Northern say don't use dating apps on the train

[Jimini]

It's not just Twitter that's like that. Some of us are just trying to innocently look at tractors on the train when that content suddenly appears

 

[Revilo]

What worries me more is that that press release says that ‘Content considered ‘NSFW’ can range in scale from inappropriate jokes and bad language’.

Who determines what is inappropriate? At one day’s time common sense could be applied, but now almost any joke could be considered offensive by some.

 

[ExRes]

I fully support Northern, any train coupling, theoretical or practical, should be undertaken by drivers only

 

[Tazi Hupefi]

I fully support Northern, any train coupling, theoretical or practical, should be undertaken by drivers only

Have you never been on a sleeper train with the other half?! Or perhaps you have, and you do leave it to the driver!

 

[DeverseSam]

but allows Twitter, which is absolutely replete with sexual images since Musk took over, I don't know

In theory at least, the NSFW stuff on Twitter is only accessible to adults with a suitable DOB on their profile, who have actively opted in to being shown that kind of content

 

[Starmill]

In theory at least, the NSFW stuff on Twitter is only accessible to adults with a suitable DOB on their profile, who have actively opted in to being shown that kind of content

Sadly that seems to have all but gone out of the window lately, like a lot of things on twitter.

 

[Towers]

It's not just Twitter that's like that. Some of us are just trying to innocently look at tractors on the train when that content suddenly appears

Don’t come the innocent, with your tractors and thrash and questionable cries of “My Lordz…”

 

[Pete_uk]

Um, uh...

I don't get it?

 

[TUC]

Yes, and Reddit, for example, has loads of "NSFW" content, and so on.

However, despite being absolutely not a prude, I think it's really inappropriate to look at any sexually explicit content on public transport (or in a pub or cafe for that matter) anyhow, assuming it's somewhat possible it will be visible or audible to anyone else.

It may make other people around you extremely uncomfortable; it's just antisocial. Just wait till you get home, OK?

Of course you shouldn't, but 'dating app' and sexually explicit' are not the same thing. The last thing that would attract many women using dating apps is to be hit with sexually explicit content.

 

[Egg Centric]

I fully support Northern, any train coupling, theoretical or practical, should be undertaken by drivers only

What about hinges on tinder locomotives?

 

[Tetchytyke]

I'm completely bemused by all of this. Clearly the Northern press office don't have enough to do if they have the time to spin up "we have an adult filter on our WiFi" to this babbling nonsense.

I can't think of any dating apps which are NSFW- at least not the mainstream ones.

 

[Starmill]

I'm completely bemused by all of this. Clearly the Northern press office don't have enough to do if they have the time to spin up "we have an adult filter on our WiFi" to this babbling nonsense.

I can't think of any dating apps which are NSFW- at least not the mainstream ones.

Indeed. I'd be surprised to find if any rail operators didn't have a content filter in place.

 

[Tazi Hupefi]

Ultimately all of this comes down to Northern now being a public entity. It's not enough to simply comply with Equality Act and other legislation, they have to be seen as being proactive and driving change/improvement in areas like this, which presumably falls under some sort of sexual violence or discrimination policy. That is the law.

They are probably members of various "charitable organisations" or causes that offer dubious "workplace accreditations" that lead to all manner of self censoring and self congratulatory behaviour.

It probably is a complete non-issue or certainly very rare that this actually causes an issue in practice.

 

[Tetchytyke]

It probably is a complete non-issue or certainly very rare that this actually causes an issue in practice.

The issue of men- and it is always men- openly watching pornography on public transport is sadly not very rare at all. Most men, of course, don't do it, but there is a notable minority who do.

If Northern had come out with a press release about that behaviour I'd understand it. I just don't understand where dating apps fit into it.

 

[Adam Williams]

If Northern had come out with a press release about that behaviour

They already did https://media.northernrailway.co.uk...s-either-wait-till-you-get-home-says-northern

 

[Ian79]

oh, I agree! TOC's do limit access to streaming services on thier wifi but cant really do much about personal data usage. Beyond, you know, giving them a very hard stare!

Not doing any maintenance on the pantograph would resolve the issue of people using their own mobile data allowance. Keep the pan arcing most of the time and it should produce enough RF interference to at least slow down mobile data if not knock out the comms entirely

 

[Egg Centric]

The issue of men- and it is always men- openly watching pornography on public transport is sadly not very rare at all. Most men, of course, don't do it, but there is a notable minority who do.

If Northern had come out with a press release about that behaviour I'd understand it. I just don't understand where dating apps fit into it.

I think it really is as simple as they had no news for a couple of days, so put out some "news". Most media teams think like this in my experience.

