Chinese officials claim that the new system is designed to help crack down on “unfounded rumors and vulgarities,” but many netizens suspect it is simply an opportunity for further surveillance and censorship. Senior Chinese Information Office official Wang Chen, has stated that the name registration system responds to the requests of citizens who wish to preserve the health of China’s Internet development. But many users have expressed concerns that the new system, stripped of the safeguards of anonymity, will produce a chilling effect on speech critical of the government positions.

Microblogging services have proven to be a sore spot for Chinese officials looking to control online information flows. With the number of Chinese microblogging accounts having quadrupled in 2011, Weibo services have rocketed to the forefront of online tools for rapidly disseminating real-time information about current events and political opinion. The ability of users to instantaneously share and spread information while remaining anonymous has made microblogging services especially difficult to monitor and control.

Should the pilot programs be successful, it seems clear that the loss of online anonymity will have significant implications for the future use of Weibo platforms for sharing political dissent.

Herdict is seeking an intern for the spring semester, who is passionate about Internet freedom and eager to help this exciting project. The intern will be responsible for brainstorming blog posts with the Herdict staff, writing blog posts and tweeting about Herdict and current events relevant to the project, and coordinating with our local outreach coordinators.

Required Education, Experience and Skills:
* Highly motivated individuals who are excited about furthering a free and open Internet
* Creative thinkers who can help identify relevant news issues and events
* Excellent writing skills
* At least well on the way to a bachelors degree or better

Additional Skills and Interests: 
* Experience writing blog posts or other articles, particularly those that discuss legal or Internet freedom issues, for a non-legal audience
* Experience organizing volunteers
* Proficiency in Chinese, Arabic, Turkish, or Thai is a bonus, but certainly not required
* Experience with Excel is a plus

Hours and Pay:
* Commit to helping Herdict for five – ten hours per week.
* Interns are paid $11.50 an hour. No other benefits are provided.

Eligibility:
* The intern does not have to be a student.
* The intern does not have to be affiliated with Harvard University.
* We are unable to hire interns who will conduct their work outside of the state of Massachusetts.
* We do not have the ability to provide authorization to work in the U.S.

To apply:

Please email the following information to  contact at herdict.org

* A cover letter indicating your interest in the position
* A current resume
* A sample of a blog post (or similar) that you’ve previously published

Please direct any questions regarding these opportunities or your applications to  contact at herdict.org.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

The Herdict Team

Much has been written about the proposed legislation (see, e.g., EFF, Wikimedia, BoingBoing, Reddit, WordPress, Tor, and Fight For The Future), but in short, it will muck with the free and open Internet, while creating a high risk of abuse.  In other words, corporations and the government would receive the power to censor sites with nearly no due process.

In protest of these two pieces of legislation, several organizations have agreed to black out some or all of their services/sites beginning tomorrow, January, 18, 2011.  These organizations include: Wikipedia, TwitPic, MoveOn.org, Mozilla, Reddit, WordPress, Tor, and the iCanHasCheezburger sites.

Although not everyone believes this blackout is a good idea, we support the protesting organizations in demonstrating the potential negative consequences of these bills.  In support of their blackout, we are encouraging all US members of the Herd to report through the Herdict Reporter when these sites become all or partially unavailable.  For people in the US, our Reporter will automatically load the sites of several of the protest participants (and you can easily input others to test).

At Herdict, we typically stay away from political issues.  Our position is that we are a network resource that provides information about the continuous state of the Internet at large.  Although we clearly believe in the importance of a free and open Internet, by overtly politicizing what we do, we risk our status as a conduit of data.  However, in this case, we don’t need to choose: we can track the unavailability of these sites as they go dark, while also supporting the organizations in their demonstration of the censorship risks SOPA and PIPA pose.

We encourage you all to report as this blackout gets underway.

The court agreed with BREIN after considering how a Swedish court convicted the administrators of the Pirate Bay and a Dutch lower court previously (but ineffectively) ordered them to delete all torrents that link to BREIN member-owned copyrighted material.

In its earlier judgment, the court held that blocking the Pirate Bay was not a proportional measure. BREIN could have also asked Ziggo to release personal data of certain infringers so that BREIN could target these individual users. In contrast, the court yesterday argued that trying to sue individual Internet users has proven to be too difficult. Even if BREIN is able to trace IP-addresses of copyright infringing users, BREIN would have to request the ISPs to identify their users, which is something the ISPs have not done on a voluntary basis so far.

Besides blocking the Pirate Bay’s current IP-addresses and domain names, the court ordered the two ISPs to also block future Pirate Bay IP-addresses and domain names that are listed by BREIN.

XS4ALL has announced that it will appeal the case.

In addition to the new restrictions on cybercafes, the Iranian government also recently unveiled plans for the implementation of a domestic ‘halal’ intranet that will be unconnected to the Internet at large. Although the government has begun testing of the new intranet, it is not planned to go live for another few weeks and is unlikely to supplant external access by the March 2nd elections.  While Iran’s new controls on cybercafes are of significant and pressing concern with the looming elections, the government’s plans to develop a national intranet is equally, if not more, concerning. The creation of a national intranet in combination with the nation’s current Internet restrictions would allow the Iranian government to exercise near complete control over the online content available within the country while monitoring who accesses that content.

Both measures mark unprecedented expansions of online monitoring and control on the part of the Iranian government.  That the regime is worried about the effects of the Internet is not surprising; online technologies played at least a small role in facilitating the Arab Spring uprisings. As elections and major political events draw nearer, countries such as Iran and China have stepped up efforts to curtail online resources that could serve as outlets for dissent. In both cases, the countries are making permanent changes to their networks in order to address perceived temporary threats to government power.

Just a reminder that this is the final week to apply for Local Outreach Coordinator positions with Herdict. We are looking for motivated netizens in China, Turkey, Egypt, and Thailand to contribute just a little bit of time, but help us in a really big way.  Volunteers will help Herdict promote online freedom by conducting outreach activities in their communities and by relaying important information back to the Herdict staff.

