My ‘Welcome‘ page on the Facebook Perking the Pansies Book site is no longer available in Turkey. The page is supplied courtesy of a third party application called Pagemodo. Perhaps Pagemodo has just been added to the very, very long (and getting longer) list of sites blocked by lazy Turkish censors. First the lights went out on my blog, then my personal site, now a harmless promo page on Facebook. This is all getting a little tedious. How is an indecent boy meant to make a decent living round here?
Perking the Pansies 
This is really crazy! What is the purpose of it all… Or is it just something to keep those government bureaucrats amused? Seriously though, it’s very sad. If any Jamaican government tried to do something like this (and I am sure some of them would love to) there would be total uproar. What are your civil society organizations saying about this? Protests are in order!
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I’m starting to think that they have filtered the internet without letting us know. Last summer there was talk of having to choose which internet package you want. Then I didn’t hear anymore about that. But I can get into sites in Germany that won’t open up for me here. Maybe I just wasn’t paying too much attention, but I can’t remember any news on the subject.
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These things can be done insidiously and without people being aware at all… That is what is so disturbing. If there are sites you can’t get in Turkey, they MUST be filtering it… Search engines are another way to find out if they are censoring. China blocks searches for particular topics, etc… Internet “package”? That sounds suspicious too. The Internet is just… the Internet isn’t it?
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There’s nothing hidden or subtle about the way the censors do it here. It’s really rather sweeping and indiscriminate.
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I agree. Lots of strange things are going on. Stupid really because it isn’t that hard to get around it.
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best we all sod off to Iceland, i think!
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Too bleedin’ cold, no vegetation and exploding geysers of the wrong kind.
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Ah, but it does have the adorable Jonsi and Sigur Ros!!
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Iran shut all emails, Google etc. just recently and this government look to Iran as a role model we have been screaming about it but the population are not looking. I only hope I am wrong as I love Turkey however all things are looking that way very slowly but very surely they will try and emulate what has happened in Iran. It seems so ironic half the Arab world look to Turkey as a role model and this government are now trying their best to go just the opposite way. The changes are getting a little more every day towards the radical ideals which so many other countries in the area are trying to get away from. People think you are crazy when you talk about it but my husband is writing everyday in the newspapers here and he just keeps plugging away at what is so obvious. The sad thing is not only the general public in Turkey don’t want to see it but the rest of the world are very happy to turn a blind eye also, so we just keep trying to open those eyes to what they are really up to.
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That is very scary… You should get the civil liberties/international human rights groups to make a fuss about the situation with Turkey and the Internet.
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The cynic in me doesn’t expect the internet to be free and unrestricted in any country for much longer. Govts (even our own) don’t like the unfettered freedom it gives.
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I think we all need to keep a watchful eye as the situation evolves.
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Is there anything I, or any/all of your readers, can do to help you keep things going while you figure out your next steps? For instance, could you email content to one of us to post for you from another country?
I actually have been following this issue pretty closely, and I did do the Twitter blackout a few weeks ago (the blackout protested willing censorship by Twitter to abide by certain countries’ rulings against Twitter usage). If you think of any other way I can protest, boycott, or petition, I am up for it.
Usually, I’m pretty quiet about what I boycott and protest, but there are certain things that require an emphatic soft answer on my part. As you happen to cover an issue I consider very important– marriage rights for adults– I want to make sure what you write about isn’t censored by something else that I’ve been openly vocal about, which is internet censorship and international information rights.
My point in unpacking my own personal take is to underscore the seriousness of my offer. And, if there is no way you think I can help at this point, I also understand. The point is: If there is something I can do, I will do it.
Ah, my thoughts are with you today, Jack. This must be unbelievably frustrating all the way around.
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Thank you so much for offering to help. I really appreciate it. In terms of the latest block, I’ve replaced my Facebook welcome page so the problem is resolved for now. All this silly censorship here in Turkey is pretty ineffective because it’s so easy to get round and many users do. This lazy approach to restricting what people can see just makes the country look foolish and does its reputation as a functioning democracy with deepening roots no good at all.
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Turkey has a long, long history of being the heart of contemporary ideas and a crossroads for big thinkers. I’m so not happy about this for you, and independently of you– because I love Turkey. And I want you to succeed. And I want Turkey to succeed.
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We all do but (and there is a but) we’ll have to see how events turn out.
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