7 ms·

As someone mentioned above, Mein Kampf is still allowed: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=mein+kampf&_sacat=0 https://

by ipsum2 6y ago

As someone mentioned above, Mein Kampf is still allowed: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=mein+kampf&_sacat=0 https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m...

ojnabieoot 6y ago
This is misleading and approaching a lie. eBay only allows critically-annotated copies of Mein Kampf which are designed for scholars. I am sure that a copy of “If I Ran The Zoo” with a sociologist critically annotating the abhorrent racism would be permitted on eBay. From one of the listed items: > This item has been listed previously. eBay removed it with this reminder of the guidelines: > "You listed the book Mein Kampf, but it is not a critically annotated edition. eBay only allows critically annotated versions of Mein Kampf to be listed on the site. While we appreciate that you chose to utilize our site, we must ask that you please not relist in this case." > This is their policy and this edition is compliant with that policy.
- ipsum2 6y ago
  > eBay only allows critically-annotated copies of Mein Kampf which are designed for scholars That's a good point. I didn't realize they were annotated by modern scholars.
  - UncleMeat 6y ago
    The Mein Kampf lie is already halfway around the world. A tremendous amount of misinformation is already out there regarding this story.
- stass 6y ago
  Communist Manifesto and Lenin's books are allowed without any comments though. There are books by actual terrorists too, like Bill Ayers. Books advocating for segregation. One can go on. This fine example is ok too: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Protocols-of-the-Learned-Elders-of-Zion-by-Sergiei-Nilus-Paperback-book/353209171064 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Protocols-of-the-Learned-Elders-of-... But Mulberry street is the problem.
  - ojnabieoot 6y ago
    Ok if you think eBay should ban more books then go tell them that! Incidentally this isn’t true: > Books advocating for segregation. Or, rather, if such books are available it is against eBay’s policy and they should be reported. eBay has a specific policy against items that glorify racism or endorse racist stereotypes: https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/offensive-material-policy?id=4324 https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-ite... It does not have a policy against everything morally icky, but it’s quite clear about racism. Mulberry Street and If I Ran The Zoo are both racist and against eBay’s policy.
    - stass 6y ago
      The issue is that they are not just removing racist or hateful content according to some kind of standard. They are going after hot topics of the day, whatever it happens to be. Even worse, hateful and racist content that is ideologically aligned is explicitly allowed. One would be hard-pressed to find anything more blatantly racist than White fragility or works of Dr Kendi, and yet you would not see eBay banning them, up until they fall out of favor.
  - o_v_o 6y ago
    Communist Manifesto doesn't really contain hateful content (despite Marx's racism & misogyny)
    - stass 6y ago
      And yet it was used as inspiration to murder 20M+ people by explicitly dehumanizing whole classes of people.
      - Clewza313 6y ago
        If we go down that path, how many deaths is the Bible or the Koran responsible for?
        deleted 6y ago
- brandonmenc 6y ago
  > eBay only allows critically-annotated copies of Mein Kampf which are designed for scholars. I am sure that a copy of “If I Ran The Zoo” with a sociologist critically annotating the abhorrent racism would be permitted on eBay. This seems worse than an outright ban on all copies.
- Igelau 6y ago
  This is also a terrible idea, because there can be no scholarly analysis if scholars can't get it because everyone has jammed it down the memory hole. (Edit: I'd really like to see some thought out defense on how censorship doesn't injure scholarship. Downvotes are just limp concessions.)
  - RobertKerans 6y ago
    Nobody's arguing that, so I'm not sure why anyone would need to defend a position they don't have. "I can't buy an uncommented copy of Mein Kampf from eBay" isn't the same thing as "I'm not allowed to read an uncommented copy of Mein Kampf", the latter isn't true.
madeofpalk 6y ago
Right so this story is actually about yet another platform poorly enforcing its own moderation policy.
- SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
  But there's a point where poor, one-sided enforcement of a facially neutral moderation policy becomes in practice a biased policy.
gnopgnip 6y ago
No, Mein Kampf is not allowed. Critically annotated versions are allowed. There is a significant difference here
- enriquto 6y ago
  This is ridiculous. Historians should be allowed to freely read original, non-critically annotated, historical documents. Otherwise they cannot do their job.
  - RobertKerans 6y ago
    They are, nobody stops them doing that.
  - timcederman 6y ago
    And they're welcome to read those at the library or other sources - eBay, as a company, is under no obligation to facilitate dissemination of historical documents.
    - enriquto 6y ago
      I thought that ebay was just a website where people could sell their historical documents to each other. Ebay does not "disseminate" the things that people send to each other. Heck, it doesn't even deal with the delivery! It just processes the payments. Why are they willing to engage in editorializing stuff that they don't even see? It makes no sense.
      - RobertKerans 6y ago
        Ebay is a company, not a website, and company policies specify which products can be listed by their users. It's not neutral, you're being deliberately obtuse here.
        morlockabove 6y ago
        But it should be, given it's a monopoly on the space.
dkdbejwi383 6y ago
I doubt there are many people buying Mein Kampf as a bedtime story for their children though