A full description of the position and application process are below. Please feel free to email us with any questions regarding the position at LOC@Herdict<dot>org.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Want to help fight Internet censorship and help promote freedom of expression online? Become a Local Outreach Coordinator for Herdict!

Herdict, needs assistance from netizens in Egypt, China, Turkey, and Thailand who are concerned about Internet freedom.  Herdict is a crowdsourced project based at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University that is dedicated to collecting and disseminating real-time information about Internet filtering, denial of service attacks, and other blockages.

We are seeking Local Outreach Coordinators who would be volunteers that are passionate about Internet freedom and are eager to help Herdict.  These coordinators will help shape the future of Herdict, and the Internet as a whole, by conducting outreach activities in their communities, cities, and countries, and by relaying important information back to the Herdict staff.

What we’re looking for:

• Motivated individuals who are excited about furthering Herdict’s mission.
• Innovative thinkers with creative outreach ideas and strong social networks.
• Those with relevant experience in outreach efforts, including (but not limited to) campaign work, fundraising activities, and volunteer recruitment.
• Native speakers of Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Turkish, or Thai who are also fluent in English.

Benefits:

• Gain experience in volunteer recruitment strategies while working on the forefront of new and exciting issues in Internet filtration and access.
• Exceptional Local Outreach Coordinators may get the opportunity to blog for Herdict.
• Featured Member of the Month opportunities, including Herdict gear giveaways and Herdict site publicity for featured members.
• We would be happy to provide references for active Coordinators.

Our expectations:

• Commit to helping Herdict for five hours per week.
• Expand Herdict’s user base and increase Herdict activity within your country using social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook.
• Mobilize Herdict reporting in response to local/national censorship events.
• Produce short weekly updates for Herdict staff regarding relevant current events.
• Curate and manage the Herdict website queue for your country.

To apply:

• Please email the following information to LOC@Herdict<dot>org
• A cover letter indicating your interest in the position
• A current resume

• The deadline for submissions is January 20, 2012, but decisions will be made on a rolling basis throughout the next month.
• English applications only.

Please direct any questions regarding these opportunities or your applications to LOC@Herdict<dot>org.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!
The Herdict Team

لقد بدأت الجولة الثانية من تقديم طلبات منسقي الخدمات المحلية.

هل تريد المساعدة في مكافحة الرقابة على الإنترنت والارتقاء بحرية التعبير على الإنترنت؟

يمكنك أن تكون منسقاً للخدمات المحلية لـ Herdict.

تحتاج Herdict إلى المساعدة من مستخدمي الإنترنت في مصر والصين وتركيا وتايلاند، الذين يهتمون بحرية الإنترنت. Herdict هي مشروع جماعي ويقع مقره في مركز بيركمان للإنترنت والمجتمع في جامعة هارفارد، ويكرس جهوده لتجميع المعلومات المتوافرة حالياً عن التحكم في محتويات الإنترنت ونشر هذه المعلومات، فضلاً عن التصدي لحالات الحرمان من الخدمة، وغيرها من عمليات حجب الخدمة.

نحن نسعى لإلحاق منسقين محليين من المتطوعين الذين يؤيدون حرية الإنترنت ويسعون لمساعدة Herdict. وسوف يساعد هؤلاء المنسقون في تشكيل مستقبل Herdict، والإنترنت بشكل عام، وذلك من خلال القيام بأنشطة التواصل في مجتمعاتهم ومدنهم ودولهم، وعن طريق تقديم المعلومات الهامة لفريق العمل في Herdict.

ما الذي نبحث عنه:

• أفراد متحمسون ويريدون نشر رسالة Herdict.

• مفكرون مبدعون لديهم أفكار مبتكرة للتواصل ولديهم كذلك دوائر اجتماعية قوية.

• الأشخاص الذين لديهم خبرة مناسبة في مجهودات التواصل تشمل (على سبيل المثال لا الحصر) تنظيم الحملات، وأنشطة جمع التبرعات، واختيار المتطوعين.

• متحدثون لغتهم الأم الروسية أو الصينية أو العربية أو التركية أو التايلاندية، ويجيدون كذلك اللغة الإنجليزية.

المزايا:

• اكتساب خبرة في أساليب اختيار المتطوعين إلى جانب العمل على قضايا مثيرة جديدة فيما يتعلق بالاتصال بالإنترنت والتحكم في محتواها.

• قد يحصل منسقو التواصل المحلي من ذوي الأداء المتميز على فرصة تسجيل المدونة الخاصة بـ Herdict.

• فرص للفوز بجائزة “عضو الشهر”، وهو ما ينطوي على فرص لترويج أهداف Herdict والظهور على موقع Herdict الإلكتروني.

• سوف يسعدنا أن نصبح جهة تقدم معلومات مرجعية للمنسقين النشطين.

أهدافنا المرجوة:

• الالتزام بمساعدة Herdict لمدة خمس ساعات في الأسبوع.

• توسيع قاعدة مستخدمي Herdict وزيادة أنشطة Herdict في دولتك باستخدام الوسائل الإعلامية الاجتماعية مثل Twitter وFacebook.

• تنشيط إصدار تقارير Herdict حول أحداث الرقابة المحلية والوطنية.

• إصدار نشرات أسبوعية مختصرة لفريق عمل Herdict حول الأحداث الجارية ذات الصلة.

• الإشراف على محتويات موقع Herdict الإلكتروني الخاصة بدولتك وإدارتها.

للتقديم للالتحاق:

• يُرجى إرسال بريد إلكتروني بالمعلومات التالية إلى العنوان LOC@Herdict<dot>org

        – خطاب تقديمي يشير إلى رغبتك في لالتحاق بهذه المهمة

        – سيرة ذاتية حديثة

• الموعد النهائي لتقديم الطلبات هو 20 يناير/يناير 2012، إلا أن قرارات الاختيار سوف يتم اتخاذها تباعاً خلال الشهر القادم.

• الإنجليزية التطبيقات فقط.

يُرجى توجيه أية أسئلة بخصوص هذه الفرص أو بخصوص طلبك إلى العنوان الإلكتروني: LOC@Herdict.org

نحن نتطلع إلى تلقي طلباتكم وأسئلتكم في القريب العاجل.

