The word "knife" in online advertising

Joined
Oct 16, 2018
Messages
15
The topic is not about country laws, but rather something interesting I have encountered 2 years ago. (Sorry if it has been discussed before, I'm new to the forums)

When I first made my website a few years back, I started using Google Adwords to promote it. So I was using keywords like "handmade knife" in the advertisements. But two years ago, all my advertisements on the Adwords platform were banned because the word "knife" has become illegal to advertise. Google changed their TOS, knives were considered a weapon, so I wasn't permitted to use it anymore. I had a discussion with the support staff about that. I asked them what about using "kitchen knives" as a keyword. Are kitchen knives considered a weapon too? The short answer was "yes". Since then I stopped using any online advertising, but I find that really puzzling. I personally don't think a knife is any more dangerous than a pair of scissors, and I think knives are just an everyday object we people have used for thousands of years.

How can we as a community drive change towards the world acknowledging that knives are tools, not a weapon?
 
I have tried to advertise my website 1 year ago on Facebook and Google. Fortunately, I wasn't banned from using those advertising platforms. I was frustrated. I recently relaunched the website. I am focusing on creating great content that the Google algorithm favors
 
I use the WiFi at the local Taco Bell. Their WiFi blocks streaming music, video -- which is understandable because streaming sucks up bandwidth. But Taco Bell WiFi additionally blocks sites with any obscure reference to blades (e.g. BladeForums.com), Randall, Dozier, A.G. Russell, Case, Schrade, etc. Also blocked are firearms sites, Winchester, Remington, Smith & Wesson . . .

Since we're at it, because I was curious, the Taco Bell WiFi also blocks access to pornography sites. (Because the sites I was searching kept getting "Blocked" or "That site is not secure" messages, I was prompted to find out just exactly what Taco Bell finds objectionable.) I understand blocking porn, but Dexter-Russell kitchen cutlery blocking seems a bit over the top.

My remedy to all this, in the name of the First Amendment, and the Second Amendment too for that matter . . . I opted for a Verizon JetPack mobile hot spot with unlimited data. Problem solved!
 
I hope no one tells them that an broomstick beats a knife as weapon as long the one wielding it is not an total moron....

That's right! And I keep an aluminum baseball bat in the truck, and it's not for coaching kids to field fly balls.
 
This issue came up with the word gun nearly 20 years ago in the fin and feather publishing community. A couple of editors I knew were actively seeking opinions of their friends and readers to find another word beside gun or weapon. They eventually gave up.

It’s worse now that the resistance has spread to knives.
 
Since I've become part of the "internet cafe society" scene -- because I need to get out, not sit at home online -- I'm finding the "mobile hot-spot" option offered through phone carriers to be a useful option. The hot-spot device is about half the size of a phone and can be charged through the port on the laptop -- or plugged into the wall. The device offers up to 24 hrs of continuous use.

The down-side to all this is you need unlimited data -- which these days is getting affordable. The up-side is you get to access whatever you want, no site blocking, no censorship.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top