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I guess don't get what you're trying to say then. Yes, society as a whole has a collective opinion that forms the mainstream and defines a) what's outside of t

I guess don't get what you're trying to say then. Yes, society as a whole has a collective opinion that forms the mainstream and defines a) what's outside of that and b) what to do with those outside of it. Do you see a problem in excluding these opinions from mainstream platforms like Facebook and reddit? Even with a pretty open stance towards free speech I see excluding people posting racist death threats from a platform I use to look at cat pictures as a positive.

matz1 8y ago
Yes at least for me it is a problem. I want to see those opinion.
- tastroder 8y ago
  Appreciate the discussion even though I'm sure I won't convince you of my viewpoint. I don't know why you would seek input from these types of people but you can, just not on the mainstream platforms. Your desire to inform yourself just does not outweigh the danger of extremist recruitment when giving these views a platform according to current consensus. I see moderating who can participate in a group as part of the opinion that this thread seems to try and uphold. If reddit (as the more or less democratic whole, not the company or technical system) prefers not to give terrorists, white supremacists or whatever fringe group that is based on hatred a platform you're free to see that as a problem, it's just not one the mainstream agrees with.
  - matz1 8y ago
    I understand your viewpoint and I too believe you should fight for your viewpoint in order for it to be the winner. Likewise, the "extremist" too have their viewpoint, to them you are the danger, and they too will fight for it.
geofft 8y ago
I think matz1's position is quite clear: there is no absolute right or wrong, and the only thing that makes "gas the kikes" unacceptable is that the majority of humans find it unacceptable and are willing to go to war to stop it from happening. If we weren't, it wouldn't be unacceptable any more. It's almost a Poe's Law of moral relativism in general, but there's the additional step of "and therefore, I will not have opinions on right and wrong and will let others do as they please, because who am I to have moral opinions about others"—but that in itself is a moral opinion about others.
- maximus1983 8y ago
  Lets get one thing straight. The Allies didn't go to war because of holocaust, they were dragged into a conflict by Hitler. In fact the only reason why the UK went to war against Hitler at the time was because Winston Churchill was determined to have another war because he was a drunken psychopath. Many of the newspapers at the time actually were against allowing Jewish Refugees into the UK. Also in the US the Nazis were popular enough that Coke Cola had adverts with the swastika on it.
maximus1983 8y ago
> Yes, society as a whole has a collective opinion that forms the mainstream and defines a) what's outside of that and b) what to do with those outside of it. The Overton window (which is what you are referring to) changes over time. What is considered acceptable is transient (I've seen the term for ethinic minority change 5 times in my life time so far and the older terms are now considered racist). Homosexuality for example would have been outside of the Overton window in the past and would have been deemed outside of polite discussion. People have lost their jobs or banned for comments on Facebook / Twitter etc that are literally years old. Most of these comments were made made over a decade ago. There are many groups of people that conduct a witch hunter using "outrage archaeology". They will go through someone's tweets for something that is now considered inappropriate and they will demand an apology for things that were said decades before and the person probably doesn't even remember why they made that comment at the time. Bernie Sanders (who is considered from my understanding to be somewhat of a progressive candidate) had something he wrote in 1980 dredged up in an attempt to smear him. I've was temporarily suspended on twitter because I posted a Death Threat to my friend as a Joke between us and some other friends that were following each other. My friend and I regularly trade racist remarks about each others race on whatsapp because it is a long standing joke. Should we be censored because of an inside joke between friends?

matz1 8y ago

Yes at least for me it is a problem. I want to see those opinion.

tastroder 8y ago
Appreciate the discussion even though I'm sure I won't convince you of my viewpoint. I don't know why you would seek input from these types of people but you can, just not on the mainstream platforms. Your desire to inform yourself just does not outweigh the danger of extremist recruitment when giving these views a platform according to current consensus. I see moderating who can participate in a group as part of the opinion that this thread seems to try and uphold. If reddit (as the more or less democratic whole, not the company or technical system) prefers not to give terrorists, white supremacists or whatever fringe group that is based on hatred a platform you're free to see that as a problem, it's just not one the mainstream agrees with.
- matz1 8y ago
  I understand your viewpoint and I too believe you should fight for your viewpoint in order for it to be the winner. Likewise, the "extremist" too have their viewpoint, to them you are the danger, and they too will fight for it.

geofft 8y ago

I think matz1's position is quite clear: there is no absolute right or wrong, and the only thing that makes "gas the kikes" unacceptable is that the majority of humans find it unacceptable and are willing to go to war to stop it from happening. If we weren't, it wouldn't be unacceptable any more. It's almost a Poe's Law of moral relativism in general, but there's the additional step of "and therefore, I will not have opinions on right and wrong and will let others do as they please, because who am I to have moral opinions about others"—but that in itself is a moral opinion about others.

maximus1983 8y ago
Lets get one thing straight. The Allies didn't go to war because of holocaust, they were dragged into a conflict by Hitler. In fact the only reason why the UK went to war against Hitler at the time was because Winston Churchill was determined to have another war because he was a drunken psychopath. Many of the newspapers at the time actually were against allowing Jewish Refugees into the UK. Also in the US the Nazis were popular enough that Coke Cola had adverts with the swastika on it.

maximus1983 8y ago

> Yes, society as a whole has a collective opinion that forms the mainstream and defines a) what's outside of that and b) what to do with those outside of it. The Overton window (which is what you are referring to) changes over time. What is considered acceptable is transient (I've seen the term for ethinic minority change 5 times in my life time so far and the older terms are now considered racist). Homosexuality for example would have been outside of the Overton window in the past and would have been deemed outside of polite discussion. People have lost their jobs or banned for comments on Facebook / Twitter etc that are literally years old. Most of these comments were made made over a decade ago. There are many groups of people that conduct a witch hunter using "outrage archaeology". They will go through someone's tweets for something that is now considered inappropriate and they will demand an apology for things that were said decades before and the person probably doesn't even remember why they made that comment at the time. Bernie Sanders (who is considered from my understanding to be somewhat of a progressive candidate) had something he wrote in 1980 dredged up in an attempt to smear him. I've was temporarily suspended on twitter because I posted a Death Threat to my friend as a Joke between us and some other friends that were following each other. My friend and I regularly trade racist remarks about each others race on whatsapp because it is a long standing joke. Should we be censored because of an inside joke between friends?