فريق العمل في Herdict

申请作为当地外联协调员的第 2 回合已经开始了!

要想帮助和互联网检查制度抗争并帮助促进在网上发表意见的自由度吗? 那就申请成为 Herdict 在当地的外联协调员吧!

Herdict 需要来自埃及、中国、土耳其和泰国的，关注互联网自由的网民的协助。Herdict 是一项位于哈佛大学伯克曼互联网与社会中心 (Berkman Center for Internet & Society) 的众包计划，该计划致力于收集并传播关于互联网过滤、拒绝服务攻击和其它网络封锁的实时信息。

我们寻求当地的外联协调员，他们应当是对于互联网自由具有强烈信念并热衷于帮助 Herdict 的志愿者。这些协调员将通过在其社区、城市和国家进行外联活动并将重要信息反馈给 Herdict 的员工，从而在整体上帮助塑造 Herdict 以及互联网的未来。

我们需要的人才:

• 对增进 Herdict 的使命感到兴奋的，自我激励的个人。
• 拥有创造性外联观念和强大社交网络的创新性思考者。
• 对于外联工作具有相关经验，包括 (但并不限于) 宣传工作、筹资活动以及志愿者的招募。
• 本国语言为俄语、汉语、阿拉伯语、土耳其语或泰语而且其英语必须同样流利的人士。

您将得到的好处:

• 工作于互联网过滤和访问领域内激动人心的新议题的最前沿，同时还能获得志愿者招募策略方面的经验。
• 杰出的当地外联协调员将有机会为 Herdict 撰写博客。
• 成为每月推荐会员的机会，包括 Herdict 的促销赠品以及为推荐会员进行的 Herdict 网站宣传。
• 我们将乐于向积极的协调员提供参考资料。

我们的要求:

• 每星期帮 Herdict 做 5 小时工作。
• 扩大 Herdict 的用户基础并在您的国家里利用诸如推特和脸书之类的社会媒体工具增加 Herdict 的活动。
• 动员 Herdict 就当地/全国的检查制度事件作出报告。
• 就相关时事为 Herdict 的工作人员制作简短的每周更新。
• 为你所在的国家监护和管理 Herdict 网站队列。

申请方法:

• 请将以下信息用电子邮件发至：LOC@Herdict<dot>org
• 说明您对该岗位感兴趣的申请信
• 最新的简历

• 提交申请的截止期是 2012 年 1 月 20 日，但决定将在下一个月内以滚动方式作出。
• 只使用英语的应用。

请将有关这些机会的任何问题或您的申请直接发至：LOC@Herdict<dot>org。

我们期待着您的回复!
Herdict 团队

รอบ 2 ของการรับสมัครผู้ประสานงานโครงการรณรงค์ในท้องถิ่นเริ่มขึ้นแล้ว!

ท่าน อยากช่วยต่อต้านการเซ็นเซอร์ทางอินเตอร์เน็ต และช่วยส่งเสริมอิสรภาพการแสดงออกทางอินเตอร์เน็ตหรือเปล่า? สมัครเป็นผู้ประสานงานโครงการ Outreach ท้องถิ่นให้ Herdict สิ!

Herdict กำลังต้องการความช่วยเหลือจากชาวเน็ตในประเทศอียิปต์ จีน ตุรกี และประเทศไทยที่ห่วงใยเรื่องอิสรภาพทางอินเตอร์เน็ต Herdict เป็นโครงการคราวด์ซอร์จ (Crowdsource) ซึ่งมีที่ตั้งอยู่ที่ศูนย์อินเตอร์เน็ตและสังคม Berkman ของมหาวิทยาลัยฮาวาร์ด เราทุ่มเทให้กับการรวบรวมและแพร่กระจายข้อมูลแบบเรียลไทม์เกี่ยวกับการกรอง ข้อมูลอินเตอร์เน็ต การโจมตีแบบดิเนลออฟเซอร์วิส และการบล็อกข้อมูลอื่นๆ

เรา กำลังค้นหาผู้มาเป็น “Local Outreach Coordinators” ซึ่งก็คืออาสาสมัครที่ชื่นชอบอิสรภาพทางอินเตอร์เน็ต และอยากช่วย Herdict ผู้ประสานงานนี้จะช่วยสร้างอนาคตของ Herdict และของโลกอินเตอร์เน็ต ด้วยการดำเนินกิจกรรม Outreach ในชุมชน เมือง และประเทศของตน ด้วยการถ่ายทอดข้อมูลสำคัญกลับมายังเจ้าหน้าที่ของ Herdict

สิ่งที่เรากำลังมองหา:

• ผู้ที่กระตือรือร้นและตื่นเต้นที่จะสนับสนุนภารกิจของ Herdict
• นักคิดยุคใหม่ที่มีไอเดียการรณรงค์ที่สร้างสรรค์ และเครือข่ายสังคมอันเข้มแข็ง
• ผู้ที่มีประสบการณ์ที่เกี่ยวข้องในกิจกรรมรณรงค์ อาทิเช่น (แต่ไม่จำกัดอยู่แค่นี้) งานการรณรงค์ กิจกรรมหาทุน และการหาอาสาสมัคร
• ผู้พูดที่พูดภาษาต่อไปนี้ตั้งแต่เกิด รัสเซีย จีน อาหรับ ตุรกี หรือไทย ที่เก่งภาษาอังกฤษด้วย

ประโยชน์ต่อท่าน:

• ได้ รับประสบการณ์ด้านกลยุทธ์การหาอาสาสมัคร พร้อมกับได้ทำงานในแนวหน้าของปัญหาใหม่และตื่นเต้นแห่งการกรองข้อมูลและการ เข้าถึงข้อมูลในโลกอินเตอร์เน็ต
• ผู้ประสานงานการรณรงค์ในท้องถิ่นระดับพิเศษ (Exceptional) อาจมีโอกาสได้เป็นผู้ดูแลบล็อคให้ Herdict
• โอกาส สำหรับสมาชิกพิเศษประจำเดือน (Featured Member of the Month) เช่นของแจกของ Herdict และได้รับชื่อเสียงในเว็บไซต์ของ Herdict สำหรับสมาชิกพิเศษ
• เรายินดีที่จะให้หลักฐานอ้างอิงการสมัครงาน (Reference) สำหรับผู้ประสานงานที่ผลงานดีเป็นพิเศษ

