The Internet F-Word

For the last several months Ive been collecting and organizing links for the free Christian Resource Center. Now that the public area is up and the members’ area is well under construction, Im running into one problem: the Internet F-word.

One of the most popular search terms in the world. One of the Webs biggest search term lies in the wrong hands. It’s so controversial that I cant put it in the subject line of an e-mail. Thanks to those self-appointed e-mail guardians who have done such a commendable job of protecting the sanctity of our e-mail in-boxes by eliminating the f-word, thus leaving more storage space for Viagra ads, adult sites, and really personal growth secrets. It’s still one of the best magnets to draw targeted traffic.

So, what if I have to advertise that my "Members Area" will have links to over 25,000 fr^e resources Or that my public area has links to over 1,000 fr^e resources. Or that my e-zine will feature fr^e resources in every issue.

Its all part of life on the new frontier, keeping up with the changing rules, avoiding misdirected vigilante "justice."

No, I dont like the stupid e-mail filters that filter out the e-zines I subscribed to while apparently laying out the welcome mat for the scammers, spammers, smut merchants, and gamblers. I could gripe to my family and friends or change my domain name to keep my URL from triggering somebodys spam filter. But, hey, I live in the land of the fr^e and the home of the br@ve. Think Ill keep my domain name and post the e-zine on the Web site for those who cant get it by e-mail.

If I cant figure out some way to let people know my site is out there, then Im just not a good enough promoter. If I can piggy-back that onto---say, an article that I hope advances the cause of exposing the Spam-nazis and ISPs for their meddling, ineffective and intrusive nonsolution to "the problem of spam," so much the better.

Maybe I could even come up with a title that piques the readers curiosity while illustrating the woeful inadequacy of "filters." After all, Im fr^e to submit fr^e articles to fr^e content sites and fr^e e-zines all over the Internet to advertise my fr^e resources. I just cant use the f-word in the subject line.

Note to self: add "fr^e" to meta-tags on Web site before the Google-bots next visit ;-