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Gab Launches Dissenter: Comment on Any Internet Page

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Re: Gab Launches Dissenter: Comment on Any Internet Page

#51
post #22

I had no idea Hacker News was so anti-gab. I guess we know which side of the free speech argument won.

When did freedom of speech turn into freedom to hate and be rude? The founder on gab has been on here calling other commenters "cucks" and "gullible morons". And telling a mod "Cry about it" when it was objected. Free speech is about ideas, not being a dick.

Actually, that's exactly what freedom is speech is supposed to protect.

Re: Gab Launches Dissenter: Comment on Any Internet Page

#52
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not that worried about protecting the rights of people to abridge the rights of others, since they're demanding a double standard. Specifically I mean people who say groups of people should suffer a loss of rights due to some perceived inherent defect as opposed to behavior.

What rights have been lost or abridged here? We're in a thread about a site that Gab launched in order to express itself, and they seem to be expressing themselves freely. And people object to their behavior, specifically their political ideology. I don't think anyone has mentioned "inherent defects," whatever those would be.

Read it in context, it's a reply to the last argument int he previous comment which is a general one.

Re: Gab Launches Dissenter: Comment on Any Internet Page

#53
post #22

I had no idea Hacker News was so anti-gab. I guess we know which side of the free speech argument won.

When did freedom of speech turn into freedom to hate and be rude? The founder on gab has been on here calling other commenters "cucks" and "gullible morons". And telling a mod "Cry about it" when it was objected. Free speech is about ideas, not being a dick.

To play devil's advocate for both sides. I think there is a freedom of speech problem online. I think the idea of an the internet being an open forum for discussion of ideas (even controversial) is a major benefit.

But there is a problem with free speech absolutist sites like 4chan and Gab in that they attract all of the bad actors that are banned from traditional media for their fringe beliefs.

I'm really interested in finding a solution to this. To make a free speech platform that attracts conventional users but allows for fringe discussion as well. The only thing I can really think of is for established platforms like youtube and twitter to do away with any rules limiting speech (with exceptions for material that is illegal). They already have a base of conventional users that wouldn't leave. I don't think this will happen though.

Re: Gab Launches Dissenter: Comment on Any Internet Page

#54
This has been done quite a few times before. Google Sidewiki, Genius Annotations, Hypothesis, etc.

Will this one catch on? Not sure, but I did hear an interesting argument that context may be the difference between success and failure for something like this. Those other projects didn't launch in an era where censorship was being pushed for on social media platforms, and focused on annotating as compared to 'free speech commenting' or what not.

Could be interesting to see if Gab's angle and audience may help this more by marketing it to a passionate, dedicated audience rather than the general public, and by giving it a message/mission statement beyond 'hey you can say random things with an extension now'.

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