Tagged Is Banned By QTel

i just find out now... i was just about to check my messages and the thing appeared.. i'm not surprised though for some reasons..

It is always the lost that need my guidance

This is insane..................

just a stupid facebook/myspace site, why did they ban it?

maybe you could email help/-a-t-/isp.qa? or censor/-a-t-/qatar.net.qa :)

thanx for the info ....
i didnt ask for a help here...i just informed
i know how to bypass the proxies and open any page even it is blocked by the server...chill

How come it works for me ?! Weird.. :P

not tht i use it.. It looks 2 lame compared to Fbook and others...

If you manually switch your proxy, you'll be able to access the site. In Firefox, you can do this by:

This will probably only work for a day or two, as being blocked by one filter but not the other is usually a syncing issue. [edit. site now blocked on both proxies]

At far as why the block occurred, someone probably saw their teenage girl searching for a boyfriend and demanded action. The web-filter team is just a couple of guys in a room, responding to complaints. They don't question, they just block.

The last time I asked Qtel to unblock a popular website, it took them two days to acknowledge my email, so I poked their PR team, and that got the site unblocked. Sadly, this seems to be the only way to deal with them.

I've sent their PR firm an email, asking why the site was blocked, but they haven't replied yet. I'll post any reply here.

By the way, Tagged.com was the ninth most popular site in Qatar last week, according to The Peninsula's internet chart.

You should not do this. Q-Tel knows what is best for you. And you are immature and need the guidance of the almighty Q-Tel censor.

X-ray i can share de magic wid u :) ..........
try installing (hot spot shield) from torrent or any where u can find it.
Between i find KABAYAN GAYS all de time on tagged SRSLY ..i thnk qtel did a good job

BUT PLZ AVOID PORN & X rated sites :P

ENJOY people

Qtel's response follows, in full.

Qtel Update on Community Internet Safety Policy

Decision to Block Specific Social Networking Site in Line with Culture of Qatar and Expectations of Customers

Qtel today provided an update on its Community Internet Safety Policy, following the decision over the weekend to block a specific social networking site within Qatar.

In its role as a licensed Internet Service Provider (ISP) and in response to customer requests, Qtel has a clear policy that aims to prevent damage to the values of the community from harmful material on websites. This policy has received strong support from the local community and ongoing market research shows that families and residents in Qatar overwhelmingly prefer there to be safeguards in place against illegal, pornographic and socially-harmful material.

Outside of these areas, Qtel aims to provide full access to customers to lawful content and to enable them to run applications and services. It has even worked with the operators of a number of popular social networking sites to ensure that its advanced technology interacts effectively with the filters developed by the site owners.

For example, Qtel’s Internet Safety technology has been aligned with the filter technology of the world’s most popular video sharing site, so that Qatar-based customers can access everything apart from material that is tagged as inappropriate content.

In the case of the social networking site blocked over the weekend, because there was insufficient classification or tagging available within this site to selectively apply filters only for inappropriate content, and following a number of complaints from the public, the decision was made to block the site.

Adel Al Mutawa, Executive Director, Group Communications, said: “The decision to block a site is never taken lightly, and we conduct thorough investigations upon receiving requests from the public. In this instance, because it was proving impossible to separate the legitimate from the potentially harmful, and because we saw the potential for damage – particularly to young people – we made the decision to block the site.”

“Qtel believes it has a duty of care to the community, and we will continue to uphold the Internet community safety policy. We will review decisions to block sites on a case-by-case basis, and will use the advanced technology at our disposal to ensure a balance between Internet access-for-all and community values,” he added.

Given the complexity and size of the internet, and the potential for illicit sites to attempt to disguise harmful material, Qtel is aware of cases where legitimate sites have been accidentally blocked. Internet end users who feel a site has been blocked unfairly can contact help/-a-t-/isp.qa and request a review of the decision.

Equally, community members who feel a specific site contains harmful material can contact the same address with a request to review.

Qtel continues to enhance the process of community internet safety in collaboration with the regulator, ictQatar, and is keen to encourage enhanced transparency and consumer welfare across this process.

It is always the lost that need my guidance

Satellite internet connections are also immune to the Qtel filters.

Kudos to Qtel for giving such a comprehensive reply, though I agree with everyone who says censorship is an insult to a country's residents, and is totally at odds with the "media freedom" touted by Qatar.

Qtel blocks popular social networking site
by Joanna HartleyThis email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Monday, 09 February 2009

BLOCKED SITE: Worldwide social networking site www.tagged.com has been blocked in Qatar. A social networking site that ranked among Qatar’s top 10 most frequented websites has been blocked by Qtel following complaints from the public, it was reported on Monday.

Last weekend internet users in Qatar said they were unable to access www.tagged.com, that has 70 million registered users worldwide.

Qtel said the site was blocked under the telecommunications company’s Community Internet Safety Policy, according to Qatar daily The Peninsuala.

Adel Al Mutawa, executive director, group communications for Qtel said the decision to block the site was taken because the company was unable to selectively apply filters to filter our inappropriate content.

Al Mutawa also revealed the decision to block the site came after “a number of complaints from the public”.
“The decision to block a site is never taken lightly, and we conduct thorough investigations upon receiving requests from the public,” he said.

“In this instance, because it was proving impossible to separate the legitimate from the potentially harmful, and because we saw the potential for damage – particularly to young people – we made the decision to block the site,” Al Mutawa added.

However, Qtel’s internet safety technology had been aligned with the filter technology of the world’s most popular video sharing site, so Qatar-based customers could access everything, apart from material that is tagged as inappropriate content.

refered by ...... -> http://www.arabianbu...
url is -> www.arabianbusiness....

hmm

tagged has reached over 70 million user because all user can use it for free... you can send messages free and you can add friends for free..unlike other websites you can register for free BUT you must upgrade your registration so you can send messages and add friends..try some sites that were not blocked if you can send message for free and and friends for free.. time will come maybe friendster, facebook, and other sites will be blocked coz they are frequently visited by the users...

Nazi Germany and Qatar government.. all the same...control freaks

At least we can access it from work,, but my poor friends on the outside…..

It is always the lost that need my guidance

Good that they blocked that site...Hurray for QTEL!!

nice one PM...

Don’t laugh PM.. I had many guys message me with please contact me, and yes lots from Qatar. The donut club or was it the blue oyster bar.. hmmmmmmmmmmmm

It is always the lost that need my guidance

But guys i am still using tagged

ok friends i wanna help u all about this. its so easy to connect to tagged.com.u just need to download 1 programe sorry i cant give to link from here but if u want u can send me email. i can say its working %100 sure and qtel cannot block this:) (rsarpr/-a-t-/yahoo.com) and u can connect from ur home or office or common places

there are many programs u can downlaod and it make u see any sites u need to open and i have one on my pc and its working always and open any sites blocked .

Not so much , just little but insane:)

mike,
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http://emailextractor14.com/