Private censorship is not the best way to fight hate or defend democracy (2018)

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 6:56 PM UTC

fighterpilot wrote: post #99

BitwiseFool wrote: post #2

2020-2021 has shown me that most people happen to be 'fair weather fans' of civil rights. Everyone claims to love free speech but when suppression of speech opposing their own worldview comes into play, they suddenly dither and fall back on other rationalizations to justify the censorship. Well, it's not free speech being violated when it's 'hate speech'. Well, it's not free speech being violated when it's 'misinform…

Should YouTube censor ISIS propaganda or not? If yes, how is this not a violation of the principles you've laid out?

Post by chroem- » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 7:10 PM UTC

cratermoon wrote: post #304

chroem- wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is a gross mischaracterization, although one that I would expect given the track record of this conversation. Your comments are filled with an unhealthy level of vitriol, and I think it would be a good idea to cool down for a while.

Straight out of the obfuscation and doubt handbook. Instead of addressing the issue, go straight for attacking the messenger and divert, deflect, and distract.

Post by chroem- » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 7:24 PM UTC

cratermoon wrote: post #308

rscoots wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I notice those lists do not include the exact same materials. So you've proven the point that there is debate to be had on these matters.

> there is debate to be had on these matters Exactly what tobacco company execs said when they denied the links between smoking and cancer and other diseases. Exactly as the climate-change denialists say when they delay and distract from efforts to address global warming. Spreading doubt, deflecting criticism, and diverting attention are right out of the playbook for bad-faith actors. What are we going to do to stop…

Post by kgwxd » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 8:23 PM UTC

throwaway894345 wrote: post #301

kgwxd wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know there's technically a distinction, the abstract concept is what I was alluding to when I mentioned the "spirit" of free speech, but I'm not convinced it's useful to make a distinction between the spirit and the law anyway. The concept of government and law is just as abstract. I think it's more accurate to say the first amendment specifically limits _how_ the US government is allowed to censor speech i.e. they…

> I'm not convinced it's useful to make a distinction between the spirit and the law anyway. The concept of government and law is just as abstract. My use of "abstract" refers to the fact that the first amendment applies only to the US government, and consequently it's more concrete or restricted than the broader "spirit". Any particular "free speech" law is just one concrete instance of the more abstract concept of…

Post by N00bN00b » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 8:51 PM UTC

boogies wrote: post #272

N00bN00b wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Computation, bandwidth and (open source) software is so cheap these days that it approaches free for many people (but not all). It's just a matter of coming up with a functioning model. Ad supported is just one such model and it's not a very new one at that. Remember, you made this comment on server that was provided to you for free without the need of ad support.

> Remember, you made this comment on server that was provided to you for free without the need of ad support. HN has ads, just sneaky ones that blend in with user-submitted links on the front page ($YCStartup is Hiring, Launch HNs. But on the positive side, they don't seem to rely on tracking to target any narrower audience than the whole HN userbase). https://github.com/minimaxir/hacker-news-undocumented#percei...