สิ่งที่เราคาดหวัง:

• ความรับผิดชอบที่จะช่วย Herdict ห้าชั่วโมงต่อสัปดาห์
• ขยาย ฐานผู้ใช้ของ Herdict และเพิ่มกิจกรรมของ Herdict ในประเทศของท่านด้วยการใช้เครื่องมือเครือข่ายสังคมอย่างเช่น Twitter และ Facebook
• จัดเตรียมรายงานของ Herdict เพื่อตอบสนองต่อเหตุการณ์เซ็นเซอร์ข้อมูลในท้องถิ่น/ประเทศของท่าน
• ผลิตข่าวอัพเดตสั้นๆรายสัปดาห์ให้แก่เจ้าหน้าที่ของ Herdict เกี่ยวกับเหตุการณ์ในปัจจุบันที่เกี่ยวข้องกับองค์กรเรา
• ดูแลและจัดการคิวเว็บไซต์ของ Herdict สำหรับประเทศของท่าน

วิธีการสมัคร:

• กรุณาอีเมล์ข้อมูลต่อไปนี้มาที่ LOC@Herdict<dot>org
• จดหมายปะหน้าที่แจ้งว่าท่านสนใจในตำแหน่งนี้
• ประวัติงานของท่านเวอร์ชั่นล่าสุด

• วันหมดเขตการส่งข้อมูลการสมัครคือวันที่ 20 มกราคม 2012 แต่การตัดสินใจจะค่อยๆทำเป็นระยะๆ ตลอดเดือนหน้า
• การประยุกต์ใช้ภาษาอังกฤษเท่านั้น

กรุณาส่งคำถามเกี่ยวกับโอกาสหรือการสมัครของท่านมาที่ LOC@Herdict<dot>org

เราหวังว่าจะได้ข่าวจากท่านในเร็วๆนี้!
ทีม Herdict

Yerel Genişletme Koordinatörleri için 2. Tur Başvurular Başladı!

İnternet sansürüyle mücadeleye ve online ifade özgürlüğünü desteklemeye yardımcı olmak ister misiniz? Herdict projesi için Yerel Genişletme Koordinatörü Olun!

Herdict, Mısır, Çin, Türkiye ve Tayland’da İnternet özgürlüğünü destekleyen ‘net vatandaşlarının’ yardımına ihtiyaç duyuyor. Herdict, Harvard Üniversitesi Berkman Center for Internet & Society bünyesinde, İnternet filtreleme, yasaklama ve servis saldırıları ve diğer İnternet engelleri hakkında gerçek zamanlı bilgiler toplayan ve dağıtan, toplum kaynaklı bir projedir.

İnternet özgürlüğü konusunda heyecan duyan ve Herdict’e yardım etmek isteyen, Yerel Genişletme Koordinatörü olacak gönüllüler arıyoruz.  Bu koordinatörler, kendi topluluklarında, şehirlerinde ve ülkelerinde genişletme faaliyetleri gerçekleştirerek ve önemli bilgileri Herdict personeline ileterek Herdict’in geleceğinin ve bütün olarak İnternet’in şekillendirilmesine yardım edecekler.

Aradığımız özellikler:

Herdict’in misyonunu daha da ileriye götürme konusunda heyecan duyan motivasyon sahibi olmak.

Yaratıcı genişletme fikirleri ve güçlü sosyal ağları olan, yenilikçi düşünmek.

Kampanya çalışmaları, yardım toplama faaliyetleri ve gönüllü bulma dahil olmak üzere (ancak bunlarla sınırlı değil), genişletme çalışmalarında deneyim sahibi olmak.

Ana dili Rusça, Çince, Arapça, Türkçe veya Tay Dili olan, aynı zamanda akıcı İngilizce bilgisine sahip olmak.

Avantajlar:

İnternette filtreleme ve İnternet erişimi ile ilgili yeni ve heyecan verici konularda ön saflarda çalışırken, gönüllü kaydetme stratejileri konusunda deneyim kazanmak.

Çok özel Yerel Genişletme Koordinatörleri, Herdict’in bloğunda yazma fırsatına da sahip olabilirler.

Ayın seçilen üyesi olma fırsatı ve bunun Herdict web sitesinde yayınlanması, seçilen üyenin Herdict logolu ürünleri kazanma fırsatı.

Aktif Koordinatörler için referans sağlamaktan mutluluk duyacağız.

Beklentilerimiz:

Haftada en az beş saati Herdict’e ayırmak.

Twitter ve Facebook gibi sosyal paylaşım araçlarını kullanarak ülkenizdeki Herdict kullanıcı tabanını ve Herdict faaliyetlerini artırmak.

Yerel/ulusal sansür olaylarına karşı Herdict raporlarını harekete geçirmek.

Herdict personeli için geçerli güncel olaylar hakkında kısa haftalık bilgi güncellemeleri hazırlamak.

Herdict web sitesinde yer alan Türkiye bölümünü hazırlama ve yönetme.

Başvuru için:

Lütfen aşağıdaki bilgileri LOC@Herdict<dot>org adresine e-posta ile gönderiniz.

Görevle ilgilendiğinizi belirten önyazı

Güncel özgeçmiş

Son başvuru 20 Ocak 2012 tarihidir. Başvuru sonuçları bir sonraki ay açıklanacaktır.

Sadece İngilizce uygulamaları

Lütfen proje veya başvurunuzla ilgili sorularınızı LOC@Herdict<dot>org adresine iletiniz.

Başvurularınızı sabırsızlıkla bekliyoruz!
Herdict Ekibi

Help us solve a mystery!

As a crowdsourced project, we like when we get reports about websites that are up or down.  And we love when we get a lot of reports!  But we also keep a weather eye out for unusual reporting patterns that might indicate spam or an effort to skew our data.

