This issue should be addressed in your Acceptable Use Policy. Students should know how they are expected to respond if they access a clearly inappropriate site, whether or not it was intentional. These lessons can be imparted either as part of regular online classwork, or as special activities that must be completed before a student can go online. A team of staff members may want to test proposed solutions to see what kind of results they turn up. Research papers and testimony compiled by the COPA Commission provides information about the methods that have been used by other researchers to test the effectiveness of blocking software.
Some products provide a clear notice when a site has been blocked.
Some allow this message to be tailored to the network's needs. Some products block in a more invisible way. Generally, tools are more difficult to disable when installed on a server, whether it belongs to a school, an Internet service provider or a filtering company, than they are when installed on a desktop computer. Some products incorporate these features, sometimes in exchange for reduced fees, or no fees at all for the product or service. School officials should understand whether advertising or marketing messages are incorporated into a product and what information, if any, will be gathered about users, either individually or in aggregate.