Oh No! People Might Watch Porn In Hotel Rooms! Oh, The Horror!
from the spanktravision dept
While it's true that our current administration has been pushing to make obscenity laws stricter, there are some things that just come across as silly. Take, for example, the efforts of a "former porn addict" activist who is so worried about the possibility that he might fall back off the wagon, that he's starting up a national campaign to ban pornography pay-per-view in the privacy of your hotel room. Why? Despite absolutely no evidence to back it up, he's positive that hotel porn leads to sex abuse cases in hotels. Of course, it's not as if anyone who really wants to view porn won't have plenty of other options to do so as well, even if the hotel isn't offering pay-per-view movies. You know, a bunch of hotel rooms I've stayed in recently have also offered video games. Perhaps Jack Thompson needs to start stirring up some interest in getting hotels to knock it off, before kids start running through the corridors shooting everyone. Most decent hotels now offer internet access as well, which can allow just about anyone to access porn there. Might as well ban in-room internet access as well. Also, I understand that when men and women share a hotel room, sometimes they've been known to get naked. Perhaps hotels should be forced to ban co-rooming of members of opposite sexes. Yeah, that'll protect the innocent. There is, of course, an easy answer: hotels should not be allowed to offer electricity. No TV. No internet. No light. We'll all be safe again.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Oh, and I like how you tie in the Bush admiration into this even though they had nothing to do with it?
You mak fun of mainstream media, yet you do the same thing.I guess the number of eyeballs is just as important, right? Anything that sells I guess.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
Not quite sure what your question is here.
What, pissed that Snakes On A Plane bombed after all the Internet hype?
I'm not sure what this has to do with anything.
Oh, and I like how you tie in the Bush admiration into this even though they had nothing to do with it?
The article discusses the connection, as the effort is aimed at getting the administration to do something about hotels.
You mak fun of mainstream media, yet you do the same thing.I guess the number of eyeballs is just as important, right? Anything that sells I guess.
No. We don't "make fun" of the mainstream media. We point out when they get a story wrong or are misleading about it. That's media criticism, which is quite different than hyping up something for no reason. Besides, the point of this story wasn't media criticism at all, so it's hard to see the relevance of your criticism here.
The point was to look at the absurdity of complaining about porn in hotel rooms. That point still stands.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
and this is comming from one of thoes kids that might start running through the corridors shooting everyone.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Porn@!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
And ultimately thats what Thompson's campaign is about. He has lost the perspective to realise that it's not the material that creates the problems, it's the mind-frame in which it is interpreted, therefore becoming an individual issue. Not everybody who watchs porn becomes a rapist or abuser.
It's disappointing to see that people who obviously fall into the second catergory, of avoiding responsibilty, wish to take away the decisions of others, purely because of this lack of understanding or even just common sense.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
i totally agree with the first post.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Techdirt
----------http://www.GrowStronger.com----------
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
I totally agree with Mike
At least try and discuss the article, not just flame the editors because you disagree with their opinions.
The article is about why it would be absurd to ban PAY PER VIEW porn in hotels.
Moron #1 had absolutely nothign to say about that, but Moron #8 comes right along and "totally agrees". With what?
Oh, and I agree with Mike, banning porn in hotels is an absurd thing to try and do. Porns not illegal (in that country), no need to trample anyones rights.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Porn banned on the in-room internet to.
"Pornography: Viewing pornography and sex-related merchandising, or links to such material, even if legal, is not an acceptable use of the Provider’s services. "
View the whole mess at http://mindsatdevelopment.com/auth/
Now where do they get off, telling me I can't do perfectly legal things in my room? I complained to the front desk, and they agreed it was absurd. I don't know whether they'll ever raise the issue with MindsAtDev...
It's just one more thing to check before renting a room for the night, I guess.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: i totally agree with the first post.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Politicos are sissies
Porn is good. No self-restraint is bad. That's all the article entails.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Learn to read you say?
However if you were still confused you only had to read to the first sentence of the second paragraph which starts "A coalition of 13 conservative groups - including the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America".
So I suggest that you take your *own* advice and "learn to read"
-Qyiet
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Whatever the hell happened to personal choice?
"The freedom of speech is often demanded as compensation for the freedom of the thought which is seldom used."
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Politicos are sissies
Porn is good. No self-restraint is bad. That's all the article entails.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Hotels need more DVD players in them, then you can just bring your own porn.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
Aside, Snakes On A Plane was the #1 movie of the weekend, despite haters like you who automatically shit on anything that isn't "mainstream" in the sense of what is expected of a movie. You seem to offer your vague and meaningless two cents here enough. Maybe you should be a movie critic so your opinoins can mean even less than they do now.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
LIMITING PORN? LOL
from: som so-called-socialist pointing laughing at the biggest failiure of democracy he has evr seen while preparing to shoot everyone in his school
(watch som FBI agent filter search this and think im actually gona shoot evry1 at my school lol)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
porn & abuse
(I understand that this isn't exactly the vein of the post, but it needed to be said.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
What's next
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Adults
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: porn & abuse
"I understand that this isn't exactly the vein of the post, but it needed to be said."