Starting on December 18th, we noticed one such unusual event–a huge spike in reporting from Vietnam.  Over a several week period, we received thousands of reports (both accessible and not), with a peak single-day total of 798 on December 27th.  As fast as the peak began, it just as quickly seemed to end after January 8th.  A screen capture from our Time Graph shows the trend below:

Despite indicators that the reports may be spam (only a handful of IP addresses, contributing a large volume of reports with manual edits to the ISP), as best as we can tell, this is not the result of spamming.  These reports covered a wide variety of sites, appeared to provide legitimate reports, and occasionally offered helpful comments regarding the sites being reported.  For those reasons, we believe that the reports are genuine (although perhaps done with some automated assistance).

We wanted to put the question to the Herd.  Any other theories on the spike?  Is it related to Mark Zuckerberg’s visit to Vietnam?  Leave a message in the comments or contact us at  contact at herdict.org.  More data is available on the recent raw-data feed on Vietnam from the time frame covering the spike.

In any event, we’d love to see more data like this–keep the reports coming!

-Herdict Team

Herdict, needs assistance from netizens in Egypt, China, Turkey, and Thailand who are concerned about Internet freedom.  Herdict is a crowdsourced project based at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University that is dedicated to collecting and disseminating real-time information about Internet filtering, denial of service attacks, and other blockages.

We are seeking Local Outreach Coordinators who would be volunteers that are passionate about Internet freedom and are eager to help Herdict.  These coordinators will help shape the future of Herdict, and the Internet as a whole, by conducting outreach activities in their communities, cities, and countries, and by relaying important information back to the Herdict staff.

What we’re looking for:

• Motivated individuals who are excited about furthering Herdict’s mission.
• Innovative thinkers with creative outreach ideas and strong social networks.
• Those with relevant experience in outreach efforts, including (but not limited to) campaign work, fundraising activities, and volunteer recruitment.
• Native speakers of Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Turkish, or Thai who are also fluent in English.

Benefits:

• Gain experience in volunteer recruitment strategies while working on the forefront of new and exciting issues in Internet filtration and access.
• Exceptional Local Outreach Coordinators may get the opportunity to blog for Herdict.
• Featured Member of the Month opportunities, including Herdict gear giveaways and Herdict site publicity for featured members.
• We would be happy to provide references for active Coordinators.

Our expectations:

• Commit to helping Herdict for five hours per week.
• Expand Herdict’s user base and increase Herdict activity within your country using social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook.
• Mobilize Herdict reporting in response to local/national censorship events.
• Produce short weekly updates for Herdict staff regarding relevant current events.
• Curate and manage the Herdict website queue for your country.

To apply:

• Please email the following information to LOC@Herdict<dot>org
• A cover letter indicating your interest in the position
• A current resume

• The deadline for submissions is January 20, 2012, but decisions will be made on a rolling basis throughout the next month.
• English applications only.

Please direct any questions regarding these opportunities or your applications to LOC@Herdict<dot>org.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!
The Herdict Team

لقد بدأت الجولة الثانية من تقديم طلبات منسقي الخدمات المحلية.

هل تريد المساعدة في مكافحة الرقابة على الإنترنت والارتقاء بحرية التعبير على الإنترنت؟

يمكنك أن تكون منسقاً للخدمات المحلية لـ Herdict.

تحتاج Herdict إلى المساعدة من مستخدمي الإنترنت في مصر والصين وتركيا وتايلاند، الذين يهتمون بحرية الإنترنت. Herdict هي مشروع جماعي ويقع مقره في مركز بيركمان للإنترنت والمجتمع في جامعة هارفارد، ويكرس جهوده لتجميع المعلومات المتوافرة حالياً عن التحكم في محتويات الإنترنت ونشر هذه المعلومات، فضلاً عن التصدي لحالات الحرمان من الخدمة، وغيرها من عمليات حجب الخدمة.

نحن نسعى لإلحاق منسقين محليين من المتطوعين الذين يؤيدون حرية الإنترنت ويسعون لمساعدة Herdict. وسوف يساعد هؤلاء المنسقون في تشكيل مستقبل Herdict، والإنترنت بشكل عام، وذلك من خلال القيام بأنشطة التواصل في مجتمعاتهم ومدنهم ودولهم، وعن طريق تقديم المعلومات الهامة لفريق العمل في Herdict.

ما الذي نبحث عنه:

• أفراد متحمسون ويريدون نشر رسالة Herdict.

• مفكرون مبدعون لديهم أفكار مبتكرة للتواصل ولديهم كذلك دوائر اجتماعية قوية.

• الأشخاص الذين لديهم خبرة مناسبة في مجهودات التواصل تشمل (على سبيل المثال لا الحصر) تنظيم الحملات، وأنشطة جمع التبرعات، واختيار المتطوعين.

• متحدثون لغتهم الأم الروسية أو الصينية أو العربية أو التركية أو التايلاندية، ويجيدون كذلك اللغة الإنجليزية.

المزايا:

• اكتساب خبرة في أساليب اختيار المتطوعين إلى جانب العمل على قضايا مثيرة جديدة فيما يتعلق بالاتصال بالإنترنت والتحكم في محتواها.

• قد يحصل منسقو التواصل المحلي من ذوي الأداء المتميز على فرصة تسجيل المدونة الخاصة بـ Herdict.

• فرص للفوز بجائزة “عضو الشهر”، وهو ما ينطوي على فرص لترويج أهداف Herdict والظهور على موقع Herdict الإلكتروني.

• سوف يسعدنا أن نصبح جهة تقدم معلومات مرجعية للمنسقين النشطين.

أهدافنا المرجوة:

• الالتزام بمساعدة Herdict لمدة خمس ساعات في الأسبوع.

• توسيع قاعدة مستخدمي Herdict وزيادة أنشطة Herdict في دولتك باستخدام الوسائل الإعلامية الاجتماعية مثل Twitter وFacebook.

• تنشيط إصدار تقارير Herdict حول أحداث الرقابة المحلية والوطنية.

• إصدار نشرات أسبوعية مختصرة لفريق عمل Herdict حول الأحداث الجارية ذات الصلة.

