College bans 'despicable' game Cards Against Humanity

Vision West Notts College students have been banned from accessing the homepage of a popular bad-taste card game, which encouraged sick minds to come up with strange scenarios. (This was the least offensive example we could find).

An request for information made to the college showed the different websites banned on campus computers over the past few months, and the card game's homepage stood out as an example of 'unacceptable' material that students were prevented from viewing while at college.

The game, which has had a surge in popularity over the past few years involving matching up often obscene statements, on card to produce the funniest (and sickest) responses.

Notorious cards in the pack include 'the Madeline McCann card', references to sexual organs, embarrassing diseases and political figures - put together at the whim of the players.

The college also banned this violent games site from campus computers.

Curiously the college has also had to prevent students from conducting online stock trading in learning hours, and blocked several trading sites from being accessed, while some 'proxy search engine' sites, used to surf the web anonymously, were also banned.

Louise Knott at the college said the college's web filtering software catches most illicit websites, but sometimes staff have to make additions of their own.

She added: "In the main these websites are either promoting racism and violence or are websites which pose a risk to the college’s IT systems security."

Here's the full list:

Industrious students taking an interest in the stock market should be praised, but the college said this site was temporarily blocked due to security issues.

Cardsagainsthumanity.com The game of black and white cards is described by developers as: "A party game for horrible people. Unlike most of the party games you've played before, Cards Against Humanity is as despicable and awkward as you and your friends."

A member of staff told us the card game was 'completely inappropriate' for college the environment - 'it's not educational and encourages players to think up obscene scenarios'.

4chan.org - A posting board used by people all over the world for a variety of reasons. Can attract bad-taste comedy, extremist views, adult material and other illicit content.

Hidemyass.com A proxy search engine to hide web browsing

Proximize.me The same

Tankionline.com A violent online game

Trading212.com Online stock market portfolio manager and homepage of the 'UK's most downloaded trading app'.

Stickpage.com Collection of stickman-based online games, which the college deemed as too violent.

A spokesperson for West Nottinghamshire College said: “Like many organisations, the college uses third-party web-filtering software to block websites containing inappropriate material and those that pose a security risk to our IT systems.

“We routinely-block sites that promote child abuse, discrimination, explicit violence, gambling, weapon sales and pornography, and manually-block websites when concerns are raised about the appropriateness of their content – a recent example being Cards Against Humanity."

Referring to online trading sites the college said they didn't dissuade from students takign an interest in the stock market, and trading sites may have been temporarily blocked for cybersecurity reasons.

The spokesman added: “Sometimes the college needs to temporarily prevent access to legitimate websites that have been hacked by internet fraudsters or those wishing to infect computer networks with viruses. Indeed, an online trading and brokerage site that threatened our IT security was temporarily blocked last academic year, although these types of website generally are allowed within college.”