8 replies to this topic

[Ungodly]

This morning I am at a Toyota dealership in Riverside,CA for the first time, having routine service done on one of our Prius. Since I am waiting while the car is serviced I brought my iPad.

The dealership graciously offers free WiFi access so I opened my iPad and jumped on. Imagine my surprise when I attempted to access this website and their SONIC brand firewall appliance denied me access.

If this dealership does not want anybody to see my website they have the right to block access from their network.

If I don't like this dealership I can take my car to another dealer.

So it goes.

[Ungodly]

Just as I posted this message a few corporate folks from Toyota happened to arrive and were standing near me.

Did I buttonhole themband complain? Did I point out that I could have my car serviced somewhere else?

Yes.

[Joe Bloe]

I just did a search on "blocking atheist websites" and was surprised at the number of companies and councils that do this.

It makes me laugh to think that somewhere along the line there had to be a sub-committee meeting where they actually discussed the problem and voted on a ban. I'd love to have the minutes of those meetings.

[Great Ape]

Censorship is abhorrent in all forms. I don't need someone else thinking for me. I will decide for myself thank you.

[Ungodly]

If it is so fucking obvious that a malicious sky monster created this planet then why do Jeebustards fear atheists so much? Wouldn't they simply dismiss or ignore us if they were actually certain their invisible friend is real?

The fact that fundies wish to block access to sites like this appears to suggest that they know it is all just BS and they fear our exposing that fact.

Censorship is for losers, reality is for winners.

[Ungodly]

They are also blocking ithinkimightbegay.com, a site I designed to help young people struggling with their sexual identity.

I pointed out to one of the employees That they were doing this, telling her it was my website on my server.

She replied with a canned "They set up the firewall and blocked a lot of sites" translation "Why should I care?"

I replied "i guess the next time my car needs to be serviced I can decide where I want to take it."

This earned me a smug, "yes" with an intentionally insincere dismissive smile.

[Ungodly]

Once I escaped from the Toyota dealer I called the US offices of the company. Somehow my Mac Pro seems to have recorded the phone call.

Link to audio file phone conversation with Toyota USA (my home phone number redacted) [5 minutes+, 1.2mb, 3gp format, edited for brevity and privacy]

Unfortunately we were disconnected when I walked out to my car to get my iPad and discovered how far my cordless home phone works

I invite anyone interested in this incident to visit I Think I Might be Gay and tell me exactly who it is that needs to be protected from that website, and what kind of harm it might do.

[Joe Bloe]

What's the story on the complaint to the motor company? Has your disconnected call put an end to it, or will there be a follow-up?


Hey, that site is is very up-to-date. I was reading through the news items and you've got a story about an Australian actress, Magda Szubanski, who has publicly declared that she is gay - I heard about it on the news only yesterday and you've had the story up since the 14th.

Here's a short clip of Magda in a comedy sketch:

[Ungodly]

Joe Bloe, on 17 February 2012 - 06:44 PM, said:

What's the story on the complaint to the motor company? Has your disconnected call put an end to it, or will there be a follow-up?

I have not heard back from them, don't expect to. I expressed my concern, the young lady was competent and professional.

As far as any needs of mine are concerned I do not need to go back there again, so I'm good.

Joe Bloe, on 17 February 2012 - 06:44 PM, said:

Hey, that site is is very up-to-date. I was reading through the news items and you've got a story about an Australian actress, Magda Szubanski, who has publicly declared that she is gay - I heard about it on the news only yesterday and you've had the story up since the 14th.

I have a 'bot running that checks for gay news every 60 minutes, then puts the summaries you see on the site into a database.

Joe Bloe, on 17 February 2012 - 06:44 PM, said:

Here's a short clip of Magda in a comedy sketch:

That was good!