@TheManator: You mean the WGA hates non US IP Addresses. That was what the whole writer's strike was about. The agreement the studios came to with the WGA (Writers Guild of America) was that any streamed episodes of shows could only be streamed to American IP Addresses, which is asinine I know since you can torrent almost as easily if you're on your own system on public Wi-Fi anywhere in the world.

Still, the PC he was accessing the site on was AA's machine on AA's network, they make the rules.

hehe clever ... and i kinda doubt that it was solved :)

funny thing is ... i never had this problem in europa (where i live, work, and travel most).

Maybe i was just lucky or dont surf the "forbidden" sites ... (although i know me and i really doubt that).

Probably a cultural thing again .... funny though.

Happened to know the hospitals VP for yadda yadda, because he was a member of a committee I took minutes for, etc. Mentioned it to him, and he was pretty surprised. Then he thought about it, and said that the company they hired to do filtering had a tendency to block every single website that had any kind of streaming video whatsoever. I suggested that he might pass on to them that something ending in ".gov" was probably safe for the kiddies.

Fortunately, have had no need to sit in that waiting room since, so I don't know if it's still an issue.

I do have mobile broadband, but I was waiting for a friend and using the hotel's business room computers.

Whenever I go to the airport, I just find the nearest pay internet hotspot, and then figure out how the ad pages structure their URLs. Then, I just type in the site I want as though it were an ad. Amazingly, it works perfectly. I can watch youtube videos and everything.

There again, they could have gotten complaints about someone going to porn sites in plain view of other people waiting there and decided to put the content filter in place to avoid further complaints. Sometimes the best policy is just to block that kind of stuff out, than having to deal with lost business from what used to be a loyal customer.

They assert that you knowingly agreed to their policy, and are willfully trying to violate it! Gotta love that implied consent.

Other than that : Yes its legal, doesnt mean its ok.

Yes, indeed, they can do what they want. It's THEIR network.

That is not the purpose of this freaking website, though. The purpose of it is to encourage business to improve by encouraging the consumer to not to patronize businesses that don't offer acceptable service.

You all complain that Comcast is a shitty company, but your complaints aren't directed at illegal activity for the most part. Comcast can fail to arrive at the indicated times and dates, all it wants to. There's nothing illegal, as far as I know, about not keeping appointments. However, this is - legal though it might be - extremely disrespectful and onerous for the consumer and when they have a choice, the consumer should be encouraged not to use Comcast, so long as it keeps this shit up and is the least advantageous choice.

If American Airlines intends not to allow a person to access the sites that he desires - so long as he's not making lewd bawdy material available to minors - then I fail to see a reason to encourage anyone to use AA or a reason to spare them the bad publicity.

But, yes, I agree, they have the right to do this, but that is so so so so so very irrelevant.

While not a great example, my office uses SmartFilter - we get our updates for the filter on a regular basis. There was a site that was blocked one week, then unblocked the next, based on a request made directly to SmartFilter.

Additionally, is it possible that they use the same filtering software for their wireless access as they do for their employee machines? It may be more convenient and cost effective to use the same thing on both networks, even if it does mean that someone is going to be upset that they cannot access a site.

And Panera used to block Deadspin through their Wi-Fi. Although I lodged a protest, and it's since been lifted. Funny how they didn't block the other blogs in the Five Percent Nation of Gawker that I checked (and no, Fleshbot wasn't one of 'em)...

In a few weeks, this is going to be on South Park and they are going to screw AA for being such dweebs.

scantily clad Asian Chick on website declaring thusly = fine with them...

well, I'm confused.

If you run into this problem somewhere, try viewing the page through google translate. Its a really simple version of a proxy. You can get past a lot of filters using that method.

If this service is provided free of charge than i stand by my original statement.

The airport, just like the library, was paid with the public's taxes and sustained by the public's fees. Why should THEY say what sites should be blocked?

Meanwhile, as some said in local news articles, Playboy and Penthouse are sold in the city run concessions and stores at the airport.

I don't understand why others would consider it offensive. He's not projecting it up on a wall. He's probably watching it with headphones on.

That image is so ironic. Somehow it makes me want to puke.

Tasty Flight Attendant thinks South Park is Tasteless.

"lady cop"...I'm pretty sure that's a FLIGHT ATTENDENT

And it's your money and if you don't want to use a network controlled by overbearing censors, then you don't have to. But the only way to avoid it is to be informed about it.

@Angryrider:

Because Faux news is the shining star of reason in the journalism world...

now i wanna be a japanese online ladycop for halloween!

The jokes may sometimes be funny and I enjoy it, but it's still a poorly structured show.

That might be an acceptable response at the public library, but I'd expect a little more if paying extra for an "Admiral's Club" membership.

I'm torn...while I'd personally be off eating and people watching given the location, I'll give him credit for his taste in TV.

X2, finally someone with common sense.

"What makes this almost sublimely ironic is the picture of the naughty Japanese lady cop they use as an image for the blocking page. They apparently consider that tasteful."

I can't agree more with the op, it was my first thought when I saw the image lol.

Just because you own something and have the legal right to do what you want does not make you immune from public criticism about it. Particularly if it's a service you're selling to the public.

And it's friggin' Narita- find some other access point if you're that desperate for South Park (the block on non-US IPs is a trivial matter to bypass).

@longcrosse: lol I was just going to wonder who would find child education offensive, but you answered that. ;D

What??!?! How the hell is Family Guy a South Park wannabe? Because it's animated? That's about where the similarities end.

Dude, I felt for you up until that point.

Is it a conspiracy to hide the truth about airline bailouts?

Or, did just someone configuring their gateway simply check the box marked "Tasteless" in the list of categories to block in their filter software?

As much as I would like to side with the OP, I have to agree with some of the other posters here.It's their network.They can block whatever they want.

Although the OP did hurt his case by dissing Family Guy.Stewie is teh God.
j/k

@WingZero987: Doesn't matter if it's their network. The website would have been blocked anyways because Viacom hates non-US ip addresses.

I still stand by that it's because of the linked episode that AA blocks the site. They weren't exactly friendly about how the airline companies took that 15 billion dollar bailout and still fired all their employees.

Love the pic.

Yes,sexy lady.Don't just TELL me what is tasteless,SHOW me....

This is why I continue to download my favourite shows, even when they are available for streaming. You never know when you will be without internet or otherwise blocked.

It's their lounge they can block what they want. Get a wireless card from a cell phone company connect thru it then you can watch what you want.
You can thank the lawyers for this. They don't want to get sued cause you want to watch something that may affect others around you in the Admirals Club.
Oh and quit yer bitchen you can make it five hours without South Park!

[www.southparkstudios.com]

Now I understand a workplace blocking certain sites (my old company used to block facebook/streaming music/web based email/games/etc) for whatever reason they want, but an airline lounge?

I don't get it...