4 ms·

Moderation != censorship. When facebook can send you to jail for your speech, then we can talk about censorship. I don't want to live in a world where I can't b

Moderation != censorship. When facebook can send you to jail for your speech, then we can talk about censorship. I don't want to live in a world where I can't ban bad actors from my own servers (thus violating my freedom of speech).

ratsmack 8y ago
When a moderator removes one of your comments because they disagree with the content, that is censorship. When a moderator removes your comment because it breaks a well defined rule, then that is moderating. Trying to moderate "hate speech", which is highly subjective, is a losing proposition.
- notveryrational 8y ago
  When well-defined rules include "content that the government wants to suppress because it criticized them" the rules provide censorship via moderation. In this case, Facebook - presuming what they did was "follow the rules" - is following censorship rules. So perhaps the thread should be about the US government forcing companies to censor free speech for them.
notveryrational 8y ago
Something can be both moderation and censorship at the same time. You are presenting a false dichotomy.
grandmczeb 8y ago
Censorship is not defined as illegal speech. Some forms of censorship are perfectly ok, like when you remove objectionable content from your own platform. If the government were to require you to remove that same content, it would still be censorship, but in a much worse form.
- lordCarbonFiber 8y ago
  No, that's the point. Censorship is a specific thing, and to muddy the waters by claiming moderation is censorship means that during times of actual governmental overreach it will be that much harder to recruit people to your cause. It's fairly easy to get people onboard with the idea of moderation, once you insist that that's censorship you now have a population that's "ok with censorship" which is exactly what the fascists trying to make the equality want.
  - notveryrational 8y ago
    No person is claiming that "moderation is censorship". Merely, this specific act of moderation was an implementation of censorship. Moderation and censorship are two different things that are not mutually exclusive.

ratsmack 8y ago

When a moderator removes one of your comments because they disagree with the content, that is censorship. When a moderator removes your comment because it breaks a well defined rule, then that is moderating. Trying to moderate "hate speech", which is highly subjective, is a losing proposition.

notveryrational 8y ago
When well-defined rules include "content that the government wants to suppress because it criticized them" the rules provide censorship via moderation. In this case, Facebook - presuming what they did was "follow the rules" - is following censorship rules. So perhaps the thread should be about the US government forcing companies to censor free speech for them.

notveryrational 8y ago

Something can be both moderation and censorship at the same time. You are presenting a false dichotomy.

grandmczeb 8y ago

Censorship is not defined as illegal speech. Some forms of censorship are perfectly ok, like when you remove objectionable content from your own platform. If the government were to require you to remove that same content, it would still be censorship, but in a much worse form.

lordCarbonFiber 8y ago
No, that's the point. Censorship is a specific thing, and to muddy the waters by claiming moderation is censorship means that during times of actual governmental overreach it will be that much harder to recruit people to your cause. It's fairly easy to get people onboard with the idea of moderation, once you insist that that's censorship you now have a population that's "ok with censorship" which is exactly what the fascists trying to make the equality want.
- notveryrational 8y ago
  No person is claiming that "moderation is censorship". Merely, this specific act of moderation was an implementation of censorship. Moderation and censorship are two different things that are not mutually exclusive.