Here's another example of nonsense from them recently: Used coffee cups are NOT litter insist some rail users

 

[Crossover]

Anyone with an ounce of sense will be using a VPN these days, which would probably bypass this sort of moderation in any event. If you're not using a VPN, especially when you are connecting to open/ public networks, I can only strongly recommend you get a reputable one. They're not particularly expensive.

I wonder what a FOI to Northern would reveal if you asked them to specify the top 10 websites that customers attempt to access, which are blocked.

Apple, at least, semi already do this as there is an option to proxy web traffic through their servers. This often gets blocked by some WiFi providers as anonymisation and it certainly can bypass any web traffic filters the WiFi provider have in place.

That said, I have previously quite easily bypassed the content filters on on-train WiFi with relatively simple changes to the connection settings (usually DNS servers) to prove a point (tested with accessing YouTube, from memory, just to see if possible and not to sit draining everyones bandwidth)

 

[johnnychips]

I cannot see why anyone on a train would need to use a dating app. After all, my local paper’s website says that there are hundreds of hot women just waiting to talk to me.

 

[Trains1]

Anyone with an ounce of sense will be using a VPN these days, which would probably bypass this sort of moderation in any event. If you're not using a VPN, especially when you are connecting to open/ public networks, I can only strongly recommend you get a reputable one. They're not particularly expensive.

I wonder what a FOI to Northern would reveal if you asked them to specify the top 10 websites that customers attempt to access, which are blocked.

that could be interesting. I have had songs blocked before on public wifi

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Sep 2024 ==

Probably to deflect attention from their practically non existent service on Sundays and at other times of the week.

Does anyone know why there is no service in some areas on Sundays?

 

[Peter0124]

Am I imagining things, or was Realtime Trains once blocked on an operator? Forgot whom.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Am I imagining things, or was Realtime Trains once blocked on an operator? Forgot whom.

I think it was Avanti/Virgin though I forget how long ago it was.

 

[Horizon22]

Oh it was extremely serious. It's the biggest irritation on public transport.

And most people are using their personal data allowance for that as on-board wi-fi (by its nature) can be patchy at best.

 

[185143]

Am I imagining things, or was Realtime Trains once blocked on an operator? Forgot whom.

This forum was blocked on TPE WiFi about 7-8 years ago IIRC.

 

[Towers]

Ultimately all of this comes down to Northern now being a public entity. It's not enough to simply comply with Equality Act and other legislation, they have to be seen as being proactive and driving change/improvement in areas like this, which presumably falls under some sort of sexual violence or discrimination policy. That is the law.

They are probably members of various "charitable organisations" or causes that offer dubious "workplace accreditations" that lead to all manner of self censoring and self congratulatory behaviour.

It probably is a complete non-issue or certainly very rare that this actually causes an issue in practice.

The rail industry is increasingly moving further towards recognition of wider societal issues, another example is the White Ribbon charity which deals with domestic violence and whose logo can be seen on a number of SWR units. There is also the BTP’s poster campaign tackling unacceptable sexual behaviour on the network. People are of course entitled to their personal opinions, but the railways are very much part of a concerted effort at a societal ‘clean up’ of sexual attitutes.

 

[DJ_K666]

One point which will make all that a wasted effort, if someone's using a VPN, won't they be able to bypass any content block?

 

[pokemonsuper9]

One point which will make all that a wasted effort, if someone's using a VPN, won't they be able to bypass any content block?

Yes, but I wouldn't be surprised if the mainstream VPNs are also blocked on the WiFi to prevent exactly that.

 

[Tetchytyke]

One point which will make all that a wasted effort, if someone's using a VPN, won't they be able to bypass any content block?

You can block VPNs.

 

[duffield]

One point which will make all that a wasted effort, if someone's using a VPN, won't they be able to bypass any content block?

I think that's maybe missing the point of the exercise. As Northern know well, many of us never even use the on train WiFi (if it's even available), so are not affected by any of their blocks anyhow. So this measure isn't really intended to stop the viewing of inappropriate material on trains as such.

It's surely intended instead to block the viewing of inappropriate material being easily facilitated by the train operator's own infrastructure, so if they are asked they can say they have made their best efforts, and remaining issues are outside their control.

 

[Whisky Papa]

And most people are using their personal data allowance for that as on-board wi-fi (by its nature) can be patchy at best.

Actually, around here it is the other way round; many places along the Calder Valley line (even the bits that are above ground!) have a hopeless data connection. I usually log-in to Northern's wifi, especially if travelling alone. My personal peeve with them is that they block access to CAMRA's Good Beer Guide app.