No, it didn't.
You don't like porn movies - OK - shut up and don't watch them. Quit trying to ruin my business. I make porn movies in hotel rooms.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
ban Porn
[ link to this | view in thread ]
wow
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re:
Off the dope son!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Ban co-rooming of opposite sex
All you horny bastards need to learn to control them sexual urges better.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
porn = abuse?
This kind of behaviour has much more to do with education and stuff that happens (or not) on the growing up process, than some porn they watch.
but I'm still in favor of banning pay-per-view porn in hotels. It would be much more fun if it was free porn instead of pay-per-view.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
I didn't know you could get porn in hotel rooms - thanks for the info!
.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
britain? huh??
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/22/hotel.porn.ap/index.html
with no mention of Britain. This is a US effort led by conservatives with too much time on their hands.
The "former" porn addict Burress claims "Hotels are just as dangerous as environments around strip joints and porn stores." He should try staying in one of the more upscale hotels not located in the red light district.
I prefer tp get my hotel porn from the free internet service, rather than pay for it on pay per view.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Why, oh why?
In this instance, a man who is presumably republican because of his conservative views calls for hotel porn to be banned which has snowballed into an informal media rebellion against republicans and conservitave america. This logic is flawed. If a black man robs a bank are all black americans criminals? If a heterosexual man beats a homosexual man to death, do all heterosexual americans desire the death of homosexuals? If a mexican illegally crosses the border into america, would it be fair to say that all mexicans in america are here illegally? Of course the answer to these questions is no.
Now to steer the conversation back to the article. I am a republican. I don't believe that porn is edifying or uplifting to anyone involved with it. However, NOTHING should stand in the way of the freedom of the individual. This is not to say that we should have anarchy....because the rights of another individual should end where they will begin to interfere with my rights. But, no one's rights are in jeopardy because of pornography. As long as it isn't aired on TV as commercials during kids shows where it would become unavoidable, there is no violation of personal rights.
Viewing porn and participating in other similar vices is purely a choice made by both the people viewing it and the people producing it. Therefore, even though i don't necessarily agree with the practice, i cannot stand in the way of personal freedom.
Keep my words in mind next time you become tempted by mainstream media to bash republicans. True republicans should stand for small central government and big business. When some fanatic tries to push the govt to limit personal freedom beyond where it will interfere with another's, they do not speak for everyone.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
the real economic cost
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Ban porn in your OWN hotel room...
The option is usually only employed by parents, but anyone who doesn't want to be tempted should just have the front desk shut off their access and keep the laptop at home (or put on parental controls with a random password they'll never remember). Everyone else still has the right to watch porn if they want.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
Amen, brother. The U.S. sucks and is getting worse every day.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Why, oh why?
And besides I really can't see any bashing the this article. The people that have posted comments here are another story.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
So many bases to cover...
I agree with you that limiting porn is absurd. However you're going in the wrong direction. You are saying that it's absurd on the standpoint of enforcement. "How could they ever be able to do that?" you say. The point, however, is whether or not they should do that. The answer, in my opinion, is no.
We're not a democracy. We're a republic. If we were a democracy, then every single vote would be counted instead of the "averaging" Electoral College system we have.
We can hope.
Aside: please learn to type full words. I don't care that much about spelling (hell, if it weren't for spell check, I might as well be typing in a different language). But if you are going to type in your cutesy little leet-speak, at least pay for my aspirin.
Of course they're going to say that the hotel porn made them do it. Gods forbid that anyone take responsibility for their actions. If you ask enough pedophiles, I'm sure one of them would say that the talking kazoo made them do it.
Thank you! Well said!.
That's the root problem at such "for the children", "for the people", and "for common decency" rallying cries. There is always a channel button, a mute button, an off button. No one has forced you to watch anything. Stop trying to save us from ourselves damnit. If we hurt ourselves, kill ourselves or what have you, then fine. Our choice. We're helping prove Darwin right. Who are you to get in the way of evolution? And don't start trying to save my soul either. If I'm so twisted and perverted, why would you want to spend eternity in the same afterlife as me anyway? To quote a great (albeit, fictional) man, "Why don't we just ignore each other until we go away?"
Yes, it is unfortunate, but if the group wants to disassociate itself, it needs to make sure people understand that the person is not affiliated. Similar to what the National Institute on Media and the Family did with Jack Thompson.
