Freedom of speech
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Killer-Kris
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I'll assume that by public forum you mean internet forum. And personally, I do appreciate freedom of speech on them a great deal.
On the topic of censorship, my basic view is that it's fine (on privately owned forums) if it is removing speech that is not productive to the topic at hand.
But at the same time I would find it terribly disgusting if it was used to remove view points that merely disagreed but were otherwise staying on topic.
On the topic of censorship, my basic view is that it's fine (on privately owned forums) if it is removing speech that is not productive to the topic at hand.
But at the same time I would find it terribly disgusting if it was used to remove view points that merely disagreed but were otherwise staying on topic.
Other strategies for a dead horse:
1) Changing riders.
2) Buying a stronger whip.
3) Falling back on: "This is the way we have always ridden."
4) Appointing a committee to study the horse.
5) Arranging a visit to other sites to see how they ride dead horses.
6) Increasing the standards for riding dead horses.
7) Appointing a group to revive the dead horse.
8) Creating a training session to improve riding skills.
9) Compare the state of dead horses in today's environment.
10) Changing the requirements so the dead horse no longer meets the standard of death.
11) Hiring an external consultant to show how a dead horse can be ridden.
12) Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed.
13) Increasing funding to improve the horse's performance.
14) Declaring that no horse is too dead to beat.
15) Doing a study to see if outsourcing will reduce the cost of riding a dead horse.
16) Buying a computer program to enhance dead horse performance.
17) Declaring a dead horse less costly than a live one.
18) Forming a workgroup to find uses for a dead horse.
19) Changing performance requirements for the horse.
20) Promoting the dead horse to a management position.
21). Starting a forum thread to discuss dead horses in general.
1) Changing riders.
2) Buying a stronger whip.
3) Falling back on: "This is the way we have always ridden."
4) Appointing a committee to study the horse.
5) Arranging a visit to other sites to see how they ride dead horses.
6) Increasing the standards for riding dead horses.
7) Appointing a group to revive the dead horse.
8) Creating a training session to improve riding skills.
9) Compare the state of dead horses in today's environment.
10) Changing the requirements so the dead horse no longer meets the standard of death.
11) Hiring an external consultant to show how a dead horse can be ridden.
12) Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed.
13) Increasing funding to improve the horse's performance.
14) Declaring that no horse is too dead to beat.
15) Doing a study to see if outsourcing will reduce the cost of riding a dead horse.
16) Buying a computer program to enhance dead horse performance.
17) Declaring a dead horse less costly than a live one.
18) Forming a workgroup to find uses for a dead horse.
19) Changing performance requirements for the horse.
20) Promoting the dead horse to a management position.
21). Starting a forum thread to discuss dead horses in general.
Killer-Kris
Regular
Jimmers said:
That was the point I was trying to make, you just stated it much better than I did.
geo said:
* Form into a shape resembling an elephants thigh
* Mount on a vertical aluminium bar in front of a gas flame
* Rotate (slowly) until evenly under-cooked
* Use electric-powered whizzy strip thing to form shave off appetising strips of brown
* Place in pitta-bread with salad
* Douse in copiuous quantities of Hot Chilli Soss(TM)
* Eat, Enjoy, Make Friends
It might be because of the selection of websites I visit. But all of the few times I can remember that I've seen somebody complain about their freedom of speech in web forums, there's been a good reason to shut them up.
[Edit]
Oh, I just remembered one person that got banned from Dimension3D for his posts where he insisted that there won't be a 3dfx chip in Dreamcast...
Maybe that one was a bit too much cencorship. But on the other hand, I believe it became a bit nasty in that thread after he got slammed for his absurd idea. Mud slinging in both directions, and it was probably easiest to ban the mud slinger that insisted on such a strange idea.
I don't think any posts were deleted or modified though, so it was probably meant just as a peace keeping operation.
[Edit]
Oh, I just remembered one person that got banned from Dimension3D for his posts where he insisted that there won't be a 3dfx chip in Dreamcast...
Maybe that one was a bit too much cencorship. But on the other hand, I believe it became a bit nasty in that thread after he got slammed for his absurd idea. Mud slinging in both directions, and it was probably easiest to ban the mud slinger that insisted on such a strange idea.
I don't think any posts were deleted or modified though, so it was probably meant just as a peace keeping operation.
Question: does anyone actually read the text that is there before you sign up to a forum?
Reverend said:
What is a public forum? There are forums(ae) that are owned by the public and therefore open (presumably), and there are forums(ae) there are owned by individuals but open to the public.
I think that the so-called right to freedom of expression really only applies in publicly-owned spaces doesn't it? The Internet might well be publicly owned (which acutally it isn't but it is regarded as such), but websites attached to it aren't necessarily so.
A silly thread, when you consider that even "free speech" in the public domain has moderation.
MasterBaiter
Regular
DaveBaumann said:
Typically not.
Most of the forums I frequent are owned by a company, group or person, so I consider them "public", but freedom of speech exists only as long as said owner of forum lets it exist. I think forums need to moderated which IMHO means that there is most likely some censoring going on with it. It is up to the moderator to deem what is appropriate and what is not, or for that matter relevent.
I seem to recall when HardOCP's forum mods went on a banning spree, and censored a fair bit of its users because they did not agree with the sites opinion. I still visit their forum every blue moon, but I wouldn't belong to a site that couldn't take some criticism from the people that give them their page hits (especially when they were valid crits).
Not only do I value free speech on forums, but I feel
(message censored for language and extremely strange thoughts by management.)
(message censored for language and extremely strange thoughts by management.)
DaveBaumann said:
What, this part?
Never saw it. In fact, I think it rather bothersome when license agreements go so far as to make you pull the slider bar all the way to the bottom before enabling the "I Accept" button. Who do the rotten buggers think they are, wasting *many* milliseconds of my life that way?
Altho I'll also roll one of my favorite aphorisms by you: "Having a right to do something does not make it the right thing to do."
I read, then forget.DaveBaumann said:
But these issues have never been a problem for me. If moderating is over the top at a particular forum, I simply won't go there. Not enough moderation and things are too chaotic, no point in going there.
Some control is necessary if a forum is to consistently produce good results and avoid wasting time. But too much moderation also stops a forum from producing good results.
This is a "How many laws do we need?" debate. Liberty doesn't exist in tyranny or anarchy... but I digress.
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