So today I chose to finally post the address of my web proxy software to the Tustin Unified School District e-mail list. They can’t really hurt me now, and I decided I want to take a stand on this issue before I graduate and go on to college. If this works out well, I may get a story on Slashdot! 😛

What follows is the entire letter that I sent:

p=. “Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.” – Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas

Good day all –

I have received many complaints from teachers, staff, and students at Foothill High School in regards to the InterGate Squid proxy server block list. This system is used to restrict access to legitimate web pages on the school network. I have been asked repeatedly to provide ways around this system.

The proxy system used by Tustin Unified School District is restrictive because it denies legitimate access to valuable web sites. The most effective guard against the visiting of “inappropriate” web sites is teacher supervision in the classroom. Bootstrapping existing imperfect technology for this task is misguided. Paying minimum wage to an untrained workforce whose task is to determine “inappropriate” web sites is a ludicrous practice that should not be condoned by this or any other school district.

After careful consideration and a thorough reading of the TUSD Internet Acceptable Use Policy, I have determined that, to the best of my knowledge, I am breaking no school or district rules, nor any state or federal laws, by releasing this information. As a service to the public I am providing a new system to bypass the district blocking and censorship system.

To use this new system, simply open your web browser and type in:

p=. *http://proxy.foothillhigh.com*

Now, it is completely likely that the school district will choose to use their InterGate proxy to block this site as well. If that happens, I will simply post the software on another site and inform this list. However, it is also possible that this freely available and unrestricted mailing list will be cut off. Therefore, if you wish to be kept informed about proxy bypass solutions, if you have anything to say about this action, favorable or not, or if you have any technical problems, please contact me at dsilverman@mindwire.org. I ensure that all communications will remain confidential.

Thank you for your time and dedication to teaching. I hope that this system will prove to be a valuable asset in your work.

Sincerely,
Danny Silverman
Graduating Senior, Foothill High School