by ipsum2 6y ago

ojnabieoot 6y ago

This is misleading and approaching a lie. eBay only allows critically-annotated copies of Mein Kampf which are designed for scholars. I am sure that a copy of “If I Ran The Zoo” with a sociologist critically annotating the abhorrent racism would be permitted on eBay. From one of the listed items: > This item has been listed previously. eBay removed it with this reminder of the guidelines: > "You listed the book Mein Kampf, but it is not a critically annotated edition. eBay only allows critically annotated versions of Mein Kampf to be listed on the site. While we appreciate that you chose to utilize our site, we must ask that you please not relist in this case." > This is their policy and this edition is compliant with that policy.

ipsum2 6y ago
> eBay only allows critically-annotated copies of Mein Kampf which are designed for scholars That's a good point. I didn't realize they were annotated by modern scholars.
- UncleMeat 6y ago
  The Mein Kampf lie is already halfway around the world. A tremendous amount of misinformation is already out there regarding this story.
stass 6y ago
Communist Manifesto and Lenin's books are allowed without any comments though. There are books by actual terrorists too, like Bill Ayers. Books advocating for segregation. One can go on. This fine example is ok too: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Protocols-of-the-Learned-Elders-of-Zion-by-Sergiei-Nilus-Paperback-book/353209171064 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Protocols-of-the-Learned-Elders-of-... But Mulberry street is the problem.
- ojnabieoot 6y ago
  Ok if you think eBay should ban more books then go tell them that! Incidentally this isn’t true: > Books advocating for segregation. Or, rather, if such books are available it is against eBay’s policy and they should be reported. eBay has a specific policy against items that glorify racism or endorse racist stereotypes: https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/offensive-material-policy?id=4324 https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-ite... It does not have a policy against everything morally icky, but it’s quite clear about racism. Mulberry Street and If I Ran The Zoo are both racist and against eBay’s policy.
  - stass 6y ago
    The issue is that they are not just removing racist or hateful content according to some kind of standard. They are going after hot topics of the day, whatever it happens to be. Even worse, hateful and racist content that is ideologically aligned is explicitly allowed. One would be hard-pressed to find anything more blatantly racist than White fragility or works of Dr Kendi, and yet you would not see eBay banning them, up until they fall out of favor.
- o_v_o 6y ago
  Communist Manifesto doesn't really contain hateful content (despite Marx's racism & misogyny)
  - stass 6y ago
    And yet it was used as inspiration to murder 20M+ people by explicitly dehumanizing whole classes of people.
    - Clewza313 6y ago
      If we go down that path, how many deaths is the Bible or the Koran responsible for?
      - deleted 6y ago
brandonmenc 6y ago
> eBay only allows critically-annotated copies of Mein Kampf which are designed for scholars. I am sure that a copy of “If I Ran The Zoo” with a sociologist critically annotating the abhorrent racism would be permitted on eBay. This seems worse than an outright ban on all copies.
Igelau 6y ago
This is also a terrible idea, because there can be no scholarly analysis if scholars can't get it because everyone has jammed it down the memory hole. (Edit: I'd really like to see some thought out defense on how censorship doesn't injure scholarship. Downvotes are just limp concessions.)
- RobertKerans 6y ago
  Nobody's arguing that, so I'm not sure why anyone would need to defend a position they don't have. "I can't buy an uncommented copy of Mein Kampf from eBay" isn't the same thing as "I'm not allowed to read an uncommented copy of Mein Kampf", the latter isn't true.

madeofpalk 6y ago

Right so this story is actually about yet another platform poorly enforcing its own moderation policy.

SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
But there's a point where poor, one-sided enforcement of a facially neutral moderation policy becomes in practice a biased policy.

gnopgnip 6y ago

No, Mein Kampf is not allowed. Critically annotated versions are allowed. There is a significant difference here

enriquto 6y ago
This is ridiculous. Historians should be allowed to freely read original, non-critically annotated, historical documents. Otherwise they cannot do their job.
- RobertKerans 6y ago
  They are, nobody stops them doing that.
- timcederman 6y ago
  And they're welcome to read those at the library or other sources - eBay, as a company, is under no obligation to facilitate dissemination of historical documents.
  - enriquto 6y ago
    I thought that ebay was just a website where people could sell their historical documents to each other. Ebay does not "disseminate" the things that people send to each other. Heck, it doesn't even deal with the delivery! It just processes the payments. Why are they willing to engage in editorializing stuff that they don't even see? It makes no sense.
    - RobertKerans 6y ago
      Ebay is a company, not a website, and company policies specify which products can be listed by their users. It's not neutral, you're being deliberately obtuse here.
      - morlockabove 6y ago
        But it should be, given it's a monopoly on the space.

dkdbejwi383 6y ago

I doubt there are many people buying Mein Kampf as a bedtime story for their children though