There was a huge uproar when the internet filter was announced. The same happened when the R18 games classification got delayed. But has anyone told the government?

If you've ever wondered why government and legislators so routinely ignore the numerous protestations and objections made by gamers and those against internet filtering, you'd be well advised to look at the Australian Law Reform Commission's (ALRC) list of public submissions. The Issues Paper has been published since May 20 and as yet only 80 public submissions have been made - 80 per cent of them from people who believe in government intervention for the sake of child protection. Considering, the furious debates within Australia's technology communities, does this reflect the national balance?

One can hardly blame the ALRC for the low, one-sided turnout either. It joined Twitter and Facebook and has regularly engaged with and promoted articles that deal with the matter. Yet, for all the huffing and puffing and commenting online about how much people can't stand the existing classification system, there are hardly any official complaints.

This begs several questions. Is it any wonder that technology enthusiasts and gamers get ignored by politicians and legislators when they don't voice their concerns in the right place? Or is it, that for all the ALRC's attempts at asking for public submissions, it should be using comments on internet message boards as a gauge for Australian community standards?

That second question is a joke, by the way. Ugh. Can you imagine?

In reality, it's likely down to the media for failing to inform the public on the matter, although the media will say that it hasn't been marketed to in the usual ways. It's a vicious, yet pathetic circle.

Ultimately, if you do care about internet filtering, games classification and general classification in any way, you'd do well to heed that the ALRC's classification review closes in just a few days on July 15. To get involved go to the official website, read the Issue Paper's questions. Answer them. And remember to submit them! The ALRC states, "We can see that many of you have begun answering the questions, and saved the form, perhaps intending to complete it at a later time."