(c) 1995 Copyright Nando.net
[1](c) 1995 Associated Press
BOSTON (Dec 1, 1995 - 09:44 EST) -- America Online banned the word
"breast" from its computer communication service, then quickly
reversed itself after complaints from breast cancer patients who use
the service to share information and support.
America Online, the country's largest online service, said it was
trying to clean up cyberlanguage when it banned use of the word last
week, The Boston Globe reported today.
This angered subscribers who use America's Online breast cancer
bulletin board, which is sponsored by the American Cancer Society.
"This is outrageous and potentially life-threatening," wrote a woman
who uses the computer name of Renna S.
The ban was discovered when a breast cancer patient, who uses the name
MiaBella, discovered that America Online had deleted her personal
profile. Service users can create profiles to identify their interests
so they can be contacted by others with similar interests.
When MiaBella tried to create a new profile, America Online flashed
her a message that she could not use vulgar words. She then found out
that the profiles of all subscribers who used the word breast had been
deleted.
Pam McGraw, a spokeswoman for America Online, told the newspaper
Thursday that the ban was an error that would be corrected within 24
hours. "Breast" will be permitted "as long as it is used in an
appropriate manner," she said.
Subscribers affected by the ban will be given five hours of free time
on the service, McGraw said.
"I don't have any problem with AOL trying to keep dirty words off
their service," said Barbara LeStage, a member of the American Cancer
Society's executive committee.
"But I don't consider 'breast' to be a dirty word. If you have people
who see it as dirty, for whatever reason, rather than as an everyday
term, then this is going to continue to happen," she said.