Wrong. If it's aired on TV as commercials during kids shows, then the parents need to find the aforementioned off button. Period. It is not, nor should it be, the media's or the media-regulation's responsibility to safeguard our morals.
It is not a right to be able to watch television. That's a luxury. It's not a right to have television programming that's clean of anything you find objectionable. It is your right to not have someone tell you what you have to watch, then force you to watch it. Since I don't see anyone being held at gunpoint or coerced into watching porn, I'd say that our rights are safe here.
The only rights in danger are the rights of those who wish to view porn and wouldn't be able to because it's outlawed. In my opinion, the law against porn to minors is a violation of rights. It's a law based on "moral decency" that removes the responsibility of child-rearing from the parents. It's a law founded under the pretense of "preventing the development of perverts and predators".
Since that law was conceived so long ago, I submit that it was done so without the benefit of studies to support this assertion. I would like to see evidence that viewing porn before a certain age could lead to perversion in any substantial numbers, especially if that viewing were offset by proper parental education.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Porn is GOOD
Give them lots of porn videos..they'll mastr***te and go to sleep :-). Dont let them go out of their rooms and look for sex
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Also, Snakes on a Plane did 15 million over the weekend (which included an extra day revenue since they threw in Thursday) which is about what a normal B Grade Horror Flick does, so no, it was number one, but thats because everyone was at the beach.
My opinion, its a stupid topic that will go nowhere, no one will take it seriously, and the only ones reporting it are ones looking for additional viewers, this site included.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Thread going nowhere
Since you're number 43, I'd say that there have been plenty of people taking the subject seriously. Sure, some of those posts have been mildly-retarded flames ::ahem::, but to say "wow this is going to be popular" but "it's going nowhere".... Ahhh... I love the smell of self-contradiction in the air. Smells like easy victory.
I'll touch briefly on the rest of your points:
I'll will assume that, based on the "I say it again", that you were the AC from comment #1? Of course this site is going to pick up the story. If you read the entire article, you'd notice that Mike wasn't talking about "some guy trying to ban porn in hotels", he was talking about the absurdity of banning porn in hotels period. And since this ban would be technology based, and since censorship is a hot-topic in tech circles, I'd say that this article is quite comfortable here. It may not fall 100% within your idea of what should be here, but hey, you're not running this place are you?
1) It is news. Other's didn't know about it, now they do. That's news.
2) This guy's crusade doesn't have to go anywhere. That's not the point. The censorship issue is.
3) It's not about the hotels telling this guy to F.O., it's about the hotels being forced into censorship by hypothetical legislation. That's all this whole thing is... a discussion about hypothetical censorship.
4) I'm sure the Justice Department did get a good laugh out of it. And I hope that's as far as they go with it. Again, that's another point of this thread.
Finally, if you are AC#1, thank you for the Snakes on a Plane throw-in. It's nice to see people toss a non-sequitur wrapped around a red-herring. And since you were tossing that at a person to insult or belittle them, instead of disproving thier point, I'd say that makes it an Ad Hominem too. Congradualtions! You just pulled off the coveted Logical Fallacy Ass-Hat... oops, I mean Hat-Trick.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Traitors
If you hate the USA so much then shut your ass and fucking get out of my country already.
Yet another reason to start a USA-hater-beat-down service.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
motivation?
I can see it now...
Phil: I hate porn.
Virginal Miss: Oh yes, Phil.
Phil: All that skin and sweat and rutting like animals is disgusting.
Virginal Miss: Yes, YES. Oh yes, Phil.
Phil: All that debasing. All that slurping and penetrating...
Virginal Miss: Oh My GOD, PHIL. YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Traitors
So, you're saying that we don't have the freedom to disagree with our government? We don't have to freedom to dissent and voice our dissatisfaction with how our country is run? And that if we do, we should be physically beaten?
Nice. You've just showed the same attitude of many of the "terrorist" nations and dictatorial powers, such as Saddam Hussein and Fidel Castro.
Now that you've voiced your meat-headed, ignorant, fascist, and hate-filled opinion, kindly shut up and go back to polishing your car's american flag stickers.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Thread going nowhere
-A
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: motivation?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Porn is GOOD
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Porn banned on the in-room internet to.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re:wats up
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Communists at work
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Example: Husband and wife have had many fights pertaining to his pornography addiction, he has tried very hard by allowing his wife to share his computer and what not, he goes away for a business trip, in his room and this trashy slut comes across the screen, the poor husband struggling to fight his own desires knowing his wife is the most important thing..but stumbles.
Can you sit there and say that YOU want to be responsible for divorce, fights, and lies.
You need to remember there are people out there who have morals and are trying to change this world we live in. And since half of you "hate this country" you should appreciate those who are actually trying to help this lost nation.
[ link to this | view in thread ]