Comment Thought punishment and freedom through security (Score 1) 199
Once again, to quote: "That is one of the mistakes a lot of people make -- believing that uncensored speech is the most free, when in fact, managed civil dialogue is actually the freer speech".
What a chilling bit of doublespeak. Freedom through security is not freedom, no matter how loudly your boss or your government or your school tells you it is. As a writer and internet service provider, I feel it is my core responsibility to protect and promote freedom of speech (online or off), and it is horrifying to see six years of political re-invention already so thoroughly ingrained in our sensibilities that we no longer call things out for what they are. Anything inhibiting freedom of speech is a direct perversion of our human rights. Not our American rights - our human rights.
Now, it is absolutely unfortunate that Kathy Sierra was attacked in her online community and made to feel physically unsafe by threatening commenters - but it's not an unusual incident - not when you're actively participating in a medium where EVERYONE, including the emotionally disturbed, has a voice and an easy mechanism for making it heard. Anyone who's been a participant in the web for any length of time has not only likely received negative attention from some corner, but probably also said a few things they wish wouldn't show up so easily in Google ten years later. I commend her for making it public and taking steps with her local law enforcement to make the threat known to physically protect herself, but I will admit it frustrates me how quickly the online community began calling for blood and legal retribution over what was basically a nasty, adult-sized playground bully doing what bullies have been doing online for as long as they've been able.
From a higher perspective, I would argue that we need to nip in the bud the developing American tendency to legislate/regulate/restrict thought and word instead of punishing actual actions. I may be just as outraged as anyone that someone said what they did about an author whose work I admire, but changing the way people are allowed to talk is not the way to fix that problem or protect one's self. With that said, I imagine this won't come to anything - that those who require an official document to remind themselves to be civil aren't likely to subscribe to that Blogger Code of Conduct anyway.
What a chilling bit of doublespeak. Freedom through security is not freedom, no matter how loudly your boss or your government or your school tells you it is. As a writer and internet service provider, I feel it is my core responsibility to protect and promote freedom of speech (online or off), and it is horrifying to see six years of political re-invention already so thoroughly ingrained in our sensibilities that we no longer call things out for what they are. Anything inhibiting freedom of speech is a direct perversion of our human rights. Not our American rights - our human rights.
Now, it is absolutely unfortunate that Kathy Sierra was attacked in her online community and made to feel physically unsafe by threatening commenters - but it's not an unusual incident - not when you're actively participating in a medium where EVERYONE, including the emotionally disturbed, has a voice and an easy mechanism for making it heard. Anyone who's been a participant in the web for any length of time has not only likely received negative attention from some corner, but probably also said a few things they wish wouldn't show up so easily in Google ten years later. I commend her for making it public and taking steps with her local law enforcement to make the threat known to physically protect herself, but I will admit it frustrates me how quickly the online community began calling for blood and legal retribution over what was basically a nasty, adult-sized playground bully doing what bullies have been doing online for as long as they've been able.
From a higher perspective, I would argue that we need to nip in the bud the developing American tendency to legislate/regulate/restrict thought and word instead of punishing actual actions. I may be just as outraged as anyone that someone said what they did about an author whose work I admire, but changing the way people are allowed to talk is not the way to fix that problem or protect one's self. With that said, I imagine this won't come to anything - that those who require an official document to remind themselves to be civil aren't likely to subscribe to that Blogger Code of Conduct anyway.
