The problem is that there does need to be a middle ground. If they're legally liable there can be no rapid communication or large userbase because everything has to be reviewed by a person trusted by the site owner before it goes up. If they can't censor anything every platform that gets large enough to be worth advertising on looks like the inbox of the throwaway email you use to register for sketchy websites.
Free Speech and (Big Tech) Censorship Thread
- Thread starter Duke Nukem
- Start date
I don't care.
Seriously I don't fucking care Big tech has abused its power way too much and has been absolutely horrible so I don't care.
This does not mean a site can't remove bots, or having rules about content such as porn and swearing.
Bear Ribs
Well-known member
Why do we need a large userbase and minimal human moderators? That's a super rich-get-richer model that only works by abusing the platform/publisher divide, not a reasonable business model.
Five hundred thousand mom-and-pop grocery stores are a much healthier economy than Wal-Mart taking over everything and establishing a monopoly. Five hundred thousand well-moderated small forums, news media outlets, and messaging services will make for a healthier internet than Alphabet, Facebook, and Twitter establishing a cartel and controlling the message/mining everybody's data.
LordsFire
Internet Wizard
The middle ground is to have simple rules about 'no illegal content,' and then forums that are topical. If you don't want your site to be about politics, say that. If you want it to be about politics but not about other things, say so.
At the worst, do like this and many other sites have 'Keep threads on topic, politics go in the politics area, fiction discussion in the fiction area,' etc, etc.
This isn't rocket science, and as others have said, smaller more manageable platforms are a completely viable alternative as well.
Identifying off topic or even illegal content is a moderation decision of the sort that a pure platform can not make. Illegal content can be taken down given a court order, but that's time consuming and there aren't nearly enough judges.
Those are exactly what the law was written to allow platforms to control. It gave too much leeway, but the definition of pornography is subjective (A supreme court judge at one point famously said "I know it when I see it.") and the definition of obscenity is fluid and dictated by the outrage mob. You can refuse to support images, but handling pornographic writing is harder and refusing to support images has consequences. Imagine trying to explain the situation in Ukraine without images, including maps.
That sort of fragmentation would kill populism dead by handing the public discourse back to the established publishers. Good if you somehow still own Newsweek stock, but bad if you want anyone without a journalism degree or a relationship to a Bush, Kennedy, or Clinton to have any voice in politics ever again. Fragmented networks simply do not have the reach to get ideas heard outside their little echo chambers.
'Promote misinformation', get $2500 in-house 'fine' by the PayPal admins.
'Promote misinformation', get $2500 in-house 'fine' by the PayPal admins.
that is a massive lawsuit waiting to happen.
Like a really massive lawsuit.
maybe its time to send some of their board members to prison.
well that and what they were suggesting was blantantly illegal and could get them put behind bars.
Bear Ribs
Well-known member
Apparently realizing the kind of landmine they stepped on by censoring medical information being presented by the Surgeon General himself, Twitter has uncensored the post but still this is unreal.
cant wait for the musk purge.
Bear Ribs
Well-known member
So, has anybody seen or heard of Tribel Social?
Wow, that sounds really promising, I wonder why nobody's heard of or is using them. Still, a promise they aren't censoring Conservatives is surely a good sign.
Oh.
Somehow that one post has no become a series of bigoted posts. Also LibsofTikTok has metastized into an entire hate group.
Still, surely there's something of value to be found at Tribel anyway?
The funny bit is, LibsofTikTok is basically the most exposure they've ever had.
Wow, that sounds really promising, I wonder why nobody's heard of or is using them. Still, a promise they aren't censoring Conservatives is surely a good sign.
Oh.
Somehow that one post has no become a series of bigoted posts. Also LibsofTikTok has metastized into an entire hate group.
Still, surely there's something of value to be found at Tribel anyway?
The funny bit is, LibsofTikTok is basically the most exposure they've ever had.
pretty much but if the lefties all move their and leave everyone else alone that would still be a win.