Re: list censorship: an afterthought

Michael S. Lorrey (mike@lorrey.com)
Mon, 14 Jun 1999 18:35:31 -0400

QueeneMUSE@aol.com wrote:

> I should have been more clear. I object to censorship bysubject, not entire
> content. Using the metaphor of asking people not to smoke or poop on the
> floor of one's home, as opposed to letting them debate certain issues:
> That kind of "poop on the rug" stuff translates to list "pissing" - bad
> language, abusive tones, flames, thousand posts a day etc.
> That kind of thing has always been filtered and the FAQ deals with it- and I
> *liked* to see behavior censored, because it created an envorinment for free
> thought.
> But banning subjects... well...

I have to agree with Nadia on this. While even I was rather taken aback by over 30 rude and insulting messages over a few days from one list member, the idea that discussion of a subject of any kind of liberty should be banned from the list of a group that supposedly embraces personal liberty is rather ludicrous. One of the main reasons I joined ExI was because I found it to be one of the last refuges against the whiney statist liberal security-before-liberty soccer mom neo-luddite NIMBYites. The recent watering down of the Extropian Principles to embrace more statist attitudes was the warning shot, an outright moratorium on discussion of a subject regarding liberty is blasphemy. Principles are meant to be stood on, not moved in response to polls or popular sentiment.

Just as law abiding citizens are seeing their rights curtailed and made more difficult to practice because of the misbehavior of a few disrespectful individuals, so it is here. 

--
TANSTAAFL!!!

Michael S. Lorrey
Owner, Lorrey Systems
http://www.lorrey.com
ArtLocate.Com
http://www.artlocate.com
Director, Grafton County Fish & Game Assoc.
http://www.lorrey.com/gcfga/
Member, Extropy Institute
http://www.extropy.org
Member, National Rifle Association
http://www.nra.org
"Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
                  - General John Stark