• الإشراف على محتويات موقع Herdict الإلكتروني الخاصة بدولتك وإدارتها.

للتقديم للالتحاق:

• يُرجى إرسال بريد إلكتروني بالمعلومات التالية إلى العنوان LOC@Herdict<dot>org

        – خطاب تقديمي يشير إلى رغبتك في لالتحاق بهذه المهمة

        – سيرة ذاتية حديثة

• الموعد النهائي لتقديم الطلبات هو 20 يناير/يناير 2012، إلا أن قرارات الاختيار سوف يتم اتخاذها تباعاً خلال الشهر القادم.

• الإنجليزية التطبيقات فقط.

يُرجى توجيه أية أسئلة بخصوص هذه الفرص أو بخصوص طلبك إلى العنوان الإلكتروني: LOC@Herdict.org

نحن نتطلع إلى تلقي طلباتكم وأسئلتكم في القريب العاجل.

فريق العمل في Herdict

申请作为当地外联协调员的第 2 回合已经开始了!

要想帮助和互联网检查制度抗争并帮助促进在网上发表意见的自由度吗? 那就申请成为 Herdict 在当地的外联协调员吧!

Herdict 需要来自埃及、中国、土耳其和泰国的，关注互联网自由的网民的协助。Herdict 是一项位于哈佛大学伯克曼互联网与社会中心 (Berkman Center for Internet & Society) 的众包计划，该计划致力于收集并传播关于互联网过滤、拒绝服务攻击和其它网络封锁的实时信息。

我们寻求当地的外联协调员，他们应当是对于互联网自由具有强烈信念并热衷于帮助 Herdict 的志愿者。这些协调员将通过在其社区、城市和国家进行外联活动并将重要信息反馈给 Herdict 的员工，从而在整体上帮助塑造 Herdict 以及互联网的未来。

我们需要的人才:

• 对增进 Herdict 的使命感到兴奋的，自我激励的个人。
• 拥有创造性外联观念和强大社交网络的创新性思考者。
• 对于外联工作具有相关经验，包括 (但并不限于) 宣传工作、筹资活动以及志愿者的招募。
• 本国语言为俄语、汉语、阿拉伯语、土耳其语或泰语而且其英语必须同样流利的人士。

您将得到的好处:

• 工作于互联网过滤和访问领域内激动人心的新议题的最前沿，同时还能获得志愿者招募策略方面的经验。
• 杰出的当地外联协调员将有机会为 Herdict 撰写博客。
• 成为每月推荐会员的机会，包括 Herdict 的促销赠品以及为推荐会员进行的 Herdict 网站宣传。
• 我们将乐于向积极的协调员提供参考资料。

我们的要求:

• 每星期帮 Herdict 做 5 小时工作。
• 扩大 Herdict 的用户基础并在您的国家里利用诸如推特和脸书之类的社会媒体工具增加 Herdict 的活动。
• 动员 Herdict 就当地/全国的检查制度事件作出报告。
• 就相关时事为 Herdict 的工作人员制作简短的每周更新。
• 为你所在的国家监护和管理 Herdict 网站队列。

申请方法:

• 请将以下信息用电子邮件发至：LOC@Herdict<dot>org
• 说明您对该岗位感兴趣的申请信
• 最新的简历

• 提交申请的截止期是 2012 年 1 月 20 日，但决定将在下一个月内以滚动方式作出。
• 只使用英语的应用。

请将有关这些机会的任何问题或您的申请直接发至：LOC@Herdict<dot>org。

我们期待着您的回复!
Herdict 团队

รอบ 2 ของการรับสมัครผู้ประสานงานโครงการรณรงค์ในท้องถิ่นเริ่มขึ้นแล้ว!

ท่าน อยากช่วยต่อต้านการเซ็นเซอร์ทางอินเตอร์เน็ต และช่วยส่งเสริมอิสรภาพการแสดงออกทางอินเตอร์เน็ตหรือเปล่า? สมัครเป็นผู้ประสานงานโครงการ Outreach ท้องถิ่นให้ Herdict สิ!

Herdict กำลังต้องการความช่วยเหลือจากชาวเน็ตในประเทศอียิปต์ จีน ตุรกี และประเทศไทยที่ห่วงใยเรื่องอิสรภาพทางอินเตอร์เน็ต Herdict เป็นโครงการคราวด์ซอร์จ (Crowdsource) ซึ่งมีที่ตั้งอยู่ที่ศูนย์อินเตอร์เน็ตและสังคม Berkman ของมหาวิทยาลัยฮาวาร์ด เราทุ่มเทให้กับการรวบรวมและแพร่กระจายข้อมูลแบบเรียลไทม์เกี่ยวกับการกรอง ข้อมูลอินเตอร์เน็ต การโจมตีแบบดิเนลออฟเซอร์วิส และการบล็อกข้อมูลอื่นๆ

เรา กำลังค้นหาผู้มาเป็น “Local Outreach Coordinators” ซึ่งก็คืออาสาสมัครที่ชื่นชอบอิสรภาพทางอินเตอร์เน็ต และอยากช่วย Herdict ผู้ประสานงานนี้จะช่วยสร้างอนาคตของ Herdict และของโลกอินเตอร์เน็ต ด้วยการดำเนินกิจกรรม Outreach ในชุมชน เมือง และประเทศของตน ด้วยการถ่ายทอดข้อมูลสำคัญกลับมายังเจ้าหน้าที่ของ Herdict

สิ่งที่เรากำลังมองหา:

• ผู้ที่กระตือรือร้นและตื่นเต้นที่จะสนับสนุนภารกิจของ Herdict
• นักคิดยุคใหม่ที่มีไอเดียการรณรงค์ที่สร้างสรรค์ และเครือข่ายสังคมอันเข้มแข็ง
• ผู้ที่มีประสบการณ์ที่เกี่ยวข้องในกิจกรรมรณรงค์ อาทิเช่น (แต่ไม่จำกัดอยู่แค่นี้) งานการรณรงค์ กิจกรรมหาทุน และการหาอาสาสมัคร
• ผู้พูดที่พูดภาษาต่อไปนี้ตั้งแต่เกิด รัสเซีย จีน อาหรับ ตุรกี หรือไทย ที่เก่งภาษาอังกฤษด้วย

