(ISF) RE: Freedom of speech -- with controls

Did the delete key disappear while I wasn't looking? 

A slightly flip response, but with an underlying perspective
that has served me well and helped maintain sanity and humor
in 11 years of reading, writing and moderating community
fora.

The value of community fora, for me, is twofold. I value
courtesy, affirmation and the "virtual" company
of like-minded people. An equal value is having my thoughts
tested, challenged and the excitement of gleaning a new
idea, which happens often on this forum. Absent this second
criterion, the purpose of a community forum would be reduced
to that of a mirror. In this context, the freedom of speech
you put in quotes, is the lifeblood of my engagement with
this forum, freedom of speec is very much the point! I
expect to disagree and be annoyed by a post here and there,
and I use the delete key liberally. I recommend its use!

Having said that, if you feel the recent Wikimedia exchange
was outside of the standards of behavior of this list, as
Deborah herself indicated, that is a valid discussion.
Standards, like anything else, get old and need to be
relevant. Thanks,

-SG





-----original message-----
>>IMO discussion on freedom of speech in the context
of communal discussion forums really miss the point by a
wide margin. Freedom of Speech is the right of any
individual to express themselves without constraint. Freedom
of speech does not include the right to a captive audience.
Of equal, and arguably greater importance is the Freedom we
all enjoy to say "No" (you are free to say what
you like; I am free to choose not to listen). A Blog
(personal web-log), and to a lesser degree WikiPedia typify
freedom of speech (the reason WikiPedia is usually not
deemed a credible resource in academia). Bloggers can say
what they wish without constrain because Blogs are
self-opinionated, they are not a community. The rest of the
world choose to view, or not to view the words of Bloggers
depending on how we exercise our right to say: "Yes,
we wish to hear your words", or: "No, we do not
wish to hear your words". The right to say 'No' is
fundamental and exercised every time we choose to st
 op forced advertising and other activities where 'forced
acceptance' is deemed an associated aspect of 'freedom of
speech'. Perhaps the best example of the need to sustain
the right to say "No" is that of the gender
crime. When we subscribe to a communal discussion forum we
enter a (usually unwritten) contract to comply with accepted
community standards. As recipients of communal input, our
contractual agreement is to accept the comments and thoughts
of others in our Inbox. As authors of communal content, our
contractual agreement is to comply with accepted standards
of behaviour, decorum, and acknowledge all the rights of
those who invite us to contribute through membership of our
community (including the right to maintain communal
standards). I'm not drawing any comparison to recent
events, however for anyone to cite 'freedom of speech' as
an excuse to breach communal standards on a Community
Discussion Forum is to diminish the right of all other
community members to say "
 No, we do not wish to receive commentary outside our
accepted standards of behaviour". A Discussion Forum
is not a Blog (it's not a street Soap Box).>>









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