Researching the BBFC Research Facilities…Best to take an assistant with a photographic memory

Read more BBFC News at MelonFarmers.co.uk

Thanks to Rob See My Trip To The BBFC from bookofthedead.ws See also BBFC FAQ: Can I research BBFC film files? from bbfc.co.uk

Much as I would like to make a post here praising the people at the British Board of Film Classification for their hospitality and helpfulness, I can’t. So I’ve written out the story anyway lest anyone else find themselves in the same situation. So, a friend sent me a link to the BBFC website, which seemed to offer the ability for anyone to come in and view their records of any film they’d classified: The BBFC has over 60,000 historic records of classification decisions made since 1 January 1913. Some are noted in Film Registers and there are paper files from around the late 1950s onwards. The file for any work which is over twenty years old is available for research purposes on the Board’s premises. The files do vary in size and content. Anyone wishing to view the Board’s records should email helpline@bbfc.co.uk and should provide a list of film titles and release dates. We will check the availability of each file and contact you to make an appointment to come in and view the records. No file can be removed from our building. We only charge for this service if we have to recall a box from our external archive and the cost is ฃ17.24 for up to four boxes. You will have to complete a Copyright Acceptance Form before viewing and you should refer to it for terms and conditions.   Are you sure they sent us to the right place for the BBFC research facility? I took the day off work and caught the train to visit the BBFC… …Read the full article: My Trip To The BBFC

Shadowy Labour…Labour add to the shrill nutter cacophony calling for one size fits all website blocking

Read more UK Parliament Watch at MelonFarmers.co.uk

See article from telegraph.co.uk

Senior Labour MPs have supported a default block on adult websites. Jenny Chapman, the shadow minister for justice, and Helen Goodman, the shadow minister for culture, media and sport, pledged their support. In an article for the Daily Mail they condemned the access to pornography as a modern-day form of pollution. They wrote: Children are regularly seeing pornography and sometimes being groomed for sex. Righting these wrongs is not an attack on civil liberties. Adults will still have the choice to access material they want to see. But in a civilised society we must also protect our children. What we want to see is the same balance of rights and responsibilities as we have in the real world. They also claimed that sales of televisions with internet access meant even more children will be one click from the strongest material. They attacked Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s proposal, which involves asking the four major ISPs to offer new customers the chance to opt out of access to pornography. They argue it would be 2017 before the proportion of households included reached 90%. They added that the plan does not go nearly far enough.

Rated Spider for Tangled Web of Rules…UK video games now reported to be exclusively using PEGI ratings from July 2012

Read more VSC and PEGI Watch at MelonFarmers.co.uk

See article from thegamershub.net

Nearly three years ago, PEGI was selected to be the organisation to rate videogames, and passed into law in 2010 as part of the Digital Economy Bill, but due to issues behind-the-scenes its full implementation has been delayed. Now Dr. Jo Twist UKIE, the UK trade group representing the video game industry, said: Our next major campaign launches this summer to promote PEGI and to demystify video games to parents. This campaign will launch when PEGI is finally implemented. PEGI is indeed progressing and the latest estimated implementation date is this July.