# Sigh... I'm blocked from The Game Room forum at work now. How do they know? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 22, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250 "2011-02-22T17:48:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/1 "2011-02-22T17:48:04Z")
So, at work we have a lot of firewall rules and regulations. I’m blocked from Facebook, personal email accounts, Youtube, image sites like flickr, etc. etc. etc. And now, I am blocked from **The Game Room** , because it deals with … games. But how do they know this? Did something change in the way the forum is labeled or categorized? I can get into the last post in the forum, just not the forum itself. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/2 "2011-02-22T17:54:29Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > So, at work we have a lot of firewall rules and regulations. > > I’m blocked from Facebook, personal email accounts, Youtube, image sites like flickr, etc. etc. etc. And now, I am blocked from **The Game Room** , because it deals with … games. But how do they know this? Did something change in the way the forum is labeled or categorized? I can get into the last post in the forum, just not the forum itself. No change on our end(that I know of). I’m betting they started filtering the word “Game” on your end. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/3 "2011-02-22T18:25:57Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > No change on our end(that I know of). I’m betting they started filtering the word “Game” on your end. [sympathetic tangent]Back in the old days, our firm sent out an alert memo to all our clients about a court case involving sexual harrassment. Many of 'em bounced back because of the use of the word “sexual”… obviously spam-filtered as porn.[/tangent] ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/4 "2011-02-22T19:06:34Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Many of 'em bounced back because of the use of the word “sexual”… obviously spam-filtered as porn.[/tangent] Once I was listening to music on Napster during my lunch hour, using the company WiFi. I was blocked from streaming tracks by the Gabor Szabo **Sex** tet. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/5 "2011-02-22T19:14:35Z")
I’ve heard that some computer systems won’t let you mention Scunthorpe, a perfectly good Old Norse name for a town. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/6 "2011-02-22T20:10:21Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > No change on our end(that I know of). I’m betting they started filtering the word “Game” on your end. So all you need to do is change the name of the forum for me then. 😉 I’m open to suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/7 "2011-02-22T20:27:14Z")
One of my former employers blocked anything discussing Super Bowl XXXVII ---
**Author:** ![HardlySanguine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HardlySanguine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HardlySanguine)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/8 "2011-02-22T20:29:03Z")
If it were me I’d browse by using the New Posts button. Proxies might fun afowl of your workplace’s rules if they catch you. If you have a specific thread that you’re following, you should still be able to access it by looking at your subscribed threads (or search google for it [“site:boards.straightdope.com fuzzy die”]). ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/9 "2011-02-22T21:13:21Z")
> [@HardlySanguine](#): > > If it were me I’d browse by using the New Posts button. Proxies might fun afowl of your workplace’s rules if they catch you. > > If you have a specific thread that you’re following, you should still be able to access it by looking at your subscribed threads (or search google for it [“site:boards.straightdope.com fuzzy die”]). New posts works like a charm. Didn’t think of that since I never browse that way. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/10 "2011-02-22T21:16:53Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > So all you need to do is change the name of the forum for me then. 😉 > > I’m open to suggestions. How about “The Scunthorpe Room”? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/11 "2011-02-22T21:18:26Z")
> [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > How about “The Scunthorpe Room”? Brilliant! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/12 "2011-02-22T22:06:12Z")
> [@](#): > > [sympathetic tangent]Back in the old days, our firm sent out an alert memo to all our clients about a court case involving sexual harrassment. Many of 'em bounced back because of the use of the word “sexual”… obviously spam-filtered as porn.[/tangent] The best example I’ve seen of this is a NASA page getting blocked by nanny software. The reason? The URL ended with “marsexplorer.html”. And is “Scunþorpe” still OK? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/13 "2011-02-22T22:17:57Z")
They are most likely using a category filter that they weren’t using before. Or they put in a filter on the key word ‘game’ as other suggested (my guess is the category filter though…they probably had a complaint from management and simply checked the box). [QUOTE=Leaffan] I’m open to suggestions. [/QUOTE] You could try and find a proxy-bypass site…I’m sure there is one out there somewhere for your filter and for the SD. You could Google it from home. You might get into trouble if you are caught doing it, however…but the odds of your IT department being that much on the ball are pretty remote. -XT ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/14 "2011-02-23T00:20:53Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > So all you need to do is change the name of the forum for me then. 😉 > > I’m open to suggestions. Wait ten days. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/15 "2011-02-23T00:38:59Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > I’ve heard that some computer systems won’t let you mention Scunthorpe, a perfectly good Old Norse name for a town. You’ve got to admit, that _does_ sound really dirty. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/16 "2011-02-23T01:24:48Z")
As they used to say, you can’t spell “Scunthorpe” without “Thor.” ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/17 "2011-02-23T02:34:52Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > As they used to say, you can’t spell “Scunthorpe” without “Thor.” Well, see post #12. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/18 "2011-02-23T06:12:20Z")
Dunno what they might have in place at your office but where my Mom works IT (and her supervisor) can see exactly what they’re doing/what they’re typing/where they go/what they’re looking at. Local government office – they’re on camera too, apparently. It’s like working in a fishbowl except that fish have more privacy. While all this certainly sounds extreme (at least to me, naive person who works from home), I suspect more and more places of business nowadays are intrusive like that. I’m so sorry this is happening to you and I hope some sort of reasonable workaround can be found. Actually I’m surprised any of you have access to the Dope at work at all, considering. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/19 "2011-02-23T06:28:50Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > Dunno what they might have in place at your office but where my Mom works IT (and her supervisor) can see exactly what they’re doing/what they’re typing/where they go/what they’re looking at. Local government office – they’re on camera too, apparently. It’s like working in a fishbowl except that fish have more privacy. > > While all this certainly sounds extreme (at least to me, naive person who works from home), I suspect more and more places of business nowadays are intrusive like that. > > I’m so sorry this is happening to you and I hope some sort of reasonable workaround can be found. Actually I’m surprised any of you have access to the Dope at work at all, considering. Well, most of them don’t seem to spend as much time here as I do. It sounds like they actually get their job done. ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250/20 "2011-02-23T09:20:14Z")
One of my colleagues has the surname “Hooker”. He had no problem with internal email and sending external emails but if someone external replied to him without trimming his name it was blocked! 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-im-blocked-from-the-game-room-forum-at-work-now-how-do-they-know/572250.md?page=2)