It gets worse the closer you look.
Their "privacy policy" is laughable: why should people have to
"register" (ie give them personal information for no apparent reason)
to have their privacy respected?
The site ignores accessible web design principles, absurd in a new
site in 2001 after the DDA became active.
It insists on putting external links in its own frame, thereby
breaking straightforward bookmarking and leaving them in a somewhat
hazy ethical and possibly legal position. Also probably contributing
to the slowness some people have mentioned in following external
links: they don't go direct, but back to UKonline so it can wrap them
in its own frame (which of course breaks perfectly accessible sites
which don't use frames).
Nul points...
John Whalley
> I hadn't noticed this threat but thank you for alerting me
> to it. This is probably part & parcel of the seemingly
> inexorable march of the commercialisation & privatisation
> of government ("Modernisation of Governance" in Newspeak).
>
> They didn't get away with charging us to read the laws that
> we pay them to produce for us through copyright royalties,
> so they are working on ways to charge us for using the
> internet, or perhaps making the information available on
> the internet so bad that we are forced to buy paper copies
> and boost the profits of the 'agency' responsible for
> printing our laws.
>
> The scam probably has some fairly innocuous-sounding
> business jargon attached to it such as 'maximising
> alternative (US: 'alternate') returns' (MAR) or 'switching
> consumer sources' (SCS). All euphemisms for (MTSP) 'make
> the suckers pay' or (MTSPM) 'make the suckers pay more'.
>
> Yours,
>
> Tom Davidson
>
>
> On Thu, 19 Apr 2001 10:23:34 +0100 "Wood, Stephen"
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > UK online does offer the services you mention at:
> > http://www.ukonline.gov.uk/online/ukonline/quickFind this includes a
> > comprehensive index and search engine for govt sites and a news service
> > and links to publications. The performance of the search engine for
> > govt sites is much improved compared to open.gov and includes indexing
> > using keywords and related terms.
> >
> > Steve Wood
> > Intranet/GSI Editor
> > HM Treasury
> > 020 7270 5310
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Hanstock, Terry [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent: 18 April 2001 11:01
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Closure of open.gov.uk web service
> >
> >
> > Has anyone noticed this ominous announcement on the open.gov.uk website
> > (http://www.open.gov.uk)?
> >
> > >>>Closure of open.gov.uk web service
> > >>>The open.gov.uk web service will be gradually withdrawn over the next
> > >>>few
> > months and cease to be available from 1st July 2001.
> > >>>Similar services are provided by the UK Online citizen portal at
> > > <http://www.ukonline.gov.uk>
> > >>>We strongly recommend that any bookmarks you may have for the
> > >>>open.gov.uk
> > domain are deleted.
> >
> > I find the current site invaluable both for keeping up to date with new
> > official publications made available on the Web (via the "What's New"
> > section) and as a quick and comprehensive index to existing governmental
> > and quasi-governmental websites. In it present state, UK Online citizen
> > is regrettably a poor relation
> >
> > Terry Hanstock
> >
> > Faculty Liaison Officer
> > Library & Information Services
> > The Nottingham Trent University
> > The Boots Library
> > Goldsmith Street
> > Nottingham
> > NG1 5LS
> >
> > Direct line 0115 8482893
> > Fax 0115 8482286
> >
> > e-mail [log in to unmask]
> >
> >
> > **********************************************************************
> > If you have received this email and it was not intended for you, please
> > let us know, and then delete it. Please treat our information in
> > confidence, as you would expect us to treat yours.
>
> ----------------------
> Tom Davidson
> [log in to unmask]
--
* John Whalley, Crewe Site Library, Manchester Metropolitan University
* email: [log in to unmask]
* Phone: (+44) 161 247 5220 (UK)
* Usual disclaimer applies...........