ประโยชน์ต่อท่าน:

• ได้ รับประสบการณ์ด้านกลยุทธ์การหาอาสาสมัคร พร้อมกับได้ทำงานในแนวหน้าของปัญหาใหม่และตื่นเต้นแห่งการกรองข้อมูลและการ เข้าถึงข้อมูลในโลกอินเตอร์เน็ต
• ผู้ประสานงานการรณรงค์ในท้องถิ่นระดับพิเศษ (Exceptional) อาจมีโอกาสได้เป็นผู้ดูแลบล็อคให้ Herdict
• โอกาส สำหรับสมาชิกพิเศษประจำเดือน (Featured Member of the Month) เช่นของแจกของ Herdict และได้รับชื่อเสียงในเว็บไซต์ของ Herdict สำหรับสมาชิกพิเศษ
• เรายินดีที่จะให้หลักฐานอ้างอิงการสมัครงาน (Reference) สำหรับผู้ประสานงานที่ผลงานดีเป็นพิเศษ

สิ่งที่เราคาดหวัง:

• ความรับผิดชอบที่จะช่วย Herdict ห้าชั่วโมงต่อสัปดาห์
• ขยาย ฐานผู้ใช้ของ Herdict และเพิ่มกิจกรรมของ Herdict ในประเทศของท่านด้วยการใช้เครื่องมือเครือข่ายสังคมอย่างเช่น Twitter และ Facebook
• จัดเตรียมรายงานของ Herdict เพื่อตอบสนองต่อเหตุการณ์เซ็นเซอร์ข้อมูลในท้องถิ่น/ประเทศของท่าน
• ผลิตข่าวอัพเดตสั้นๆรายสัปดาห์ให้แก่เจ้าหน้าที่ของ Herdict เกี่ยวกับเหตุการณ์ในปัจจุบันที่เกี่ยวข้องกับองค์กรเรา
• ดูแลและจัดการคิวเว็บไซต์ของ Herdict สำหรับประเทศของท่าน

วิธีการสมัคร:

• กรุณาอีเมล์ข้อมูลต่อไปนี้มาที่ LOC@Herdict<dot>org
• จดหมายปะหน้าที่แจ้งว่าท่านสนใจในตำแหน่งนี้
• ประวัติงานของท่านเวอร์ชั่นล่าสุด

• วันหมดเขตการส่งข้อมูลการสมัครคือวันที่ 20 มกราคม 2012 แต่การตัดสินใจจะค่อยๆทำเป็นระยะๆ ตลอดเดือนหน้า
• การประยุกต์ใช้ภาษาอังกฤษเท่านั้น

กรุณาส่งคำถามเกี่ยวกับโอกาสหรือการสมัครของท่านมาที่ LOC@Herdict<dot>org

เราหวังว่าจะได้ข่าวจากท่านในเร็วๆนี้!
ทีม Herdict

Yerel Genişletme Koordinatörleri için 2. Tur Başvurular Başladı!

İnternet sansürüyle mücadeleye ve online ifade özgürlüğünü desteklemeye yardımcı olmak ister misiniz? Herdict projesi için Yerel Genişletme Koordinatörü Olun!

Herdict, Mısır, Çin, Türkiye ve Tayland’da İnternet özgürlüğünü destekleyen ‘net vatandaşlarının’ yardımına ihtiyaç duyuyor. Herdict, Harvard Üniversitesi Berkman Center for Internet & Society bünyesinde, İnternet filtreleme, yasaklama ve servis saldırıları ve diğer İnternet engelleri hakkında gerçek zamanlı bilgiler toplayan ve dağıtan, toplum kaynaklı bir projedir.

İnternet özgürlüğü konusunda heyecan duyan ve Herdict’e yardım etmek isteyen, Yerel Genişletme Koordinatörü olacak gönüllüler arıyoruz.  Bu koordinatörler, kendi topluluklarında, şehirlerinde ve ülkelerinde genişletme faaliyetleri gerçekleştirerek ve önemli bilgileri Herdict personeline ileterek Herdict’in geleceğinin ve bütün olarak İnternet’in şekillendirilmesine yardım edecekler.

Aradığımız özellikler:

Herdict’in misyonunu daha da ileriye götürme konusunda heyecan duyan motivasyon sahibi olmak.

Yaratıcı genişletme fikirleri ve güçlü sosyal ağları olan, yenilikçi düşünmek.

Kampanya çalışmaları, yardım toplama faaliyetleri ve gönüllü bulma dahil olmak üzere (ancak bunlarla sınırlı değil), genişletme çalışmalarında deneyim sahibi olmak.

Ana dili Rusça, Çince, Arapça, Türkçe veya Tay Dili olan, aynı zamanda akıcı İngilizce bilgisine sahip olmak.

Avantajlar:

İnternette filtreleme ve İnternet erişimi ile ilgili yeni ve heyecan verici konularda ön saflarda çalışırken, gönüllü kaydetme stratejileri konusunda deneyim kazanmak.

Çok özel Yerel Genişletme Koordinatörleri, Herdict’in bloğunda yazma fırsatına da sahip olabilirler.

Ayın seçilen üyesi olma fırsatı ve bunun Herdict web sitesinde yayınlanması, seçilen üyenin Herdict logolu ürünleri kazanma fırsatı.

Aktif Koordinatörler için referans sağlamaktan mutluluk duyacağız.

Beklentilerimiz:

Haftada en az beş saati Herdict’e ayırmak.

Twitter ve Facebook gibi sosyal paylaşım araçlarını kullanarak ülkenizdeki Herdict kullanıcı tabanını ve Herdict faaliyetlerini artırmak.

Yerel/ulusal sansür olaylarına karşı Herdict raporlarını harekete geçirmek.

Herdict personeli için geçerli güncel olaylar hakkında kısa haftalık bilgi güncellemeleri hazırlamak.

Herdict web sitesinde yer alan Türkiye bölümünü hazırlama ve yönetme.

