. I'm not sure that 20 bloggers even read this blog. What I'm going to do is post about it in the AW blogger's forum "Did You Update Your Blog Today?" thread and if anyone there comes by and wants to pass along the meme, great. If you're reading this and want to pass along the meme - cool! I love having a backlink, but that isn't even important - just pass this message along if you agree with its intent.