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Surely there is a spectrum here. On one side is vaguely annoying expressions that are just... well, annoying. They're not the types of things that you'd say,

Surely there is a spectrum here. On one side is vaguely annoying expressions that are just... well, annoying. They're not the types of things that you'd say, and not the types of things you'd prefer others say, but you generally put up with them (i.e. ignore them) because that's the expected thing to do in polite society. On the far other side are things that you really find very distasteful or upsetting or offensive. Things that you would very much not like to see. Everyone is going to have a different threshold within this spectrum regarding where they deploy a "megablock", and people are naturally going to disagree about if that was the right threshold to apply. I don't use twitter, but my first reaction is: it's plausible that I might find sufficiently disturbing things on twitter such that I would deploy such a tool.

tomc1985 5y ago
My original intent here was to point out an increasingly-common stance that many people -- particularly gen Z -- seem to take, which is essentially, "why should I expose myself to things I don't like?" The problem is that it creates monocultures, and it helps the ignorant remain in a state of ignorance. We should always be striving to empower people, and we should aspire to building up their minds so that they can encounter expression they don't like without feeling the need to suppress or otherwise entertain it. We need to be showing the ugly realities of war, and we need to be shining light on the ugliest and most brutal expressions of our political enemies. To say nothing of the fact that guilt-by-association is one of the cruelest punishments that can be inflicted on innocent bystanders, and the fact that allowing individual tools for censhorship suppresses the open exchange of ideas that make us all richer. I am in favor of individuals suffering through unpleasant experiences because it enhances society overall, and it in line with the true spirit of free speech. "I may not like what you have to say, but I will fight for your right to say it"
- notreallyserio 5y ago
  This is hardly increasingly common nor is it something gen-z is accelerating. It's been going on since well before our grandparents were born. You're just seeing it happen more publicly now that we're all on the Internet together.
- detaro 5y ago
  Blocking someone on Twitter is not a tool for censorship, this is ridiculous. By that logic I'm censoring CNN if I never watch it, and my spam filter is censoring people sending e-mails?

tomc1985 5y ago

My original intent here was to point out an increasingly-common stance that many people -- particularly gen Z -- seem to take, which is essentially, "why should I expose myself to things I don't like?" The problem is that it creates monocultures, and it helps the ignorant remain in a state of ignorance. We should always be striving to empower people, and we should aspire to building up their minds so that they can encounter expression they don't like without feeling the need to suppress or otherwise entertain it. We need to be showing the ugly realities of war, and we need to be shining light on the ugliest and most brutal expressions of our political enemies. To say nothing of the fact that guilt-by-association is one of the cruelest punishments that can be inflicted on innocent bystanders, and the fact that allowing individual tools for censhorship suppresses the open exchange of ideas that make us all richer. I am in favor of individuals suffering through unpleasant experiences because it enhances society overall, and it in line with the true spirit of free speech. "I may not like what you have to say, but I will fight for your right to say it"

notreallyserio 5y ago
This is hardly increasingly common nor is it something gen-z is accelerating. It's been going on since well before our grandparents were born. You're just seeing it happen more publicly now that we're all on the Internet together.
detaro 5y ago
Blocking someone on Twitter is not a tool for censorship, this is ridiculous. By that logic I'm censoring CNN if I never watch it, and my spam filter is censoring people sending e-mails?