Başvuru için:

Lütfen aşağıdaki bilgileri LOC@Herdict<dot>org adresine e-posta ile gönderiniz.

Görevle ilgilendiğinizi belirten önyazı

Güncel özgeçmiş

Son başvuru 20 Ocak 2012 tarihidir. Başvuru sonuçları bir sonraki ay açıklanacaktır.

Sadece İngilizce uygulamaları

Lütfen proje veya başvurunuzla ilgili sorularınızı LOC@Herdict<dot>org adresine iletiniz.

Başvurularınızı sabırsızlıkla bekliyoruz!
Herdict Ekibi

]]> http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/herdict/2011/12/08/878/feed/ 2 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/herdict/2011/11/29/controversial-turkish-filtering-measure-goes-live/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/herdict/2011/11/29/controversial-turkish-filtering-measure-goes-live/#comments Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:37:22 +0000 mattlavigueur http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/herdict/?p=872 Last Tuesday, Turkey implemented a new Internet filtration system.  Since the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority (called BTK) announced this system in May, it has been quite controversial.  BTK initially proposed a compulsory filtering system with four levels of filtering that consumers could choose between.  Not surprisingly, that plan came under fire from Turkish citizens and academics, who challenged the plan in Turkey’s highest administrative court.  In response, BTK revised the measure to its current form, which offers two voluntary filtering options and a number of banned word searches.  The banned search terms include the English words “porno,” “sex,” “adult,” “fetish,” “escort,” “mature” and “gay,” as well as the Turkish words for “naked,” “hot,” “sister-in-law,” “mother-in-law,” “stepmother.”

Although the filtering regime is on its face weak, many fear that this opens the door to more invasive and opaque measures.  Turkey is no stranger to censorship, blocking as many as 20,000 sites.  Whereas the previous system required a court order, providing a modicum of transparency, the new filtering system will be implemented through a small, non-transparent executive body. This lack of transparency creates the very real possibility that officials could exploit vaguely defined grounds for censorship to block a wide-range of content.

Although the new system is voluntary and requires consumers to opt-in, consumers will face a hard push from their ISPs.  The system may be voluntary for consumers, but promoting the service is mandatory for ISPs. Moreover, consumers will have limited choices as to what is filtered; a subcommittee of the BTK called the “Child and Family Profiles Criteria Working Committee” will make the actual filtering decisions.  Despite the threat to Internet freedom as a whole, some consumers appear interested in potential protections for children and families; according to the BTK, 7,000 users subscribed to one of the filtration plans within the first day of it being offered.  Indeed, some of the measure’s critics concede that it may reduce the prevalence of harmful online content such as child pornogoraphy.

Regardless of the potential benefits of the system, its implementation has not been without problems.  Some Turkish Internet users have reported difficulty of accessing sites that seem unrelated to the proposed aim of the filtering measures.  Additionally, early adopters of the system have reported that it has blocked shopping and humor sites as well as popular social networking sites such as Facebook.

We encourage our Turkish members of the Herd to report sites that are blocked, noting in the comment section if you have adopted one of the filtering options.

Herdict Technical Director Mike King and I attended the first (annual?) EU Hackathon held last week in Brussels, Belgium.  This event, sponsored by Google and Skype, was an opportunity to educate members of European Parliament about Internet censorship, filtering, and the need for transparency.  It was also an opportunity for 54 programmers to demonstrate the transparency-enhancing projects that they could develop in only 23 hours.

The results were incredible and thrilling.  The “hackers” came to Brussels from places as far as Denver and as near as Antwerp – 17 countries in all.  Some knew a lot about censorship and Internet metrics, while others were simply eager to learn.  However, all of the teams developed creative new ways to think about the problems that we at Herdict are so concerned about.

The hackers were divided into two tracks: (1) Internet Quality, and (2) Global Transparency.  In the first track, the hackers were tasked with developing new ways to measure, educate people about, and improve network quality.  Those in the latter category were asked to develop programs that would add greater transparency to the issues surrounding Internet censorship.  One winning project in each track would win € 5,000.  I’m not very good with currency conversions, but based on what I paid to get a Starbucks coffee in Brussels, I’m guessing it’s close to one million dollars!

Good programs need good data, and there was no shortage of that.  We worked hard over the past few weeks to make sure that they could access Herdict data through our APIs or a CSV file (you don’t have to be a hacker to use them – they are publicly available!  Query API, Plugin API, and CSV).  In addition to our data, they could also use MLab’s network quality data, Google’s transparency reports, OpenNet Initiative country profiles, and pretty much anything else they could get their hands on.

After 23 hours of frantic Red Bull-fueled programming, the hackers’ projects were judged by a panel that included representatives from ONI, Google’s Transparency Team, MLab, EU regulators, and both me and Mike.  It was a lot of fun for us to see what everyone worked on, and the decisions were quite difficult.  In part it was difficult because the projects were fascinating, but in part it was because the agenda allotted only one hour for judging – something that ended up taking four hours!

In the end, we selected two projects that I really enjoyed.  On the Global Transparency track, the winning team was UN-Team, with Sven Clement, Stefan Wehrmeyer, and Hauke Gierow.  Not only was their project great, but it used Herdict data!  Yea!

UN-Team created an educational game called “Beat the Censor” (playable here) that teaches players about the mechanics of censorship, filtering, and circumvention.  In the game players are asked to connect a hypothetical user with a site that user wants to visit.  The player connects the country of the “user” with the site server location by drawing a line over a map.  When Herdict data indicates that a given site-country pair might be blocked, the game says “Access Denied” and explains why that site might be blocked in that country.  Although simple, it provides an interactive mechanism for teaching people about DDoS attacks, IP-filtering, and other mechanisms of censorship.  We hope that they’ll keep working on the game!

The winner on the other track was Team Ferioli, comprised of Federica Cau, Pasquale De Luna, and Niccola Ferioli.  I’m not an expert on Internet quality metrics, but I really liked how their project made it easy to see connections between Internet quality data and other regional statistics through visual data overlays.

Overall, it was a great event, and I’m glad it brought focus to important issues around Internet transparency.