Ray Bradbury Tribute of the Day

Software developer and Ray Bradbury fan Tim Bray has proposed a new HTTP status code inspired by Fahrenheit 451 that would reflect Internet censorship.

Bray's recommendation is that when access to a website is denied for legal reasons, the user is given the status code 451:

We can never do away entirely with legal restrictions on freedom of speech. On the other hand, I feel that when such restrictions are imposed, they should be done so transparently; for example, most civilized people find Britain's system of superinjunctions loathsome and terrifying. While we may agree on the existence of certain restrictions, we should be nervous whenever we do it; thus the reference to the dystopian vision of Fahrenheit 451 may be helpful. Also, since the Internet exists in several of the many futures imagined by Bradbury, it would be nice for a tip of the hat in his direction from the net, in the year of his death.

The proposal will be considered in July by the Internet Engineering Task Force, the body that makes such decisions.

[guardian]